DIALux evo: How is our software developed?

Updates for DIALux evo which simplify life for the designer are published on a regular basis. Yet we must ask how and why, as we see the situation today, the decision is taken to give priority to certain developments.

DIALux evo is used by lighting designers all over the world. Marc Allefeld and Daniel Witzel are the DIALux evo product owners. Together with the company management, they are responsible for DIAL's project strategy and its implementation.

Since DIALux evo has international distribution and is therefore used by a correspondingly large number of users, the product owners receive many wishes concerning the software. In as far as is possible, these wishes are prioritised and prepared for implementation. Special priority is given to further developments from which a large number of designers will benefit. The new features are sorted and laid out in a roadmap. At present, a team of 18 software developers is working on DIALux evo. »DIALux evo is a very demanding software project and the technical interaction of software segments is very complex«, says Marc Allefeld.

Feedback from users is especially important for further development: »We receive feedback on evo through different channels«, says Marc Allefeld. »For example, in the last few months we have visited various planning offices and the planning departments of different manufacturers and actively collected feedback. To do this we watched the planners and designers for a while as they worked and observed their workflow. Then we asked: What runs well? Where is there room for improvement?«

Our present focus in the development of DIAlux evo, namely improving the usability and speed of the software, results from these observations. »The design process is often all about speed. Fast import of plans as a basis for design is important for each and every user. The designer must also be able to position luminaires effectively. The designer's focus is on fast calculation, simplified project navigations, evaluation of results, and attractive documentation. The user must be able to find his way around the design, even in complex projects«, Allefeld explains. »The better the basics, the more easily special planning tools can subsequently be implemented. This is why our focus is, at first, primarily on designing the basic segments of the software to best suit the designer's needs«, Allfeld explains. That means developing basic planning tools to be as flexible as possible, completely free, at first, from any consideration of special questions.

So these areas take priority over special topics such as sport or emergency lighting. »We are fully aware that emergency lighting is of great importance. Nevertheless, our observations show that improved workflow will provide greater benefit for a large number of planners and designers. Of course, emergency lighting is still on the agenda for our developer«, Allefeld remarks.

In future there will many more exciting new features for the user to look forward to. Every update is worthwhile. We are always pleased to receive feedback, since it is only in this way that we can continue to improve.