On November 16th, the QualiPSo Project has released the first version of its factory.
        The problems of current forges are mainly due to high coupling between components. Our approach is to apply Service Oriented Architecture [SOA] principles to the forge design to reduce maintenance costs and improve forge evolution.

        The QualiPSo Factory proposes an open service oriented integration framework with well-defined interfaces between the components which facilitate integration of further services and integration with the corporate information system. It does not only display the projects, but also proposes tools for information exchange since the existence of distributed teams lead to a significant need for image associated with the project especially to reinforce the feeling of being involved in a group. The Factory offers services combining both development and information sharing aspects.

        This first release includes the following tools: Forum, VoIP, calendar, version control system, issue tracker, document management and skills management.

        Core services such as notification, security, search, indexation, etc are factorized in a middle layer to abstract them from the tools. This release implements access control, binding, projects management, groups and user profiles management.

        The user interface provided with the QualiPSo Factory is based on a mashup platform.
The QualiPSo Factory addresses needs for advance collaborative infrastructure in IT industry providing the necessary environment and tools to support collaborative development, as well as, facilitating the adoption of open source components.

        Software development can no longer be conceived without monitoring of the documentation, management of the IPR, of the testing process, and the project community life. Handling properly such factors contributes towards increasing the trustworthiness in the resulting software.
The clear advantage of the Factory is the complete solution provided, starting from pure development support, to general collaboration and communication, in single and secured virtual workspaces.

        Users at large will benefit from the advance quality and trust-level of the developed software.
The QualiPSo Factory is distributed under the LGPL License. Regular releases will be produced. Source code can be downloaded here anytime