Rails Maturity Models

A Chicago-based agile consultancy, with competencies in Ruby, Rails, Java, iPhone, and Eclipse development.

Most Endorsed Practices for this firm

• Pair Programming

  We pair program a significant amount of time each week.

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  • 

    I've spent a few days programming with Obtiva, and they consistently pair program.

    Corey Haines
  • 

    Obtiva's Software Studio encourages frequent pairing. But, pairing is done to ensure the best results for the client vs because of dogmatism.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Caleb Cornman
  7

• Weekly Teambuilding

  Our weekly Geekfest is a company sponsored event where we order lunch and gather to focus on learning new technologies and techniques.

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  • 

    Retrospectives happen weekly

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  • 

    I love the weekly geekfests.

    Paul Pagel at 8thlight

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Caleb Cornman
  7

• Daily Project Standup Meeting

  Our teams and projects sync up daily.

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  • 

    Over the few days I've spent at Obtiva, I have observed each project team holding a standup meeting, including remote business partners over phone conference.

    Corey Haines

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  6

• Shared Work Environment (No Cubicles)

  We have an open workspace that can fit about 12 people with a few adjoining meeting rooms and a library when people need quiet.

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  • 

    The work environment at Obtiva is a big open room with tables in the middle for people to work around. Although there are small, glass-walled offices available for phone calls, meetings, etc, the people at Obtiva consistently work together in the main room.

    Corey Haines
  • 

    None!

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
  6

• Perpetual Learning Environment

  We have a weekly Geekfest where we give mini-presentations, hack on just-for-fun projects together, and focus exclusively on learning. We hold book clubs. We organize user groups and conferences to promote learning in our community. We have an apprenticeship program to help newcomers to software development learn how to develop software professionally.

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  • 

    I have been present at a book club meeting and a geekfest. Along with the general culture of learning that I observed at Obtiva, the two formal events that I participated in really made it clear to me that they value continual learning.

    Corey Haines
  • 

    The journey of learning is a key to Obtiva culture.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
  6

• Apprenticeship Program

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  • 

    Obtiva has graduated several apprentices.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Paul Pagel at 8thlight
  5

• Github

  We use Github for all of our new projects.

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  • Endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  5

• Distributed Version Control

  We prefer Git and Github.

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  • 

    The people that I worked with at Obtiva use git. There are several people there who are advanced users of the the tools that come with it.

    Corey Haines

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  5

• Everyone Together

  We do not telecommute. We prefer to work side-by-side in order to promote learning and knowledge sharing.

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  • 

    Obtiva discourages long-term telecommuting in favor of face-to-face collaboration.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
  5

• Scripted Deployments

  We generally use Capistrano for all of our deployments.

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  • Endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  4

• iPhone Development

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  • Endorsed by

    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  4

• Frequent Releases

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  • 

    Every week on most projects. Every day on more mature projects.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
  4

• Continuous Integration

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  • 

    Cruise control is set up on greenfield projects and actively bring CI to existing code bases.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
  4

• Sustainable Pace

  We very rarely work more than 40 hours per week.

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  • Endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  4

• Collective Code Ownership

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  • 

    In the Software Studio nobody owns a feature or code set. Typically several developers work on a client project--even a small project--to ensure collective ownership.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
  4

• Corporate Transparency

  We practice open book finances.

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  • 

    Detailed financial information is shared with all employees quarterly.

    Jim Breen at Obtiva
  • 

    Obtiva practices open-books mgmt, developers sharing in the profit-sharing Obtividend, and issues are openly discussed.

    Kevin Taylor at Obtiva

  • Also endorsed by

    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
  4

• Cucumber

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  • Endorsed by

    • Jim Breen at Obtiva
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  4

• UI Specialist Role

  We've used UI Specialists for the last couple years and found it to be very effective.

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  • Endorsed by

    • James Suchy
    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  4

• Internal Instant Communication

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  • Endorsed by

    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  3

• HAML for Templates

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  • Endorsed by

    • Dave Hoover at Obtiva
    • Jake Scruggs
    • Kevin Taylor at Obtiva
  3