Why we delayed our biggest release

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I was in two minds as to whether I should share this or not. I was uncertain if it would be interpreted as failure or even poor leadership. My reasoning for sharing is simple; I want Glaass to be a company that stands for transparency. Not sharing would go against our core values.

Last month we announced the release of version 6.0 for late-February 2017. That’s unfortunately been moved to late-March 2017. We began development of version 6.0 in November 2016, immediately after the release of version 5.2.

Version 6.0 is an entire back-end optimisation focused on increasing performance and stability by adopting advanced web development techniques. The results we’ve seen have been astounding, up to eight times speed improvement and four times the stability. It makes for an extremely fluid user experience.

So, why did we delay the release? Simple, as a company we’re unwilling to compromise on quality. We will never release software until it meets our exceptionally high standards. That’s the only way to ensure we exceed client expectations.

As a company we’re unwilling to compromise on quality.

These are the reasons why we’ve delayed our biggest release.

Reason 1 – The enormity of the task
To achieve a user experience that increases team and individual efficiency is incredibly complex on both front-end and back-end optimisations. To interconnect rich features such as Inspection and Test Plans, Linking, Calendar and Analytics with advanced web development techniques took longer than we anticipated.

Reason 2 – We implemented new features
The scope of version 6.0 was initially intended for optimisation purposes only. Though, throughout the rework process we found better, more efficient ways to complete tasks in Glaass which led to minor impromptu redesigns.

Reason 3 – We overhauled our mobile experience
Mobile is an important area for us, especially as our software is used in the field. The optimisation of the desktop experience meant we needed to align some elements of the mobile experience to maintain uniformity.

Reason 4 – We increased security
The security of our client’s data is of the utmost importance to us. That’s why we use Microsoft Azure storage plans with multiple disaster backups ensuring no information can be lost. In version 6.0 we introduced Microsoft Azure Key Vault to better secure passwords.

Version 6.0 is entering into its final testing phase this week. As usual, we’ll share release notes to outline the major changes. Thank you for your patience and we can’t wait for you to see our biggest release.

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