Trying to keep tabs on peer code reviews within your development team? Struggling to stay on top of changes within the source code repository? Or, do you need a tool that will allow you to track who has made changes, what the changes were, leave feedback and collaborate with the team in a synchronised way? Atlassian Crucible does all of this, and integrates seamlessly with other tools in the Atlassian suite such as Fisheye and Confluence. Get in touch with our team of experts to discuss Atlassian Crucible or read below to learn more about its key features.
What is Atlassian Crucible?
Atlassian Crucible is web-based code review software designed for enterprise-level organisations. It integrates with Perforce, CVS, Subversion, Git, and more. Crucible software complements other tools in the Atlassian software suite such as Bitbucket, Confluence, Fisheye and Jira, but it can also be used independently. The crucible code reviews provided by this software allow for significantly better organisation within teams, and thus the potential for a higher quality of code.
Why is Atlassian Crucible useful?
Atlassian Crucible automates the organisation of a peer review, which is an important part of software development. In many organisations, team members may not commit code without a co-worker examining their changes. Despite their importance, without tools like Atlassian Crucible peer reviews are likely to occur far less frequently, and when they do occur, they are significantly harder to execute without error.
Atlassian Crucible allows for all developers involved in a review to contribute to the project in a collaborative and co-ordinated manner, whilst also greatly reducing the scope for error and mis-communication. No longer is it necessary to communicate comments and approvals by email, and reviews will always be based on the current versions of the source code.
Project managers can use Crucible software, which identifies within the source code repository a list of change sets. Crucible differentiates them from each other to identify which developer has made changes, what the changes were and when the changes were made. Team members can be assigned change sets as part of Crucible code review, and the software will identify these sets for them, as well as individual files needed.
Incorporated in Crucible software are tools which enable tracked changes in the source code files, along with the capability for adding review status, comments and positive or negative feedback. In short, Atlassian Crucible can set up a structured code review process which ensures that all stakeholders review (and if appropriate, approve) code changes, whilst keeping track of any changes made in the source code files.
Crucible code review improves the quality of communication between colleagues and enables them to review and discuss changes in a simple, collaborative way. By alerting team members to revisions as they are made (via email or RSS), Atlassian Crucible also assists in the identification of potential bugs before committal. In software development, similarly to other types of engineering, the sooner a bug or defect is found, the cheaper it is to fix. Crucible is therefore effective at saving on the cost of testing and remediation by detecting defects early.
Atlassian Crucible has a host of integrated features, increasing functionality. The inline comment function can include contributions from multiple users, meaning the group is able to arrive at collective decisions about every alteration to the source code. If you must leave one of these discussions prematurely, it is possible to bookmark the thread or the review and return to it at a more convenient time. Permissions, notifications, and workflow stages are also highly customisable.
Teams using Crucible can cooperate and share knowledge more effectively in the development of code, and thus produce higher quality code.
Key Features of Atlassian Crucible
- Better teamwork, better code – flag changes to the source code and show your team what you plan to do.
- Fully tracked changes – changes to source code files are fully recorded, eliminating risk of errors with no source.
- Full integration – Atlassian Crucible software works with Jira, Fisheye, Confluence, and the rest of the Atlassian toolset.
- Bookmark discussions – conversations will be waiting for you when you return to your workspace.
- Centralised view for developers – total visibility into all commit and review activity.
- Implementing peer review policies – get the seal of approval before committing any changes.
Do you want to know more about how Crucible software could aid collaboration and organisation within your team? Are you looking for integration between Atlassian and Fisheye, or more? Contact us today for more information on Atlassian Crucible pricing, training and consultancy.
