Announcing IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0

“Let’s create a better software experience” is our mantra.

Please have a look at James Hunter’s very insightful Blog about our big investment in the wider IBM DevOps portfolio.

As part of this,  IBM UrbanCode Velocity’s latest release smoothes “The path to Value Stream Management (VSM) Nirvana! Thanks to many customer engagements which brought their ideas into this product, I am proud to announce this new version! It will provide a major upgrade with features that make your Value Stream more powerful. 

Here is a quick review of the new capabilities in IBM UrbanCode Velocity:

Automated Intelligent gating

You can now use metrics data to create gate rules which will allow you to automatically evaluate and stop versions to be deployed into environments where these gates apply. You can define a level of quality and invoke automaton to enforce that level.

How to add a gate

In your pipeline, select the environment where you want to have a gate and click on the 3 dots for the menu:

From the dialog, select automated rule type and select your gating criteria:

Click Add-rule then save to activate it.

For more details on managing gates please have a look at the IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0 documentation.

Quick filters and searching on Value Streams

As a usability improvement, the Search bar  now reduces the search history. The search itself provides a “fuzzy” text search for other data (Releases, Sprints, Types and Priorities) from the quick filter drop down.

For more details on navigating the value stream with quick filters please have a look at the IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0 documentation

Multi-Branch Value Streams 

You can now configure multiple parallel stages per phase and each stage can have its own next target. This helps you to visualize your complex environments better.

Here an example with corresponding VSM json code (color coded for easier visualization):

For more details on creating a value stream please have a look at the following topics: creating value streams and navigating value streams, in the IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0 documentation.

Built-in VSM UI Editor with versioned history

Exporting, editing in an external tool and then importing the VSM is a little bit cumbersome, so we added a new built-in VSM editor into IBM UrbanCode Velocity. This editor also provides a version history that allows you to switch back to a previous version.

The topics VSM JSON Code editor and VSM JSON tree editor in the IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0 documentation will give you more details about this feature.

Dynamic Swimlanes

New out-of-the-box swimlanes now include Releases, Sprints, Types, Severities and Features. With these dynamic swimlanes you can quickly display project information across roles and users.

Custom Roles and Permissions

It is now possible to quickly define custom roles and privileges and grant the right level of access – View, Edit, Design, Create, Delete, Run, etc. – across all major capabilities.

For more details please have a look at Roles and Permissions topic at the IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0 documentation.

DQL Builder

With the new DevOps Query Language (DQL) Builder you can develop and test queries easier and faster thanks to code assist during editing.

Query builder in the VSM Editor

The query builder in the built-in VSM Editor provides you a fast and easy way to configure queries for your stages.

DQL in the Values Stream Map

In the search and filter bar of the VSM map it is also now possible to switch to the DQL Builder.

VSM Onboarding and Start-up Wizard

To quickly set up your VSM, thenew setup wizard provides several steps to help you select the right data for your VSM.

In three easy steps the  initial setup of your VSM is done and you are ready to go.

For more details please have a look a the the Creating value streams topic at the IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0 documentation

Custom Reports

With the fully customizable report generator toolkit you have the means to access data from dashboards, charts, tables and new metrics. Your custom report will leverage the same underlying framework which is also used in the existing reports like “State of Sprit”, “Security Audit Reports” and more.

Sample Report

A sample report can be downloaded from your Insights – Reports page and customized to your needs.

The template is based on Handlebars and can be edited with your editor of your choice (for example VS Code).

Plugin-Marketplace 2.0

Managing the plugins gets easier with this feature. It enhances flexibility in specifying plugin versions for upgrade/downgrade.

For more details please have a look at the IBM UrbanCode Velocity 4.0 documentation.

Please let me know if you have any questions. The IBM DevOps Team would be glad to arrange a call to discuss IBM UrbanCode Velocity with you. 
Also Thank to Al Wagner for providing excellent Screenshots!