Client Interview

Robert Thompson works as a System and Software Engineer for a Fortune 100 company.

Robert, what are your main responsibilities?

My main job function involves writing firmware for digital cameras, including everything from user interface to low-level hardware control.

What's the most exciting and/or rewarding part of your job?

I find developing exciting, new digital camera products that include features not found in any other cameras, solving problems that affect the customer experience and helping to make that experience simpler and better the most rewarding aspects of my job.

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

Schedule pressures and the difficulties of working with thirty other developers on one code base, and the inevitable collisions that arise, are the most challenging aspects of my job. 

When did your team start working with True Blue Software, and why?

We started with SoftCM and then moved to SnapshotCM about a year and a half ago, primarily because it allowed directory versioning. After using it for all of a week, the benefits of development and release snapshots became apparent. That is when we knew we had made the right choice.

What is your background with SnapshotCM?

I have been the system administrator for our SnapshotCM server since we started using SnapshotCM, and answer most questions from other developers. I see SnapshotCM from both the administrative and developer sides.

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

Being able to easily freeze a particular set of files in time is very helpful, particularly with respect to debugging defects found during regression testing. A simple click lets you know exactly what changed between builds. Additionally, we have many people interacting with the code base. Development snapshots allow development teams or individuals to work in an isolated environment without worry with respect to breaking a build from the main code tree. Of course, with every solution, there can be no pleasing everyone. There are times when the tool forces a certain behavior, either by way of assumptions made in the actual tool or in assumptions about the workflow in which the tool is placed. It would also be nice to have a supplied SDK so that we could write custom applications to better integrate into our automated build processes.

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

Using the features of SnapshotCM, we can develop multiple code trees in parallel and merge changes between development threads easily usually with just a few mouse clicks. If we did not have this capability, it would be difficult to develop products on the tight schedules we have. Administration of SnapshotCM is very straightforward and requires little time. This allows me to focus on product development instead of administrative tasks.

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

I hope to continue our relationship with True Blue Software. From the start, they have always been responsive to support questions. Feature requests are taken seriously and, in the end, the relationship we have results in a better product for both of our companies.

What would you recommend to other team leaders or managers who were thinking about adopting a configuration management solution?

I would encourage others to consider what they really need from a developer s perspective. Clearly, there are other solutions that cost many times more, in terms of both dollars and administrative time. If the solution gets in the way of developers who are doing the real work, then maybe it is not such a good solution.