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IBM Donates Parts of Rational to Open Source

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the swiss-army-knife-of-dreams dept.

slashbob22 writes "IBM has decided to contribute portions of the Rational Unified Process to the Eclipse Foundation. From the article: 'RUP is a vast collection of methods and best practices for promoting quality and efficiency throughout software development projects. IBM's donation will also provide a foundation architecture and Web-based tools for the industry to engineer, collaborate on, share and reuse software development best practices.'"

6 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Hard to Understand by someguy456 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As an intern at IBM this summer, I found that some of the regulars themselves didn't know what RUP was. In particular, some claimed it was simply a process to follow, some linked it with a special program, others claimed complete ignorance, and others simply waved it off as labeling the pre-existing procedures. I still wonder what RUP is all about...

    --
    Robert Bindler
    A Computer Science student's views on technology.
  2. OK OK I'll admit it -- coders are LAZY my friend by Work+Account · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Look, we are and I'll admit that. I'm not afraid to criticize myself and other developers:

    - Me and other coders are often eager to jump right into projects instead of designing them thoroughly (using RUP for example)
    - Other coders and I often get bored after I figure out the hard part and say the rest is trivial

    It's more of a work ethic. Also, my friends in the gaming industry (Electronic Arts(tm) for example) work 60-80 hour weeks, so it's understandable that they seek out shortcuts.

    Let's agree to work a little harder and/or smarter and not skimp on design! USE RATIONAL!

    --

    If you "get" pointers add me as a friend (116)!
  3. Huh? by 0WaitState · · Score: 3, Interesting

    IBM is "donating" the methods of RUP to open source projects? I thought IBM liked open source?

    As far as RUP goes, it's kind of like communism. Looks good in theory, but goes all pear-shaped when real human beings get involved. Pull the UML out of RUP and leave it at that--the rest is madness, enobling "process" over productivity.

    --

    Remain calm! All is well!
    1. Re:Huh? by arudloff · · Score: 5, Interesting

      People try to make RUP into more than it is. The idea is to take and leave what works for your organization, and build a loose process around it. It's a framework for generating your own applicable process, and all too often companies want to do everything that RUP tells them to do (ignorning the fact that RUP tells you not to do everything..)

      What really needs to be taken from RUP is the idea that an iterative approach reduces risk of failure. The concept of "roles" is helpful, but thats just basic teamwork.

  4. Don't plagiarize buddy by Work+Account · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Look at the 80 character line lengths in the parent post and thus the premature line breaks.

    You obviously copy+pasted this post from somewhere, which isn't cool to do unless you properly attribute it.

    --

    If you "get" pointers add me as a friend (116)!
  5. Re:OK OK I'll admit it -- coders are LAZY my frien by kpharmer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    > I'm part of the enterprise change control staff at my company, and I can tell you that the more tightly
    > we implement controls, the more often we discover that the problems that arise are from developers
    > implementing untested changes without authorization. If you force them to submit change documents, and
    > don't let the changes get into the code base until the change has been authorized (for that matter, don't
    > let them code until the change has been authorized), then have someone else test the changed software
    > before the code gets pushed up, you've got a three-legged stool to stand on, and you have an auditable
    > process that maintains accountability.

    don't forget "The Law of Unintended Consequences" which shows that:
    1. as accountability goes up attitude, morale, productivity, and efficiency go down
    2. once you hit critical mass on paperwork, process, etc you destroy motivation - there's some point on the curve at which point everyone just says 'who cares' and 'why bother'
    3. it's impossible to really anticipate everything upfront, which means that minor changes that in a system and organization that embraces agility & resilence can be easily handled in stride take 40x as long in an organization afraid of blame.
    4. most of the work is done by the motivated and talented 10% of the staff. these people leave rather than put up with the bureacracy designed to hinder the 90% that are unproductive.

    RUP is a disaster, I've seen it absolutely wreck companies.