By Bill Napolitano

Think back now… back when you were in software training (university, graduate school, technical college, high school … whatever). I’ll bet you dreamt about a someday-future filled with such boffo undertakings as: Working late on a Friday to deliver project documentation, going through two bags of Doritos while updating application versioning information, staring at green-screen history reports and listings – until your eyes are so red you need Visine to pass a sobriety test. No? I got that wrong? You’d actually rather write and test creative software algorithms to solve business and technical problems than waste your cycles on administrivia?

Can’t say that we’re surprised. So then it’s time — now not later – to take a long, hard look at your Source Control Management (SCM) processes and products with an eye towards moving off systems that were state-of-the-art during the 1970s/1980s. It’s time to modernize your SCM and Project Management tools, as well as your SDLC processes, and to move forward with an integrated, repository-platform based solution… for example, Rational Team Concert EE.

What is Rational Team Concert EE?

Rational Team Concert (sometimes called Team Concert, or RTC for short) – is a Jazz-repository-based product from IBM/Rational that, through shared Eclipse technology and hyperlinking integrates software project design, development, testing and delivery activities such as: Planning/Project Management, Work Items, Source Control, Build and Management Reporting.

This comprehensive “All-in-1” integrated system supports (just about) all of your application lifecycle management requirements – and provides the following benefits relative to the 1980’s SCM model:

• Extensive reduction in manual processes and procedures
• Traceability from software versions to project Work Items and developer tasks
• Reduction in the number of disparate tools and products used to manage all phases of software project delivery
• Cross-platform coordinated/automated application build (compile/link/deploy the Java and CICS or IMS components of an application in a controlled manner)
• Ability to store and version modern media assets not supported by z/OS VSAM file I/O (that which underpins many of the popular MVS SCM systems)
• Real-time/Hyper-link integration between your SCM and Build functionality, Construction Tools (such as RDz*), Testing tools (RDz Integrated Debugger), Analytics (Rational Asset Analyzer*) etc.

The “EE” – which stands for Enterprise Extensions, includes additional functionality designed to enhance management of z/OS and IBM i based applications. RTC EE includes::

• Dependency detection
• Dependency driven build (Build what is affected by a change)
• Change driven Promotion and Deployment
• Sparse Workspaces (use dependency information so developers only load what is needed for a change)
• Context Aware Searching – (natural language search for Work Items and source)

RTC Enterprise Extensions are available as part of the RTC Developer for IBM Enterprise Platforms license. RTC EE can coexist with existing mainframe SCM tools allowing users to benefit from the planning and work item management whilst preparing a phased move to RTC’s own SCM. The icing on the cake is that RTC software and maintenance fees are – depending on which mainframe SCM product you’re currently running – typically up to 50% lower.

“This all sounds fantastic!” you say. “So then what’s the catch?” (There’s gotta be a catch) Well, besides installing RTC EE, you will need to:

1. Get the code out of your current SCM
2. Migrate the build scripts used to compile/link the various configurations of run-time (language), database, transaction system and environment. Upwards of one hundred separate and distinct (and complex) scripts are often needed
3. (possibly most ambitious) – You will have to reengineer your current SDLC processes – changing what has constituted (up to) decades of arcane procedures built into and stemming out of the limitations of your current (1980’s) tooling.

** For additional information on Rational Asset Analyzer’s integration with RDz and RDz’s Integrated Debugger see the Royal Cyber Development Modernization Newsletter Volume 1.

“Oh” – you say – exhaling. So maybe now’s not quite the time to reinvent that 1980s SCM wheel? Except – that there’s almost no thread left on the tires, and as a result you’re getting terrible gas mileage due to all that mind-numbing and often redundant administrivia.

Okay… let’s take another look at those three requirements listed above. And we’ll do this by bringing in an expert on RTC EE; Reader? Meet Chris Trobridge, the IBM Rational Product Manager for RTC EE;

Getting the source code out of your SCM

Royal Cyber: Chris, as RTC EE Product Manager, what are a few keys to success for source code-migration-to-RTC challenges?

Chris Trobridge: It is essential the migration team has application expertise because:

• Project and component structures need to be well-defined before migrating code to RTC. Optimally the migration team will include a person who knows the application well and the aid of a tool like RAA to understand the application structure and ensure structures are sensible. This step is essential to get the most out of RTC EE features.
• No matter where code is currently held the migration process will uncover issues. Missing pieces, incompatible, duplicate, unknown, unidentifiable code and unbuildable applications are some of the things you may find. You must allow time and have the expertise on hand to resolve these issues. The migration team must include an application expert for each application as it is brought into RTC.

Migrating the Build Scripts

Royal Cyber: When shops are migrating Build Scripts to RTC what’s the single most important consideration?

Chris Trobridge: This requires knowledge of RTC EE and the SCM tool being replaced. There is no substitute for experience here and for many organizations it is an opportunity to do housekeeping on their build processes.

Chris Trobridge, IBM Rational Product Manager for RTC EE

Reengineer SDLC Processes

Royal Cyber: What could a company using traditional green-screen SCM tooling expect to get out of RTC by way of improved SDLC processes?

Chris Trobridge: RTC opens up tremendous possibilities for SDLC improvements. RTC offers support for LEAN, Agile and traditional processes, allowing mainframe teams to work collaboratively and harmoniously with distributed developers. RTC also enables productive practices like continuous integration/testing to be considered.

Our take

You could – of course – continue to deliver z/OS application functionality using a retro-SDLC, limited to the SCM processes sanctioned by your 1980’s application lifecycle management tools. And – consequently, you could continue to inhale Doritos as you squander your creative cycles doing superfluous project administrivia.

But, at some point your shop decided to move off of punch cards and on to command line TSO – then to full-screen ISPF – then (if you’re lucky) to RD – just as you moved your business application stack from Assembler to COBOL, etc. Because at some point it becomes clear-cut that using contemporary technologies aren’t just better on paper – they save time & money.

And certainly there are those in any organization who are regressive. And while listening to all points of view is a necessity, at some point it will become painfully obvious that the constraints and limitations of an obsolete application lifecycle-plus- tools is indefensible. And when that time arrives, you’d do well to take a long hard look at RTC EE. We at Royal Cyber not only consult in it (in our customer-facing projects) – we also use it internally to manage our solution engagements. If you’d like to discuss any facet of our experience with RTC EE feel free to email us: inquiries@royalcyber.com

A wise man once said, “When the facts change so does my opinion.” To many, the verdict about whether a 1980’s SCM scales to the requirements of today’s application development requirements is in. They’ve moved on to RTC EE. When will you?

Bill Napolitano is a freelance z/OS Application software and tools author. Our thanks to Chris Trobridge/Rational IBM for his time and expertise in the above.