Agile Journal from CM Crossroads - May 2006 - Vol. 1 No. 3 Read it online - http://www.agilejournal.com
The Agile Journal is a new publication and online magazine from CMC Media focused on providing readers with information and resources they need to develop software for an agile business. Driven by Editor in Chief and noted analyst Liz Barnett, the Agile Journal delivers thought leadership and pragmatic advice from a wide range of industry experts, as well as direct feedback from hands-on developers and project managers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This Issue Sponsored by: - LogicLibrary - Achieve Business & IT agility through SOA Governance http://www.cmcrossroads.net/go/cid=526&mid=949&id=80 - Passionate about technology? Come work with us! THOUGHTWORKS http://www.cmcrossroads.net/go/cid=507&mid=929&id=637 - Scale Agile from small projects to multi-team programs! http://www.cmcrossroads.net/go/cid=528&mid=952 ================= In this Issue ================= 1. The Growing Influence Of Open Source Projects 2. The Agile Manager: The Economic Impact of Open Source 3. Tools and Technology: Open Source Tools for the Agile Developer 4. Intellectual Property Management Issues for Development 5. Supercharge Your Application Development Open Source Strategy with an Architecture-centric Approach 6. CASE STUDY: VA Software 7. FEATURED BOOK: Practical Development Environments *********************************************************************** Sponsored by - LogicLibrary Achieve Business & IT agility through SOA Governance LogicLibrary: the only company that seamlessly brings together the architectural, development and operational views of services without compromising choice. LogicLibrary's integrated design-time repository/registry functionality and configurable governance policies make it possible for organizations to actively track and manage services, delivering those services to the developer's desktop through its deep IDE integration. Read More >> Http://www.cmcrossroads.net/go/cid=526&mid=949&id=80 ===================================== Editor's Note Liz Barnett ===================================== Impact of Open Source on Application Development How is it that the geeky, non-traditional world of open source software is having such a tremendous impact on traditional IT organizations? Development teams, and Agile projects in particular, are increasingly looking to the open source community for tools, application components, best practices and even organizational models for software projects. Of all of the influences in the industry, I think that the advent of open source software is by far the most significant that we've seen in many years. In this issue of the Agile Journal, we bring you some terrific and pragmatic advice about open source software from practitioners in the field. Ross Pettit presents explores the economics of open source and how companies derive a range of benefits from leveraging open source software. Kirk Knoernschild recommends a number of open source tools that particularly benefit Agile developers. Greg Cottichia looks at the intellectual property challenges common to many open source projects, particularly those that include offshore partners. Jeff Hodson approaches the use of open source software - for development and runtime environments - from an architectural perspective, advocating that companies invest in architecture-centric environments to best leverage open source components and tools. Brad Appleton reviews "Practical Development Environments" by Matthew Doer, a truly pragmatic approach to building productive and collaboration tools. And finally, our case study this month comes from VA Software, developer of SourceForge.net and SourceForge Enterprise Edition, and describes its experiences using XP for product development. Please let us know what your teams are experiencing. We're particularly interested in sharing best practices (and even worst practices) so that others can benefit. And, if you'd like to contribute an article to an upcoming Agile Journal issue, please let us know. Send your "Letters to the Editor" in the forum at AgileJournal.com. Liz Barnett Editor in Chief [EMAIL PROTECTED] ===================================== The Growing Influence Of Open Source Projects by Liz Barnett ===================================== Two years ago, I began writing about the impact that open source development tools, components, processes and organizational models are having on corporate IT shops. I worked with a range of development managers that shared a very similar point of view: instead of dismissing the so-called renegade open source projects, the managers emulated these projects' activities and hoped to mimic their success. This trend is only growing and I am intrigued by the ways in which IT shops are looking to the open source community for leadership. Read more >> http://www.agilejournal.com/article/id,43/ *********************************************************************** Sponsored by - ThoughtWorks Passionate about technology? Come work with us! THOUGHTWORKS Imagine a work environment that values innovation, integrity, enthusiasm and a passion for technology. A place where you'll work on interesting, challenging projects alongside some of the brightest people you have ever met - all without the typical frustrations of big company politics. You'll find this work at ThoughtWorks. Check out the variety of jobs for a range of skill sets at Http://www.cmcrossroads.net/go/cid=507&mid=929&id=637 =========================================== The Agile Manager: The Economic Impact of Open Source by Ross Pettit =========================================== For many years, pundits have anticipated seismic change from open source. Beyond the high-profile changes, the effects of open source can be seen everywhere in software development today. While still an emergent phenomenon, there are cost, revenue and intangible benefits for any company that becomes an active consumer and contributor to the open source community now. Read More>> http://www.agilejournal.com/article/id,37/ =================================================== Tools and Technology: Open Source Tools for the Agile Developer by Kirk Knoernschild =================================================== A defining characteristic of agile development is to keep moving forward, recognizing working code as the primary measure of valued software. Undoubtedly, there is no way to judge a software system until you have a system to judge. Yet, experienced developers recognize that requirements frequently change and traditional methods have achieved very little success in stabilizing requirements early in the lifecycle. Instinctively, we may feel change impedes progress, but agile developers embrace an attitude where change is viewed as an opportunity to improve the system. A variety of open source software tools can enable important agile practices, allowing you to keep moving forward so long as you are willing to embrace change. Read More>> http://www.agilejournal.com/article/id,36/ *********************************************************************** Sponsored by Rally Software - Scale Agile from small projects to multi-team programs! See how Rally's family of leading on-demand software life cycle management solutions give teams the visibility and collaboration needed to formalize and scale Agile development practices that deliver high-value software in rapid iterations. Take the Rally Test Drive today: http://www.cmcrossroads.net/go/cid=528&mid=952 ====================================================== Intellectual Property Management Issues for Development by Greg Coticchia ====================================================== To maximize intellectual property (IP) value and mitigate risk while operating in an open source application development environment, enterprises need to understand the distinction between real and perceived risks and values by utilizing processes, governance and tools. This is particularly important when involving an outsourcing partner. A lack of intellectual property capture and protection makes it harder for the outsourcing company to move from one outsource vendor to another. As a software development "value chain" evolves over time, with changes in the business and technology environments, the value of leveraging open source software may grow or decrease in value. So it makes sense to understand and review open source arrangements. In this scenario, if the intellectual properties associated with managing and producing the product are no longer available, significant flexibility will be lost. Read More>> http://www.agilejournal.com/article/id,42/ ====================================================== Supercharge Your Application Development Open Source Strategy with an Architecture-centric Approach by Jeff Hodson ====================================================== Today's software developer, like never before, is blessed with a plethora of sophisticated open source tools and technologies to aid his craft in producing market-worthy applications. Leveraging these resources together with the developer's business domain knowledge and agile best practices can quickly yield some truly amazing results To sustain these successes, an application developer must apply an architectural-centric approach in order to realize longevity, flexibility and independence in his application. Read More>> http://www.agilejournal.com/article/id,41/ =============================================================== CASE STUDY: VA Software by Chary Aasuri =============================================================== Agile development methodologies aren't one-size-fits-all. Independent software vendors (ISVs) have unique needs-external customers, aggressive release dates and competitive pressures-that require tailoring software development methodologies that work well in corporate IT settings. Faced with a major new project and bogged down by a big design up-front process, VA Software adapted Extreme Programming (XP) to help build the latest versions of SourceForgeR Enterprise Edition (SFEE). Read More>> http://www.agilejournal.com/article/id,40/ =============================================================== FEATURED BOOK: Practical Development Environments - by Matthew B. Doar reviewed by Brad Appleton =============================================================== Okay - so you're "doing the 'Agile' thing" with your software development. How about your development environment? Are all the tools in your development environment truly practical? Does your environment effectively leverage Open Source efforts and Open Source-friendly offerings and vendors? Read More>> http://www.agilejournal.com/article/id,38/ ------------------------------------------------------------------ Agile Journal is a monthly publication of CM Crossroads and CMC Media Inc. 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