Type A Learning Agency

Sponsored software development
Build or buy? How about a little of both?
by Arlo Leach

Anyone who's ever evaluated new software tools -- or gone shopping for any new product, for that matter -- has probably had an experience where no available option is the best in all areas. If one product does something really well, it fails at something else, and vice versa. That's the experience we recently had at Type A, while shopping for a new version control system to replace our aging Visual SourceSafe installation. Some products were cross-platform compatible, some were easy to set up and manage, some protected our clients' data through secure connections, and some saved files in standard formats that would be usable for years to come, but no single product addressed all of these requirements.

The closest we came in our search was CVS, the venerable and almost universally-known open-source version control system. CVS is free, accessible, and, despite its Unix underpinnings and distinctly geeky aura, was easier to configure than any other system we tried. The only problem with CVS is that not all of the available GUI front-ends support a relatively obscure locking feature that we need to manage our media-rich e-learning courses. I wrote to the developers of a couple of the front-ends asking if they would consider adding this functionality to their products, but got various degrees of cold shoulder. After all, many of those projects are open-source and volunteer-driven, and who wants to spend their creative time working on someone else's ideas?

Then, while browsing the website of what was in all other respects our favorite CVS front-end -- for its ease of use, built-in encryption, and cute logo -- I noticed a page called Pay a Feature. "Got a special feature you'd really like to see soon?" the page read, "Email us and let's discuss it." I sent our wish list, and, a few days later, received a detailed analysis of the problem from a German named Jörg Bullmann, the proprietor of Heilan' Coo software and developer of MacCVSClient. After respectfully suggesting some alternate solutions, Jörg dove headfirst into a detailed email exchange during which we planned the feature list for the next version of his product. He also explained that several of his previous versions were "sponsored" by companies that wanted to see particular features, but that all versions would be distributed for free under the same open-source license regardless of their sponsorship.

Heilan' Coo added an Inspector window to help us manage our multiple-user development workflow

In other words, Heilan' Coo would release a new version of its product; Type A would pay for the privilege of dictating the features; and the rest of the world would get to download the result for free. That might seem like a bad deal to some, but considering our sponsorship would cost less than a license for a pricey but inferior commercial product, and dramatically less than developing our own front-end from scratch, we jumped at the opportunity.

As we finalized our feature list, I became aware of probably the biggest factor in the success of this venture: Jörg was an excellent communicator. We carried out the entire project by email and across seven time zones, but he always answered my questions fully, presented his own ideas thoughtfully and appropriately, and confirmed all decisions before making any changes. Without this reliable exchange of information, the project could easily have been derailed, so I suggest this as the primary warning for anyone considering a similar effort.

Once he started development, Jörg sent us interim versions approximately every week, so that we could confirm each new feature and test it in our work environment. At the same time, Jörg posted the interim versions to his beta mailing list, and collected feedback and bug reports from its members. Essentially, other companies were performing free QA on our product.

Toward the end of the development cycle, Jörg added a few enhancements from his own wish list, and the next thing we knew, the final version was ready! We had discussed various options with the developer throughout the process, but for the most part the result matched our original wish list and gave us exactly what we were looking for. Our team loves the new system, our clients' files are protected better than ever, and we didn't have to sacrifice our whole IT budget to implement this upgrade.

I can only imagine what it would be like if the rest of our society operated on a sponsored development model. You might go to your favorite restaurant and join the chef in the kitchen, sampling the sauce as he prepares your favorite dish. You might ride a bus to work every morning, and ask that it take a detour directly to your office. You might like the taste of Pepsi but the fizziness of Coke, and order a special cola all your own. These things probably won't happen any time soon, but similar options already exist in the realm of open-source software development, where you really can have the best of all worlds.

Arlo Leach encourages you to learn more about CVS, MacCVSClient, or version control.