Welcome to the JMP Development Update for February 14, 2025!
Happy Valentine’s Day, all! Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying some sunny weather. Those of us in Cary definitely are, after several cloudy and gloomy days earlier in the week.
Now that we have frozen source code for JMP 19 EA7, please make sure that your feature pages are updated ASAP with details about what is ready to test, if you have not already done so. As I mentioned in earlier reminders, adding feature page content in a timely fashion is the best way to streamline the collation process for our product management colleagues. Please mark new items with EA7 and remove old, outdated content and screenshots from existing pages as you make updates.
We are nearing JMP 18.2 security freeze and creation of final installer candidates for that release. Although they tend to be more “behind the scenes” than other release processes, it’s worth noting that JMP’s security processes have also been changing and maturing as we release more frequently to deliver third party library fixes. In addition to monitoring results of nightly analysis runs and other code scans throughout each cycle, each product is reviewed comprehensively by Travis Lapolla, Shannon Leslie and security champions before security sign-off. Tooling processes supporting security efforts continue to evolve and improve over time thanks in large part to Alex Taylor and Nick Ruva. Our developers and security champions are putting in work that is critical to supporting users around the world, and I appreciate all their efforts!
With 18.2 work wrapping up, our next dot-dot release is on the horizon. Thanks to the DevOps team for getting JMP 18.2.1 processes set up this week! We now have a branch, nightly builds, installers and unit tests, CI processes, and code scans running. We expect 18.2.1 security updates and are prepared to deliver important approved JMP code fixes if needed. Security champions should already have access to push third party library fixes to the branch. However, if you know of a critical bug that you feel deserves serious consideration for inclusion in 18.2.1, please discuss it with your manager and request approval through the regular process. Because of the short timeframe for delivering dot-dot releases, development managers can only consider including critically important source code fixes – e.g., numeric bugs, widespread crashes, and fixes that resolve major issues holding up deployment of JMP at important customer sites.
Thanks to Shannon Leslie for sharing these details about recent Atlassian updates:
JMP Atlassian customizations and improvements - rolled out Feb 10 & Feb 11
On February 10 and 11, the JMP Atlassian admin team rolled out a few changes to Jira:
- Jira issue-level security configured for our Jira instance
- Attachment field added to Jira issue close transition screen
- Jira projects moved to our common custom notification scheme
The full documentation can be found here.
Atlassian product changes for Jira/Confluence - rolled out on Feb 11
On February 11, Atlassian rolled out changes to our Jira and Confluence Cloud sites. A list of relevant changes along with some highlighted details and documentation can be found here.
The changes include:
- Better filtering for Confluence spaces in the Content Manager
- Version history now available for Confluence whiteboards
- And more!
Atlassian Jira API deprecation of JQL search and Evaluate expression endpoints - coming May 1
Atlassian is deprecating the several Jira Platform REST endpoints, see this documentation for more information.
Please contact Shannon Leslie or any of the other JMP Atlassian admins with questions.
Thanks to Tonya Mauldin for sharing this week’s Beta/Crash cases with crashes selected!
Beta and crash report for the week of Feb 14 2025 | JMP Live
And finally, thanks to John Sall for sharing the most recent winner for the monthly Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education Cartoon Caption Contest! The submission form and entry rules for the next contest ending February 28 can be found here. The best submission will be posted on CAUSEweb and the winner(s) will receive their choice of a coffee mug or t-shirt imprinted with the final cartoon or free registration to eCOTS2026.
There were 44 submissions for the January contest:
- The judges found the winning caption for the cartoon to be “Statistical solutions that take a Ph.D. to understand aren’t welcome in most places” submitted by Jim Alloway from EMSQ Associates. Jim’s caption can be used to illustrate the idea that no matter how sound the technical analysis is, if the client can't understand it, they won't use it.
- An honorable mention in this contest goes to Larry Lesser from The University of Texas at El Paso for the caption "To conquer statistics, lay siege to a formulaic approach!” that might be used to encourage students to open the gates of understanding and intuition, beyond rote recipes and application of formulas.
- A second honorable mention goes to Alan Chesen, from Wright State University for the caption “Guards--We can't leave the discipline of statistical and mathematical thought outside the gates of the city--it's too important in the world in which we live.” Alan’s caption is designed to encourage student understanding of the importance of Statistics in understanding the world.
General Announcements
Important Upcoming Dates
- JMP 18.2 Security Freeze – 2/21/25
- JMP 18.2 Final Image Candidate – 2/24/25
- JMP 18.2 QA Signoff – 3/13/25
- JMP 18.2 Release in MyJMP - 3/18/25
- Please visit Confluence for a full list of JMP 18 and JMP 19 dates.
JMP Development Updates
Core
- Dan S: Added launcher options to create embedded platforms without a red-triangle menu. Stretching fixes for SpacerBox to avoid Asserts. Working on data filter update to allow for more flexible searching for items without clearing filter.
- Evan: Finished various Filter View related UI improvements for EA7. Planned redesign of Column Filter UI. Adding action recording to Tags and undo to Filter Views.
- Dave B: Investigated a couple of different crashes and bugs. Performance testing jmprunner CL builds.
- Xan: Hover label vs scoped transform conflict, multiple-response bugs, axis help.
- Andrew: Added multiple response (MR) support to Tabulate.
DOE and Reliability
- Caleb: Finalizing the latest sample size explorers for EA7. Also compiling results on model estimation and prediction for a student working with Dr. Montgomery on an accelerated degradation project.
- Irene: Attended meetings with Dr. Simos on various topics of combinatorial testing; working on Bayesian fault localization user interface, usability study and confluence page; fixing some Jira tickets.
Hosting and Interfaces
- Paul N:
- Python R support EA 7 – Support for previous JSL R commands and a jmpex to access similar functionality from Python scripts, updated Scripting Index for both JSL R commands and the new jmpex package.
- Writing documentation for the Python based R support.
- Security – Updating JMP 8.2, 8.2.1, and 19.0 for libcurl.
- Nick got Snyk scanning the Python and libcurl sources, and I needed to triage vulnerabilities reported against Python. All but 2 were false positives One will be fixed in 19.0 as soon as I update to Python 3.13.2. Once the fix is backported to 3.11, it will be fixable in an 18.x security release. The other also fixed in Python 3.13.2 only affects users of a particular external Python package.
Interactive HTML
- Paul Spychala: Fix Fit to Window for graphs inside ScrollBoxes (JMPHTML-14364) and other Fit to Window bugs.
JMP Live
- Aurora: Control chart warning improvements (bug fixing, finished cursor paging of markers, writing more info to audit log when a warning is invalidated, recorded Discovery talk - thank you to Valérie Nedbal and Annie Dudley). Updated some third party packages.
Statistics
- John Sall:
- In Process Screening, more Subgroup work for CCB Launch (JMP-24655, JMP-22702), fix save script for n-Trials (JMP-23533), support column switcher for Live publish (JMP-24800), drop support of Test5 for non-normal processes (JMP-23533) and make some Alarm Graph markers bigger.
- In Profiler - for the Optimization Control Panel, add a "Show" column of checkboxes to Responses and Factors, add "Append Settings to Table" and "Save Desirabilities" buttons, and provide for access of dependencies on desirability changes (JMP-23768).
- In K-Means Clustering add an "Initial Clusters" with choices for randomize or use a category column (JMP-10060).
- Found several access violations in Bayesian Optimization detected by ASAN in XCode debug build.
- Reported several Data Table window resizing and dragging Asserts in Mac debug build.
- In Contour Profiler, added a "Data Points" option (JMP-24857), which will be useful in showing iteration runs in Bayesian Optimization for known response functions.
- Elizabeth: Addressed several bugs found in Mixed/GLMM related to the empirical standard errors (JMP-24768, JMP-24790, JMP21118). Also found and fixed a crash in Mixed with heterogenous repeated structures when a subject has entirely missing data (JMP-24854).
Stat Documentation
- Michael C: Made some Reliability-related doc updates for 19, including reorganizing the help chapters to reflect the updated Analyze > Reliability & Survival menu. Started planning for my part of a roadmap session at Discovery Europe. Reviewed resumes for summer intern position. Continued string consolidation work for duplicate strings that have identical translations across all languages.
Stat Testing
- Jacob: Testing updates to Sample Size Explorers, with Yeng. Updated unit tests for the Acceptance Single Sample explorer and wrote new unit tests for the Nonparametric Tolerance explorer. Triaging DOE Jira tickets. Preparing presentation on using covering arrays in unit testing, with Mark. Investigating potential performance issues.
- Mark: Chris and I discussed the new way in which multiple responses are handled in the Bayesian Optimization platform. I am testing the new BO platform for usability issues and bugs. I attended the R&D colloquium. Triaged open tickets for Easy DOE with Jacob.
- Tonya: Testing new CCB features such as set last n subgroups and new dialog features.
Life Sciences Updates
- Drew: Solved critical issue at Novo with their production JMP Clinical instance - they moved their entire D drive that contained all of their JMP Clinical configurations to their C drive - breaking the application for all users. Got them back up and running within the hour with a simple tweak to their Citrix app launcher that virtualized a D mount point. JMP Clinical 19 bugs/features and Jira organization/triaging. JMP Clinical security fixes for 19.0, 18.2.1, and possibly 18.2. Support JMPC dev team with JSL and design collaborations.
Technical Support and Engagement
- Gary:
- There has been a lot of sickness within the TS team, but the Support teams have been working together to keep up with any customer questions.
- Below are the usual graphs for case volume as well as topics for both Tech Support and Engagement. Here are the TS JMP Live reports and the link to the Jira filter showing the tickets reported by Support for the last 14 days.
- Technical Support Case Volume by week:
- Case Topics for Technical Support queue, last week:
- Engagement Support Case Volume by week:
- Case Topics for Engagement queue, last week:
Development Operations
- Continuing to track 18.2.1 branching tasks. Thanks to Jim, Nick, and Bob who got a branch, builds and installers, and unit tests up and running so quickly! Working on improvements to the MIF-PDF process to output better PDF names. Thanks to Qiana and Chris who gave me a list of filenames for each PDF. (there’s a lot) Working with Audrey and Ericka (thanks to them both) on copyright questions. (so many places we need copyrights!) Enjoyed Dmitri Simos’ presentation on Tuesday. I didn’t think it was possible to trust software less than I did, but I was wrong. Learned about Jira notification schemes and issue-level security restrictions. Thanks, Shannon L!
- Shannon L: PLSR reviews with Travis and the JMP product champions for 18.2. Tracked Atlassian monthly changes and made additional Atlassian custom configuration changes, see lists below. Weekly technical meetings plus meetings on source code integration and vulnerability scanning. Meeting with Snyk on renewals. Meetings with project teams on lending assistance for program management help and general process improvements.
- Shannon C: Triaging prevalent 18.1.2 crashes. Began reviewing Late features page against list of remaining open Story items. Thanks for the triage work already done on Epic and Story items! Please keep up the good work. Discussions on database migrations and future telemetry and crash data improvements.
Localization
- Allison: Worked on processing the February handoff of JMP Marketplace strings to prepare and send the kits out to vendors for localization; communicated with translators on questions they had about strings for 19.0 Portable UI and Marketplace; reviewed Localization team goals for 2025 and provided inputs; completed Code of Ethics training; researched about developer's question about CJK languages' y-axis label layout preferences.
- Trish: Localization Team Goals for 2025 completed. Helping to coordinate travel to the reunion for some team members. Starting to plan for meetings during Reunion week.
Ying: Continuing to check EN screenshot scripts for UG and retaking screenshots if needed (JMPLOCTOOL-717). Currently, the first five chapters have been completed. Three Jira bugs opened for the Documentation team to make corrections to some screenshot scripts. JMP reunion travel planning.
- Howard: Mainly doing bug fixes and testing. Added a feature for ongoing memoQ project wordcount page for content connector.
- Krzysztof: Built a prototype project for automated machine translation, review, and post editing of JMP Marketplace Add-in descriptions. Working on queries from translators and reviewers. Testing new automaton features in our workflow.
- Sohail: Sample index: Ready for next steps. Removing author information from scripts: Sample scripts: Removing author and contact information. Reviewed converted DJ.
- Sandy: Began testing new string return process program. Verified some project creation dashboard functions.
Documentation
- Qiana: Restaged and reinstalled the department Mac mini; troubleshooting connection issues. Completed EA 7 tasks for JMP help. Worked on sample data table updates. Completed testing of assigned chapters in the Oxygen-converted DJ. Project planning and coordination.
- Susan C: Completed EA 7 tasks, resetting books. Reviewing DJ chapters in Oxygen. Working on JMP Live updater documentation & JMP Live help updates for 19. Generated & published a draft of the HTML5 help for 19. Completed mandatory training.
- Khawar: Sample index: Ready for next steps. Removing author information from scripts: Sample scripts: Removing author and contact information. Reviewed converted DJ.
- Devon: Reviewing updated screenshots from Ying, reviewing Column Tagging feature, and debugging our script for relinking localized FrameMaker files.
- Chris: Worked on the 18.1 help build, a good bit on JMPDOC-2262 (Karen’s weird content issue), JMP-11231, JMP-20561, and JMP-20548.
System/Host Testing-Cary
- Mandy: Worked on lots of Data table issues – filter view and data filter fixes and changes. Multiple response columns are now supported in the Tabulate platform which seems to be working well. Working on Confluence page for EA7 and will do a tabulate video for EA7 to demo these additions so folks will try them out. Column tags changes, look nice due to matching on both mac and windows now as you pick and select them – and the UI seems cleaner; Hoping to get JSL soon for those so I can use WFB to write some tests.
- Audrey: Helping team members with EA feedback, completing branching tasks for 18.2.1 associated with testing, research Jira API endpoint changes, planning with Nala and team for the JMP Reunion.
- Nick H: Working to catch up on a lot of verifications and EA feedback tracks that piled up since I was on jury duty. Made a change to JSL Unit Test GUI to hopefully speed up test runs when _utDailyBuild is enabled. I also found and reported several other 19 bugs related notebooks and some other recent changes.
Web Testing – Cary
- Anna: Testing Ernest’s transform fix for leakage issue. Verifying Xan’s update for dynamic transforms. Investigating Beta tracks in order to report issues.
- Natalie: Continued to work on new Control Chart automation. Triage diffs caused by a Chrome upgrade for our image benchmark testcases.
System/Host Testing-Beijing
Note from Shannon
Thanks to Chris Barrett for sharing this comic! :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes: And I hope you all enjoy what’s left of Valentine’s Day!
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/proof-3
