Overview

What is SourceOffSite Collaborative Edition?

SourceOffSite Collaborative Edition(SOS Collab) provides a collaboration environment for users of Microsoft Visual SourceSafe™ 6.0 (VSS). SOS Collab combines source code control and bug tracking together with collaboration tools such as chat, discussion groups, and notifications.

With a rich administration environment and both Windows and Web Client access, SOS Collab is a robust solution that facilitates the development process. It provides a shared space where all software development team members can communicate and interact.

SOS Collab helps teams collaborate cohesively and makes the development process easier. Today, it is common for a software team to work together across different buildings, cities, or even hemispheres. SOS Collab facilitates distributed development.

SourceOffSite Collaborative Edition Features

SourceOffSite Collaborative Edition takes the original SourceOffSite concept to the next level with a broader array of features. Onsite or Offsite, SOS Collab provides a full-featured shared space for collaboration.

At-A-Glance
At-A-Glance summarizes relevant information about a particular SOS Collab project. It contains a Bug Summary by Milestone along with Recent Discussion Messages. The Bug Summary by Milestone gives a concise view of the open bugs related to the chosen project grouped by milestone. The Recent Discussion Messages section lists the most recent messages posted to the discussion group for that project. Team members can use At-A-Glance to get a succinct overview of a project's status.

(Please Note: An SOS Collab project is a logical group of information, including users, functions, source code, etc. for a distinct software (or other) project. This is different from an SOS Classic or VSS project, where the term "project" describes a node or directory in a tree structure.)

Chat
Chat allows dynamic communication with other users logged on to SOS Collab. Users can quickly share ideas and information about projects in real-time, or send general instant messages to the chat group. Chat is an invaluable communication tool which works with both collocated and dispersed team members.

Discussion Groups
Discussion Groups allow SOS Collab users to communicate about specific projects in a traditional discussion group format. Team members can use Discussion Groups to publicly exchange ideas and information related to specific topics. Since a history of discussion messages is stored, users can read and reply to messages at their convenience. Also, users can choose to receive discussion messages via email.

Source Code Control
SOS Collab incorporates the version control functionality of SourceGear's SourceOffSite Classic. Users can access a Microsoft Visual SourceSafe™ database from the SOS Collab Windows Client. SOS Collab supports all the major features found within Visual SourceSafe. The source code control feature of the Windows Client provides an interface that closely resembles the SourceSafe Explorer, allowing users to perform most SourceSafe operations in a similar fashion. Team members can also receive Notifications related to specific source control events.

(Please Note: Source Code Control functions are not available in the Web Client.)

Bug Tracking
Bug Tracking allows SOS Collab users to log and track the status of bugs for specific projects. Users can also use Bug Tracking to log feature requests and project To-Dos. Email notifications can be set up to alert users when a bug is added or modified, or a comment or an attachment is added. Bug Tracking allows team members from Development to work together with the QA and Support departments. As bugs are found and logged by the QA department, Development staff can fix the bugs. Support team members can readily enter user-reported bugs and users' feature requests.

Notifications
SOS Collab provides users with notifications of system events, and sends email triggered on Bug Tracking and Discussion Group activity. Teams can use notifications to alert themselves of specific activities that are of interest such as the checkin of a specific file in source code control. By alerting users when certain actions or tasks have been accomplished, workflow among and between members and teams can be greatly improved.