Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Architect/Technical Lead
—Technical leads and architects usu-
ally want to see the status of all builds because they're looking at
the entire system. Of particular interest will be the results of the
quality metrics, such as those from static and dynamic analysis
tools (inspectors) that ensure adherence to the coding and archi-
tectural standards.
•
Developers
—Typically, developers will receive messages from
the CI system on the code they just checked into the version con-
trol repository. Developers receive a variety of information from
tests and inspections to the status of the most recent build. The
group benefits only when the messages everyone receives from a
continuous feedback mechanism (e.g., e-mail) are relevant to his
or her own tasks.
•
Testers
—Testers will probably be most interested in communi-
cation relating to the automated tests and inspections. Their mes-
sages contain information about all code tested and inspected
across the system. Depending on your team's approach to test-
ing, this information can be used to learn about new features
before they are “released” to the testing group.
The Right Time
Old news is not really news at all. Discovering that the build broke two
days ago doesn't offer much help. Sending information that tells you
what happened—such as fixing some code right away—is why contin-
uous feedback insists on sending information at the
right time
. As
many experts have already established, reducing the time intervals
between the introduction, discovery, and resolution of a defect saves
time and money. The more time that has passed since the defect was
introduced, the less the parties responsible remember what happened
or why; they may have applied a faulty principle elsewhere, may have
built another component around it, or may target and “fix” the wrong
part of the original code. Certainly as important as the wasted time and
money are the chance for errors and the frustration in chasing bugs that
don't even exist.
