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Zed Shaw and Matt Pelletier Decide if Rails is Enterprise Ready

Community
Architecture,
Ruby
Topics
Enterprise Architecture,
Open Source,
Ruby on Rails

Zed Shaw and Matt Pelletier sat down with InfoQ's Obie Fernandez at RailsConf to explore some of the reasoning behind setting up the mongrel project, getting adoption in enterprise and dealing with developers who just aren't ready. Watch the interview to find out how much Shaw's Enterprise Mongrel product will cost, where the support contracts are and who'll come out on top when the vultures land.

Rich Kilmer on the Power of Ruby

Community
Ruby
Topics
Domain Specific Languages,
Semantic Web,
Dynamic Languages

Top rubyist Rich Kilmer gives InfoQ visitors an eye-opening look into his years of success using Ruby to tackle tough defense-related challenges at Darpa. Our interview covers a wide range of cutting-edge technologies from DSLs to Semantic Web technologies such as OWL, to using Flash as a front-end UI framework.

News about Productivity

My "Unit Test" Aint Your "Unit Test"

Community
Java,
Agile,
.NET,
Ruby
Topics
Software Testing,
Unit Testing

Mike Hill, well-known XP contributor, came forth to make a few interesting assertions about the misunderstanding often surrounding how a TDD "unit test" differs from the "unit test" of traditional lore, and how he uses the term 'microtesting' to clear the air for new TDD'ers.

Lessons for the Agile Community from 8aweek

Community
Agile
Topics
Agile Techniques

InfoQ recently had the opportunity to ask 8aweek co-founders Dave Fowler and Zachary Garbow some questions about how they connect with users, prioritize work, and get things done.

A Preview of Mingle 2.0

Community
Agile
Topics
Artifacts & Tools,
Collaboration,
Agile in the Enterprise,
JRuby

On April 15th Thoughtworks will release Mingle 2.0, nine months after the initial release of Mingle. InfoQ got some time with product manager Adam Monago to talk through the new functionality provided by Mingle 2.0.

First (Forgotten?) Rule Of The Retrospective: Follow Through

Community
Agile
Topics
Change,
Agile Techniques

Even the very greenest of agile teams clearly recognize the word 'Retrospective'. But, alas, it is often overlooked that a retrospective may be a wasted effort if not used to initiate an actual improvement that the team follows through on. Jim Shore gives advice on how to make the most of your retrospective and reminds us of the activity's ultimate place in the agile heartbeat.

Improving Productivity without Formal Metrics

Community
Agile
Topics
Collaboration,
Teamwork,
Leadership

Ron Jeffries has started writing a series of fictional stories based on his observation of real teams. The first story (Kate Oneal: Productivity) focuses on the character Kate O'Neal (CTO) and one of her teams "Rimshot". In this episode Ron explores achieving and measuring Productivity improvements without formal metrics.

Proposed VS 10 Features Released as a VS 2008 Add-On

Community
.NET
Topics
Artifacts & Tools

Microsoft has released a demo of potential Visual Studio 10 features as an extension for VS 2008. The features, collectively called PowerCommands for Visual Studio 2008, include the source code.

Crunch Mode And Making Superstars Average

Community
Agile
Topics
Delivering Quality,
Agile Techniques

James Golick and Reg Braithwaite discuss the often overlooked realities of how putting teams into "Crunch Mode" can have undesirable results. The discussion looks at various ways applying pressure to a team often results in putting your project into not better but worse shape and how teams and managers might benefit by taking a different approach.