The IBM Rational mission hasn't really changed since the days when our organization was an independent company: "To ensure the success of our clients who depend on their ability to develop and deploy software and systems." Yes, we've added the word "systems" to cover that important sector of our target market, but our message is still about success in developing, deploying, and managing these high-tech endeavors. For many of our customers, the technical expertise we provide through our service and technical sales teams is as valuable to that success as any software tools we might offer them. But on such rapidly changing technical terrain, how do our own people stay up to speed on successful techniques regarding software and systems?
In our fall issue, we take a close look at how we cultivate expertise within our extensive services team through a concept called "Communities of Practice." We also bring you a close look at agile practices, an overdue examination of PurifyPlus (including PureCoverage) techniques, and a host of new articles that help put our recent product announcements into context for you.
You'll find these new articles and more by clicking on the "Contents" tab above, and don't forget our "Archives" in the navigation bar at left.
Cover story:The Rational approach to technical enablement, by Darrel Rader and John McDonald
Read how two leaders in the IBM Rational organization describe the challenges and practices of preparing customer-focused field teams to help businesses succeed.
Managing your first project with IBM Rational Quality Manager, by Michael Kelly
Built on the Jazz platform, IBM Rational Quality Manager is a collaborative, Web-based tool, that offers comprehensive test planning and test asset management throughout the software development lifecycle.
Handling Requirements Effectively on Agile Projects, by Theodore F. Rivera
Requirements management doesn't have to be complicated. In this article you will learn the essentials of a straightforward approach to managing requirements effectively on virtually any Agile software development project. It includes a detailed example.
Automating your service factory with SOA governance and tooling by Roger Bowser, Robert Laird, Neil Leblanc, Randy Lexvold, Guy Loewy,
Jaimin Patel
The introduction of an SOA can often be the tipping point for moving from weak IT governance to a stronger and better aligned IT and business governance framework. Read how a governance framework can support a typical service development lifecycle process using governance control gates to help ensure the quality of services.
Demos: The Achilles Heel of Agile Projects, by Theodore F. Rivera
The Agile Manifesto and other Agile guidance suggests frequent product demonstrations, such as at the end of each iteration. But much of this advice is broad and non-specific, leaving development teams to learn by trial and error. This article provides a wealth of practical wisdom on when, how, and in front of whom to perform demos on Agile projects.
PureCoverage report scripts: Get the most out of your coverage data, by Navneet R. Srivastava and Susan McVey
IBM Rational PureCoverage is a component of IBM Rational PurifyPlus that measures code coverage of tests dynamically at run time. In addition to reporting on overall code coverage, PureCoverage can produce various kinds of customized reports to assist testers and developers in identifying untested code and doing targeted testing of new code. This article gives instruction for creating customized PureCoverage reports.
Overview of Rational Software Architect for WebSphere Software Version 7.5 by Steve Arnold
This article focuses on the new modeling and transformation features in IBM Rational Software Architect for WebSphere Software Version 7.5. New IBM Rational Application Developer features around EJB3, JPA, Web 2.0 and other areas are detailed in the companion articles referenced at the end of this article.
What's new in IBM Rational Application Developer Version 7.5 by James Chung
This article provides an overview of the new features of IBM Rational Application Developer Version 7.5. It is the successor to Version 7.0; therefore, a basic familiarity with V7.0 (or V6.0) is useful.
Webcasts, tutorials, demos, and more: Fall 2008, by The Rational Marketing Team
These dynamic, Web-based tutorials, demos, and trial downloads will introduce new concepts or help refresh your knowledge base. Check out this extensive listing of IBM Rational Web-based resources.
Learn about IBM Rational practices, by Rational Technical Staff
Generally speaking, a practice is set of techniques for accomplishing a goal. Usually a part of a larger process, a practice represents a chosen way to pursue a related goal. Read this brief summary of a new approach to software development and delivery best practices.
