Alfresco 3.0 Roadmap 2008 Discussion!

[rscheele]

This is the place for community member input for the Alfresco's upcoming 3.0 release - targeted at 31 july 2008. Get the discussion going here!

http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Category:3.0

3.0 Community: July 31, 2008

Our next major release, Alfresco 3.0, is slated for Community release at the end of July. This release launches a new web client development framework and out-of-the-box user experience targeted for knowledge workers. This release brings the following major enhancements:

    * All functionality / bug fixes available in our June 2008 2.9 Community update

    * New Freemarker-based web application framework for componentized, flexible construction of custom Alfresco web client experiences

    * Change management and source-code control of any customized or custom-built Alfresco web client (hosted in our WCM repository, for easy development, testing, staging, and deployment)

    * Separation of the Alfresco web repository from the new 3.0 Alfresco web client (now a separable web app independently deployable via WCM to a second server with all client-server communication over HTTP(s) via Web Scripts

    * Simple packaging, installation, and updates of Alfresco templated sites and site components (for easy migration of web client customizations across servers or sharing of web client customizations amongst the Community)

    * Out of the box web client templates for creating social networking sites leveraging enhanced Alfresco collaboration and document management services

    * Support for themes to more readily customize look-and-feel

    * Support for simple invitation to external users to an Alfresco templated social networking / collaboration site, with auto-registration and mixed authentication for internal users via LDAP/ADS and external users via Alfresco itself

    * Support for enabling a look-up of external users to invite to Alfresco via popular social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook

    * Support for multi-file actions and upload

    * Support for simplified download, edit, and check-in process (reduce number of clicks; eliminate end-users learning curve with Working Copies)

    * Support for delegated administration of social networking / collaboration sites

    * Support for integrated presence, IM, and teleconferencing (via Skype)

    * Support for rich subscription notifications via activity feeds

    * Support for simple sharing of any single asset or collection of assets via human-readable URLs or ZIP attachments

    * Support for bookmarkable web client pages and page views


A full list of features and timelines can be tracked via our JIRA. Please do review; we've a substantial number of enhancements targeted for this release. In addition to JIRA, you can also review emerging documentation for the release on our category page.

Please note that detailed wireframes for our pending 3.0 release will be posted upon completion of our first development milestone, Timebox 1.

Additionally, please note that while Alfresco is launched a new, simplified, easy-to-use and adopt knowledge worker UI, the current JSF client will still be available and unchanged. Based on Community adoption and self-migration to the new web client experience, Alfresco does intend to migrate over the next couple of years to the new UI. Once again, this migration will be paced by the Community and by the Community own self-migration to the new UI infrastructure and user experience.

[rscheele]

* Simple packaging, installation, and updates of Alfresco templated sites and site components (for easy migration of web client customizations across servers or sharing of web client customizations amongst the Community)

First Questions: how out-of-the-box will the assembly of new website on top of Alfresco be? Will it be as easy as dragging and dropping UI components, repository content and thereby allowing a non-technical user creating an simple customized intranet/website for a project within an organisation for collaboration purposes? How will theming be implemented? What customizations can be done?

[rscheele]

* Support for simple invitation to external users to an Alfresco templated social networking / collaboration site, with auto-registration and mixed authentication for internal users via LDAP/ADS and external users via Alfresco itself

Will OpenSocial en OpenID be supported?

And will location-based services be supported, eg adding location based metadata - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyhole_Markup_Language - to your Personal Profile or adding this metadata to documents.

[ajmillar]

Personally, I feel that the functionality provided by the WCM component is going to be absolutely crucial in making Alfresco the defacto standard for ECM. Out of the box functionality is going to be required to entice more users to come on board that have limited experience.

Another crucial factor is going to be high quality documentation. One of the problems I'm finding at the moment is decyphering what content relates to what version etc.

[kvc]

* Support for simple invitation to external users to an Alfresco templated social networking / collaboration site, with auto-registration and mixed authentication for internal users via LDAP/ADS and external users via Alfresco itself

Will OpenSocial en OpenID be supported?

And will location-based services be supported, eg adding location based metadata - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyhole_Markup_Language - to your Personal Profile or adding this metadata to documents.

We just had this request for OpenID support as an optional add to your user profile here at our Barcelona Community Conference (where I just finished delivering the 3.0 updates moments ago).  This is a great suggestion so that we don't have to prompt the user each time they want to search LinkeIn, Facebook, etc. for a list of people to invite to an Alfresco=hosted site.  I will be posting a forum poll on this issues later this week, unless you beat me to it 😉

[kvc]

* Simple packaging, installation, and updates of Alfresco templated sites and site components (for easy migration of web client customizations across servers or sharing of web client customizations amongst the Community)

First Questions: how out-of-the-box will the assembly of new website on top of Alfresco be? Will it be as easy as dragging and dropping UI components, repository content and thereby allowing a non-technical user creating an simple customized intranet/website for a project within an organisation for collaboration purposes? How will theming be implemented? What customizations can be done?

In 3.0, each site will be comprised of a set of templates and components, all based around a set of XML config files that define things like what components are on a page, how instantiated, etc. 

End-users (site administrators) will be able to configure sites and site components based on what's allowed in the template, however the interface for doing so will not be drag-and-drag, WYSIWYG assembly - yet.

A follow-on maintenance release, 3.1, will be delivered by end of year that layers this functionality in (you can see the prototype of it in our Dynamic Website).

[kvc]

Personally, I feel that the functionality provided by the WCM component is going to be absolutely crucial in making Alfresco the defacto standard for ECM. Out of the box functionality is going to be required to entice more users to come on board that have limited experience.

Another crucial factor is going to be high quality documentation. One of the problems I'm finding at the moment is decyphering what content relates to what version etc.

Agreed!  Our entire new web client - a web application - will be built, tested, versioned, and deployed from the AVM to another server.  It's actually the purpose for which the AVM was
originally designed … the 3.0 release is the natural follow on to our 2.0 release (and it's related 2.x updates, most importantly Web Scripts and Deployment).  If you've been following the chronology since day one, you'll see the unmistakenly thread of continuity in strategy.

Because it's in the AVM (which is modeled on Subversion), we'll support excellent change management and release management for new site templates, components, themes, and more.

I think you'll be thrilled with the release.  At least, I hope!

Kevin

[dozyarmadillo]

Will the AVM replace the standard DM repository in 3.0?

[kvc]

No.  The AVM will be the repository for managing our web client and any extensions or customizations - basically, assist you with change management, testing, and rollout of new templates and components you (hopefully) download from our upcoming 3.0-Community-hosted extranet site (to aim to facilitate more Community contributions and sharing).

3.0 is designed first and foremost to be a smooth, seamless upgrade.  Your existing content models and data will remain.  Your JSF client customizations will work.  You'll just have new services and a new user experience and a new UI framework to benefit rolling out tailored user experiences for collaboration and networking for your knowledge workers.

More significant repository-level work will be a post 3.0 item on our 2009 roadmap.

Kevin

[rscheele]

You mentioned the two web clients will co-exist. How will that be done? Will they be running at different port numbers? When will (early builds of) the new web client available in the nightly code?