Adamas Release Management & Update Policy - 30/7/2006

Adamas recognizes that the ongoing success and relevance of TRACCS in the community care market place is dependent on functional and performance enhancements, as well as the meeting of any mandatory or statutory reporting requirements.

Adamas also recognizes the inherent impossibility of perfect software. There will always be technical shortcomings, bugs and issues in any software product.

To this end, a continuous program of software development is in place to allow the ongoing improvement and maintenance of TRACCS and the inclusion of any necessary mandatory or statutory functionality.

This policy outlines the structures and procedures Adamas has in place to support this development and the release of new versions into the market place.

In general terms, Adamas adheres to the Incremental Build model of Software Release. This is supported by a progressive refinements system which has been shown to be the  superior method for developing timely functional releases to end market.

 1. Versions

Adamas follows the widely implemented industry standard 3 tiered version numbering system.

1.1 Version Number

TRACCS versions are denoted by a 3 part number identifying the major, minor and build number in the form xx.yy.zz

xx denotes the major TRACCS version. (e.g.  5). A major version change identifies major functional and cosmetic rewrites of TRACCS. (Eg porting from Access to SQL Serve). At the date of the last amendment to this document – there had been 5 major versions of TRACCS.

Major releases occur on average once every 18-24 months

yy denotes the minor TRACCS version. (e.g. 10). A minor version change indicates significant functionality change incorporating clearly identified additional modules or rewrites of specific modules or identifiable sections of the TRACCS application.

Minor releases occur on average once every 6-12 months.

zz denotes the minor build/service pack number. A minor build or service pack change occurs whenever there is an addition or code change to any portion of TRACCS, and includes minor functional and cosmetic changes.

Minor releases typically occur on a weekly basis.

1.2 Past Version Maintenance.

At any given point in time - Adamas will maintain 3 versions of TRACCS.

1.2.1 Development Version (DV)– this is the latest version of TRACCS

1.2.2 Current Production Version (CPV) – this is the currently distributed production version of TRACCS

1.2.3 Previous Production Version(PPV) – this is the previous production version of TRACCS.

The setting of a version number as either development, current or previous is determined by the major and minor version numbers. A build number change is not considered to be a version change. So – the creation of either a new major version or minor version will trigger a change of version status. On the other hand, the release of new builds or service packs will not trigger a change of version status. As an example – current build status’s at the date of this document are as follows

        DV version number is 5.11.12

        PV version number is 5.10.38

        PPV version number is 5.9.51

        A change to a build number  (eg 5,10.38 to 5.10.39) will not trigger a version status change.

        The release of the DV to PV will trigger a cascading version status change. So when 5.11 goes to production – the following version status changes will result

        5.9 series will become unsupported

        5.10 series will become the PPV

        5.11 series will become the PV

        5.12 series will become the DV

        1.3 New Service Packs/Builds

        As with any software package – there will always be a requirement to provide maintenance of existing versions for a variety of reasons

        These reasons fall broadly into 4 categories

        Bugs/Faults

        Significant functional gaps

        Functional Enhancements/Modifications

        New Strategic Development

        1.3.1 Bugs and Faults

Where Adamas is notified of or detects an actual fault in the TRACCS software – or where Adamas is notified of or detects a high priority functional gap in the TRACCS software (ie causing high priority issues with sites – as defined in the code maintenance agreement) – Adamas will correct the issue in any supported versions of TRACCS affected. The corrected version will then be posted to the Adamas web site on the downloads page with a revised build/service pack number. The Major and minor versions will remain unchanged.

Any changes or corrections made in the build will be detailed in the version release notes – also available on the Adamas web site on the downloads page

          1.3.2 New Minor Versions

          Adamas has in place both a conceptual and practical commitment to -

        - Any statutory changes requiring amendments to TRACCS.

        - Useful enhancements at both a design and functional level of TRACCS

        Adamas maintains a list of all enhancement requests lodged by sites, as well as a strategic plan for both required statutory changes and strategic product improvements.

        Adamas will incorporate nominated items from 1 and 2 above according to priority on an ongoing basis.

        Such changes will be of a significant scope and will involve both functional and cosmetic changes to TRACCS.

        Such changes will be added to the test and development version of TRACCS and tested internally by Adamas for a period of not less than 1 month or equivalent business cycle.

After completion of satisfactory testing - the changes and enhancements will be incorporated into the production build of TRACCS. The updated production version of  TRACCS will then be posted to the Adamas web site on the downloads page with a revised minor version number. The Major version will remain unchanged.

        Any changes or corrections made in the build will be detailed in the version release notes – also available on the Adamas web site on the downloads page.

          1.3.3 New Major Versions

           Adamas has in place both a conceptual and practical commitment to  medium and long term strategic changes in the TRACCS product to support

        1.      Advancing technology

        2.      New coding and programming methodologies

        3.      Significant NEW functionality outside the scope of minor builds.

        4.      Any statutory changes requiring large scale programmatic changes to the TRACCS product.

        Adamas maintains a medium to long term strategic plan up to 3 years in advance of current production. This plan includes -

            - Major product rewrites at both a functional and cosmetic level

            - Updating of support for latest technologies

         Adamas will incorporate nominated items above according to priority on an ongoing basis.

         Such changes will involve major rewrites of sections or modules of TRACCS – and will be outside the scope of either a build change or a minor version change.

         Such changes will be added to the test and development version of TRACCS and tested internally by Adamas for a period of not less than 3 months or 3 equivalent business cycles

After completion of satisfactory testing - the changes and enhancements will be incorporated into the production build of TRACCS. The updated production version of  TRACCS will then be posted to the Adamas web site on the downloads page with a revised major version number.

2. Release Structure

Adamas maintains and supports a web/internet based release of all TRACCS versions and builds. As part of an initial order for TRACCS, customer's have an obligation to have reliable access to the internet and email.

2.1 Application Files

Any version changes made to TRACCS are posted to the Adamas web site www.adamas.net.au on the downloads page – and made accessible for licensed users.

Full instructions on how to download and update TRACCS from the web are posted on the TRACCS web site on the Home Page.

2.2 Change Management

Any changes to TRACCS are documented in the first instance in release notes accompanying the release of each posted version to the web.

The release notes are posted simultaneously with the posting of a new build, major or minor version

Release notes summarize key points of any change in the new build/version. The release notes will provide a concise functional summary of the changes with accompanying screen dumps where necessary. It will also include a description of any notable flow on impacts as a result of those changes.

The release notes are not intended or designed to be a manual.

2.3 Manuals/Documentation

On an ongoing basis the release notes are used to update the Adamas procedures manuals.

Update manuals are made available to customers on the Adamas Web site via the downloads page.

At any given point in time – the total documentation for the current TRACCS version consists of the current manuals + release notes for any changes instituted after the release of the current manuals.

2.4 Customer advice/communication

In accordance with anti spam/marketing email ethics – Adamas will not notify customers directly of all new versions available. Adamas will however provide up to date information on its web page covering new features, release notes documenting any changes and news pages outlining current topics of interest that may affect a customers desire to update to the latest version.