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MetaQuest ships Census 97
- New Defect Tracking System’s 32-bit architecture enables database replication, extended customization capabilities and enhanced performance
- MS Access-based Census supports Windows 95 and Windows NT
MONTREAL, Canada,
February 24, 1998 -- MetaQuest Software, Inc.
today announced that Census 97 - its new generation
defect tracking system for the Microsoft Windows 95 and
Windows NT environments – is now shipping. Built
using Microsoft Corporation’s Access 97, Census
offers a unique combination of powerful customization
capabilities and unparalleled ease-of use features. An
open, 32-bit architecture provides enhanced performance
and extended customization capabilities, as well as
database replication, which enables multiple sites to
share defect data and mobile users to work off-line.
Census 97 is available from MetaQuest directly;
commercial and evaluation versions may be downloaded from
the MetaQuest web site at www.metaq.com for more details.
Quantity-one list price is set at US$250 per concurrent
use license. Volume discounts apply. Distributor
inquiries welcome.
Census 97 is a major new release
of MetaQuest’s previous defect tracking system,
Census 2.0, which was based on Microsoft’s Access
2.0. The new version takes advantage of Access 97 to
provide a complete, professional development environment
in which users can easily extend and build on the Census
foundation. "Census 97 offers an extremely rich
feature set," said Ralph Akhras, president of
MetaQuest. "It is the only defect tracking system
built on Microsoft Access. Users can take advantage of
all the development tools Access provides to quickly and
easily perform powerful customizations. In addition,
Census includes comprehensive online documentation,
specialized editors and other ease-of-use features that
save customers valuable time and effort. No other defect
tracking system offers this level of strength and
flexibility."
Key Features and Benefits
Open Architecture
Census 97’s open architecture provides the
flexibility to tailor the product to suit specific,
individual needs. The architecture permits users to
complement Census by integrating a variety of "best
of breed", third-party products or custom in-house
applications. Virtually every facet of the defect
tracking system can be customized. Source code to perform
these operations is included and is fully documented.
Power Customizations
Power Customizations allow users to modify, enhance and
extend Census beyond the capabilities of any other defect
tracking system. Users can:
- perform
elaborate modifications to the Defect Record
(defect-related fields);
- add pop-up
editors to defect-related fields to facilitate
data entry;
- add
calculated fields;
- define
dependencies between defect-related fields;
- add custom
editors to the menu bar; and much more!
Ease of Use
- an
intuitive user interface together with
comprehensive online documentation make Census
one of the easiest to use tools on the market.
Included are a tutorial, a user guide complete
with tips on defect tracking, extensive Help, and
a Beyond the Basics guide that provides in-depth
coverage of the Power Customization
functionality.
- Predefined
styles tailored for defect tracking significantly
reduce set-up time and get users working
immediately.
- Administrators
can tailor Census for novice users by limiting
access to only the basic features needed. As a
user’s knowledge and familiarity with the
product increases, additional functionality may
be exposed quickly and easily.
- Defect
profiles may be used to quickly propagate common
values to new defect records. Users may also
create new records by duplicating an existing
one--a valuable time saving feature.
Robust Functionality
- Email
Notification--of important changes to the
defect database are automatically sent to
appropriate team members. Examples might include
the reassignment of a defect,changes in the
priority of a defect, or that open defects have
exceeded a certain threshold.
- Predefined
Textual and Graphical Reports--enable users
to track the statistics needed for a smooth
quality assurance process, such as defect arrival
rates, fix rates, number of open defects, which
resources have submitted the most defects, etc.
Custom reports may be built using Access and
imported into Census.
- Simple
Query Editor--allows users to perform adhoc
queries quickly and easily.
- Specialized
Editors-- for sorts, layouts and reports
enable users to create new styles that may also
be shared among team members.
- Revision
History--tracks all changes to any
defect-related field, reporting details such as
who made the change, when and why.
- Import
function--makes it easy to copy existing
defect databases into Census.
- Template
Editor--provides out-of-the-box customization
for organization-specific needs, such as setting
choice values (e.g., product, version), renaming
or adding defect-related fields, etc.
Note: A Microsoft
Access license is not required to run Census; the product
makes use of the Access runtime executable. An Access
license is needed only in cases where Power
Customizations functionality is required.
Motherhood
MetaQuest Software, Inc. develops and markets solutions
for software development and technical support. Its
flagship product, Census, is a defect tracking system for
the Microsoft Windows environment. Census is targeted at
software development organizations that require the
flexibility to customize tools to meet their unique
development needs. MetaQuest’s next generation
technology will provide an open, innovative solution for
software vendors to reduce the prohibitive costs
associated with technical support.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT
and Access are either trademarks or registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or
other countries. All other company or product names
mentioned are the trade or service marks of their
respective owners.
For More
Information Contact:
MetaQuest Software Inc.
416 de Maisonneuve West, Suite 401, Montreal, Quebec H3A
1L2
Tel: 514-341-9113
FAX: 514-341-4757
Internet: info@metaquest.com
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