The Endeca Developer Network (EDeN) was achieved through the Solution Assembly process (OptAM) and I have been asked why is this different than traditional software integration by colleagues of mine within the industry. The EDeN experience I feel highlights this perfectly. We went from requirements to a Beta release in just 12 weeks.

In this initial release we had functionality that covered forums, blogs, LDAP integration, Endecas own search solution, a content management system (see Jeff Potts blog Endeda Under the covers for more details). I have seen projects started years ago that are still waiting release that had only a fraction of that functionality. So how is this possible?

In no specific order here are the reasons why:

• Constant communication – the team worked side by side with the customer to ensure that we were addressing the needs of the project. We held daily meetings so we could review activities and remove impediments for team members. We had a Trac workspace where we could communicate using a wiki and track issues using the built in issue tracking system.
• Flexibility – Since the only requirement that was not flexible was the initial release date, we had to have flexibility in everything else. We were reviewing requirements and priority of these requirements regularly. See constant communication above.
• Creativity – The team was quick on their feet, with the end goal well understood by everyone including the stakeholders we all worked together to complete tasks and find solutions to impediments always with the eye toward providing the most value for the overall solution.
• Just enough – This is definitely a difference, in traditional system integration you filter through all of requirements and document them until everyone is comfortable that there will be “no changes”. Unfortunately, this is not reality in software. The longer the cycle the more at risk you are of falling behind. Technology changes rapidly these days and tomorrow it will only change faster. We picked software solutions that were available which covered most of the requirements and worked to make that experience stand up for the user by focusing only on customizing what was really needed. This initial release put together just enough of what we needed to make it valuable to the community. What’s interesting is with this focus we accomplished more than most would take on in that timeframe and succeeded.
• Release in Beta – With the alpha release reviewed we then put the software into the hands of the people with the most power to make a community successful; the users. Now don’t get the impression this wasn’t tested. We went through alpha testing with a select group throughout the organization. This highlighted early on where we needed to focus efforts for the final weeks. User expectations were met by the definition of the release as a Beta this is a now a standard release pattern in the industry. By joining the Beta release with the actual users of the system you are receiving a level of software assessment that you just can’t get through traditional software assessment methods. Once in the hands of the users not only do you learn to make the software better you start innovating with the software right away, the real reason this project was initiated.
• Start Enhancing – Once released to the users we started improving right away. By addressing the needs of users that were being expressed after the release we were able to keep the momentum going and keep the users engaged in the process. This also helped identify, clarify, and focus requirements for the next release. While is didn’t change many of the overall goals of the project roadmap it did help the team prioritize the remaining requirements appropriately to address the immediate needs of the community first.

The value of the assembly really worked to the advantage of Endeca, they received software when the needed it and started receiving return on their investment immediately. Now that the solution is in place and in the hands of the community I expect to see continued improvements and successes in a community that helps itself see what it needs and a team that’s in place with the tools to address this needs.