Summary
In this blog post we discuss how the applications built by teams of 1-to-4 during the Rails Rumble, a 48-hour development contest, show just how much can be accomplished in a short amount of time with Ruby on Rails, and up-front planning. Engine Yard, a Rails hosting company, has seen five-to-six-times project time reduction with Rails projects, much higher than the industry average. The ADS crew spent around 24 hours preparing for the Rumble. Prep-time is unknown for other teams.
The Goods
If ever there was a way to prove the productivity benefits of a programming language or web framework, it would be to have a contest like the Rails Rumble, a “48 hour web application development competition.” The goal of the Rumble is for a team of 1-to-4 to produce as complete an application as possible within 48 hours. This year the ADS crew is creating the base for our next SaaS product – prioritiz’d – a getting things done (GTD) style application that, you guessed it, helps you get things done. I’m not here to talk about prioritiz’d just yet, but rather what this contest means for Ruby on Rails.
In the current economic climate, companies are looking for ways to improve efficiency, and simultaneously reduce costs. In a recent eWeek article, Can Ruby, Rails Make Developers Shine in a Downturn, the CEO of Engine Yard, Lance Walley, stated, “developing Web applications with Ruby and Rails results in a five-to-six-times project time reduction and a project completion probability increase from the industry average of 10 percent to well over 50 percent.” At ADS we have seen those results when combining agile development with scrum and Ruby on Rails. The Rails Rumble is an even more public example of these productivity claims and proof that they are in fact attainable. 200 teams are showing what can be done with upfront planning, the tools that work best for them, and a short amount of time.
The ADS team consists of three developers (Justin Blake, Preston Stuteville, and myself), and one designer, Erika Greco. We spent close to 24 hours hashing out our concept, creating wireframes, setting up the project plan in our PM system, and doing up-front research on tools that we could use. 30 minutes before the Rumble started we all hopped on Skype and had a planning session. As everyone is working from home, we are using our Campfire room to keep in touch during the contest.
After 12 hours in we have our deployment server set up, a solid code base for the application, and completed design for the three screens that will be implemented. How is that possible? Ruby on Rails, and a great team.
Questions for you
- If you are a Rails developer reading this, how do you increase your efficiency?
- How do you ensure quality?
- If you are on a team competing in the Rails Rumble, how much up-front planning did your idea require, and how did you coordinate it?
We look forward to learning from you. Thanks.
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