Recently, VivifyScrum.com has released the new version of their scrum and kanban tool. The new version has been improved, and here is what we did.
New technology stack
Backend framework – Laravel 5
Laravel 4 is replaced by Laravel 5. LTS release, improved application structure and various new Laravel features that have been added are just some of the most important reasons for this change. Also, the switch to PHP v7 has been made during this process.
Frontend Framework
The first version of VivifyScrum was written in Angular1 and it is now replaced with Vue.js. There are a number of reasons why we chose Vue.js, but the most important one is performance. We did research using all popular frameworks (Angular2, React, Meteor, Ember…), but none of them could compete with Vue.js when it came to performance. This, of course, applies to this particular project, which is specific because we have the same complex HTML snippet (item), with a lot of functionalities and two-way bindings, that is repeated hundreds or thousands of times on the same page.
The other reasons to choose Vue.js are AOT compiling out of the box, it’s simplicity which enables developers to write shorter and simpler code, and rising popularity and components pool.
Database – MariaDB
Instead of MySQL, MariaDB is used. It is more open, quicker, and has better performance when compared to MySQL.
Indexing – Elasticsearch
When it comes to indexing database, Elasticsearch is used due to its fast, incisive search against large volumes of data. While the Elasticsearch was also used in version 1., all related libraries are upgraded to the latest stable versions and the whole indexing process is improved.
Socket Communication
For making application work realtime, websocket server written in Node.js is used. This system is inherited from version 1. PHP application communicates with Node.js app when new action appears. Node.js app is responsible for preparing and broadcasting the messages as well for maintaining socket communication.
What is new in VivifyScrum v2
Better performance
The choice of great technologies resulted in a much better performance and increased speed. Users that work with large projects and need greater speed will definitely notice this.
Title shortcut #
By typing a shortcut # users can assign tasks, add labels, set item types, etc. There is no need to move hands away from keyboard and users can save their fingers for coding.
Perform actions in bulk
VivifyScrum v2 has a possibility now to perform the same action on several items at the same time and there is no longer need to do everything separately. Users can select multiple tasks and assign the same label, assignee, etc. with just one action.
Move multiple items between boards
Nowadays, it is quite common that there are two or more teams that work on the same project. For example, there is a design team and a development team working on separate boards. When the design team completes their task, they can transfer the whole task to developers’ board so they can work on their part. There is a functionality of moving items between boards that makes this possible in VivifyScrum v2.
Perform various actions directly on the card
Users are able to comment tasks, add files or subtasks directly on the card. This feature cuts down one unnecessary step of opening the whole task to perform the easy action.
Rich title
The option of putting a clickable link in the title is now available. In addition to this, users can add lists as well in the title if it suits their needs.
New estimations – ROI
In v1, there were two estimation fields: the item value and the item effort (points). These two still exist in v2, but they are also combined, and ROI (Return on investment) is calculated. This can be helpful especially for Product Owners when deciding what items with great value have justified the effort.
Layout and design
Easier navigation and a faster way of doing your work are just some of the biggest changes implemented regarding layout and design.
Improved search
Search got smarter! Users can search through one or all projects they are working on. As it was mentioned above, Elasticsearch is used, which allows users to store, search and analyze big volumes of data quickly, which makes results much more accurate and precise.
Improved external integrations
Activation and deactivation of external integrations can be done in a much simpler way. GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Travis – are just a few of the integrations available.
Improved task relations
Sometimes, a task has to be divided into smaller subtasks to complete it easily. If this happens, VivifyScrum v2 enables users to quickly create subtasks in that task.
Find out more about VivifyScrum and how you can easily implement Scrum in your organization by checking out our website.
Many thanks to VivifyScrum for sponsoring Laravel News this week.
