In this release of the BusinessOptix platform, we have refined the Author experience and reduced the time between models being saved and the information is available in dashboards and reports We have also resolved some issues identified through customer queries and on-going testing.

Author

Linking

We've always had a variety of ways to add links between steps in a process or diagram. In this release, we're adding another way. You are now able to drag a link from one shape to another in author.

When you hover over a shape you will see the connection points available, click on a connection point and drag the link to the shape you want to connect to. 

Changes to Author Experience

We've made a few other improvements in the authoring experience.

When you open Author on a lower resolution screen (1366px wide or less) we've changed the default behavior to hide model and property menus and put the diagram into focus for exploration and editing. The left side model information and right-hand side component information trays are collapsed, but they can be easily expanded by clicking on the arrow at the top.

And when the component information tray is collapsed you can just click on a shape on the diagram and it will open automatically. 

In libraries with a lot of master data for example Roles or Systems, we've improved the ability to change your previous selection. Your current selections now appear at the top of the list. We've also made it easier to distinguish between resources selected from Master Data and those that are set-up as Model Resources.

The left-hand side model information has been simplified by removing the Index tray. We've also tidied up the search results so that they are less cluttered when the component name is the target of the search.

We've also made a change to Author to hide components that aren't used in a particular model. A good example is Process Scenarios. When it's enabled in a library, it may not be configured across all your process models. The detailed scenario components such as volume and resource will now only be shown when you have created a Scenario for the model.[Immediately available in all libraries, Process Scenario requires library refresh]

Saving Models

When an author saves a model we perform various processes within the system, this includes running all the verification checks and saving the model to your library database. With authors creating ever more complex business models in BusinessOptix we've improved our system processes to reduce the time between the model being saved and the data is updated on the database.

This does not affect the data being saved to the database and requires no change from an author. The first time the model is saved in a library it will take about the same time as it does currently to update the database whilst we determine what has changed in the model. Saves thereafter will be quicker, as we'll only update the database for the parts of the model you've edited. How quickly will depend on model complexity and the number of edits being saved.

[Immediately available in all libraries]

Saving Models - Part II

After analyzing many models we have identified that there can often be a lot of properties that are left blank by an author. Whilst we encourage you to fill in all model properties, we also recognize that sometimes that doesn't fit with the needs of different parts of your business. The absence of this information is often of little benefit in a dashboard or report.

Being mindful of the custom reporting and number of dashboards in use across all libraries, this will be a phased roll-out. Please consult with Customer Support about enabling this in your library.

[Phased rollout, contact Customer Support ]

Removal of Version 6 Output Styles

Output styles earlier than Version 6.1 can no longer be selected for viewing models by authors. If an existing model uses an old-style it will now be displayed using the default output for the model type. This is a pre-cursor to removing some of our older technology, which hasn't been used on outputs from V6.5 onwards.

[Immediately available in all libraries]

Dashboards

When a table is used to show lots of data (rows or columns) it could be slow to load. To improve the viewer experience we've made a change so that data is only loaded as it's required. Initially, only the first 1,000 rows of data will be shown.

If you have a SQL Data Source that uses an ORDER BY the table will not load correctly. Please review the data source.

Additional Changes

• In the library when you are browsing through files we show you a preview for images, we now include SVG files in the preview
• When you export a BusinessOptix process to Visio the generated file includes lanes that were too long. This has been corrected. 
• In a process model, when setting the future state of activity to modified the metrics capture was not laid out in the same format as for the current state. They have been made consistent  [Requires Library Refresh]
• When a discussion thread is marked as resolved the notification email didn't include a link to the component. This has been added.
• In Author, with a larger model there was a combination of scrolling and clicking on the table of contents and component properties that led to the toolbar being hidden and required Author to be reloaded. This has been corrected so that the toolbar does not get hidden.
• When creating a Component-based data source it wasn't possible to select the Component name. This has been corrected.
• If you are using a Diagram to act as the home page of your library, you can now turn off clicking on the background.  [Requires Library Refresh]
• Author uploading HTML to a library now requires Customer Support enablement.