Silver Stripe Blog

A big update. The latest version of Silver Catalyst was released on Tuesday, and it has a brand new plugin feature. This is a big feature for the version one release — which is right around the corner — because it means that Silver Catalyst becomes extensible in the future.

Along with the plugin support, the release contained the first plugin: PDF Report. With PDF Report, you can download a PDF version of the dashboard data. Why is this cool? Because this opens up a whole new set of possibilities like printing out the dashboard for the stand up meeting, or mailing the pdf to customers and executives who want to know the current state of the iteration. I can hear you ask why they need a PDF report when they can simply log into Silver Catalyst to find out the information. At this point I’ll just say that it’s a complete mystery to me why so few project management tools provide PDF output. I’ll talk about this in more detail tomorrow.

Apart from the benefits of PDF Report itself, it also validates the plugin concept. The ability to extend Silver Catalyst with plugins is very exciting. Expect many more plugins after the v1.0 release.

Just a quick post to point out that the trial version of Silver Catalyst has been released. You can get it from the download page. The trial version comes with a three team member license with no feature or time limits. I would also like to point out that the trial version is beta license compatible, so if you provided feedback during the beta period, your twenty team member beta license will work with this version.

Now that the beta period for Catalyst is complete, work is going at full speed on getting the trial version ready. The trial version will bring in some interesting changes. Finding out the RSS feed URL for a project has been made simpler. Also new is a help screen that allows you to check for updates, contact support via email, and view video tutorials. The home page has also undergone a makeover. However, the big news is that Catalyst has been renamed to Silver Catalyst.

You can get a sneak peek at the new look at the updated overview video.

The reason for the name change is so that it does not conflict with the open source catalyst web framework.

So Catalyst is now Silver Catalyst. Or will be when the trial version releases.

I’ve uploaded a new screencast that shows how you can use Catalyst to plan your iterations. Its the first in a series of “video documentation” that I’m recording, with more on the way. To view the screencasts, click here.

I’m currently in the process of updating the documentation. I’m writing a new user manual for Catalyst that will complement the existing documents, so while I’m at it, I’d also like to update the Catalyst Agile Guide [PDF link] document. The Agile Guide currently covers the following topics and how they can be implemented with Catalyst:

• FDD feature naming template
• XP user story template
• Stories vs Features vs Tasks
• MoSCoW prioritization with Catalyst
• Selecting a priority for a task
• Assigning tasks
• Catalyst support for estimating using story points
• When to mark a task ‘Done’
• Annotating tasks
• Sprint goals
• Choosing an iteration length
• Burndown chart anti-patterns

Are there any topics in particular that you would like covered? If you have any feedback or would like to know whether Catalyst supports a particular agile technique, drop me a line and I’ll try to incorporate it into the next version of the documentation.

Also, a reminder that the beta period for Catalyst is closing in ten days time. Remember that if you give feedback on Catalyst, you are eligible for an unlimited duration, ten team member license. So hurry and send your feedback before the beta closes. If you haven’t downloaded Catalyst yet, you can do so here.