I’m usually somewhat reluctant to make recommendations about specific tools, but every now and then something impresses me so much I feel I should at least draw attention to it. In the course of helping a client look for tools to support their development process I recalled that a couple of years ago I looked [...]

I’m usually somewhat reluctant to make recommendations about specific tools, but every now and then something impresses me so much I feel I should at least draw attention to it.

In the course of helping a client look for tools to support their development process I recalled that a couple of years ago I looked briefly at JIRA when building a change control system for another client. So, I suggested we look at JIRA as a possible tool for this new system.

Having looked around the JIRA site I noticed that Atlassian had also taken FishEye (a tool I had used before for providing viewing and analysis tools on repositories) into their stable. And they also support a whole suite of integrated tools that can be used individually or together.

I suggested we take a closer look. So, we set about creating a very simple demonstration of the tools.

I have to say, ‘I’m impressed’.

These are great looking, well integrated, easy to use, easy to set up and very competitively priced tools. Based on a couple of months playing around with them, I’d have absolutely no difficulty recommending them to organisations of almost any size—certainly they should be on your list of tools to look at.

Not only are the tools themselves very flexible and easy to configure but the company seems very keen to hear from their customers. They have open beta programmes and actively encourage users to take part in product development (they really do want to know what their customers want). They also provide really low cost licenses; up to 90 days evaluation licenses and then for small teams (or individuals) they offer 10 user licenses for $10. Seriously! This is a brilliant move. It means freelance consultants (such as your’s truly) can actually use their tools and develop for them, without needing to remortgage the house to obtain licenses. (The tools also don’t require a massive hardware commitment—in fact I’m running a system on a Linux virtual machine on my Mac Pro  and it works great for development and creating documentation/training material.)

Oh, and if you’re a non-profit or open source organisation they will let you have unlimited licenses for free! Genius.

Can’t be bothered with all that setup? Atlassian offer a hosted solution for many of their tools too. (Although I can’t comment on these as I have not tried them, but if they’re anything like as good as what I have seen so far, they’re probably worth looking at if you want a hosted solution.)

The price apart, the tools really are very good. And if they don’t do exactly what you want you can always write your own extensions. Atlassian publish comprehensive developer information and the tools all communicate through open web interfaces and all support a plugin architecture (which I understand Atlassian are working hard to make simpler to use).

Another promising sign is that Atlassian ‘eat their own dog food’. They user all their own tools internally and pride themselves on being the guinea pigs for all their product development. Their own website and online documentation is all run through their own products.

Even better! Atlassian let their product speak for itself. No annoying salespeople calling, no pressure to come along and ‘do a demo’. They just provide you with a really simple way to download their product, get an evaluation license, and then let the product do the selling (no kidding I had downloaded, installed and licensed JIRA in about ten minutes—it took about a day to install, license and integrate the entire suite). Brilliant! [Note to all vendors: if you're product is good then let it speak for you. If you're product needs to be explained, then make it better, provide good online documentation, and provide help when it's requested. I understand that some customer like a demo, but many just want to try out your product for themselves. After all, if it can't be setup and used by their own staff, what hope is there for the future? They just end up being highly dependent on your consulting services. Oh. I think I get it now.]

If, as seems likely, the client goes ahead with this solution I’ll be sure to report back on how these products perform under real life conditions, but for now, go take a look.

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Richard Page said:

... Thanks for this, I was one of those who was a bit sceptical about the use of open source CM Tools but they have stood the test over time and many more organisations are adopting them to replace the more expensive vendor CM products that don't evolve fast enough. It always confused me as to why so many of us have put up with tools that did not meet our expectations, and developed our own processes, add-in tools/scripts etc to make good the shortfall. The Atlassian suite really knocks these into touch and are as you say favourable on the cost front. I have subscribed for the JIRA product but not had enough time to pursue further due to the day job. Your article has prompted me to take some action to rectify this soon. PS I spotted your deliberate mistake - the link at the end of your article has a typo i.e. altlassian

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July 06, 2011
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