Client Interview

Steve Johnson is an Oracle Database Engineer working for Venture Design Services, Inc.

What are your main responsibilities?

I am responsible for database and software development.

What do you consider the most exciting—and/or rewarding—part of your job?

Our shop develops web-based applications [that are] written in Java. I think the most exciting aspect of the job is utilizing new technologies and tools in bringing our applications to market.

What's the most challenging part of the job for you?

Trying to stay current with emerging technologies while still getting the job done.

What is your background with version control and configuration management solutions?

As a developer, I have worked with many different CM solutions. My current responsibilities require that I also act as administrator of our CM system.

What is your background with SnapshotCM?

Our team has been using SnapshotCM for over three years. We began co-developing a solution with a remote team that was using SnapshotCM. We had not yet picked a tool to use and began using it (SnapshotCM). Finding it a very robust CM tool, we decided to use it as our own. We then transitioned to a new company and began to use SnapshotCM there as well.

Describe your team size and geography.

We have two sites, one in Spokane, Washington and one in Santa Rosa, California. There are a total of six developers between these two sites.

What challenges do you face in your team while performing version control?

I would say we have no significant challenges because SnapshotCM is really doing the job for us. One of the fears we had with administrating a CM solution was having some of the developers at a remote location. This turned out to be a non-issue.

What do you feel are the advantages/disadvantages of working with SnapshotCM?

From a developer's perspective, it is a very intuitive tool; it's very easy to pick up. From an administration perspective, it is very quick and easy to set up. Once it's running, we do very little administration.

What are your top three favorite features of SnapshotCM?

• Ease of use, both as a developer and as an administrator.
• Multiple levels of snapshots.
• Having both a GUI and a command-line interface. The latter enables our development tool to check in and out, without having to switch between tools. It also allows Linux developers to use the same CM tool.

How does SnapshotCM help your team save time/frustration/money?

Having seen other environments hire a person just to maintain a CM tool, I see the ease of administration as a serious money-saving advantage.

What is refreshing about using SnapshotCM?

The intuitive nature. I don't believe I have ever needed to go to the help system to figure things out.

What are your plans or hopes for working with True Blue Software in the future?

I would both recommend it and use it again.

Do you have any further comments you'd like to add?

I appreciate the notification of updates and the ease with which we can download and try them out.