A first beta version was released in early May and
we are now working towards a final release date in early June.
STEM version 7.5 includes a bumper crop of new features and represents a step-change
in flexibility and functionality for the results program in particular. The new
functionality is summarised below and is already described in some detail in our
online-help resource, help.stem.impliedlogic.com.
Existing clients are welcome to evaluate the latest
beta system, and we ask you to contact
support@impliedlogic.com directly if you would like access to the latest
available system. The official release will be notified to all current clients in
due course via our release bulletins list.
STEM 7.5 Beta 1 (et seq) can be safely installed in parallel
with STEM 7.4a, but you should read the guidance notes on compatibility and warranty
at the end of this article carefully before proceeding.
Summary of new features
Anyone who thought it was easier to browse STEM results in Excel, think again! With
text- and complexity-based filters for element and result selection, orthogonal
selection of variants for templates and scenarios, and graph selections modifiable
in situ (so you no longer have to re-draw a chart
to add an element), the results program reclaims its status as the ‘go to’
application for navigating the results of STEM models, large and small. The new
Slice option allows you to include interactive
short-list selections for any chart or table, and extra proportional-difference
operations are available for so-called ‘edge’ or ‘corner’
comparisons across any dimension of the results.
Figure 1: Using the Change Selection command to
add scenarios to an existing chart
A more professional editing experience includes autosave, firmer control of requirement
and transformation-input bases, find/copy and replace, notes per field, pixel-scaling
and zoom of icons, and some simpler language and help on errors.
Figure 2: Views zoomed to two different scales in the Editor
The underlying system is faster, leaner, and more flexible, with improvements such
as hands-on equipment migration, peak-driven services from transformations, improved
visuals and parallel processing for scenarios and templates, and tidier arrangements
for installation and generated files.
Figure 3: Parallel processing of scenarios and templates
Guidance on compatibility and warranty for the beta version
STEM 7.5 is fully compatible with models created in version 7.4, but models saved
with STEM 7.5 cannot be read back into STEM 7.4 or earlier versions without manual
input from support.
This one-way compatibility is common in software where older systems will typically
fail to recognise attributes introduced by a newer system. Traditionally it was
not too hard to ‘reverse’ a STEM model version, where the only real
loss was those newer attributes which would have no meaning for the older version.
However, the STEM 7.5 upgrade will touch all model
elements (with a new GUID property for more robust identification of results) and
potentially alter the settings of one or two attributes whose interpretation has
been amended in the new version, so this roll-back eventuality should be avoided
at all costs.
When you consider also that we can only issue a limited warranty for the integrity
of model data and results generated with this beta system, we must encourage you
to limit its use to casual interest as an opportunity to preview the final system.
By the time the final STEM 7.5 is released, we will have verified results compatibility
across our entire library of legacy test models. STEM 7.5
Beta 1 (et seq) should not be relied upon for mission-critical work in the interim,
and any use of the beta system will be at your own risk!