By Victoria Reitano – January 24, 2011
TechExcel next week will release its new DevSuite application life-cycle management solution. DevSuite 8.3 allows developers to log in to the programs in the suite, such as DevSpec, DevPlan, DevTrack, DevTime and DevTest, via a Web-based user interface (DevSuite Web), which provides a single sign-on for all programs in the suite.
According to Tieren Zhou, CEO and chief software architect at TechExcel, the product suite also allows for agile and non-agile teams to work together throughout the application life cycle.
“All members of the team see the same Web-based user interface,” he said. He added that “development teams are blending practices from agile and traditional practices,” and that now this is something that can be tracked and monitored through DevSuite 8.3.
Scott Ambler, chief methodologist for IBM Rational, said agile methods are being used together during production by a variety of companies. These companies, he added, don’t even realize they are blending technologies at first.
“Some customers that have experiences [with agile] always combine into [a method] that looks similar across many companies. It’s usually ‘Scrum, but,’ ” Ambler said. He explained that “Scrum, but” is a term used many companies that aim to do the short sprints, daily stand-ups and other items explained in Scrum rhetoric as a way to move toward agile.
“You can do short sprints to produce something of value, and [a company] gets a clear benefit,” he said.
Ambler’s observations in the field show that many are combining a variety of agile and lean methods. Zhou added that traditional methods might be used with projects that have strict requirements or a strict flow, in which case some members of an otherwise agile team may use the traditional waterfall method.
DevSuite 8.3 will be available as a desktop and Internet solution, according to a statement by the company. It will also be accessible from any browser.