Discussion: Enhancing the OWASP BLT Project with New Features for Better Project Management and Discoverability

[DonnieBLT]

Overview

We are excited to announce the latest enhancements to the OWASP BLT (Bug Logging Tool) project, designed to help OWASP projects become more organized, visible, and interactive for contributors and users alike. The newly introduced features, along with the upcoming improvements, will significantly boost the discoverability of projects and streamline project management.

New Feature Announcement: Project Contributor Activity Tracker

You can now easily track contributor activity for your OWASP project by simply entering your project URL at OWASP BLT Projects. This feature will automatically list your project and make it more visible within the OWASP community. This is just the first step toward building a more interactive and informative project ecosystem within OWASP BLT.

Upcoming Enhancements:

1. Additional Project Metadata:

• Project Freshness Indicator: We will soon introduce a "freshness" indicator that visually represents recent activity in your repository, such as commits, pull requests, and issue updates.
• Stars and Forks Display: The number of stars and forks your project has garnered will be automatically displayed, offering insight into its popularity and community engagement.
• External Links: You’ll be able to add relevant external links, such as documentation, CI/CD pipelines, or demo sites, to provide comprehensive resources for users.

2. Advanced Search and Filtering:

• Enhanced Search Functionality: Our search will allow queries based on multiple criteria, including project name, description, freshness, stars, forks, and tags, with fuzzy search logic for improved accuracy.
• Advanced Filtering Options: Users will soon be able to filter search results by freshness, popularity, tags, and contributor activity level, allowing them to find the projects that best meet their needs.
• Specialized Tools for OWASP Community: We’re also developing tools that will be useful for the OWASP community, including the ability to search for red team resources and filter projects by their maturity or security levels.

3. Tagging System:

• Manual and AI-Powered Tagging: Projects can be tagged manually or automatically using an AI system that suggests relevant tags based on project content and repository activity.
• Tag Management: A new interface will allow for easy management of tags, with features to view popular tags and organize them into hierarchies or categories.

4. UI Enhancements:

• Project Listing and Detail Pages: The project pages will be redesigned to include the new metadata and tags, with sortable columns to help users quickly find what they’re looking for.

5. Data Refresh and Synchronization:

• Automated Updates: Our system will periodically update the stars, forks, and freshness data from your repository.
• Real-Time Syncing: We are exploring real-time syncing for crucial metrics to keep your project’s information up-to-date.

6. Admin Dashboard and Feedback Mechanism:

• Admin Tools: Project maintainers will have access to a dashboard for managing project metadata, with options for bulk editing and feedback integration.

7. Future Enhancements:

• User-Generated Tags: We plan to allow the community to contribute tags or upvote existing ones, creating a dynamic and user-driven tagging system.
• Advanced Analytics: Upcoming analytics dashboards will track trends in project activity, stars, and forks over time.
• Integration with Additional Platforms: We are working on expanding metadata collection to include repositories hosted on platforms like Bitbucket and AWS CodeCommit.

iOS App and Cross-Platform Availability

Although our iOS app and versions for Windows, Linux, and Mac are currently on hold pending an agreement with OWASP staff, we hope to have this resolved soon. Once available, these apps will allow you to track and manage projects on the go.

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We encourage everyone to join this discussion and share your thoughts, feedback, or suggestions on these new features and upcoming improvements. Your input is invaluable in making OWASP BLT a powerful tool for the community!