Integrated Collaborative Work Environment
From the days of standalone application development to today's globally distributed delivery models, IT industry has gone through significant progression. Automation tools have evolved synchronously, paving way for higher productivity and efficiency. The expansion of global markets and the omnipresence of IT in all walks of life have propelled the creation of global collaborative platforms that empower organizations to communicate comprehensively and work together in mutually beneficial partnerships.
The evolution of integrated development environments, better known as IDEs was the first step towards cohesively performing multiple activities in a single platform. While this addresses issues with respect to activities like build, connectivity with other LC stages still remains a challenge. End to end integration of tools across the SDLC provides a solution in terms of seamless integration across the lifecycle that enhances traceability, efficiency, governance and deliverable quality.
A collaborative environment will not be effective just by choosing the best set of tools; it entirely depends on how efficiently the tools are being utilized. While integrated platforms offer a wide array of benefits, the advent of globally distributed development has necessitated the creation of tools that connect individuals from various parts of the world. Below are some of the features required of an effective collaboration environment to address this need:
• Information sharing and continuous monitoring helps improve the team's performance. The usage of version control tools coupled with document management provides data transparency and a means to manage knowledge. Integrating these features with the Project Management and reporting capabilities can further strengthen the work progress monitoring
• Process enactment - Usage of workflow engines that perform various checks on business process enactment during project execution
• Communication - Tools form the bridge between individuals to interact effectively. Especially in an onsite-offshore development scenario there is a need for good communication tools with frequent access to data in order to facilitate real-time collaboration and perform effective reviews of the artifacts
• Cross platform compatibility - Project teams must be able to access the collaborative software/tools across multiple platforms over the internet. These tools also need to be flexible, agile and light-weight to cater to the constantly evolving needs of project teams in the IT services domain
Collaborative software solutions like IBM Rational Team Concert and Microsoft Team Foundation Server provide features for effective communication and data transparency to make a marked difference in delivering software on time. They provide software development teams with a collaborative environment in which they can manage all aspects of their work, such as project planning, version control, build management, and consolidated reporting. Microsoft TFS has a built-in integration with Microsoft SharePoint for document management as well, which further augments its capabilities for information sharing. This helps in mitigating the challenges of improving team productivity.
In Infosys, Tools Group has established a centralized Microsoft TFS setup that currently supports project teams across the organization to work in a collaborative manner. Infosys has also created a Total Integrated Delivery Environment that integrates engineering tools with project management tools, bridging the gap between engineering and management activities. This, along with initiatives to access and use tools on the cloud can go a long way in providing an organized and efficient collaboration environment.
Published with inputs from Pallavi Bomma, Infosys Tools Group
Comments
The team has to be enabled to work in a distributed environment, be sensitive to cultural differences, and importantly a structure that facilitates multi site working
Posted by: Vinod | December 11, 2011 3:58 PM