New & Noteworthy

	Description
Client for Microsoft Visual Studio IDE	Native work item editor was removed In version 6.0.3, a new integrated web editor was introduced as the default editor for work items, but you could still use the native editor by setting a preference. In 6.0.4, the native work item editor was removed. The new integrated web editor supports script-based attribute customization, client-side validations, and new presentations that were not available in the native editor.
	Support for Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 You can now install the Rational Team Concert integration into the Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 IDE. Unlike previous versions, Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 allows multiple instances of the IDE (such as Professional and Enterprise) to co-exist. IBM Installation Manager detects the instances of Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 on the system and lets you install the Rational Team Concert integration into all of them. Image of Rational Team Concert integration in Visual Studio 2017:
	Support for multiple selection in the Repository Files view and Change Explorer view In the Repository Files view and in the Change Explorer view, you can now select multiple files and folders to perform actions on them. Image of a multiple selection in the Repository Files view: Image of a multiple selection in the Change Explorer view:
Clustering	Support for Rational Team Concert clustering To support horizontal scaling and high availability, Rational Team Concert can now be clustered. Multiple backend nodes that run Change and Configuration Management (CCM) servers can be provisioned as nodes of a cluster. Client traffic to these nodes is load-balanced by a front-end proxy, or load balancer, such as HAProxy. A clustered application maintains high efficiency by making nodes communicate via MQTT Broker, such as IBM MessageSight. For details, see Change and Configuration Management cluster environment .
Enterprise extensions	Improved storage model In this release, Rational Team Concert Enterprise Extensions has completed the migration to a new internal storage model for artifacts. Previously, these artifacts were stored differently and triggered the creation of Jena indexes, used for queries, that were stored in the server file system. Now all the queries are performed against the CCM relational database, and Jena is not used. After server startup, Enterprise Extensions runs migration tasks to complete the conversion.
	New z/OS mass import option checks the compatibility with existing data set definitions The z/OS mass import tool has a new command-line option to adjust the degree of compatibility between the imported data set and the existing data set definitions in the repository. The value of the option "--datasetcompatibility" (short name -c) determines the set of properties of the imported data set to match with a corresponding data set definition in the repository. The option "--datasetcompatibility" has two values that define the set of properties to compare. For both options, the import process reads only data set definitions in the repository that are not archived, and that have a data set name equal to the name of the imported data set. Additionally, depending on the value of the option, the following properties must be equal: "s" value: Record lengths "l" value: Record lengths, block sizes, primary and secondary quantities, and record formats
Git integration	Create Rational Team Concert work items by using Git commit messages You can now create a work item and link a Git commit to that work item by using actionable commit messages. The following example shows a Git commit message that creates a work item in Rational Team Concert: "Git commit message #create *Task ^\"JKE Banking Project area\" @:ADMIN $High #tag1 duration:4d3h Complexity:2 This is my work item summary" Image of the created work item:
Jazz build	Hidden build properties supported Build definitions that use JBE as the build engine now support hidden build properties. The values of these properties are hidden in the user interface.
Jazz source control	Code review usability enhancements Two usability enhancements were made to the code review tool: Issue filters You can now apply filters to reduce clutter in the navigator panel of the code review tool. Filters are useful when change sets contain many files or issues. The following image shows the filter options. The default setting is to show everything. Image of issue filters in the navigation panel of the code review tool: Improved submit for review action The Submit Change sets for Review action now sets the code review target stream based on the flow target of your workspace. The project area must be enabled for code review because the context is needed to provide the paths of the files under review. Image of the Submit Change sets for Review window:
	Display links in containers and show the history of valid links Display file links in container objects You can now find the links between SCM-controlled files and other artifacts for all files in a stream, snapshot, or baseline. Each stream, snapshot, and baseline has a File Links tab, which displays the files within that object that have links associated with them. The display includes the validity of the links so that you can address any discrepancies. You can navigate the links and change the validity status from this view. Image of the File Links tab in the Streams view: History of valid links for artifact links The validity status can now show the history of links with a valid status between two artifacts. This feature enables you to discover when the relationship was considered valid when you decide whether the status of the link has changed. Image of the Valid links window in the file Links view:
	New check-in advisors are available Rational Team Concert has new source-control preconditions that you can use to customize processes for your team. For details about setting preconditions, see Setting preconditions and follow-up actions. The following new server-side preconditions are available for source control check-in operations, and you can set them in either the Eclipse client or web client: Restrict File Size: This precondition prevents users from checking in files that exceed a specified size limit. Restrict Check-in of Resources with the Same Name: This precondition prevents users from checking in a resource if another resource in the same location has the same name, even when the capitalization differs. Because Windows systems ignore capitalization and Linux systems do not, this precondition can help avoid conflicts in projects where developers use both platforms. Restrict Check-in Based on Specified MIME Types and Encodings: This precondition prevents users from checking in files if the MIME type or encoding are not permitted for the project area. Currently, you can only set this precondition by using the Eclipse client. An extension point for check-in operations is also available so that you can write your own preconditions.
	New check-in precondition to restrict the number of changes in a change set A new Restrict Change Set Size precondition is available that you can set on source control check-in operations. This precondition ensures that the number of changes in each change set does not exceed the value that you specify. For details about setting preconditions, see Setting preconditions and follow-up actions.
	Operation History view available for streams and workspaces You can now view the operation history for a stream or workspace. In the Rational Team Concert client for Eclipse IDE and the Rational Team Concert client for Microsoft Visual Studio IDE, select a stream or workspace and then click Show > Operation History. The History view shows the list of operations performed in the selected stream or workspace. In the History view, you can expand each operation to show details of that operation. Image of the History view: In the Eclipse client, you can open operations in the Change Explorer and Change Summary views. You can create a repository workspace from a previous point in time by selecting an operation and right-clicking Create repository workspace. The web client now contains an Operation History tab, which is visible when you browse streams and workspaces. Image of the Operation History tab: Operation History view supports rolling back a workspace or stream to a previous state The Operation History view supports rolling back the contents of an entire workspace or stream to a previous point in time. In the Rational Team Concert client for Eclipse IDE and the Rational Team Concert client for Microsoft Visual Studio IDE, right-click a stream or workspace and select Show > Operation History. The Operation History view shows the list of operations performed in the selected stream or workspace. To rollback the stream or workspace to the state that it was in when a specific operation was performed, right-click the operation and select Rollback. Alternatively, you can select Replace in Workspace or Stream to select a different repository workspace or stream and have it rolled back to the state that it was in when the selected operation was performed. New filter options The Operation History view also now lets you filter by date or contributor, and show or hide check-in operations on workspaces. Filter options are available by clicking on the column headers. Image of the Operation History view date filter:
	Search for versioned files by file name You can now use the Rational Team Concert client for Eclipse IDE and the SCM command-line interface to search for files. In the Eclipse client, click Search > Jazz Source Control > Files. You can search for files in a stream or workspace, and you can refine the scope of the search to a specific component. You can specify a search pattern and indicate whether the search should be case sensitive. From the context menu in the search results, you can perform all actions applicable to files.
	Set the validity status on links between SCM files and other CLM artifacts You can now set the validity status on links between SCM-controlled files in Rational Team Concert and other Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM) artifacts, such as requirements in Rational DOORS Next Generation, test scripts in Rational Quality Manager, or other SCM-controlled files, to provide full traceability from user requirements to implementation to test results. For details, see Linking Rational Team Concert source control files to CLM artifacts. You can set the validity of a link by using the SCM web client. Each file item has a Links tab, which now contains a Validity column. You can set the validity status to one of three states: Valid, Invalid, or Suspect. Suspect is the default value. After a link has been investigated and the semantics of the link are considered correct (for example, an Implements link between a requirement and a file), the validity status can be set to the Valid state. Image of the Links tab with the Validity menu: Note: Some links do not support validity status and will not display status on the Links tab.
Rational Team Concert Shell	Enhanced context menu for shared files directly under the sandbox In Rational Team Concert Shell, top-level files or files that are shared directly under the sandbox now contain context menu items for lock, unlock, move, rename, and delete actions. Image of the new menu items:
	Open the Rational Team Concert Shell control panel from the Windows Explorer Favorites The Favorites section in Windows Explorer now contains a shortcut to the Rational Team Concert Shell control panel. Image of the Favorites shortcut:
	Share folders from any level in the sandbox In the Rational Team Concert Shell on Windows systems, you can now share a folder at any level in the sandbox. Previously, you could only share folders directly under the sandbox. Image of sharing a folder in the sandbox:
	Support for auto-locking The Rational Team Concert Shell client now supports auto-locking of read-only files when those files are made writable. When auto-locking is enabled and a user changes the read-only attribute of the file, either from the file Properties window in Windows Explorer, or from an external application, the Shell client attempts to lock the file and reports the result in a notification from the task tray. Image of the Auto-locking preference: Image of the Locked resources notification:
	The Rational Team Concert Shell control panel is now available in the Windows control panel The Rational Team Concert Shell control panel was moved to the Windows control panel. Previously, the Shell control panel was installed as a desktop application, which could not be deleted from the desktop. The Shell control panel is now visible as an item in the Windows control panel and as a desktop shortcut.
Rational Team Concert clients	Disable file locks held by other users in the Windows Shell and client for Microsoft Visual Studio IDE In the Windows Shell and client for Microsoft Visual Studio IDE, users with the required permissions can unlock files that were locked by other users. Users see the message in the following image when they attempt to unlock a file that is locked by another user. Image of the Force Unlock dialog box:
	Share files in the Windows Shell and the client for Microsoft Visual Studio IDE You can now share files directly under the sandbox, or in any folder in the sandbox, from the Windows Shell client and the Sandbox Explorer view of the client for Microsoft Visual Studio IDE. Previously, you had to set the environment variable RTC_NET_ENABLE_SHARE_FILE to true to see this option. You no longer need to set that variable. Image of the Share option on a context menu: Image of the Share Files wizard:
Tracking and planning	Quick Planner Next (technical preview) Quick Planner Next is available as a technical preview in this release. Download the RTC-Quick-Planner-Next-README file from the Quick Planner Next (Technical Preview) download page, which provides details on how to enable Quick Planner Next. Image of the Quick Planner Next menu option: Quick Planner Next offers these key features: Simplified views. You now have two types of boards: work board and plan board. The work board combines these views from the current Quick Planner: Team's Work, My Work, and All Work. The plan board combines these views: Incoming Work, Backlog, and Iteration Planning. Image of the new board choices: Customizable boards. You can now customize the lane settings in the board. For example, you can change the name, configure the lane for specific states, filter by tags, and specify presentation options. Image of lane customization: Flexibility. The boards are highly flexible. The number of lanes that appear is determined dynamically by screen size. Image of the number of lanes: You can build a tags-based board without being bound by the state groups or states defined in the process template. You can also have boards that combine tags and states. Image of a tags-based board: You can select multiple items from different lanes and change their state. During this state transition, you can select states or resolutions if there is more than one valid option. Image of the "Confirm the changed state" window: You can share the boards with project areas, team areas, and users. Image of board sharing: Better organization. When you add tags to boards, the boards are grouped by those tags in the navigation pane. You can also filter boards by tags and keywords. Image of board settings: Image of grouping by tags:
	SAFe template improvements This release includes the following improvements to the SAFe 4.0 Process (Program) and SAFe 4.0 Process (Portfolio) templates: Stretch Objective attribute was added to PI Objective in the SAFe 4.0 Process (Program) template and SAFe 4.0 Process (Portfolio) template The SAFe process describes Release Predictability as an aggregate of Team PI Performance (see http://www.scaledagileframework.com/metrics/#T3), which is a metric to describe achieved value over time. Achieved value is a calculation of Actual/Planned business value derived from the Team PI Objectives. However, stretch objectives should not be considered when summing the planned value. This release adds a Boolean attribute that distinguishes between stretch and committed PI Objectives. Image of PI Objective: Learning Milestone Work Item Type was added to the SAFe 4.0 Process (Program) template The Learning Milestone work item type was previously provided for Portfolio and Value Stream levels in the SAFe 4.0 Process (Portfolio) template, but it did not exist for the Program and Team level. Because this milestone is part of the SAFe Spanning Palette, it is also an important artifact for Programs and Teams. The Learning Milestone work item type is now available for the Program and Team level in the SAFe 4.0 Process (Program) template. Image of Learning Milestone: MVP Attribute was added to Feature and Story in the SAFe 4.0 Process (Program) template A Minimal Viable Product (MVP) Feature or Story is one with just enough features to gather validated learning and determine whether further investment is warranted. As part of establishing an iterative delivery plan, Epics are divided into Features and Stories, some of which might be MVP. This release adds the MVP attribute, a Boolean flag, to help you identify the Features and Stories that are MVP candidates. Image of Feature: Image of Story: MVP Attribute was added to Capability in the SAFe 4.0 Process (Portfolio) template An MVP Capability is one with just enough features to gather validated learning and determine whether further investment is warranted. As part of establishing an iterative delivery plan, Epics are divided into Capabilities, some of which might be MVP. This release adds the MVP attribute, a Boolean flag, to help you identify the Capabilities that are MVP candidates. Image of Capability: WSJF and WSJF (decimal) attributes The WSJF and WSJF (decimal) attributes are now read-only in a Plan view. WSJF (decimal) as a sorter The plan editor now supports the use of a decimal attribute as a sorter, which lets you use the WSJF (decimal) attribute to differentiate between features that have the same WSJF integer values. 1. Create a project area based on the SAFe 4.0 Process (Program) template. 2. Navigate to the project area administration page, and then select Planning > General > Attribute Mapping. Add WSJF (Decimal) as a planning attribute. Click Save. Image of Add WSJF (Decimal) as Planning attribute: 3. In Planning > Plan Types and Plan Views > Plan View Elements > Sorting, click Add. Select the WSJF (Decimal) attribute, enter a label, such as WSJF Decimal, and click OK. Save the changes. Image of Add WSJF (Decimal) as Sorting Criterion: 4. Open a plan and edit the plan view to say Roadmap view. 5. Pick the WSJF (Decimal) attribute for sorting. 6. In the Column Display option, add the newly added WSJF(Decimal) attribute. Click OK. The work items are now sorted using the decimal attribute. Image of Sorting using WSJF Decimal: Image of Sorting using WSJF:
	Usability improvements for the Add Link and Select Work Items windows In the Add Link and Select Work Item windows, you can now filter project areas by keywords, which can help you find projects faster. Image of Add Link window: Image of Select Work Items window:
	Usability improvements in the Plan editor The following improvements are now available in the Plan editor: Configurable label for parent column in a taskboard The label of the first column in a Taskboard plan view is now configurable. The default value for the label is Plan Items, but you can change it. Image of the first column title of a taskboard: Update custom iteration attributes in a plan view In a plan view, you can now update the values of custom iteration attributes. Image of a custom iteration: You can also browse for more options when you update the Planned For column in the plan view. Image of changing the Planned For attribute:

New & Noteworthy for Rational Team Concert 6.0.4