News 2008

November / December
Project Management We successfully completed a software refactoring project that we managed since June 2008, even though the deadline was moved forward by two months. Over three iterations, we rolled out major refactorings and code cleanups. We kept the modernization of our customer's application in sync with further development of new features which was executed in parallel. Development took place both at the customer's site and offshore. In addition, we gave advice on optimizing our customer's development process and help in introducing the issue tracking system Jira.
Test Management We took responsibility for the test management of a customer and brought in our expertise on test automation. We used Squish for testing graphical user interfaces and developed a concept for testing the database layer which allowed our customer to do large scale regression tests. In addition, we helped in generating anonymized data for our customer's offshore partner.
Zimbra | Linux We migrated a partially defunct installation of Zimbra Collaboration Suite version 4.5.4 running on Debian 3.1 32 bit to version 5.0.11 running on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS 64 bit. We wrote several migration scripts and prevented the loss of existing user data such as e-mails and calendar entries.
Backup Concept We designed and implemented a startup's backup concept. Our solution combines onsite and offsite backups and works reliably even for slow Internet connections. It allows cost-efficient and reliable archival storage of the development team's data.
Java | Logistics We extended the online ordering platform of a logistics company. The platform is now deployed in EMEA and used at more than 1000 chain stores in different countries and time zones.
Integration We supported a customer with the integration of a new "branded sales" partner into the existing software infrastructure. The Going Live date could be met even with an accelerated deadline.
September / October
SOA/ESB For one of our large clients we performed a consulting project to introduce a company-wide service-oriented architecture (SOA). Commercial and open-source ESB-Systems got evaluated, amongst them WebMethods. We set up guidelines for the architecture of future IT systems and provided a reference implementation based on JBoss ESB, which proved to be stable under high productive load.
Confluence We hosted a "Confluence-Day" with various talks concerning the enterprise Wiki of Atlassian. Besides field reports by our clients and by TNG-internal staff, the Confluence development team lead presented news about the Wiki and about Atlassians' internal use of the Wiki.
Specification For a German 'Triple-Play' provider we wrote the specification for the reimplementation of a key component of the IT landscape capturing and preprocessing product orders.
Subversion We advised a client in using Subversion as revision control system. Customized branching and merging strategies were defined, tools got introduced – amongst them SmartSVN – and the existing infrastructure was upgraded to the latest releases.
Test Environment We prepared a productively used middle tier application of a client for future modifications. We introduced a test environment which enables mostly automated testing based on mock objects and modern end-to-end test frameworks like SoapUI.
Operations The operations unit of a client was supported by us regarding release-planning, -rollout and -automation. We trained new employees of the client on this topic, took care of various productive applications and implemented scripts for maintenance and monitoring purposes.
Wiki Migration A large MediaWiki installation of a client got migrated to Confluence by us. All incompatibilities of both Wikis had to be accounted for. Existing Wiki-categories got mapped to Confluence labels, whereby the authorship of all articles got preserved.
Trainings | Presentations We held an in-house training at an international insurance company about the enterprise Java security framework Spring Security (formerly known as Acegi). Our focus was on the security relevant topics authentication, authorization and modeling rights. Furthermore, we provided on-site support to the development team of the client by performing code-reviews regarding integration of Spring Security into the client's application.
One of our experts held a two-day introduction to Perl for employees of one of our clients.
TNG experts introduced Scrum at an internal event of a consulting company and also at the BMW IT fair.
July / August
Zope | Plone For the data center of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Garching we troubleshooted their installation of Zope and Plone and supported them to bring their website back online.
EAI with JBoss ESB Using the JBoss ESB / Enterprise Service Bus, we orchestrated complex workflows for a logistics company. The open-source based solution worked well even with ten parallel listener threads. Time-to-production was much faster than with a big-name commercial product that we evaluated alongside.
Script.aculo.us For a time-critical GUI project, which requires advanced functionality on the client, we developed all the required features on time using the Scriptaculous AJAX framework.
Firewall Cluster As part of the security system of a large data center, we tested several commercial and open-source Linux based firewall products. This included comprehensive load, high-availability and security tests. A standard OSS solution beat the commercial competition and was scheduled for installation.
Outsourcing Reality Check For a client that does a huge volume of small transactions, we analyse the international software supply chain. We estimate the development speed of the involved teams and give detailed recommendations how to restructure the development organization for optimized effectivity.
May / June
Datacenter Failover | BGP For one of our client's datacenters, we built a connection to the Internet that is redundant and capable of automatic failover. For it we configured new routers including QoS, tested several load scenarios extensively and upgraded the existent BGP setup. The new configuration was taken live without any problems and with no interruption of open network connections.
SOA We did a preliminary inspection for introducing a service oriented architecture for an international company. We particularly focused on the suitability for cross-national application integration.
Linux Operations We accepted important Linux, Firewall and Webserver administration tasks in a complex Linux server landscape. We also supported the client with ticket processing and user administration.
Project Management We accepted a new project management task for restructuring and technically upgrading a complex invoice verification software. In addition to internal employees of our client, we managed external contractors and an offshore outsourcer. Simultaneously we contributed to the further development of the application in the areas of requirements engineering, test automation and implementation.
March / April
Administration We supported the administration of a client's technologically diverse application portfolio. We released new versions into the production environment, automated report generation, extended the application monitoring and gave recommendations on improving internal processes.
Continuous Integration We evaluated the state of the art of continuous integration systems. We put a special focus on Luntbuild and Hudson, which both turn out to be pretty good.
Payment Systems We assisted a client developing a new payment option, including connections to service providers.
Project Management | SW Development In the J2EE sales portal development project for an international insurance company managed by us, the first release is brought into production. This is accomplished one month earlier than originally planned. All data from the old system - based on a Lotus Notes database - is migrated into the new Websphere cluster application. The system is used by more than 1000 employees companywide and runs without any problems since mid-April. Since start of release 2 development we use the Scrum methodology.
Community | Donations Following the tradition of previous years, TNG supported several free software projects (among others OpenOffice, FSF). We also donated for community causes - Adventskalender der Süddeutschen Zeitung and Christoffel Blindenmission.
January / February
Project Management | Scrum We gave a series of talks for our clients on our experiences with agile methods of software development and project management. Scrum was of particular interest here.
Lectures | Computer Networks We collaborated with the Hochschule München to give a series of lectures on computer networks in the Summer term 2008.
Data Center | Hardware Evaluation We deployed extra specialists on a client's project concerned with the roll out of a high availability data center. For this we developed highly complex IP address migration scenarios and included hidden dependencies in our analysis. We tested thoroughly and enhanced the client's BGP setup. In addition, we evaluated using fast available COTS hardware rather than the standard more expensive solutions which have long delivery lead times.
Enterprise Backup | Perl We supported a client's enterprise backup infrastructure by refactoring and consolidating a vast number of monitoring scripts. We used Perl::Critic to ensure that the system was state of the art and introduced a substantial number of extensions.
Modularization | Java EE We assisted a client modularizing a legacy music download platform based on Java EE. A service oriented approach was introduced for inter-module communication. Within the individual modules there was a high degree of decoupling achieved through using Spring IoC and AspectJ. The changes introduced significantly increase the maintainability, flexibility and testability of the code base and allow for a seamless upgrade of the technology stack in use.