Roadmap

Platform
The "Platform" provides a flexible infrastructure that can be configured to support a wide range of solutions and use cases. It is a scalable, generic solution that meets the need of any business use case. The platform supports multi-tenancy, namespaces for use-case separation, a use-case agnostic frontend, and can operate in multiple geolocated data centers or on-premises. It also offers centralized tenant management, licensing, reporting, and IAM. Moreover, it provides translation in multiple stages, automated deployment for both managed and on-premises environments, and automated release for efficient software distribution.
- Central Reporting for Tenant and On-Premises Data
  This use case focuses on developing a sophisticated Central Reporting system within the "Strategic" platform, designed to aggregate and analyze data related to tenant usage and on-premises activities. This innovative approach aims to provide comprehensive insights into customer interactions and system performance, driving strategic decisions and enhancing operational efficiencies.
  - FUTURE
    Telemetry Data Collection and Analysis
    This epic aims to enhance the reporting mechanism within the Centralized Tenant Management system, providing robust and insightful reporting capabilities for tenant data, telemetry, and usage patterns. The goal is to empower administrators and stakeholders with comprehensive reporting tools to make informed decisions and optimize tenant operations.
  Benefits for business
  Strategic decision
  making based on comprehensive data analysis.
  Improved understanding of customer behavior and system usage patterns.
  Benefits for customers
  Enhanced visibility into user behavior and system performance.
  Data
  driven insights to improve user experience and operational efficiency.
  Stakeholders
  Platform Administrators
  Data Analysts
  IT Teams
  Business Strategy Teams
- Centralized Authentication
  The "Centralized Authentication" use case involves implementing a centralized authentication mechanism to provide secure access to various components and services within the system. It aims to enhance security, streamline user access management, and provide a seamless authentication experience for end users.
  - NOW
    Development of Centralized Authentication Service
    This epic focuses on developing the Centralized Authentication Service, a fundamental component of the Centralized Authentication use case. The goal is to create a robust and secure authentication service that can be seamlessly integrated into various applications within the organization.
  - NOW
    Integration of Central Authentication into OTRS
    This epic aims to seamlessly integrate the Centralized Authentication Service into the OTRS (Open Ticket Request System) platform. The integration will provide a unified and secure authentication mechanism for OTRS users, improving overall security and user experience.
  Benefits for business
  Improved security posture through standardized authentication practices.
  Reduced complexity in managing user access across various components.
  Enhanced user experience through seamless authentication processes.
  Benefits for customers
  Single sign
  on experience across different system components.
  Enhanced security through centralized and standardized authentication.
  Stakeholders
  End Users
  System Administrators
- Centralized Licensing
  The Centralized Licensing Management is a core component of the platform's infrastructure, responsible for efficiently managing multiple licenses.
  - FUTURE
    Licensing Mechanism Enhancement for Centralized Tenant Management
    This epic aims to enhance the licensing mechanism within the Centralized Tenant Management system, ensuring a robust and flexible approach to managing licenses across different tenants and solutions. The goal is to provide a seamless and efficient licensing process that caters to various business requirements.
  Benefits for business
  Efficient tenant and licensing management.
  Market value enhancement through modern and legacy system integration.
  Competitive edge through optimized operations and strategic insights.
  Benefits for customers
  Seamless licensing process with online and offline options.
  Accurate and consistent tenant data across instances.
  Stakeholders
  System Administrators
  IT Managers
  Development Teams
- Centralized Tenant Management
  The Centralized Tenant Management solution is a core component of the platform's infrastructure, responsible for efficiently managing multiple tenants on the same platform.
  - FUTURE
    Basic Multitenancy Management Functions with Tenant Service
    This epic aims to enhance the Central Tenant Management system to provide more advanced features and improved usability. The goal is to offer a comprehensive and user-friendly solution for managing tenants across different solutions on the platform.
  Benefits for business
  Efficient tenant and licensing management.
  Market value enhancement through modern and legacy system integration.
  Competitive edge through optimized operations and strategic insights.
  Benefits for customers
  Accurate and consistent tenant data across instances.
  Stakeholders
  System Administrators
  IT Managers
  Development Teams
- Scaling Platform
  The "Scaling Platform" use case focuses on designing and implementing a platform architecture that can accommodate increasing workloads and growing user bases. The goal is to ensure that the platform remains performant, reliable, and responsive as the demand for its services expands.
  - DONE
    Node.js Upgrade
    This epic aims to upgrade the Node.js version used in our application to ensure it remains secure, efficient, and compatible with the latest features and libraries. It involves a comprehensive assessment, planning, and execution of the Node.js upgrade across the entire application stack.
  - DONE
    Article Storage Backend for S3
  - DONE
    Redis Cache Backend
  - NOW
    enhance translation mechanism
    Implement a new mechanism within OTRS for handling translations that allows for predefined tokens in all supported languages, preshipped translations, and on-demand push to systems. This mechanism will enable customers to edit translations themselves, making the addition of new translations straightforward and user-friendly.
  - NOW
    Sysconfig/ACL/Process Deployment in Container
    The "Sysconfig/ACL/Process Deployment in Container" epic focuses on containerizing the deployment and management of system configuration (sysconfig), access control lists (ACL), and processes. This approach aims to improve deployment efficiency, resource utilization, and flexibility in managing system configurations and processes.
  - NOW
    Enhanced Logging Mechanism in OTRS
    This epic aims to overhaul the existing logging mechanism of OTRS, addressing its limitations in container usability, lack of filtering options, and the consolidation of logs. The goal is to replace the current system with a more advanced implementation from the `feature-epic-67-logging-teamb` branch.
  Benefits for business
  Enhanced user satisfaction and retention due to uninterrupted services.
  Accommodation of growing user bases and workloads without compromising performance.
  Benefits for customers
  Consistently responsive platform performance, even during high traffic periods.
  Stakeholders
  Platform Administrators
  DevOps Engineers
  End Users
- Use-Case Agnostic Frontend
  The "Use-Case Agnostic Frontend" use case involves the development and deployment of a frontend interface that is independent of specific use cases. This frontend provides a consistent and customizable user experience across various solutions and use cases.
  - NOW
    Client Library
    The "Client Library" epic aims to develop a versatile client library that abstracts the complexities of the backend system, making it easier to integrate and communicate with various frontends. The library will enable consistent interaction with the backend across different platforms, reducing redundancy and ensuring a smoother user experience.
  Benefits for business
  Reduced development effort for frontend interfaces across multiple solutions.
  Enhanced user satisfaction and retention due to consistent design.
  Benefits for customers
  Consistent and familiar user experience across different solutions.
  Streamlined user interactions due to a unified interface.
  Stakeholders
  Frontend Developers
  UI/UX Designers
  Solution Providers
  End Users
IT Service Management
ITSM is a structured approach to designing, delivering, managing, and improving IT services. The purpose is to align IT services with business needs and deliver value. ITIL v3 and ITIL 4 provide comprehensive frameworks for implementing ITSM.
- AI-Powered Ticket Summarization for Efficient Issue Resolution
  This use case outlines the integration of AI-powered summarization tools into the IT Service Management solution to automatically generate concise summaries of lengthy support tickets, enabling faster understanding and resolution of customer issues.
  - NOW
    AI-Driven Communication Summarization in OTRS
    Implement an AI-driven feature to summarize communications in OTRS tickets, enhancing clarity and efficiency in ticket management.
  Benefits for business
  Enhanced efficiency and throughput of support teams.
  Reduction in time spent per ticket, allowing for more customer issues to be addressed.
  Benefits for customers
  Quicker understanding of issue context leading to faster resolutions.
  Improved customer satisfaction due to expedited support responses.
  Stakeholders
  Support Agents
  IT Managers
  Customers (indirectly)
- Efficient Incident Management with Kanban View
  Implementing a Kanban View in the IT Service Management solution to streamline incident management processes, enhancing visual clarity, prioritization, workflow efficiency, collaboration, and overall response times to incidents.
  - NOW
    Kanban View for OTRS
    Introduce a Kanban view within OTRS to enhance user experience, provide a visual and interactive way to manage tickets and tasks, improve workflow visibility, and facilitate easier prioritization and task management.
  Benefits for business
  Improved operational efficiency in managing incidents.
  Enhanced team collaboration and accountability.
  Benefits for customers
  Enhanced visibility and clarity on incident statuses.
  Reduced response times to critical incidents.
  Stakeholders
  IT Support Staff
  Incident Managers
  Operations Teams
- ITSM Incident Management
  The "Incident Management" use case in the "IT Service Management" solution aims to handle and resolve incidents related to IT services, ensuring minimal disruption and prompt restoration of normal service operations.
  - NOW
    Document Search for Incident Management
    The "Enhanced Platform Dependency for Document Search" epic focuses on improving the platform's capabilities and integration with internal knowledge bases, ticket data, and the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to support efficient and accurate document search functionality for incident management. This epic aims to enhance the document search experience by leveraging advanced platform features and integrating with various data sources, ensuring that users can quickly access relevant information during incident resolution.
  Benefits for business
  Improved service quality
  Efficient incident resolution
  Benefits for customers
  Reduced service downtime
  Enhanced communication during incidents
  Stakeholders
  Service desk agents
  Incident responders
  Service users

Release Cycle

Rolling Releases

Künftig wird es für unsere Software-Lösungen keine großen Major Releases in Form neuer Versionen geben. Stattdessen werden häufigere, kleinere Updates OTRS auf dem neuesten Stand halten. Die Entwicklung aller OTRS Lösungen wird als Rolling Release fortgesetzt. Die bisher aktuelle Version OTRS 8 wurde zu OTRS. So können Kunden- und Marktanforderungen künftig noch früher erkannt werden und schneller in die Produktentwicklung einfließen. Kunden profitieren von einer jederzeit aktuellen Software.

Im Rolling Release Cycle sind die bisherigen sogenannten Patch Level Releases*, also geplante Wartungen und Security Releases** enthalten.

*Patch Level Release

Ein Patch Level Release wird genutzt, um die Qualität und Stabilität unserer Software-Lösungen zu verbessern. Es enthält kritische und unkritische Aktualisierungen. Darüber hinaus können Verbesserungen der Sicherheit sowie notwendige Anpassungen zur Unterstützung neuer Software- und Hardware-Technologien aufgenommen werden.

**Security Release

Ein Security Release wird genutzt, um kritische Sicherheitsprobleme in unserer Software zu beheben.