Chat Meetings/Log 20080402

Openbravo community chat log - 2nd of April 2008 14.00 GMT

• [16:04] <jordimas> Hello everybody
• [16:04] <jordimas> If you do not mind let's wait for 5 minutes more for people that may be late
• [16:05] <jordimas> The current agenda for today's bi-monthly meeting is published at: http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/Chat_Meetings#Next_meeting_2nd_of_April_2008
• [16:11] <jordimas> Ok, let start then
• [16:12] <jordimas> Thanks everyone for attending today
• [16:12] <jordimas> The agenda for today is:
• [16:12] <jordimas> * Openbravo ERP 2.40 alpha release (Paolo)
• [16:12] <jordimas> * Openbravo POS (Adrián)
• [16:12] <jordimas> Then I would pass on Paolo (pjuvara) that introduce you Openbravo ERP 2.40
• [16:12] <pjuvara> Thank you Jordi
• [16:12] <jordimas> If you have questions that are not in the agenda we can do a Q&A session after it.
• [16:12] <pjuvara> There are several things that I would like to cover regarding 2.40:
• [16:13] <pjuvara> 1) Highlight of the new features
• [16:13] <pjuvara> 2) Availability and schedule
• [16:13] <pjuvara> 3) The alpha process
• [16:13] <pjuvara> I would then want to conclude talking about the roadmap past 2.40
• [16:13] <pjuvara> Let's start with the highlight of the new features. 2.40 is a very imporatant release for Openbravo, for many points of view.
• [16:13] <pjuvara> There are several significant functional enhancements (overall more than 30 new features, ranging in various degrees of complexity) that we hope you'll find exciting and interesting enough to justify an upgrade.
• [16:13] <pjuvara> In my opinion the most significant ones are:
• [16:14] <pjuvara> 1) Keyboard operation: his project not only provides shortcuts for all the functions in the system and allows its mouse-less operations; it also allows you to configure the default first field where the focus is placed when you navigate to a new record. We believe this will significantly reduce the number of clicks required to perform data entry.
• [16:14] <pjuvara> 2) UI feedback: this project will provide visual clues to the state of the system (record in edit mode, record in read only mode, processing, loading data, etc.)
• [16:14] <pjuvara> We hope that these two projects combined will significantly improve the user experience.
• [16:14] <pjuvara> 3) Requisitions: this project significantly improves the Procurement footprint of Openbravo and enables enterprises to automate the buying process,from expression of demand to PO authoring.
• [16:15] <pjuvara> The Procurement flow is further improved with another small project that allows to simplify the receiving process by allow people to receive by PO number.
• [16:15] <pjuvara> 4) Multi-schema accounting: this capability allows you to account a single transaction multiple times, according to different account schemas.
• [16:15] <pjuvara> In practice, this enables operating multi-national organizations with Openbravo where different organizations need to report to the local legal authorities plus the parent company.
• [16:16] <pjuvara> In addition to these functionalities, which are part of Openbravo core, there are two very significant projects at the periphery of the system.
• [16:17] <pjuvara> The first one is Industry Templates, which will allow a third party system integrator to develop a vertical solution on top of Openbravo, package it and distribute it independently.
• [16:17] <pjuvara> The second one is an integration with a BI server which will enable the development of analytics dashboards and OLAP reports.
• [16:18] <pjuvara> Since both of these projects are not part of Openbravo proper but are part of the Openbravo ecosystem, they will not be part of the 2.40 alpha release but will be developed in parallel to the alpha cycle and will become available in the beta time frame.
• [16:19] <pjuvara> Questions?
• [16:19] <openbravo4italy> Which BI Server?
• [16:20] <pjuvara> We have not made a decision yet on the BI server. We know that we will rely on Mondrian as OLAP engine but we are evaluating both JasperSoft and Pentaho as packaged solutions.
• [16:21] <pjuvara> If there are no further questions on the functional scope of the release, we can move on the next topic, which is the schedule for availability.
• [16:22] <pjuvara> We had originally planned the release to freeze on April 4th and become available in alpha mode on April 19th.
• [16:22] <pjuvara> We just completed a release readiness review this morning and I am afraid that we have accumulated a bit of delay.
• [16:23] <pjuvara> At this point, we think that we will need to additional weeks to close the release. That will the code freeze date to April 18.
• [16:24] <pjuvara> On April 20th, we will start the acceptance testing (the purpose is to validate that the release is ready for evaluation and that therefore installs and it is operational on all platforms).
• [16:25] <pjuvara> That should take two weeks, which brings the availability date to May 2nd.
• [16:26] <pjuvara> During the acceptance testing phase we would like to have the help and contribution of some community members, similarly to what we did for 2.35 and 2.35 MP1. We will shortly send out an call for participation and we hope that many of you will be available to help.
• [16:27] <pjuvara> Moving to the next topic, the alpha process...
• [16:28] <pjuvara> We intend the alpha process to be a public evaluation process intended to stabilize the release.
• [16:28] <rvalyi> Hi, sorry, regarding to testing, are you targeting the same level of perfection with PosgreSQL for 2.40?
• [16:29] <pjuvara> rvalyi: yes, we are. In 2.40 we definitely want to achieve the same level of stability and performance on both DBs.
• [16:29] <rvalyi> ok, thx
• [16:29] <rvalyi> (so I hope that's different from 2.35 then :-)
• [16:29] <pjuvara> In fact;-).
• [16:29] <pjuvara> Going back to alpha...
• [16:30] <pjuvara> Past acceptance testing we will publish the release on SourceForge to the whole community.
• [16:31] <pjuvara> Since this is intended for evaluation purposes only and not production, we will not publish an upgrade from previous releases to 2.40 alpha nor from 2.40 alpha to 2.40 beta.
• [16:32] <pjuvara> Internally, our QA team will execute 100% of our test cases (roughly 10 times more than what we do for an acceptance testing).
• [16:32] <pjuvara> We also hope that the community will aggressively download and test the release.
• [16:32] <rvalyi> BTW: will those test be available in a downloadable package?
• [16:33] <pjuvara> No they will not be but they will be published on the Wiki.
• [16:33] <pjuvara> Some of them already are.
• [16:33] <rvalyi> (it's so great when we can access a continuous integration portal so that we can track the level of quality along with the commits)
• [16:33] <rvalyi> yeah, but that's not automated then?
• [16:33] <rvalyi> any plan to set up Selenium tests or something similar?
• [16:34] <pjuvara> Regarding continuous integration: Yes, you are right but that is another story. We are also planning to publish a Developer's Edition on a daily basis and to test it with automated regression tests.
• [16:34] <rvalyi> ok
• [16:35] <pjuvara> Regarding to automated tests: our acceptance test is now 100% automated and we hope this will bring very good quality improvements.
• [16:36] <pjuvara> In order to close the alpha process, we need to define the exit criteria (what is the number of acceptable open bugs in order to go to beta?). We haven't done it yet but we will make that criteria public before the beginning of alpha for your criticism.
• [16:38] <pjuvara> The beta cycle is intended to be a production usage of the release for a limited number of customers. We will work with some of our direct clients as well as clients of our partners to upgrade their systems to 2.40 beta and see how it works in a production environment. The beta release will be public so community members can do the same.
• [16:38] <pjuvara> Because of that for beta will will also publish the upgrade scripts, both from 2.35 MP1 to 2.40 Beta and from 2.40 Beta to 2.40 Prod.
• [16:40] <pjuvara> Once we get a go ahead from a handful of customers (I would say at least 3 customers), we will then publish 2.40 Prod which will then replace 2.35MP1 as the main release.
• [16:40] <pjuvara> In terms of timing, we hope that both the alpha and beta cycle will take a month each.
• [16:40] <pjuvara> That said, they will be clearly quality driven and they will take as long as they need for the release to be good.
• [16:41] <pjuvara> That pretty much wraps it up for 2.40.
• [16:41] <jordimas> pjuvara: Paolo, in terms of translation, do we know how this will affect to current localisations? I mean, are we introducing many new text messages for translation?
• [16:42] <pjuvara> Jordi: this is an excellent question and one that we haven't investigated in details.
• [16:42] <jordimas> pjuvara, i will ask nico's team
• [16:43] <pjuvara> I would say that there are not many changes in the text translation outside of the new functionality and that an existing translation would probably be preserve to 95% of the level.
• [16:43] <pjuvara> We definitely need to look into it in more details and provide active guidelines.
• [16:43] <jordimas> ok
• [16:44] <pjuvara> Going to the road map.
• [16:44] <pjuvara> As we enter the 2.40 alpha cycle, it is now time to start thinking about the future.
• [16:45] <pjuvara> We have some ideas and we will be updating the road map soon with a list of candidate features and we would like to get feedback and further suggestions from all of you.
• [16:45] <pjuvara> During the next couple of weeks, I will compile the list of candidates. We will then present it in several channels:
• [16:45] <pjuvara> 1) The Wiki in the road map page
• [16:46] <pjuvara> 2) A forum for discussion
• [16:46] <pjuvara> 3) The Openbravo Get Together event in Barcelona in mid-April.
• [16:46] <pjuvara> You guys know what you need more than we do, so I really hope that we will get a very active discussion on that.
• [16:47] <pjuvara> This concludes my portion of the agenda and I'd propose to move to the next topic (sorry I took more time than allocated).
• [16:48] <adrianromero> Hello
• [16:49] <adrianromero> Now my turn about Openbravo POS
• [16:49] <adrianromero> Openbravo POS 2.10 is the second version of this product under the Openbravo umbrella
• [16:49] <adrianromero> We are very excited because after the release of Openbravo 2.00.
• [16:50] <adrianromero> Openbravo POS has increased its downloads, and statistics and the community is increasing the activity with new and members and with members that have a deep knowledge of the product as you can see in the Openbravo POS forums
• [16:50] <adrianromero> We expect to continue this, growing the community around Openbravo POS, offering new and exciting features of the product and publishing new releases every three months.
• [16:50] <adrianromero> The topics I want to cover here are:
• [16:51] <adrianromero> 1. The new features for Openbravo 2.10
• [16:51] <adrianromero> 2. The roadmap and the schedule
• [16:51] <adrianromero> In my opinion the most important features to include in the Openbravo POS 2.10 are:
• [16:51] <adrianromero> A new customer module.
• [16:52] <adrianromero> With this module you will be able to maintain a master table of customers, and assign customers to receipts with a customer list or using the customer's loyalty card.
• [16:52] <adrianromero> There is a report that prints the customer's loyalty cards with a barcode to allow quick read of customers by Openbravo POS
• [16:53] <adrianromero> And with the customer module you will also be able to track the debts of your customers
• [16:53] <adrianromero> Customer and warehouse integration.
• [16:54] <adrianromero> At the current moment you can operate Openbravo POS and Openbravo ERP synchronized
• [16:54] <adrianromero> You can synchronize the products catalog and the sale orders generated by Openbravo POS
• [16:55] <adrianromero> With the next release you will be able to synchronize also customers, the inventory information and also orders with the customer assigned included.
• [16:55] <adrianromero> Localization
• [16:56] <adrianromero> We are aware that to implement Openbravo POS in different countries is a difficult task because you have to adapt the local rules to Openbravo POS.
• [16:56] <adrianromero> There are a lot of messages in the forums asking a better localization features for Openbravo POS.
• [16:56] <adrianromero> The next release will include better and configurable taxes module that will fit to the rules of o wide list of countries
• [16:57] <adrianromero> And also there will be included tips and the ability to split receipts for the restaurant module.
• [16:57] <adrianromero> Openbravo POS Skin
• [16:57] <adrianromero> The last release included the ability to change the look and feel of Openbravo POS thanks to the great library Substance by Kiril Grouchnikov
• [16:57] <adrianromero> his release we want to go further and create a new Openbravo Look and feel based on Substance and similar to the current Openbravo ERP look and feel
• [16:58] <adrianromero> I think that is in interest of the Openbravo community to have the suite of Openbravo products to look and behave in a similar way
• [16:58] <adrianromero> You can see the other enhancements for the next release in the roadmap page http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/Openbravo_POS_roadmap
• [16:58] <adrianromero> Questions?
• [16:59] <adrianromero> Going to the next point
• [16:59] <adrianromero> The schedule
• [17:00] <adrianromero> Currently we do not have fixed dates for code freeze, acceptance test etc. But we plan to publish the release of Openbravo POS in may. We expect to follow a similar process of Openbravo POS, and for the moment we are on the track ;-)
• [17:00] <adrianromero> You can see the status of the release in the status page
• [17:00] <adrianromero> http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/Openbravo_POS_R2.10_Release_status
• [17:00] <adrianromero> And if you feel strong you can inspect the trunk branch in the SVN repository of Openbravo
• [17:00] <adrianromero> http://sourceforge.net/svn/?group_id=127939
• [17:01] <adrianromero> And. Nothing else from my side
• [17:01] <adrianromero> Questions?
• [17:04] <jordimas> AdrianRomero, if there are no more questions we can move ahead
• [17:05] <adrianromero> Ok.
• [17:05] <adrianromero> I have finished
• [17:05] <jordimas> Does anybody have any question regarding Openbravo ERP, Openbravo POS or any other question related to these projects?
• [17:06] <rvalyi> yes, one question:
• [17:06] <rvalyi> about the verticalisation in templates,
• [17:07] <rvalyi> does this allow to package non pl/SQL functionnal development but rather Java developmenent?
• [17:07] <rvalyi> (cause pl/SQL makes us quite afraid and we don't really want to invest on pl/SQL)
• [17:08] <jordimas> rvalyi: Paolo (pjuvara) can take that question
• [17:09] <rvalyi> that would be great thx
• [17:09] <jordimas> The functional spec is at: http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/Projects/Industry_Templates/Specifications but does not answer your question
• [17:10] <rvalyi> my understanding is that it doesn't allow to package Java classes in a plugin, but I would like to be wrong so if Paolo can explain a bit more...
• [17:12] <rvalyi> (looks like its meant to package XML that enter the WAD and outputs interfaces, datastructures and pl/SQL functionnal code. But I wonder how it deals with Java object code that must be compiled and deployed. That's important indeed, cause we would like if we could customize the virtual appliance with Java code or if we must wait for Green
• [17:12] <jordimas> rvalyi: Paolo is on a call now and he has left the chat. If you please can post this question at:
• [17:12] <rvalyi> sure, okay
• [17:12] <jordimas> http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=615117
• [17:12] <jordimas> He will answer you
• [17:12] <jordimas> I think that is a very good question
• [17:12] <rvalyi> ok, thanks
• [17:12] <jordimas> (that is the functionality forum)
• [17:13] <jordimas> ok, any other question?
• [17:13] <openbravo4italy> Is 2.40 Release Status (http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/2.40_Release_Status) confirmed? Is it updated (to date)?
• [17:14] <jordimas> It is. It is the coordination document that the Openbravo ERP development team uses
• [17:15] <jordimas> May be some developer has made little progress that is not yet reflect, but it should be very little since we are getting closer to 2.40 and there are several daily updates
• [17:15] <jordimas> See: http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/index.php?title=2.40_Release_Status&action=history
• [17:17] <jordimas> Any other question?
• [17:18] <rvalyi> off topic: there has been a few news about Openbravo here in french press. We might be in contact with our first customers for Openbravo and hope to start selling a few contracts...
• [17:19] <rvalyi> We hope 2.40 will help. 2.35 was a bit tough with Postgresql and that was bad cause we have to start small using a non Oracle database. That's why 2.40 was expected.
• [17:19] <jordimas> oh, that is good new rvalyi. As you know Openbravo has helped completing the French localization, I hope that the French market responds well
• [17:19] <rvalyi> yes. Unfortunaltely selling french accounting will remain tough for a while
• [17:19] <jordimas> There are customers in production with 2.35MP1 and Postgres SQL
• [17:20] <jordimas> However, as in any piece of software, they may be bugs
• [17:20] <rvalyi> cause there are proven cheap accounting packages for the french market. Again having to set up accounting bridges doesn't help to start small.
• [17:20] <jordimas> My suggestion is that you closely involved in the Openbravo 2.40 beta process to make sure that the bugs that are critical for your or your customers get fixed
• [17:20] <rvalyi> (a small SME can't afford spending 5 000$ just for an accounting bridge)
• [17:21] <rvalyi> yeah, w'll keep a close eye on it. We are already following the SVN on a weekly basis.
• [17:21] <jordimas> May be you should target companies with more complex business process that can benefit more from an ERP
• [17:21] <jordimas> ok, that is cool
• [17:23] <rvalyi> Sure. But one should always start small first to gain confidence in the product and be recognized first. That was that first step that was tough with OpenBravo considering the situation in the french accounting and the postgresql database.
• [17:23] <jordimas> fully understand
• [17:23] <jordimas> Ok, if there are no more questions we leave it here for today
• [17:23] <jordimas> Thanks a lot for your help
• [17:24] <rvalyi> now we are discussing a lead but that might already be a too large contract. The guys are actually deciding between SAP R/3 and openbravo...
• [17:24] <rvalyi> thanks!
• [17:24] <jordimas> We are always available in the forums and chat and the usual channels
• [17:24] <jordimas> See you soon