iRise Online by OneSpring

Thoughts on 5.1

It has been about a month now since iRise 5.1 was released and I have had the opportunity to get some hands on experience at a client of ours.  The release includes a multitude of enhancements and bug fixes but most importantly introduces iRise Manager.  iRise Manager is a separate installation and is the next generation of the old iRise Online other wise known as the requirements management portion of the iRise platform.  If your company is debating the migration I would highly recommend doing so, not only is the Manager a more sophisticated requirements management tool than the old Online but the small less publicized Studio and Reader enhancements are worth the migration alone.  One new feature I particularly like is the improved feedback and notes capability within the reader.  A viewer can now leave notes by selecting an icon then tagging within the simulation where they would like to comment.  The viewer can then send the iDoc file back the owner and the owner can import all comments. 

iRise 5 and existing .imf files

I have received a couple of emails lately pertaining to the .imf files found here on the site and how to import then into iRise 5.  As of now I have not found a way to import these into iRise 5, it may be possible to import an .amf file but I currently do not have access to any 3.1.x .amf files to test. 

iRise 5 Series: Part 1: Introduction

This is the first of many posts in a series about the new release of iRise, version 5.0.  I installed both Studio (which includes Reader) and Server today.  I did have a small bump (with the Studio Installer) which seems to be isolated with one of my laptops, the installer consistently requested that I reboot prior to installing, so I simply installed on another machine and copied over the necessary files. 

Once installed it is very apparent that iRise has spent a great deal of time on the chrome or look and feel, this version appears much more polished than prior versions. Everything from the start-up screen (figure 1) to the iconography to the Flash welcome/tutorial gives iRise 5 the sense of a mature product.   

Figure 1.

It’s nice to see the user centered approach the product team has taken with the new Welcome Screen (figure 2).  Notice how they ask who you are.  New to iRise?  Or Existing iRise User? 

Figure 2.

Selecting “New to iRise?” you’re given a high-level introduction to Studio, Server, iDoc and the Simulation Browser. By selecting “Existing iRise User?” the tour provides an overview of the new features and changes to the existing features.

Another noticeable improvement in this version in the increased amount of product support, the support includes tours, core concepts (Figure 3), creating your first simulation and a robust help system.


Figure 3.

Over the next several weeks I'll provide an in-depth study into the core concepts of this new and exciting update.  Stay tuned for Part 2:  A look at the new look and feel of version 5.