Software

• Video Transcript (5KB)

Assets are a collection of artifacts, or files, that provide a reusable solution to a specific business problem. The benefits to using them would seem obvious.

But developers often seem almost programmed to invent what they need, and they might not take the time to search for what might already be available.

And so a team was called in to develop a solution that would overcome the obstacles to asset reuse, which would not only save time and effort but also promote consistency and quality across IBM offerings. The result was Rational Asset Manager (RAM).

Project definition

(Click the image to enlarge it.) The core project team (chief architect, technical development lead, product strategist, and a User Experience Practitioner) met for a week to define the project; they identified business problems surrounding asset reuse, base use cases and scenarios, and solution stakeholder roles. This exploration set the stage for the broad outlines of the solution.

Small and nimble

(Click the image to enlarge it.) The RAM team (which included two User Experience Practitioners, a Visual Designer, and a small team of developers) adopted an Agile design and development process, which included code drops every 6 weeks and a weekly design cycle, during which design ideas and work items were defined at the week’s outset, wire frames were produced and reviewed by midweek, and mock-ups were produced and reviewed by week’s end with the development team and the chief architect. Development on the approved designs ensued the following week. The core use cases and use case threads that formed the basis of the RAM solution and addressed key user needs (ease of asset creation, discovery, and use) were designed first.

Technology versus design

(Click the image to enlarge it.) In the course of the project, the team noticed that their focus was shifting from technology to user experience considerations. Feature iteration continued until the team decided that ease of use for that feature was satisfactory.

The team developed collective ownership of the user interface design. Team members were pleased to see that user interface review meetings were very well attended and typically included lively discussion (a.k.a. arguing) over the merits of alternate design solutions.

Customer input

(Click the image to enlarge it.)Customer input was necessary to ensure that ease-of-use goals were achieved, and the RAM team took advantage of all input channels: milestone testing in which code was deployed to stakeholders every 6 weeks, weekly customer visits where the chief architect and product manager visited and demonstrated designs in progress and collaborated with User Experience Practitioners on subsequent design updates (the essence of Outside-In Design); use of the product being developed to store our design, development, and architecture; in house stakeholder review and testing; beta testing; formal usability testing on major milestones; and a blog that readers could use to comment on RAM topics. These activities ensure a regular flow of input from customers to the RAM team.

Easy to use asset solution

(Click the image to enlarge it.)A sophisticated, visually appealing user interface is a necessary but not sufficient component of a competitive deliverable -- it must also be easy to use. The RAM team built ease of asset discovery into the solution through a robust and easy-to-use search function that included customizable search filters, user-defined tags, and visual browsing of assets. Ease of reviewing and using assets was achieved through online asset browsing -- the ability to view asset details, contents, related assets, user ratings, and usage statistics within RAM, asset subscriptions and RSS feeds, and single-click downloads. Ease of asset creation was achieved through the use of a wizard interface, which directs users through the process of defining and categorizing the assets, adding asset content, and submitting the asset for publication. Forums and customized community pages foster collaboration among asset creators and asset consumers. Integrations with SCM systems and a customizable review process provide needed governance and asset management capabilities. The end result is a product that has the fit and finish and functional capability that would not be expected in a version 1.0 release.

For more information

For more information about Rational Asset Manager, go to the description of the offering on the product page.