Release Overview. Version 2016

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Fay Greene
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1 Release Overview Version 2016

2 INTRODUCTION 4 BENEFITS 4 Improve user adoption 4 Higher impact in commercial presentations 4 Better support for Mobile users 4 Protect the business longer term 4 WHO IS IT FOR? 5 WHAT DOES IT DO? 6 Font 7 Personal Zone\Dashparts 7 Pop-ups 8 Form Validation 9 Ribbons 9 Advanced Search Screen 10 Activity Zone Search 11 Empty List Messages 11 Disabled Reasons on Buttons 12 Icons 12 Text Editor 12 Outlook Synchronisation Union Square Software Ltd Page 2 of 20

3 HOW WILL CLIENTS GET IT? 14 HOW ARE WE PREPARING FOR THE 2016 RELEASE? 15 Client Communications 15 Early Adopters Programme 15 Updating our Learning Zone videos 15 Internal Education 15 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE 2016 RELEASE 15 Unconverted Pages 15 Features Discontinued 17 FAQ 17 What happens if a page is not converted? 18 How can a custom page be changed to work cross browser? 18 What are the limitations on non PC devices? 18 Can we now offer Union Square to organisations running on Apple Macs? Union Square Software Ltd Page 3 of 20

4 Introduction The 2016 Union Square release represents possibly the most significant change in the software since its inception in The high level goals set for this release were as follows:- A more consistent user interface across the system Adoption of more modern UI metaphors Improved performance Usability on wider range of Devices and Browsers Usability improvements in key areas Provision of a long term technology platform Feature improvement in certain, key areas Benefits Improve user adoption This is a headline benefit for the release. By making screens more performant and the screen design more consistent, and therefore more predictable, we expect our clients to find it easier to extend the use of our software within their business. This is important for bringing new users to the software but also for implementing new features within the client s business. Higher impact in commercial presentations We know that the look and feel of our software has a big impact in any commercial dialog. This is because clients will make broader value judgements about our software based on their first experiences of it. We already have a strong visual impact but this release will improve this aspect considerably. Better support for Mobile users We are starting to see groups of business users rely more heavily on mobile devices, particularly tablets, in their day to day operations. This is particularly true of executives who spend a significant amount of their working lives travelling. The 2016 release supports modern browser standards and this means that the standard browser environment is accessible on this type of device when the users have data connections. Also, along with our other mobile developments, this change adds further credibility to our mobile story. Protect the business longer term Although Internet Explorer is likely to be available on the Windows platform for some time to come it is fair to say that this browser is not part of Microsoft s long term plans. Microsoft 2013 Union Square Software Ltd Page 4 of 20

5 Edge is a direct replacement for IE and is the company s future platform. The notion of browser dependence in general is a dated technical strategy and we must move to support browsers based on modern standards instead. The 2016 Release is our second, and most significant, step in this direction, Workflow applications being our first step. Who Is It For? Unlike many other Union Square releases this one impacts and benefits every single user of the system. Users in certain areas will see increased benefits due to a number of key features being improved. These are:- Drawing Manager users the improved design of this screen, which matches many of the design tools in use, along with improvements to the uploading of files, will benefit the users of this important module. The use of the tabs and ribbons has also greatly reduced the initial complexity of this screen and will simplify occasional usage. The increased horizontal screen space will also allow easier navigation of the drawing register. See screen shot below:- Job runners the screens used for forecasting Fees and non-labour costs in Project accounting have a much improved design and now allow users to forecast the whole project (all workstages) in a single screen. These screens are also much closer to the new resourcing interface launched in the 2015 release. Forecasting variations was previously done in a separate screen. This has now been bought into the main forecasting screens. The same consistent design is also used for the new Earnings forecasting screen. This is 2013 Union Square Software Ltd Page 5 of 20

6 a new feature aimed at larger practices where the focus on the measurement of earnings is a key KPI. See screenshot below:- Project administrators the screens for selecting external project and enquiry contacts have been refined to allow the adding of a contact and associated organisation to occur in single logical process. Prior to this users would have to enter a contact s organisation first which is not always straightforward if companies have multiple branch records. What Does It Do? New versions of the majority of the core Union Square pages have been created. These exist within a new web folder on the server that organises our individual pages into a more logical folder structure that will benefit support and development staff. We have implemented redirection rules so that the new pages are automatically displayed in preference to the old pages. However, old pages are still displayed if they have been customised. We have created an environment using Silverlight that supports new and old pages (bands and dashparts) coexisting when using Internet Explorer. Old pages are not displayed in other browsers and are replaced by a message explaining that IE is required to view the band or dashpart. All the new pages have been built with reference to a company-wide Design Guide. This sets out rules for the way pages should be constructed. For example, where buttons should be placed on a page, when Ribbons should be used in headers. As a result of this approach our 2013 Union Square Software Ltd Page 6 of 20

system appears much more consistent as you move around the various screens. This greatly aids discoverability and helps to reduce the training burden on our clients.

The use of the latest generation of Microsoft server technologies will allow the power of modern 64bit servers to be fully exploited.

7 system appears much more consistent as you move around the various screens. This greatly aids discoverability and helps to reduce the training burden on our clients. A number of changes have been made to improve the performance of the system. The use of the latest generation of Microsoft server technologies will allow the power of modern 64bit servers to be fully exploited. The adoption of modern browser standards, rather than the legacy Internet Explorer mode, will also have an impact as the browsers are optimised for this mode. The User Controls we have built have been designed to make further performance improvements, especially when large lists of data are being displayed. In this situation we have introduced the concept of virtualisation, where we only render the visible element of a list until the user adjusts their scroll position. A number of general changes in behaviour have been made in the software. These are described below:- Font We have changed the standard system font size across the system from 11 pixels Segoe to 13 pixels Open-sans. Although this has an obvious reduction in the amount of content that can be shown on a screen it greatly improves readability (many user were already using zoom features in IE) and helps when using touch devices. See comparison below:- Personal Zone\Dashparts A number of minor changes have been made to improve the Personal Zone. The add dashpart pop-up now features a search box to allow dashparts to be selected by name. This is helpful as we have a significant number of dashparts now and it can be hard to locate one in a long list. See screen shot below: Union Square Software Ltd Page 7 of 20

A snap-to-grid feature has been implemented when moving and resizing dashparts. This will streamline the process of setting up a dashboard for a user.

8 A snap-to-grid feature has been implemented when moving and resizing dashparts. This will streamline the process of setting up a dashboard for a user. Mandatory dashparts have been improved and now restrict users both from deleting them and saving them in their rolled-up state. See example mandatory Actions Dashpart header below, showing roll-up and delete removed:- Cosmetic improvements include the introduction of a grab border for resizing, Drop shadows are displayed when moving and Dashparts feature rounded corners. See screenshot below:- Pop-ups We have changed the way in which edit screens are launched from bands and dashparts. These now display within the page rather than loading a separate, browser window. This change has been requirement of accommodating other browsers but it also provides a much clearer metaphor to the user about the task in hand and avoids a proliferation of browser windows on the user s desktop. See screenshot below: Union Square Software Ltd Page 8 of 20

Form Validation We have adopted a common approach to validating data entry in our pages.

we have now introduced further ribbon displays within the system.

9 Form Validation We have adopted a common approach to validating data entry in our pages. Fields not passing the validation rules on a page are shown with a red border and an exclamation icon. The user can hover over this (or click on a touch device) to determine the entry requirement for the field. See screenshot below:- Ribbons In keeping with general trends in desktop software design we have now introduced further ribbon displays within the system. Ribbons improve discoverability as ribbon actions show text as well as icons. These are used in Union Square when we have a significant number of actions or fields in the header of a screen. See screen shot below: Union Square Software Ltd Page 9 of 20

When many actions or fields exist on a page these are split into tabs which each contain a ribbon. Where lists are shown in a ribbon a larger pop-up is also available.

10 When many actions or fields exist on a page these are split into tabs which each contain a ribbon. Where lists are shown in a ribbon a larger pop-up is also available. See screenshot below:- Advanced Search Screen The Advanced Search framework has been completely rebuilt with the objective of improving the usability of this important tool. Advanced searches are used throughout the system when we want to empower the user to search\report by a wide range of criteria and determine the output. The new search screens combine the criteria and output onto a single page and use pop-ups for output settings and saved searches, rather than the previous tabs. Criteria operators are now selected from a dropdown menu rather than cluttering the screen with quite technical looking fields. All the key actions have been moved to a Ribbon in keeping with our general design approach. The result is a far less technical looking tool offering better performance when displaying large lists. See screenshot below: Union Square Software Ltd Page 10 of 20

This then reduces the menu tabs and items according and allows users to rapidly find the function they need.

11 Activity Zone Search A simple but quite important new feature has been added to the Activity Zone. Menu items can now been filtered by typing text into a filter field. This then reduces the menu tabs and items according and allows users to rapidly find the function they need. See screenshot below:- Empty List Messages To improve clarity we have added messages into list when no records are returned. This is a minor change but helps the user quickly determine whether a list is still loading or is actually just empty. See screenshot below: Union Square Software Ltd Page 11 of 20

Disabled Reasons on Buttons Another minor usability feature incorporated in 2016 is the use of disabled reasons on buttons.

Icons A number of small changes have been made around iconography which improves the general look of the system.

See screenshot below:- Many of the icons used in the system have also been improved.

12 Disabled Reasons on Buttons Another minor usability feature incorporated in 2016 is the use of disabled reasons on buttons. This allows the user to quickly discover why a particular feature is not available to them. Icons A number of small changes have been made around iconography which improves the general look of the system. Links to entities are now always displayed in a consistent manner. Regardless of the page viewed, these now show with an identifying icon to the left of the name. See screenshot below:- Many of the icons used in the system have also been improved. Text Editor A new text editor, used in the creation pages, has been implemented in the system to replace the previous Silverlight tool which is not supported by browser other than Internet Explorer. This is now also used for editing the help content in the system. This offers basic text editing features such as font\size selection, number lists, bulleted list etc. See screenshot below: Union Square Software Ltd Page 12 of 20

Outlook Synchronisation Outlook contact synchronisation is currently initiated from within Union Square using techniques that are only available in Internet Explorer.

13 Outlook Synchronisation Outlook contact synchronisation is currently initiated from within Union Square using techniques that are only available in Internet Explorer. To overcome this limitation the synching process has been moved into the Outlook Add-in and now shows as a new button in the Union Square part of the Ribbon. See screen shot below. Users will be presented with periodic reminders to sync contacts using Outlook reminders Union Square Software Ltd Page 13 of 20

How will Clients get it? Upgrading to this release involves some additional steps over and above a typical Union Square upgrade. This is because the new version runs on a different technical platform.

14 How will Clients get it? Upgrading to this release involves some additional steps over and above a typical Union Square upgrade. This is because the new version runs on a different technical platform. The upgrade will involve running the standard upgrade tool and also using a specific utility to set-up the 2016 technical infrastructure. The enablement of the new technical environment is mandatory and clients cannot take this release and choose not to adopt the new technical platform Union Square Software Ltd Page 14 of 20

15 How are we preparing for the 2016 Release? Client Communications We will be sending a series of s to the client base to highlight the release date, ask for early adopters and communicate modules and features we are dropping support for. We will also highlight infrastructure requirements for this release. We have developed a video to accompany these s that will help communicate the changes to our users. Early Adopters Programme We will be running an early adopters programme during July, August and September. We will be asking clients to sign up for this programme in the communications mentioned above. Updating our Learning Zone videos We will be updating our learning zone to take account of the changes in the UI of the software. Internal Education We will be spending time with all departments educating staff on the changes in the new release. This will occur during the early adopter release date. Important facts about the 2016 Release Unconverted Pages We have a huge number of pages in our system and we have had to focus on areas that are most commonly in use across our user base. Items that are not converted to the new format will only be available on Internet Explorer. The areas that we will not convert for the 2016 release are: Union Square Software Ltd Page 15 of 20

16 Excluded Working Files and the Check in Check Out process Universal Viewing XML Forms DCS Issuing Document Lifecycle Manager Project Accounting Landing Pages Bulk Superseder\Bulk Revise Bulk Publisher Administration Pages Notes An alternative routine will be provided for publishing new documents and revising documents when working in other browsers. This will not feature a checkout process and will therefore only allow replace. Rasterex uses an OCX to render drawings. This is an IE only facility and will not be available on other browsers. Although we have done much of the work to complete this aspect of the project we have not been able to resource the completion of the works. This includes the Issue band and the Issue creation and process wizards. The main DLM screen will be available cross browser but most of the various processes launched from this screen, such as issue or create placeholder, will not be converted. Whilst most Project Accounting bands will be available cross browser, the following routines will not be converted to cross browser format:- Ledger connectors export screens Timesheets & Expenses Invoicing creation Purchasing Graphs & charts Internal cost entry Admin & setup pages Landing pages will not be converted to cross browser format. The functionality provided by this band is now provided by the Assign External Renditions feature in DLM (which will be converted in 2016). This band will not be supported from the 2016 release onwards. This tool allows files stored on the Union Square server in a standard windows share to be published into the system in bulk. This includes the following admin tools:- Admin console Document Exporter\archiver PDF Report writer System Usage analysis Document Stacker Template Fields Timesheet Administration Document Recycling Intray Management XML Form based admin screens 2013 Union Square Software Ltd Page 16 of 20

17 Vehicles and Assets module Skills and Training module Performance Ratings module Mail Vault Silverlight Charts Variations TAPI Excel Exports None of the pages or bands will be available cross browser. Advanced search screens in this area will be converted. None of the pages or bands will be available cross browser. Advanced search screens in this area will be converted. None of the pages or bands will be available cross browser. None of the pages or bands will be available cross browser. Silverlight charts are not supported on other browsers. The variations bands available outside the Project Accounting module will not be converted. This cannot be converted as it relies on ActiveX integration which is only available in IE. Many of the TAPI providers are now supporting more modern telephony commands in HTML. Simple excel exports from lists in Union Square will be available cross browser. More complex exports that allow formatting require the use of a component that will only be available in IE. Features Discontinued As we improve our software based on broad feedback from our user base we inevitably have to exclude certain options because they conflict with planned changes or are not deliverable technically. Here are the features we have removed in the 2016 release:- 1. Document Pool Help - The current document pool selection page of the check-in wizard has a right pane that can display textual content about the selected pool. This feature is not widely used and conflicts with our desire to allow pool and attribute selection on a single page. FAQ 2013 Union Square Software Ltd Page 17 of 20

18 What happens if a page is not converted? If a page is not converted it will not work in browsers other than Internet Explorer. Instead a message will be displayed where the content would be displayed. See screenshot of the old absence dashpart below from Chrome:- How can a custom page be changed to work cross browser? A custom page will need to be rebuilt using our new control set to work cross browser. The scale of work involved in this will depend on the heritage of the page. Pages built recently using our previous controls (created in 2012) should convert with modest effort as our new controls are similar in structure and capability. Older pages created using XSL techniques will require a total rewrite. Are the custom pages we are currently creating cross browser compatible? No. We have not released the new 2016 controls yet (this is part of the release) and so all custom pages currently being created are IE only. Pages created using our 2015 controls should be convertible to 2016 format with minimal effort. Pages created using other techniques e.g. XSL transforms, will have to be completely re developed. In preparation for the 2016 release we have already released a new set of general bands that require little change to run in 2016 format. What are the limitations on non PC devices? The cross browser user interface will be identical on all devices. No special Mobile Specifrc interface will be displayed on tablets or phones. Arguably we already have this with our Smartphone Access module. The pages 2016 pages will be somewhat challenging to use on Phones but acceptable on Tablets Union Square Software Ltd Page 18 of 20

19 Can we now offer Union Square to organisations running on Apple Macs? Currently no. Although we will have a significant number of our pages running on Safari by 2016 we will still have some major gaps. This, together with the lack of publishing support (as the Outlook Add-in is a PC only application), means it is not yet suitable for a pure Mac based organisation Union Square Software Ltd Page 19 of 20

Union Square Release Notes. August 2016

Union Square Release Notes. August 2016 Union Square Release Notes August 2016 2016 Union Square Release Notes Companion Documents Release Notes 2007-2009 Release Notes 2010-2011 Release Notes 2012-2013 Release Notes 2014 Release Notes 2015