Software Project Collaboration Tool Now in Beta

LONDON, April 2007 – Launchpad.net today started public beta testing of Launchpad 1.0, a web-based collaboration service that improves the flow of communication between different software projects.

Collaboration is crucial to free software projects, but has traditionally been difficult across communities that use different tools which don’t easily exchange information. Launchpad’s new approach links data from a variety of project-specific sources in different communities and presents it in a unified interface, bringing those communities closer together to solve common problems such as bugs in shared code. This public beta includes a redesigned interface that allows projects to brand their presence in the system and highlights the current activity of project members, making it easier to keep track of the latest changes.

The popular GNU/Linux distribution Ubuntu uses Launchpad to keep track of conversations across hundreds of free software communities. The service makes it possible for the Ubuntu team to coordinate work on tens of thousands of bug reports, many of which involve third-party development communities, and hundreds of feature proposals for each release.

Launchpad is also central to the development of several high profile projects other than Ubuntu, including Zope, Infrae’s SilvaCMS and Jokosher. Around 2,700 projects have been registered, and while many of those do not use Launchpad as their primary hosting infrastructure their registration in Launchpad facilitates collaboration between other projects who depend on their code.

Kit Blake, CEO of Infrae said, “Launchpad connects us to our most important communities, and brings synergy to issue tracking for Silva, where problems in one component of the stack affect another up or downstream. Key components of our stack were already there: Infrae’s developers run Ubuntu, we develop with Zope3, and the dLCMS product (which is built on top of Silva) has been using Launchpad for over a year. Locating the Silva issues on Launchpad was like finding ideal office space, hooked into the grid, loaded with amenities, and ripe for networking.”

“Launchpad developers are all active participants in free software projects. We’ve experienced first-hand the barriers to collaboration, both social and technical, and have designed Launchpad to make collaboration easier,” said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu. “We hope to continue to improve the productivity of those who participate in the free software ecosystem.”

Read More: http://www.ubuntu.com/news/LaunchpadRelease