Archive for the ‘Company’ Category

Contour 2.9.5 is here. See the new features to help you control scope and manage change.

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

The key enhancements in Contour 2.9.5 are designed to help teams stay connected while effectively controlling scope, managing changes and tracking approvals.

New features include:

  • Baselines – The most flexible baselining feature available on the market
  • Electronic Signatures – Capture approvals to help with compliance standards
  • Change Requests – Track versions of items within change requests
  • Inline Editing – Quickly edit items from a single view to save time
  • Permissions – Enhanced management of users, groups & permissions

See what’s new and watch the videos on the new features >

Special thanks to our growing customer community for all your great insights, you drive our product roadmap. Let’s build great products!

Connect your requirements with UML models using the new Jama Connector for Enterprise Architect.

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Introducing the new Jama Connector for Enterprise Architect.

With this integration, you can automate the process of importing your requirements, use cases, test cases and other items from Jama Contour into Sparx System’s popular modeling application, Enterprise Architect.  Connect these two leading tools to keep your business analysts and engineering team connected at all times on the latest requirements. Simple integration. Major time-saver.  Gain end-to-end traceability.

See the Jama Connector for EA in action, watch the video >

Integrations speak to a larger trend in product development.

A growing number of companies are taking a best-of-breed approach to the software tool sets they use to help them plan, develop and test the products and software applications they’re building.  The days of the massively expensive and heavyweight ALM/PLM suites are in question. The suites require big money, long learning curves, heavy IT administration – and ultimately get rejected by users and deliver questionable value back to the business.

Alternatively, a new breed of lightweight applications that offer the same power of the traditional tools, without all the headaches have emerged and are growing rapidly.  Contour is a great example of this within the requirements management category – even within industries such as aerospace, government and medical devices that historically were deeply entrenched in traditional tools from IBM/Telelogic.  The movement toward more open, collaborative and agile ways of working is driving the need for easy, flexible and Web-based tools.  Read the recent article on how to transition from small to big in aerospace for an independent perspective of this trend.

Built on open standards, Contour is integration-ready.  Currently, we offer out-of-the-box integrations with  JIRA, Jive SBS and Enterprise Architect.  We will continue to add new integrations based on the requests we get from customers.  Let us know which integrations you’d like to see next.  Let’s build great products!

Unleash the power of your online communities with Jama and Jive to innovate faster.

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Jama Software announces the Jama Connector for Jive SBS, a seamless integration between two leading enterprise Web applications used by global organizations to automate the innovation process and take action on great ideas.

Portland, OR (PRWEB) February 17, 2010 — Jama Software, the leading provider of Web-based requirements management software used for managing product innovation, announces the availability of the Jama Connector for Jive SBS.

Jama Connector for Jive SBS

An integrated platform for social product development.

Jama Contour and Jive SBS are complimentary solutions used together to manage the innovation process more effectively, creating a powerful, integrated platform for social product development.

With this unique integration, organizations using Jive SBS for their public and employee communities can now seamlessly push ideas discussed in their communities directly into Jama Contour. Then, they can use Contour to execute on the ideas and manage them through the full product planning and development lifecycle.

“This integration with Jama provides Jive SBS customers more options to capitalize on the ideas being discussed within their Jive communities,” said Ben Kiker, CMO of Jive Software, “By bringing ideation and execution together, companies can ensure the end products they build satisfy the needs of their customers.”

Automate the process. Never lose a great idea again.

Product teams can waste hundreds of hours trying to gather ideas and communicate product plans manually using static documents and email. It’s a nightmare. As more organizations implement social strategies that encourage their customers, partners and employees to participate in the product development process, this “death by documents” problem only magnifies. With the integration of Jive and Jama, organizations can now automate the innovation process and ensure they never lose great ideas. In addition, using Contour, they can capitalize immediately on the specific product features and enhancements their customers want most, ensuring the end products they build deliver real value to their customers.

An idea is worth $0 until you take action. This integrated solution provides a better way to convert great ideas into great products.

Taking open innovation from concept to reality.

“The concept of giving customers a greater voice in the innovation process has been a desirable strategy for years,” said Eric Winquist, co-founder and CEO of Jama Software, “However, historically it was a very manual and document-centric process to implement successfully. The joint solution of Jive + Jama makes the concept of open innovation a reality and automates the data flow within the process, providing greater visibility, control and collaboration for global organizations.”

Key benefits of the integrated solution of Jama Contour and Jive SBS:
- Capture the voice of customers
- Never lose a great idea again
- Automate the innovation process
- Turn ideas into action
- Deliver the right products faster
- Build customer loyalty

Learn more: http://www.jamasoftware.com/jive

Availability
The Jama Connector for Jive SBS is available immediately as an integration add-on to Jama Contour. It is sold as a separate enterprise license with unlimited users and projects, and includes support and maintenance. The Connector requires Jive SBS 4.0 or higher and is compatible with the latest version of Contour 2.9 and higher. A free, full functioning trial of Contour 2.9 along with the Jama Connector for Jive SBS is available upon request:

About Jama Software
At Jama, our mission is to help companies build great products. We’re collaborating with innovative companies across industries, from agile startups to the world’s largest organizations to design new ways to smash information silos, speed innovation and build high quality products. Jama Contour, the leading Web-based solution for social product development and requirements management, is now trusted by thousands of users worldwide managing billions in R&D projects. For more information, Contour videos, Jama customer stories and a free trial, visit http://www.jamasoftware.com

About Jive Software
Jive frees people to engage in open, natural business conversations and workflows that typically are trapped inside of emails, phone calls or meetings. As the leading enterprise-class suite of SBS applications for Global 2000 companies and governments, Jive combines social networking software, collaboration software, and community software into the first solution to effectively manage employees, customers, and partners on a unified platform built for tens of thousands of users and millions of page views.

Media Contact:
John Simpson
Director of Customer Outreach & Marketing
Jama Software
(503) 740-8591
jsimpson (at) jamasoftware.com

Let’s help Haiti recover – an inspiring story from local friends and their son.

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

We normally focus this blog on the business of product innovation and requirements management, but at certain times when the world stops because tragedy strikes, as in the recent earthquake in Haiti, it’s important we do what we can to help.

A close friend and legal advisor to Jama, Bill Pierznik and his wife, have an adopted son from Haiti, and they are co-founders of the Mangrove Fund that provides 100% of its funds to aiding organizations on the ground within Haiti.  In the wake of the recent earthquake, they are focused on helping an orphanage in Port-au-Prince that collapsed.  As an inspiring story, their son Richelor, who is only 4, recently started a coin drive at his school to do his part.  Here’s the front-page story in the Oregonian.  They hope to raise $100,000 through the Mangrove Fund.

We’re humbled and in awe of the generosity and effort that others are providing and are proud to donate what we can.  We know times are tough economically for many, but we encourage everyone to help with what they can.  Every little bit counts.

To donate, go to: http://www.mangrovefund.org
Thanks!

Requirements management meets Agile development – best of both worlds.

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Want to adopt more lightweight agile methods for software development?  But you can’t throw the book out and go pure Agile, because your company needs to maintain proper requirements management practices for product planning, requirements traceability, requirements specification documents and tight change control.  No worries.  The JIRA Connector for Contour brings these two worlds together, by connecting business teams responsible for product requirements and planning with development teams responsible for implementation.

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The JIRA Connector for Contour has been selected as Atlassian’s Plugin of the Month for December.  Join Frank Charron, Jama’s development manager, and watch the recorded webinar on how to succeed with proper requirements management on the product planning side of the house, while providing the developers and QA testers the freedom to work within JIRA for agile project management, tasks and defect tracking.

This hybrid approach is proving to be very successful for many organizations, especially those in industries such as medical devices and aerospace where requirements management is critical to meeting compliance standards.

Watch the webinar on Atlassian TV >

My first week at Jama Software – an internship opportunity with real impact.

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Jama recently welcomed a few new members to the team including Jason, an intern in the development and support team.  Jason isn’t your average intern, he came to Jama with years of real-world experience from Autodesk, a degree in computer science and the desire to make a career change to help us shape the Jama internship program into something more meaningful than the average internship. I asked Jason to provide his perspective on his first week.

When looking for an Engineering internship, I had a couple of simple objectives.  I wanted to learn as much as possible every day and I wanted an environment where I could make tangible contributions that make an impact.  While those requests seemed modest enough, I knew that all too often internships didn’t provide either.   I had heard way too many stories about internships where the interns repeat the same tasks every day, never getting a feel for how the company operates outside of the intern’s niche role and responsibilities.  Or worse yet, the internship is full of minor odd jobs such that when the internship is over, the intern can’t point to any one major accomplishment for which they will be remembered.

Heading into my internship at Jama, though, I knew this one was going to be different.  In my role, I was going to be involved in multiple aspects of the company and I was going to have the opportunity to make a significant contribution with everything that I did.  My first week did not disappoint.  The good people at Jama made it clear that the work I would be doing would be a valuable experience for me and an important contribution to the company.  They also made the point that they would provide the flexibility to let me blaze my own career trail and find the areas where I could contribute most.  You would expect little redeeming work to come out of a first week.  But, in my first week, I dabbled in a little of everything, from testing the Contour requirements management product, to learning the software development environment and exploring the product architecture, to responding to customer support requests, and even sharing ideas about marketing and customer outreach.

While getting a well rounded experience and making valuable contributions are my biggest goals, there is more to like about Jama.  Like the office environment, where there is clearly an open, positive atmosphere.  There isn’t a hint of company politics to be found and everyone seems to have a customer focus and a passion for product innovation and designing Contour to be a great app.  And, of course, the downtown location and the food cart access it provides.  At my last job, I ate lunch from the same chain restaurants every day.  Now, I have a world to choose from…literally.  While the internship may not send me around the world, I’ve already experienced Thailand, Vietnam, Poland and Slovenia through the infamous Portland food cart cuisine.

Jama is growing fast and is hiring additional interns and full-time employees, visit our Careers page to see current job openings.  Join us.  Let’s build great products.

Jama Software announces partnership with ArchitectGroup to serve innovation-driven businesses in South Korea.

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Portland, Oregon (PRWeb) October 15, 2009 — Jama Software, the provider of requirements management software used for managing product innovation, today announced a global alliance partnership with ArchitectGroup, a leading consulting provider of IT services and business solutions in South Korea.

As the newest member of Jama’s growing community of worldwide partners and customers, ArchitectGroup will provide marketing, sales and support services to companies in South Korea interested in Jama’s leading requirements management software, Jama Contour.

“Our aim is to help our customers develop great products and IT solutions through the adoption of modern Web-based technology like Contour, “said Minsu Cho, CEO of ArchitectGroup, “Our collaboration with Jama allows us to deliver the best requirements management solution in the market to businesses in our region as they seek to ensure that the critical software, IT systems and products they develop are built to specification and truly meet the needs of their customers.”

“We’re excited by the growth and demand we’re seeking worldwide,” said Eric Winquist, CEO of Jama Software, “Our partnership with ArchitectGroup allows us to effectively serve organizations in South Korea and across Asia as they seek to innovate faster and develop high quality products and solutions using Contour.”

About Jama Contour

Contour is a powerful, Web-based application that global teams use for requirements management, release planning, requirements traceability and product specification documents.  Jama’s collaborative solution empowers product development organizations to capture, connect, control and collaborate on critical product ideas, plans and requirements like never before.  Thousands of users worldwide managing billions in R&D projects now rely on Contour to:

  • Accelerate development cycles and time to market by 50%
  • Ensure compliance and improve product quality by 2x
  • Increase customer satisfaction by ensuring products meet the desires of customers
  • Improve visibility into the development process for everyone
  • Keep the entire team connected and in sync with the needs of customers
  • Avoid costly scope creep to increase project success rates

Learn more about the partnership: Jama Korea
See Contour in action:  Contour Videos and Screenshots
Request a free trial:  Try Contour risk-free

About ArchitectGroup

ArchitectGroup, Inc. is one of the leading consulting providers of IT services and business solutions in South Korea.  They serve clients across diverse industries including telecommunications, banking, insurance and semiconductors for major companies such as Samsung, GM, KT, Daewoo and LG.  Their vision is to achieve global IT services leadership in providing value-added high quality solutions to clients by combining technical skills, domain expertise, process focus and a commitment to long-term client relationships.  For more information, visit http://www.arctgroup.com

About Jama Software

Our team at Jama is working to provide solutions that make it easier to implement a social product development platform.  We’re collaborating with companies across industries, from agile startups to some of the world’s largest organizations to design new ways to smash information silos, speed innovation and ultimately build great products.  Contact us if you’d like to learn more.  Visit www.jamasoftware.com or follow us on Twitter.  We love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy the journey!

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Press Contacts:

John Simpson
Jama Software
jsimpson (at) jamasoftware.com
503.802.4250

Seungwoo Yu
ArchitectGroup
VP of Solutions Delivery Services
yusw (at) arctgroup.com
02 (+82.2) 555.4847

Let’s innovate! See the new Activity Stream in Contour 2.8. It’s requirements management software for everyone.

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Which image best describes your current product planning and development process.  Is your team jammed up all the time?  Or are you working in fluid motion?

Is your team working in fluid motion?

Jama, the leader in requirements management software for product innovation, today announced the availability of Contour 2.8 with the new Activity Stream.

Keep a pulse on all the activities in your projects and stay connected.

What’s been added to the scope?  Which features are complete and fully tested?  Are there new bugs?  What’s everyone working on today for the upcoming release?  Now you can keep a real-time pulse on all the activities in your projects  within a single view.  No more noise.  No more hunting.  No more surprise.  It’s everyone in sync, working on what matters most.  It’s product planning and development working in fluid motion.  And, it’s available now in the new Contour 2.8.  See what’s new and watch the quick 2-minute video on the Activity Stream.

Other highlights in the new Contour 2.8:

  • Active Search:  Find exactly what you need at the moment you need it.
  • Enhanced Import:  Import requirements along with the headings, formatting and images straight from MS Word (.docx).
  • Reading View:  Work with a set of requirements or list of items in a dynamic Word-like reading pane within Contour.
  • Web Services API v2:  Build your own integrations or have Jama do it for you.  Contour is open for business.

See What’s New in Contour 2.8 >

Note:  Contour On-Demand customers, your hosted accounts are automatically upgraded.  Enjoy the new features the next time you login.

Special thanks to our customers and partners!

Thank you  for making Jama a leader in requirements management and social product development.  Thousands of users worldwide managing billions in R&D projects trust their requirements to Jama Contour.  We appreciate all the great insights, you drive our product roadmap.  Let us know what you think of the new release.  Let’s build great products!

Read customer success stories >
New to Contour? Download a free trial and take control of your requirements >
Follow Jama on Twitter >

Christian Prusia joins Jama Software as Vice President of Sales.

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

PORTLAND, OR – June 3, 2009 – Jama Software, the provider of requirements management software used for managing product innovation, today announces the appointment of Christian Prusia to its executive management team as Vice President of Sales.  Prusia will be responsible for Jama’s global sales strategy and organization, working directly with customers within North America and through Jama’s European channel.  He will also lead the company’s strategic partnerships and business developement activities.

Christian joins Jama with more than fifteen years of sales, product management and executive leadership experience.  Prior to Jama, Christian held positions at technology companies such as M-Six, Enuclia, Pixelworks and InFocus.  In each of his roles, Christian is best known for his strong collaboration and problem solving skills with customers.  Christian has amassed extensive sales experience within the United States, Asia and Europe and has a proven ability to foster long-standing channel and customer relationships across Fortune 100 companies through to nimble start-ups.

“Christian is an accomplished sales professional who brings tremendous focus and energy to Jama and we’re excited to add his leadership to our growing team,” said Eric Winquist, co-founder and CEO of Jama Software.  “Christian is joining Jama at a significant growth stage in our evolution as a company, where despite the tough economy, we continue to demonstrate market momentum and deliver increased value to our growing list of customers around the world.  Christian’s experience, commitment and solid track record for building sales organizations, energizing markets with innovative solutions and driving unparalleled growth will further accelerate Jama to a market leadership position.”

Jama Contour is the industry’s only true Web-based solution for enterprise requirements management.  Contour allows large, global organizations to collaborate on product requirements like never before – helping them accelerate development cycles, increase product quality and compliance, and improve customer satisfaction for the products they build.

“Contour is nothing short of game-changing for any company interested in building great products,” said Christian Prusia, “What CRM software has done for Sales teams in recent years, Jama is doing for Product teams.  With a solution that is affordable, fast to deploy and easy to use, Jama is clearly well-positioned to lead the charge in the collaborative movement that’s changing the Requirements Management category.  I’m excited to be joining the passionate and committed team at Jama.”

About Jama Software

Jama’s mission is to help companies build great products by taking a collaborative approach to requirements management.  Used by thousands worldwide to build sophisticated software applications, products and systems, Contour customers include Intel, Amgen, Bio-Rad, Wells Fargo, Fluid, SMART Technologies, Tectura, Stonesoft, Stratos Global and many others.  For more information, visit www.jamasoftware.com

***

Press Contact:

John Simpson
Director of Customer Outreach & Marketing
jsimpson@jamasoftware.com

Follow Jama on Twitter

Fueling innovation through collaboration. Contour v2.6 is here.

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

We’re pleased to announce the availability of Contour v2.6, the collaborative way to succeed with requirements management.  We continue to enhance Contour to provide unmatched flexibility, customization and ease of use for global teams that are building sophisticated products and systems.

This new release centered around three key themes:

  • Custom Reports – Output requirements and other related data into true Micrososft Word format, and run context-sensitive reports on the fly.
  • Release Management – Customize what’s viewable in your product releases and include downstream relationships for enhanced requirements traceability.
  • User Experience – Cleaner design, enhanced customization of layouts and improved email notifications

A special thanks to our growing customer community for your valuable feedback on the enhancements we’ve made to Contour.  You drive our product roadmap.  See what’s new >

Jama Contour can easily scale to thousands of users and geographically distributed teams.  Experience for yourself how it can help your entire organization capture, connect, control and collaborate on requirements like never before.  Take Contour for a trial run >

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