Development with IBM Rational Jazz: Turning a team into an orchestra!

Statistics, as we saw last time , shows very interesting things about development. In 2006, AMR Research conducted a study on the relationship between the developer and the client. The findings were frightening. For example, 66% of all projects cannot be considered successful. 63% of customers are not satisfied with software development speed. And 58% of users are not satisfied with the quality of software. In other words, despite all the efforts, more than half of all our work with you is slow, ineffective and unsatisfactory for the end user. Recently, IBM Rational has offered new tools to correct the situation.

But why is everything so sad?

In our time, when development is conducted by distributed groups, we come across a variety of barriers. First of all, of course, geographical: not only the distance factor itself plays a role, but also the difference in time zones. As integration grows, cultural barriers also grow: we have different languages, we behave differently and react differently to what is happening.

But these are all natural obstacles. And there are organizational and infrastructural difficulties. Lack of experience, difficulties in coordinating the work of departments, security policy in outsourcing. And if incompatible development tools or players in a team collide?
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Do not say that all this is not familiar to you!

Can it work at all?

Of course it can. IT is a young industry, but there are areas of human activity where these problems have already been resolved. One of these areas is music, where a variety of people have to play together in an ensemble and do it well. You, of course, have seen jazz orchestras playing: the conductor controls them, they have notes, but when necessary, they perform solo parts and improvise separately or two or three people each. All this happens continuously, without destroying the process of playing music. Inspired by this example, IBM Rational gave the new solution the name Jazz .

On the one hand, IBM Jazz is the platform that organizes the development process. However, it is open and scalable, so it is also a technology for development. This is IBM’s view of how software development will be carried out in the future, when the platform and technology complement and develop each other.

Where can I see it?

The jazz.net community is already running . We are witnessing the development of the platform itself and the development of products based on it. I will say more: if you are a member of the community, you can participate in the development yourself, giving your feedback to architects and programmers. Thus, the platform and its products are growing and developing “from themselves”: the development of Jazz technologies is carried out using the Jazz platform, and these new technologies are already improving the platform itself. And so on to infinity.

And what's the use to me?

And here comes the very openness of Jazz. From the Web 2.0 boom at IBM Rational, an important conclusion was drawn: teamwork can be raised to a new level. In addition, be sure to remember the high level of automation: it always minimizes costs and improves quality. Jazz has a detailed project progress reporting system. But it will please managers, and developers cannot but be glad that Jazz technologies allow building heterogeneous systems for software development. The choice of development tools is significantly expanding. All together, this leads to the fact that you are not just creating a product, but improving your knowledge, sharing your experience, not stuffing other people's cones on your head.

I hate corporations and seek to destroy them!

Even in this case, you can use IBM Rational Jazz in its activities. Especially for open-source supporters, there are two main types of solutions: for open source and proprietary software. You can safely use Apache Tomcat as your application server. At the same time, Apache Derby is used as a database for storing project data, and you can communicate via Jabber / XMPP. If for some reason you can’t or don’t want to use Open Source, use IBM products. WebSphere Application Server, DB2 databases, and Lotus Sametime IM service.

What to pay attention in the first place?

Well, of course, IBM Rational Team Concert (RTC) is the first product based on Jazz. It provides the most important tools in project development: a version control system, task management and assembly management. On the sweet: it automatically provides reports on the progress of the project and provides planning iterations and elements of resource management. By the way, it is not necessary to relearn specifically. RTC is based on the well-known Eclipse. Yes, it means that the plugins for Eclipse you need will work there. And, of course, RTC integrates perfectly with IBM ClearQuest and IBM ClearCase. In addition, support is provided for a full-featured web interface. And here again let's turn to statistics. IBM RTC has been available since 2008. During this time, customers managed to gain experience in its use and leave their reviews. Here's what happened: team productivity increased to 50%, teamwork and collaboration in teams up to 25%, software quality indicators up to 12%, project management degree up to 12%. Do you know what this means in the end? The very thing for which the top management of any company fights day and night: an increase in return on investment.

Tell your financial director about these numbers!