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A new integrated collaboration feature is now available in Alfabet, enabling free-form discussion and idea sharing across the user community in a familiar, social-media-style experience. Users can initiate collaboration topics from any data workbench, content area, or view using the new User Comments option in the 3-dots menu. Selecting this option opens the User Topics window, where multiple topics can be created and managed. Each topic can be expanded or collapsed, making it easy to focus on a single discussion or switch between several in parallel.

Users with either read-only or write access permissions can start a collaboration topic related to the object or analysis currently in view. This makes it simple to spark dialogue, accelerate decision-making, and leverage the collective expertise of the organization. Alfabet users with an email address can be invited into a conversation via @mentions, which trigger an email notification containing a direct link to the topic. Users with the appropriate access permissions can then navigate directly to the discussion and contribute. Users can make multiple posts per topic using an HTML editor as well as upload attachments to a post.

For on-premise customers: To make the user collaboration functionality available in the user interface, the new Enable Collaboration setting (available in the server alias > Server Settings tab) must be enabled.

New board visualizations introduce an information-rich, highly interactive way to show data in a data workbench. Board visualizations present portfolio data as cards arranged in user-defined columns, giving teams an immediate, intuitive view of task status, ownership, and upcoming work. Inspired by Kanban boards, they offer instant clarity, support effortless prioritization through drag-and-drop reordering, and strengthen collaboration by ensuring everyone sees the same information during shared decision-making processes such as application portfolio rationalization or strategic prioritization.

Board visualizations are available in all data workbenches via Visualize > Board Visualization. The Board Settings editor allows you to determine which columns appear on the board, using criteria such as roles filled by a single person or organization, release statuses, enumerations, reference-type properties, and indicators with range definitions. Cards can be colored based on enumeration values or indicator ranges and users can configure up to three attributes to appear in the card header, and display and order up to seven additional attributes and three icons within the card body.

Users can switch between expanded cards, which display full details, and collapsed cards for a more compact view. A single click on any object or referenced object shown on a card opens it in the object inspection pane for preview and editing, while a double-click navigates directly to its content area. Cards can also be dragged between columns, automatically updating the object’s value associated with that column. A legend is available that shows the meanings of the icons and colors in the board visualization.

Board visualizations can be saved and added to the content repository, making them available in other content areas and for sharing with colleagues. Saved board visualizations always display the most up-to-date data for the objects included in the report. The export of board visualizations is not currently exported but will be available in a future release.

A new content-voting capability similar to familiar social-media interactions is available. This configurable feature can be applied to all asset object classes and to the Report class, enabling rating, liking, and the identification of expert users. When activated for an object class, a voting or like option appears in the toolbar of its content areas, making feedback and recognition easily accessible.

New resource management capabilities now strengthen the entire project lifecycle, from early planning through execution. Project planning can now begin directly within the work breakdown structure, where initial resource needs are assessed and estimated costs can be transferred into the project’s business case.

A new Work Breakdown Structure (PRJ_WorkBreakdownStructure ) provides a structured Gantt view of projects and sub-projects, allowing teams to create both resource requests and skill requests in the same hierarchical context. The Gantt view includes a Count and Daily Rate column that shows the total number of days requested with the associated cost per day. A Resource column displays either the organization or the individual expected to provide the resource or skill, giving clearer visibility into who is supplying the work. To support the transition from high-level planning to more detailed staffing, a Derive Skill Request option is available for any selected resource request. This creates a subordinate skill request and automatically carries over key information, including the resource request's name and the providing organization, ensuring consistency and reducing manual entry. Skill requests are displayed with the task name first, followed by the skill name in brackets, making it easier to scan and understand the specific requirements associated with each task.

A new Project Resource Planning view (PRJ_ResourcePlanningSetup ) is also introduced to ensure that the resources, time, and costs can be realistically managed for transformation projects. Skill requests defined in the context of the work breakdown structure can be transferred to the Project Resource Planning view ensuring resource planning flows both top-down and bottom-up for seamless synchronization across planning layers. Users can create new skill requests or refine existing ones by splitting them across multiple providers, breaking them down into more detailed skill sets, or specifying staged delivery timelines. If the project scope changes or becomes more complex than originally anticipated, users can also clear the current project resource plan and revert to the original workflow breakdown structure.

The Business Case view (PRJ_BusinessCaseSimple ) cost includes cost estimates generated in the project's work breakdown structure, allowing those values to flow directly into the business case. Costs calculated for resource and skill requests are based on the count and daily rate and can be transferred using the Transfer from Skill Requests/Resource Requests option. All project cost types can be populated from defined skill requests or, when no skill requests exist, from the corresponding resource requests. Whenever updates are made to the work breakdown structure or to skill requests in the Work Breakdown Structure view, the business case can be refreshed to reflect the revised values for the relevant cost categories. The transferred costs can be edited and refined directly in the Business Case view.

For on-premise customers: The Work Breakdown Structure view (PRJ_WorkBreakdown ) and Project Resource Planning view (PRJ_ResourcePlanningSetup should be added to your solution configuration if you want to take advantage of the new project resource planning concept and business case calculation.

Content items in content areas can be configured to display an external URL directly as an read-only view. This allows users to see live, up-to-date views of external applications right inside the content area without needing to switch systems or open additional windows. At runtime, the system opens the URL in a read-only mode, ensuring that users always see the current state of the external interface. This is especially valuable when integrating with third-party applications, as it gives users immediate visual insight into the latest information or UI changes.

The security settings in the Alfabet Web Application must be modified in order to display external URLs.

The Alfabet Publication Framework enables solution designers to create Microsoft® Word or PDF documents that automatically include up-to-date data from the repository. Complete data sheets for one or multiple objects can be generated using a layout in MS Word designed specifically for the solution. For example, when publishing information about an application group, the publication might include the group’s name and its application portfolio report. The publication could also include each application in the group including its name, version, and the Evaluations page view for a complete, well-structured document with just one click.

The publication is driven by an MS Word template that contains bookmarks that act as placeholders where the Alfabet platform inserts Alfabet content. Each bookmark is linked to specific data or views defined in a publication definition in Alfabet Expand. When a user publishes data about an object, a new DOC or PDF file is created from the template. All bookmarks are automatically filled with the most up-to-date information so the generated document always reflects the object's current state.

Data workbench visualizations added to the content repository of content areas can be shared with other users. This sharing capability can now be disabled for specific user profiles through a new Enable Users to Share Content Items attribute in the user profile configuration. When this attribute is deactivated, the Share with Users section is removed from the editor used to add data workbench visualizations to the content repository. This enhancement addresses ticket ASD-8759.

The new web-based Alfabet Performance Evaluation tool measures the performance of database requests over the active database connection as well as the browser performance. During a test run, a temporary table is created in the Alfabet database, and data is written to, read from, and deleted from this table. The tool then generates a report showing the time required for each step of the transaction. The report can be exported either as JSON or as an image. JSON exports can be re-imported to compare current results with those from earlier performance tests. Running performance tests regularly establishes a baseline, making it easier to detect deviations that may indicate database access issues.

The Alfabet Performance Evaluation tool is released as a beta version and represents the first step toward the upcoming web-based Alfabet Administrator. It is implemented as an independent web application, separate from the Alfabet Web Application. The physical directory AlfabetAdministratorWeb will be delivered on customer request. Access requires authentication, either through the standard login mechanism or via Microsoft Account Entry ID Single-Sign-On.