There's actually a wikipedia entry for "Eat one's own dog food," meaning "Use your own products to manage your business." While that recommendation could apply to any type of product, it almost always refers to software products and the companies who make them. (Some at IBM Software Group have suggested changing the phrase to "Drink your own champagne," but, so far, there's no wikipedia entry for that!) This month, we give you an inside look at how the IBM Rational team responsible for developing the ClearQuest product has taken up the "dog food" challenge by using this tool in managing its own project lifecycles. We also present the first in a two-part series on using RUP to build a data warehouse, plus a proposal for new systems modeling techniques.
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A RUP-based approach to developing a data warehouse -- Part 1: Setting the stage, Scott W. Ambler This two-part series overviews how to take an IBM Rational Unified Process (RUP)-based approach to data warehouse (DW) projects that reduces both your business and technical risk while delivering a high-quality solution that meets the changing needs of its end users. This article overviews the problems associated with a traditional, serial approach to DW development, describes how the evolutionary approach of RUP is much better suited, and overviews the initial phase of such a project.
The four dimensions of system models, Fredrik FermArchitectural frameworks such as RUP SE and the Zachman Framework help us understand large systems and how to view dependencies. But when an actual system model is being examined by a team of analysts, misunderstandings can still arise over what the various views within a model are attempting to convey. The author proposes an improved approach to describing the parts of a complex system model.
UML, RUP, and the Zachman Framework: Better together, Vitalie TemnencoThis article proposes innovative ways to combine three of the most important methodologies that have emerged in the past decade in the field of information systems architecture: UML, RUP, and the Zachman Framework.
Method content authoring: Creating a customized work product with IBM Rational Method Composer, Jean-Louis MaréchauxLearn how IBM Rational Method Composer supports method authoring and publishing. Through a simple case study, the author demonstrates how work product definitions can easily be customized in order to create a tailored process based on the IBM Rational Unified Process (RUP).
Book review -- Rails Recipes, written by Chad Fowler, reviewed by Jimmy Schmenti A favorable review of a book that provides Ruby on Rails programmers with solutions to a large subset of common Rails problems.
