diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 676fff5..91c7fb2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       matrix:
         os: [ ubuntu-latest ]
-        java: [ 11, 17, 21, 25, 27 ]
+        java: [ 21, 25, 27 ]
         include:
           - os: windows-latest
             java: 21
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4d781b4..0bf25c0 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,5 +4,4 @@
 /flexdock-view/target/
 /flexdock-drag/target/
 /flexdock-perspective/target/
-/flexdock-dockbar/target/
 flexdock-demo/dependency-reduced-pom.xml
diff --git a/README-BUILD.md b/README-BUILD.md
index 7e4e94b..7de4d7c 100644
--- a/README-BUILD.md
+++ b/README-BUILD.md
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 Building Flexdock
 --------------------------
 
-To build this project, obtain a copy of Apache's Maven from
-https://maven.apache.org. We recommend to use version 3.0 or later.
-Building requires JDK 21 or later (needed by the Checkstyle version used in the
-build). The compiled classes still target Java 8.
+To build this project you need JDK 21+ and Maven 3.6.3+.
+The resulting jars target Java 8.
 
 From this directory you should be able to build everything by running
 the command
diff --git a/flexdock-demo/pom.xml b/flexdock-demo/pom.xml
index 4edaf87..100404f 100644
--- a/flexdock-demo/pom.xml
+++ b/flexdock-demo/pom.xml
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>2.4.3</version>
+                <version>3.6.2</version>
                 <executions>
                     <execution>
                         <phase>package</phase>
@@ -68,6 +68,15 @@
                             <goal>shade</goal>
                         </goals>
                         <configuration>
+                            <filters>
+                                <filter>
+                                    <artifact>*:*</artifact>
+                                    <excludes>
+                                        <!-- generated by ManifestResourceTransformer below -->
+                                        <exclude>META-INF/MANIFEST.MF</exclude>
+                                    </excludes>
+                                </filter>
+                            </filters>
                             <transformers>
                                 <transformer implementation="org.apache.maven.plugins.shade.resource.ManifestResourceTransformer">
                                     <mainClass>org.flexdock.demos.AllDemos</mainClass>
diff --git a/flexdock-perspective/pom.xml b/flexdock-perspective/pom.xml
index 8157b89..c0f0dfe 100644
--- a/flexdock-perspective/pom.xml
+++ b/flexdock-perspective/pom.xml
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId>
             <artifactId>junit-jupiter</artifactId>
-            <version>5.14.4</version>
+            <version>6.1.3</version>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
diff --git a/flexdock-view/pom.xml b/flexdock-view/pom.xml
index 1da727e..2e224af 100644
--- a/flexdock-view/pom.xml
+++ b/flexdock-view/pom.xml
@@ -26,5 +26,10 @@
             <version>1.3</version>
             <type>jar</type>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>net.sf.squirrel-sql.thirdparty-non-maven</groupId>
+            <artifactId>skinlf</artifactId>
+            <version>6.7</version>
+        </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index ab9b996..fc39bb2 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -3,12 +3,6 @@
 
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
-    <parent>
-        <groupId>org.sonatype.oss</groupId>
-        <artifactId>oss-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>9</version>
-    </parent>
-
     <groupId>org.flexdock</groupId>
     <artifactId>flexdock</artifactId>
     <version>1.3</version>
@@ -57,62 +51,54 @@
     </pluginRepositories>
 
     <properties>
-        <javaVersion>1.8</javaVersion>
+        <javaVersion>8</javaVersion>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <!-- severity of checkstyle Javadoc checks (overridden in modules that do not need Javadoc) -->
         <checkstyle.javadoc.severity>warning</checkstyle.javadoc.severity>
     </properties>
 
-    <dependencies>
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>net.sf.squirrel-sql.thirdparty-non-maven</groupId>
-            <artifactId>skinlf</artifactId>
-            <version>6.7</version>
-        </dependency>
-    </dependencies>
-
     <build>
         <pluginManagement>
             <plugins>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>maven-site-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>2.2</version>
+                    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>3.16.0</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>maven-scm-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>1.5</version>
+                    <artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>3.7.0</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>2.3.2</version>
+                    <artifactId>maven-resources-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>3.5.0</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>maven-resources-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>2.5</version>
+                    <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>3.6.1</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>2.1</version>
+                    <artifactId>maven-clean-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>3.5.0</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
-                    <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>wagon-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>1.0-beta-3</version>
+                    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                    <artifactId>maven-install-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>3.2.0</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
-                    <groupId>org.apache.maven.scm</groupId>
-                    <artifactId>maven-scm-provider-svnexe</artifactId>
-                    <version>1.4</version>
+                    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                    <artifactId>maven-deploy-plugin</artifactId>
+                    <version>3.2.0</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                     <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
-                    <version>2.3.1</version>
+                    <version>3.5.1</version>
                 </plugin>
                 <plugin>
                     <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
@@ -122,20 +108,47 @@
                         <dependency>
                             <groupId>com.puppycrawl.tools</groupId>
                             <artifactId>checkstyle</artifactId>
-                            <version>14.3.0</version>
+                            <version>14.4.0</version>
                         </dependency>
                     </dependencies>
                 </plugin>
             </plugins>
         </pluginManagement>
         <plugins>
+            <plugin>
+                <!-- require JDK and Maven versions needed by the build -->
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
+                <executions>
+                    <execution>
+                        <id>enforce-build-environment</id>
+                        <goals>
+                            <goal>enforce</goal>
+                        </goals>
+                        <configuration>
+                            <rules>
+                                <requireMavenVersion>
+                                    <version>[3.6.3,)</version>
+                                </requireMavenVersion>
+                                <requireJavaVersion>
+                                    <!-- the checkstyle engine requires JDK 21 -->
+                                    <version>[21,)</version>
+                                </requireJavaVersion>
+                            </rules>
+                        </configuration>
+                    </execution>
+                </executions>
+            </plugin>
             <plugin>
                 <!-- enforce java version -->
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                 <configuration>
-                    <source>${javaVersion}</source>
-                    <target>${javaVersion}</target>
+                    <release>${javaVersion}</release>
+                    <compilerArgs>
+                        <!-- Java 8 is obsolete for newer JDKs, but still the supported target -->
+                        <arg>-Xlint:-options</arg>
+                    </compilerArgs>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
             <plugin>
@@ -155,8 +168,15 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.felix</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-bundle-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>2.3.7</version>
+                <version>6.2.0</version>
                 <extensions>true</extensions>
+                <configuration>
+                    <instructions>
+                        <!-- keep the manifests free of java.* imports and execution environment requirements -->
+                        <_noimportjava>true</_noimportjava>
+                        <_noee>true</_noee>
+                    </instructions>
+                </configuration>
                 <executions>
                     <execution>
                         <id>bundle-manifest</id>
@@ -170,7 +190,7 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-source-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.0.1</version>
+                <version>3.4.0</version>
                 <executions>
                     <execution>
                         <id>attach-sources</id>
@@ -204,65 +224,4 @@
         </plugins>
     </build>
 
-    <reporting>
-        <plugins>
-            <plugin>
-                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                <artifactId>maven-project-info-reports-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>2.2</version>
-                <reportSets>
-                    <reportSet>
-                        <reports>
-                            <report>index</report>
-                            <report>summary</report>
-                            <report>dependencies</report>
-                            <report>project-team</report>
-                            <report>license</report>
-                            <report>issue-tracking</report>
-                            <report>mailing-list</report>
-                            <report>scm</report>
-                        </reports>
-                    </reportSet>
-                </reportSets>
-                <configuration>
-                    <dependencyLocationsEnabled>false</dependencyLocationsEnabled>
-                </configuration>
-            </plugin>
-            <plugin>
-                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                <artifactId>maven-jxr-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>2.2</version>
-                <configuration>
-                    <linkJavadoc>true</linkJavadoc>
-                    <!-- <javadocDir>/path/to/javadocs</javadocDir> -->
-                </configuration>
-            </plugin>
-            <plugin>
-                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>2.7</version>
-                <configuration>
-                    <quiet>true</quiet>
-                    <verbose>false</verbose>
-                    <links>
-                        <link>https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/</link>
-                        <show>public</show>
-                    </links>
-                </configuration>
-                <reportSets>
-                    <reportSet>
-                        <reports>
-                            <report>javadoc</report>
-                        </reports>
-                    </reportSet>
-                </reportSets>
-            </plugin>
-            <plugin>
-                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
-                <artifactId>findbugs-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>2.3.1</version>
-            </plugin>
-        </plugins>
-    </reporting>
-
 </project>