Jama Software's collaborative requirements management portfolio has this week been upped with a new version release. The company's Contour 3.0 web-based requirements management software is designed to provide a centralized communications hub to initiate, discuss, change, and track requirements throughout the entire application development process.

With this new product, Jama is attempting to differentiate itself from other requirements management solutions with an equally collaborative approach and a much larger installed base of users. The company has therefore highlighted new product features such as the option to include system hierarchy capabilities to manage highly complex software and hardware projects, and a new "Review Center" module that helps connect and socialize team members for improved idea sharing and decision making around project and system requirements.

"Building great software and hardware is inherently a very social process that leads teams to make new realizations, develop new ideas and, hopefully, achieve continuous innovation as projects progress and mature," explained Eric Winquist, CEO of Jama Software. "With Contour 3.0, we continue to remove the complexity of managing literally thousands of requirements and, through Review Center, bring the best in social communications to both the team and enterprise level."

Jama says that Contour helps organize and manage all of the input, decisions, and ongoing discussions that revolve around the requirements of a software application or embedded systems project. Delivered through web application front end, Contour aims to provide all of the core functionality needed for requirements and scope management.

The product's main function is to connect all stakeholders — from product executives and project managers to business analysts, QA specialists and developers — and keep them in sync through real-time discussions and socialized decision making.

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