StarTeam System Development

 

StarTeam is a life cycle management tool that allows program managers and system developers the ability to collaborate on projects and track change management.  This system was developed by a company named  Starbase Corporation, which then was bought by Borland in January 2003.  StarTeam now belongs to MircoFocus which is known to build, operate and secure enterprise software.  In order for this system to work on your computer and operating system, you are required to have certain Hardware and Software requirements.  Even though StarTeam is the system of choice for the Air Force Life Cycle Operations Agency, StarTeam does have a competitive advantage to other systems that our currently on the market today.  StarTeam is a great life cycle management system that does the job, however I do believe if I was able to make a few system enhancement recommendations, it will be a robust and better system that will be beneficial to our workplace and users.

Server-Side Hardware Requirements

StarTeam system works only on two different server-side hardwares.  It currently uses a Windows Server with either a 32-bit or a 64-bit computer processor.  With a 32-bit computer processor it must have a minimum 32-bit dual-core system with at least four gigabytes of memory.  With a 64-bit computer processor it must of a minimum 64-bit quad-core sytem with at least four to eight gigabytes of memory.

Server-Side Software Requirements

The server-side software requirements for the StarTeam informations system are currently used on a multitude of operating systems.  StarTeam system currently works with the Mircosoft Windows Server, Red Hat Enertpirse Linux, and SUSE Linux operating systems.  The only Microsoft Windows Server versions StarTeam is compatible with is the 2012 and 2008 versions.  For the 2012 version, it only works on the 64-bit computer processor, and on the 2008 version, it works on either the 32-bit or 64-bit processor.  This information system also works on two Linux operating systems for those who uses a Linux Operating system platform.  Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform delivers a military grade-security with a 99.999% uptime, the only versions that is compatible with StarTeam are the 6.7 in either 32-bit or 64-bit operating system and/or the 5.5 version only in a 32-bit processor.  The other Linux plateform that is compatible with StarTeam is SUSE Linux 11.3 and 11.4 Enterprise Desktop in either the 32-bit or 64-bit system processor.  SUSE Linux is an affordable environment that currently is coexistent with Windows, Mac, Unix and other operating systems.

Client-Side Hardware Requirements

StarTeam is used and has been tested on both laptops and desktops computer hardware, that as at least a minumum 32-bit dual core operating system with a minimum of two gigabytes of memory. The hardware must have 200 migabytes to install the application with an adequate disk space required for all your files that you would work on a daily basis. Like with all other products the amount of disk space will differ depending on how much you use the product.  Currently at our workplace we currently use it on either a laptop or desktop computer hardware system. StarTeam is also compatible on some MAC computer models as well. It can be used on a MacBook with the early 2015 model, late 2008 aluminum, early 2009 or newer model.  It also works on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.  The MacBook Pro must be the mid to late 2007 or newer model and the MacBook Air must be the late 2008 or newer model.  It also works on the Mac Mini, Imac and Mac Pro just to name a few a few others. Just for your information StartTeam support is only for the physical Apple Computers only, and the OS X Virtual Machines are not supported by StarTeam information system.

Client-Side Software Requirements

The StarTeam information system client-side software we currrently use at our workplace is the StarTeam Cross-Platform Client System.  The Star-Team Cross-Platform Client System uses Java and can be used on a Operating System that can support the Java Runtime Enviromment (JRE) 1.8.0_102 version.  This Cross-Platform Client has been used and tested on the certain softwares.  The Operating System the StarTeam Cross-Platform Client is compatible with is the Mircorsoft Windows 10, 8, 7, XP Professional SP3, and Windows Vista SP1 in either 32-bit or 64-bit processor.  StarTeam Cross-Platform Client System is also compatible with other operating systems like the Solaris Sparc 10, RedHat Enterprise Linux 6, Ubuntu 14.04, SUSE 11.3 and the El Capitan, Yosemite on the Mac OS.  The Client System also needs an Adobe Acrobat software in order to view any PDF manuals or files.  Also, if any online help is needed you must use an Internet Explorer 8 or later for Microsoft Windows only or Firefox 4 later browser.  In order for the StarTeam to work at its optimal performance it is recommended that the StarTeam Server be on a its on dedicated application server unless your workplace is using a supported version of Microsoft SQL Server Express as their database.

Competitive Analysis of the System

The StarTeam application lifecycle management software has a whole lot of competitors on the market today.  There are numerous lifecyle management application software that offers a whole lot of features compared to StarTeam.  In order for StarTeam to stay competitive against its other software rivals, MicroFocus has made an ideal application lifecycle management software that can be used and implemented easily by any type of development team or enterpise.  How StarTeam stays on top is MicroFocus has developed a feature that allows users to post system suggestions to request enhancements and imporovements to its system.  StarTeam is also an on-line tool that can be accessible from anywhere through any compatible device, which makes it easy for users to collaborate on projects and track change management at anytime. MicroFocus is also known for their security, high performance and stability.  They have created an application lifecycle management software application that can easlily be run.  It is also so lightweight that it can be integrated with a multitude of tools that you may be already be using.  StarTeam also stays competitive by always upgrading and doing server imporvements to its software. This is an important step when competing against rivals.  Knowing what the customers wants and needs can always make your system better than others that are comparable to StarTeam.  Another advantage StarTeam has from other systems and rivals, is their customer service team.  Having an excellent customer service team that knows their product and responses with little or no wait time can make or break a system and company. StarTeam is a system known for its stability, ease of use to the users, performance and its software pricing.  Like with any system out there StarTeam can use some system enhancements that I believe can imporve the users experience.

Recommendations for Improving the System

Informations systems can always be enhanced and made better, that stays true to StarTeam as well.  The one recommendation I have for StarTeam is the ability to notify you by email whenever there is a change in status with the requirement.  This will allow my team to keep track of our requirements on where it is in the system life cycle, instead of logging into the system to check. At this time StarTeam only sends email notification to the point of contact when a project is awaiting their coordination. I believe if the system was enhanced to allow an email notification to be sent anytime there was a change in status, it will allow the user to save time from not loggin into the system. The second recommendation I would like to improve to StarTeam is to have StarTeam  be a web-base system instead of connecting through a client server.  StarTeam currently uses a server which currently takes about 1-3 minutes to open one requirement.  I believe if StarTeam was a web-base system, I’m hoping it will decrease the wait time it takes to open a requirement. This is a a great deal when making changes to multiple projects at the same time. The last recommendation I would improve is the ability to link all change requirements that have dependencies with each other.  This will help the requirement manager to capture all the change requests that have to be developed together, instead of opening each one separately. Altough these changes may not be useful to the developer and analyst process, but I think these recommendations would be a huge benefit to the requirement manager user’s experience for tracking all requirements and doing their job as a whole.

Conclusion

StarTeam is a life cycle management tool that allows program managers and system developers the ability to collaborate on projects and track change management. I’ve discussed what hardware and software requirements a user must have in order to use the StarTeam Application Life Cycle Management software.  StarTeam is a great system the Air Force Life Cycle Operations Agency uses for keeping track of the development and enhancement to an Air Force System, but I know that the enhancements I’ve discussed, like it being a web-base system vs a client server, and having all requirement dependencies link together instead of it just stating the requirement number can be beneficial to my workplace as well its user. StarTeam does have a competitive advantage to other systems that our currently on the market today by Micro Focus’ outstanding customer service as well has developing a feature that allows users to recommend system enhancements and improvements to their system.  StarTeam is great but with every system out there , there is always room for improvement.

References

Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.microfocus.com/products/change-management/starteam/system-requirements/

Megherbi, M. (n.d.). StarTeam Reviews (1 Review) – StarTeam Community Feedback Score: 4.00 – Mar 2017. Retrieved from

Borland StarTeam Installation Guide.(2013). Costa Mesa, CA: Micro Focus