Dragonfly - General FAQ
What is Dragonfly?
Here's the concise but jargony version: Dragonfly is a cross-browser, Web-based issue tracking system for software development, testing, and documentation. It's designed to facilitate efficient workflow and to share information across organizations and locations.
Here's the long, relatively jargon-free version: Dragonfly is a program that runs in your Web browser. It's designed to keep track of all of the new feature ideas, program bugs, documentation tasks, user interface feedback, and other issues that come up in the course of designing, developing, testing, documenting, and debugging software. It works on a variety of browsers and in different operating systems, including Mac OS, UNIX/Linux, and almost any version of Windows (it is not designed for Windows CE, which is run on little hand-held devices). We designed it to make it easy for everyone in the organization to know what they need to do, whether that is fixing a bug, documenting part of a program, developing a new feature, retesting something that was fixed, reviewing suspected bugs, or what have you.
What does my computer need to use Dragonfly?
The Dragonfly client runs through your Web browser, so you need an Internet connection (or a connection to your company intranet, if Dragonfly is being hosted internally at your organization) and a recent Web browser, like Netscape Navigator version 4 or later, Internet Explorer version 4 or later, or Opera version 6 or later. You don't need to install anything else on your computer or download anything: Just go to the appropriate URL (Web site address).
Dragonfly is designed for computers that are set to a screen resolution of 800x600 pixels or higher, with the browser maximized on your screen (that is, filling the entire screen) at 800x600 resolution. At higher resolutions, Dragonfly can be used to best advantage as long as it is running in a browser window at least 800 pixels wide.
However, Dragonfly will work fine on lower resolutions with a little scrolling. If you don't know what screen resolution is, it just means how much information your computer is set to show on the screen at once. As long as your computer has one of the browsers we've mentioned and a good Internet connection, Dragonfly will work fine.
Dragonfly runs on a Web server, whether intranet (in-house) or Internet (World Wide Web). If you're installing Dragonfly on a Web server, you'll need to be running Internet Information Server 4 or Internet Information Services 5 or later.
Is Dragonfly designed to help with development too, or just with bugs?
Development too. Dragonfly is a useful tool to use when you're creating or enhancing a program. You can specify and assign work on program features and subsystems as well as track bugs, pass on comments on user interface design, make note of necessary documentation changes, and so forth.
In fact, Dragonfly can even be used to track customer service issues or systemic problems in organizations, although it's not specifically designed for purposes outside software development.
If I buy Dragonfly, can I serve it to anyone I want?
Sorry, no. You can host Dragonfly for any number of people in your organization, regardless of location, and you can host Dragonfly for the purpose of sharing project information with companies you're working with -- but you would be breaking your license agreement (and copyright law) if you allowed another company to use it for projects in which your organization was not involved.
For instance, if you are doing programming and are outsourcing your testing (May we recommend ourselves? We're very good at it. Click here for more information.), your license does allow you to share your installation of Dragonfly with the testing company, but they are not licensed to use Dragonfly for their other projects unless they purchase their own license.
Can our organization share an account or a Dragonfly license with another organization?
As a rule, no. Each Dragonfly license or subscription is for one organization only. The exception is if two or more organizations are working together on a project. Please see the previous question for an example.
Is the source code included with a purchase? Can we customize it ourselves?
Sorry, no. We don't send you the source code, and to purchase Dragonfly you will need to agree to the licensing requirements, which include not reverse-engineering or decoding the program. That also precludes your doing any customization on your own.
Can you customize it for us?
Sure. We can add new screens, new features, new reports, different kinds of integrated messaging, plug-ins, multimedia, new workflow rules, or practically anything you might want. We retain the rights to the enhancements, in the hopes of being able to incorporate them into the next version of Dragonfly. You may find that particularly beneficial down the line, if you want to upgrade but not lose your customized features.
In addition, Dragonfly is already set up to allow for custom interfaces that perform specialized functions like exchanging data with your other applications. If you elect to have us develop custom functionality that uses one of these interfaces, it will automatically work with the next version of Dragonfly that comes out.
See the customization page to request a quote on Dragonfly customization or to ask a question.
What if you're hosting Dragonfly for us and we haven't purchased it? Can we still get customization?
Yes: We'll do customizations for you just as though you had purchased the software, then set you up in a special directory to use your new, customized version.
See the customization page to request a quote on Dragonfly customization, or to ask a question.
Where can I find documentation for Dragonfly?
Dragonfly includes integrated HTML-based documentation. Just click on the help button (the question mark) on practically any Dragonfly page to see the documentation for that page. Each help page also includes a link to the Help Table of Contents.
What is Vermont Software Testing Group?
VSTG is a cooperative software testing company based in Springfield, Vermont. We're part of an egalitarian, cooperative community that has a good share of experienced technical types. In 1999, some of us technical types decided to form a software testing company. We took the best of our experience in software testing and developed our own testing methodology. We offer human testing services, walking through all of the functionality in each program we test and going out of our way to try to break everything. For instance, we try entering information in incorrect formats to see how programs handle the error, and we cancel processes in the middle to make sure they return to an appropriate point in the program without crashing. We've never failed to find bugs in a program we've tested so far.
We didn't start out planning to sell software; we just developed Dragonfly for our own use. But it worked so well that people started asking if they could buy it, so we improved and expanded Dragonfly, and finally came out with the first commercial release, version 2.0.
Click here to go to our home page. If you're interested in our testing services, you can send e-mail, or call us at (800) 818-4809. Outside the U.S., call +1 802 885-2982.
What are the system requirements for hosting Dragonfly?
If you're purchasing Dragonfly and wish to host it, you should have a Web server running Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4 or Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. You should also have Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Server or Internet Information Services, depending on what version you're using) version 4 or later, and Active Server Pages installed; both are supplied free with Windows NT Server 4 and Windows 2000 Server.
Alternatively, you can use Personal Web Services (PWS) on most Windows platforms, again with Active Server Pages installed.
You should also have Microsoft Scripting Engine version 5 or later, which if it is not included with your operating system is available for free from Microsoft, as described in the installation instructions we provide with Dragonfly. The Microsoft Access ODBC driver should be installed, and DSN-less database connections should be enabled (the default).
Finally, you should have someone on hand who knows (or can learn) the basics of setting up and running an IIS Web site.
If your Web server doesn't meet these specifications, or if you don't have a Web server, you can still use Dragonfly by subscribing. That is to say, VSTG will host Dragonfly for you, giving you the same functionality as if you were hosting it yourself.
Is there a version of Dragonfly that we can host from our UNIX Web server? Or what if we're running a Windows Web server, but don't use IIS?
The current version of Dragonfly requires IIS, so UNIX and Linux (for example), as well as non-IIS Windows Web servers, are not capable of running this version. However, we've been looking into a PHP version of Dragonfly as well as a version that would be compatible with ChiliSoft ASP -- both of which will run under UNIX. If you need Dragonfly on a UNIX platform, please e-mail us to check on the status of the UNIX-friendly Dragonfly project.
What database is used to store Dragonfly's information? Do we have to run a SQL Server?
Dragonfly uses the Microsoft Access ODBC database driver. This means that no additional software is required on the back end, not even Access itself. We expect to make other database back-ends available in the future (this is one of the requirements for our preparing a UNIX-friendly version).
Can I get a data dump of the information in my Dragonfly database?
Yes: if you have Microsoft Access, you can also open the databases that store your Dragonfly information yourself. Otherwise, we can perform that service for a modest fee. Please inquire through e-mail, and mention the format in which you'd like to see the resulting information (for example: Excel, comma-delimited text, .dbf, etc.). If you host Dragonfly yourself, we'll have you forward us the database to be converted.
If we're a VSTG client, can we use Dragonfly for free?
Yes. Clients who use our software testing services are entitled to free use of hosted Dragonfly for as long as they have active projects running with VSTG, and for three months after an active project finishes (often bridging to the next project).
If you already have a Dragonfly subscription when you become a VSTG client, fees are suspended as long as you have active projects with us, and for three months after. You can resume your subscription if you wind up active projects with us.
Clients who have free access to Dragonfly are entitled to use it for internal projects as well as projects they are undertaking with VSTG. The only differences between a free client account and a subscription are that there are no fees and no user limits.