New in in-Step 4.6

in Step helps you with process-based project management of system and software development according to the approved standards of V Modell XT, SPICE and PRINCE2 – or your individual process.

Of course even standards continue to improve, and that is exactly what the new in Step Version 4.6 deals with! For one, in Step is now ready for the V Modell XT 1.3: in Step's Tailoring Wizard has been customized accordingly and a new Project Planning Wizard has been created. In addition, the new version is ready for PRINCE2:2009.

You can find out what else is new in in Step 4.6 here.

By the way: You can switch directly from in Step 4.4 to in Step 4.6. The 4.5 version is only available as an internal release.

New: Project Management According to V Modell XT 1.3

The V Modell XT Edition from in Step 4.6 now supports the V-Modell XT versions 1.3 und 1.2.1.

What has changed in the new in Step V Modell XT Edition?

The V-Modell is tailored to the specific terms of a project from the very start. This customization in V-Modell is appropriately labeled Tailoring. The in Step Tailoring Wizard has been adapted to the V-Modell Version 1.3.:

Tailoring according to V-Modell XT 1.3

The in Step Tailoring Wizard offers you support in the project-specific customization of V-Modell. In just four easy steps you can tailor the V-Model to your project: For each Project Type there is at least one Project Type Variant which will help further distinguish your project. The project type variant decides on the appearance of the project execution strategy and determines the possible sequences in a project's rough plan. By selecting a project type variant, additional process modules and project characteristics can be incorporated into a project. The further characterization of the project is then carried out with help from the Project Characteristics specified in V-Modell. With the help of the specified Project Type and the Project Type Variant, the Tailoring Wizard determines according to V-Modell which process modules must be used.

The new Project Planning Wizard

While planning your V-Modell Project at the activities and products level, the in Step Project Planning Wizard is there to assist you. The in Step Project Planning Wizard has been completely revised for the V-Modell XT Version 1.3:

Project planning with your mouse: The new in-Step Project Planning Wizard

The new Wizard makes project planning even easier: All of the possible decision gates which could follow the decision gate that has already been selected are shown under Select Successor Element. When you scroll over the suggested successor element with your mouse, you can see under Possible Successor Elements how the project would continue, if this decision gate were selected. With one click the designated successor will be added to your project plan.

A grey, downward-pointing arrow next to the decision gate should then show you that this project structure is not yet complete. If the V-Modell allows parallel executions for one decision gate, this will be shown by a branched-out arrow. If you would like to read more about the specifics of your V-Modell Project Type Variant, click on the blue link at the bottom of the window. The description will be opened in your browser.

To determine the decision gates' schedules, click on Date in the column and select the desired time from your calendar.

When should this decision gate be reached? Select the desired date from your calendar!

By clicking on Next, the Project Planning Wizard will present you with the opportunity to add default directories to the product library in order to administer the Requirements, Evaluation Cases, Risks, Use Cases, Actors and Work Orders. You will also be able to create separate activity groups for quality assurance.

Project Management made easy: clearly structured quality assurance, requirement and risk management from the very beginning!

If you would like to use a version of V Modell XT which is not available with in Step 4.6, please contact our support team!

New: Project Management According to PRINCE2:2009

Since June 2009 it is official: PRINCE2:2009 is here! The last version of PRINCE2 was first developed in 2005. Since then developers have been listening closely to the reviews and critiques of users and have been working hard on creating a management process that is more and more user friendly. Points of criticism were the overly excessive processes, the complexity of documentation and the PRINCE2 Manual's lack of practical relevance.

What has changed in the in Step PRINCE2 Edition?

The characterization of single processes with IDs has now been omitted from the PRINCE2 project execution. The in Step Project Planning Wizard and the commands used to create processes have been adjusted accordingly. If you would like to continue using IDs, the option Use Type ID as Name Prefix in the project properties can help you ensure that the original type ID will be shown under New as the type name.

The process Planning a Project has been omitted from PRINCE2:2009. However, this will not affect your work with in Step, as this process has never been displayed as an activity type. We found this to be unnecessary because in Step already took care of everything for you that needed to be done.

The process Managing Stage Boundaries is now called Managing a Stage Boundary.

In lieu of sub-processes, PRINCE2:2009 deals with „recommended activities.” They will not be displayed as activity types in the in Step process model. This should already be familiar to you based on the sub-processes of the previous version.

A few names of products have also been changed in PRINCE2:2009:

Risk Log -> Risk Register
Quality Log -> Quality Register
Issue Log -> Issue Register
Lessons learned Log -> Lessons Log
Lessons learned Report -> Lessons Report
Project Initiation Document -> Project Initiation Documentation

We have updated these changes and revised the product templates which were released with the in Step PRINCE2 Edition.

In order to find out the best way to implement PRINCE2:2009, have a look at our newly revised process manual for in Step PRINCE2 Edition. The manual outlines the central ideas of the new manual Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 and is provided in HTML-Format: just click on This means.

Further Improvements to in-Step 4.6

Even though we have primarily been concentrating on developing support for the new process standards in in Step 4.6, we have still found more room for improvement. Here you can get a quick overview.

New and Improved Functions

Subversion Extension for in Step: The new Subversion Extension allows for the integration of Subversion into in Step. If you are using in Step Server or in Step Server for Oracle, the Subversion Extension can help you link the results which have been produced throughout the project with the software versions and their respective files administered by the Subversion Repository. Tips on how to configure and use the Subversion Extension for in Step are available in a separate ReadMe file. You will find the ReadMe in the in Step Server or in Step Server for Oracle program groups.

References Support in the Web Client: Now even the web client will support you in creating and editing references to activities, views, products, roles, etc. using onscreen forms.

Arranging Onscreen Forms with Tooltips: All controls which are used in the in Step onscreen forms' XML code can now be described using tooltips. For this use the attribute Tooltip. The steps on how to create individual onscreen forms are described in detail in the Customizing Manual. The Customizing Manual is located in the main window of the menu Documentation.

Exporting Views with XML and HTML: XML and HTML files are now saved by default in the authorized user's Windows directory My Documents/ Documents. The name of the view will be used for the name of file which has been generated.


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