If you understand how things (anything, really) can be affected when they're being observed -- how you slow down to the speed limit when you see a parked police car, or how your carnivorous pet will stay away from the pot roast, as long as you're paying attention -- then several corollaries will also make sense. One of these, that the act of measurement affects the thing being measured, is a curious but highly useful principle in managing software development teams. To start the new year, Rational author and emerging technologies specialist Kurt Bittner presents new concepts for measuring progress during iterative development projects. We also take a look at Sarbanes-Oxley compliance strategies via Rational Method Composer and Rational Portfolio Manager. Plus, we examine The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), Rational ClearQuest, Rational SoDA, and much more.
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Measuring project health: Part One, by Kurt Bittner What project managers choose to measure as a gauge on performance generally receives the team's special attention. Naturally, project health depends on accurate metrics, but more importantly it requires that the right things be measured. This article describes some of the fallacies associated with traditional software project metrics, then focuses on effective measurement during the Inception phase.
TOGAF or not TOGAF: Extending Enterprise Architecture beyond RUP, by Vitalie Temnenco This article contrasts the disciplines of enterprise architecture, solution architecture, and business architecture; compares these disciplines to the IBM Rational Unified Process (RUP) and suggests ways to combine them; and advocates applying The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) in combination with RUP to advance the implementation of enterprise architecture within organizations.
The value of RUP certification, by Jochen Krebs This article describes the IBM Certified Solution Designer -- Rational Unified Process v7.0 certification, including the requirements for certification and its advantages for RUP specialists.
Change management at IBM Rational -- Part 2: Enhancing the IBM Rational change management solution, by Robert Pierce The second in a two-part series, this article explores potential enhancements to IBM Rational's change management system that can integrate stakeholder concerns even further. Part 1 discusses how the IBM Rational ClearQuest development team uses the ClearQuest product and related integrations and best practices.
Using SoDA to generate large documents in the Microsoft Word environment, by Einar Karlsen and Debra Johnson Demonstrating compliance with industry and legal guidelines often requires software development teams to document their efforts at various points in the project lifecycle. This paper demonstrates how to divide complex documents into more manageable pieces using IBM Rational SoDA in concert with the Microsoft Word concept of master and affiliated documents.
Book excerpt -- Chapter 1: CMMI Survival and Process Improvement, by Suzanne Garcia and Richard Turner An excerpted chapter from the recent book, CMMI Survival Guide: Just Enough Process Improvement, by Suzanne Garcia and Richard Turner, written for organizations committed to CMMI as well as those just beginning to explore process improvement programs.
Anti-patterns for people and tools, by Gary Pollice Gary Pollice continues his list of common mistakes in software development practice, adding to last month's observations about process adoption with a second and third set this month regarding people management and tools adoption.
