...
The Application
Zeppelin
Getting Started
Features
Learn about the user interface
License
End User License Agreement (EULA) 1.0
SqueakJS License
Squeak License
Resolving common problems
Configuration problems
Connectivity problems
User Preferences
Preferences
The Application
It is an application to analyze the performance of processes based on data and communicate the relevant aspects to the actors that are part of the system seen as a whole. The instruments it uses for this are basically two:
...
The application is based on mathematical / statistical foundations and a socio-technical theoretical framework to integrate other visions in a comprehensive way to the quantitative aspects. It contains several innovations, such as a high-level domain language that allows manipulating data using Smalltalk / Ruby but in a similar way to the well-known SQL
Versions Zeppelin for Jira
It consists of two versions
...
2- Stand-alone: development environment that is installed on each Desktop (versions for Windows and Mac) aimed at administrators and developers, contains an interface consistent with the Jira plugin version and other specialized tools to manage a library of indicators, detect Signals, compose and notify Morphs and Stories to end users
Upon request, a special stand-alone version is supplied that allows working with a MYSQL database repository (which consolidates various data sources, not only Jira, including Redmine, Harvest, files, etc.)
Getting Started
The application works, both in its plugin and stand-alone version, connecting to the Jira, which constitutes the data source for the predefined and user-defined KPIs. In the case of the plugin version, it is not necessary to configure the connection (it runs within the session of the web browser), but in the case of the stand-alone version it is necessary to indicate in the Preferences | Connection:
...
All the configuration can be saved together with the image so that later it is not necessary to repeat this process. The user can edit the Story, create new Morphs with Signals using the existing or new KPIs created by the user using the RQL language, and notify these objects by email to the relevant actors, who can consult the static information embedded in the body of the email or follow the links to the living objects inside by opening the plugin page in Jira. In addition to being able to save the image locally (in the plugin version it is saved in the stored memory of the web browser) each user has the possibility of saving the Morphs and the Story in the plugin database to be retrieved on demand.
Considerations regarding the data
In addition to the field settings and other required keys explained above, Jira Issues must have certain completed data for the application to consider for analysis. In general the following completed fields are required:
...
(1) Another Jira user group can be defined with Maps under the key ISSUE_TRACKER_USER_GROUP.AUTHORS to indicate those users who have permissions to author new KPIs, scripts, etc. (stand-alone version). On the other hand, if the connected user is a Jira Admin, the application also extends its permissions to certain operations reserved for an administrator.
Features
List of Advantages / Features (full version)
...
Multidimensional aggregation and allocation
Domain specific language, ranking, transpose, group by. Indicators with aggregate data (pie, bars)
Realtime reporting with analytical alert
Stories - Activity Patterns
Statistical inference and probabilistic simulation
Statistical Signals - Extrapolation, Trends - Correlation - Polymetric
Key performance indicators optimization
Baselines, Thresholds
Version control and process management
Process configuration - Baselines of process performance
Interactive visualization
End user oriented, graphs, morphs
RAD
Full object-oriented Smalltalk environment - Metadesign morphs, domain specific language (IHDSL based on Smalltalk), server-scripts (RQL based on Ruby)
Unique knowledge framework for different areas
Activity Systems framework
Dashboards
Stories/Morphs - qualitative natural language summary
Domain specific applications
Built-in KPI models - IHDSL/RQL
Integration
Integration with issue-trackers (JIRA)
Authoring tools
Client and Server scripting IHDSL/RQL domain specific language
Rich client
Smalltalk morphic based environment
Metalayer without depending on IT team intervention
IHDSL, RQL, Signals, Stories
Pre-defined or personalized dashboards
Predefined KPI to RAD - Context info
Collaboration
Annotations, Share options, KPI workflow
Personalization
Preferences of language, colors, ui look, recent ítems, desks, persistence image-based
Learn about the user interface
The user interface consists of the following elements:
...
Fig. 4. Access to several desktops
(*desk version only)
...
License
End User License Agreement (EULA) 1.0
Copyright (c) Improvekit SRL, 2011 All rights reserved.
...
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
SqueakJS License
The MIT License (MIT)
Copyright (c) 2013-2019 Bert Freudenberg
Copyright (c) 2016 Fabio Niephaus, Google Inc.
...
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.
Squeak License
Copyright (c) The individual, corporate, and institutional contributors who have collectively contributed elements to this software ("The Squeak Community"), 1996-2015 All rights reserved.
...
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
Resolving common problems
Configuration problems
Problems related to application configuration to the specific context of the user.
...
Fig. 5. Application configuration
...
Connectivity problems
Common problems connecting to data source are:
...
Invalid User: Verify that you can connect to the incident management tool with the username and password and that belongs to the group of measurements as defined in the application configuration
Note on scope of Jira queries
The plugin makes queries to the Jira database accessing from the server via webservices. The results of the queries (JQL) are stored in a cache memory for better performance. You can clear this memory with the Refresh menu option. The default JQL used incorporates a condition that uses the defined default project, number of months (by default all) and that the issues have FixVersion or Sprint (according to the defined preference). Other preferences control the maximum number of records read, the number of fields for list-type fields, and so on. You can access your preferences from the Preferences | Improvekit-Connection and Improvekit-Explorer
User Preferences
Preferences
You can set your preferences with respect to a number of variable attributes. You can set default values for colors (for example to adapt the range to his own needs), folder names, Servers, Domains, etc.. You can also control certain behaviors to achieve better performance, according to the common use will be given to certain functions.
...
You can also access from the menus View, Go, Help, etc. To access preferences related to the current context
Initial Setup preferences
Improvekit-Connection
Issue tracker server address (desktop version)
User name (desktop version)
User password (desktop version)
Maximun number of records in each reading to the Repository
...