least a dozen years operation on projects of a significant size and constant activity.
37 Extensive Report Formats (XML, Spreadsheet, HTML, Text, etc.): Reporting capabilities are extensive to support intranets, data export and various other reporting needs.
38 Interactive Browsers (Hyperdata, Tree-browse, form browse, etc): The 4G CM/ALM tool includes a variety of history, tree, hyperdata and form-based browsers to interactively navigate the wealth of data.
39 Executive Summary and Interactive Drill-down Capabilities: Interactive abilities include drill-down capabilities on charts, graphs, summary displays down to the finest details.
40 Security – File Access Logging: The CM/ALM tool supports the option of full file access logging so that it is possible to identify both who has modified and who has accessed a file managed within the tool
41 Pre-populated Role-based Information Tabs and/or Dashboards: The 4G CM/ALM tools starts up with a configurable set of pre-populated role-based information sets, each a single click away. This allows instant access to the most frequently used summaries and information displays without having to request the information.
42 Configurable, Organized Role-based Information: The 4G tool has a role-based, intuitive interface showing a user, based on his/her role(s), the set of tasks, assignements, plans, notices or other information particular to that user. The user is able to navigate his/her various to-do lists and review them in a prioritized fashion.
The End... or Not The End
Does this leave anything for the 5th generation? Believe me, there's still a long ways to go after attaining even a 4G CM/ALM solution. However, beyond the 4th generation, CM/ALM reaches out far beyond the world of development and technology.
I've laid out a rough guide for selecting tools. I've categorized requirements by the CM/ALM Generation in which I think they belong. I'm sure others have additional requirements, or perhaps finer details for these. I'd love to, in fact I'm sure everybody would like to, see a matrix of existing tools against these requirements. I'd love even more to see a matrix of vendor plans for 2010 against this set of requirements.
If you are doing a review of tools and would like to measure tools against these requirements, we'd love to collect the results by Tool.YearOfRelease. If I collect enough, I'm willing to find someone to support an on-line spreadsheet of the results.
About the author
Joe Farah is the President and CEO of Neuma Technology and is a regular contributor to the CM Journal. Prior to co-founding Neuma in 1990 and directing the development of CM+, Joe was Director of Software Architecture and Technology at Mitel, and in the 1970s a Development Manager at Nortel (Bell-Northern Research) where he developed the Program Library System (PLS) still heavily in use by Nortel's largest projects. A software developer since the late 1960s, Joe holds a B.A.Sc. degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto. You can contact Joe at farah@neuma.com
