Virgo 3.0.2 released

Virgo 3.0.2 is available for download. Please see the release notes for details of this bug fix release.

Opening SourceTree from the command line

I've recently started using SourceTree to visualise and manage my git repos. It's very impressive.

The one thing I missed from gitx was the ability to launch SourceTree from the command line, in any directory of the repo. One solution is to set a git alias:

git config --global --add alias.sourcetree '!open -a SourceTree .'

and add an alias in the shell profile:

alias st='git sourcetree'

Now I can issue "st" from the command line and the relevant SourceTree window opens up.

(Thanks to Chris Frost for providing part of this solution.)

What did we learn in 100 sprints?

This week marks the 100th Sprint on Eclipse Virgo! That includes the precursor project, SpringSource dm Server. What have we learned about scrum? Well, obviously, it's pretty good otherwise we would have ditched it long ago (and believe me I've been tempted a couple of times). But specifically...


Firstly, that one week sprints are by far the easiest to manage, both in terms of planning effort, but also psychologically. Even in a two week sprint, it's easy to put off unpleasant tasks until it's too late.


Secondly, that the main value of scrum is to keep the team focussed on specific tasks during a sprint and enable progress to be shared easily at daily stand-up meetings.


Thirdly, that story points are more effort than they are worth, so it's more effective to go with gut feel.


Fourthly, that you have to take a relaxed attitude towards planning design work as it's almost impossible to predict the effort up front. Spikes are ok for small items, but sometimes you just need plenty of time to get your head round a large area.