Item: BMC AMI DevX
Rating: 10
Author: Joseph Rohrbach

Overall Satisfaction with BMC AMI DevX

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are both new and old users of BMC AMI DevX tools within our organization. We are in the midst of cutting over from IBM's Software Configuration and Library Manager (SCLM) to BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline and Workbench for Eclipse (that's the new) and we recently reinstalled Code Debug (formerly known as Xpediter) as well as Abend-AID and File-AID, all three of which we have used previously under the Compuware umbrella (that's the old). Our goal is to modernize the mainframe developer experience while establishing a solid base from which we can implement a fully integrated DevOps lifecycle that encompasses both our mainframe and our distributed platforms.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Extensive functionality that is easily customized to shop standards and needs
Integration between tools across the BMC AMI DevX suite
Supports development and maintenance processes from start to finish
Improves programmer productivity

Cons

ISPF Help panels need to be kept up to date and fully synchronized with the panels and functions they are meant to support
The written documentation would certainly benefit from more diagrams

Return on Investment

We have not had BMC AMI DevX long enough to measure ROI or point to any other specific measurements. As the "chief toymaker", I can tell you that my personal productivity has increased at the infrastructure level, which is an excellent start.

Developer Experience

As a mainframe software developer, I consider the basic steps to be (1) Create new or check out existing, (2) Develop/modify, (3) Turn human friendly, editable source into executable targets, i.e. build/compile/generate, (4) Test, (5) Repeat steps 1 thru 4 as needed, (6) Promote. BMC AMI DevX in general, and Code Pipeline in particular, provides me with a high quality development experience that builds on the foundation of my decades of experience and adds features and functions that I have often wished for.

Alternatives Considered

The names may have changed over the years, but anyone who has been around for a while will recognize them. For Software Configuration Management, I have used TSO/ISPF/SCLM, Panvalet, ChangeMan, Librarian, Endevor, and now Code Pipeline. All of them met the basic requirements. All of them had their advantages and disadvantages. Code Pipeline, however, stands head and shoulders above the rest in simplicity, completeness, effectiveness, efficiency, and elegance.

Key Insights

Do you think BMC AMI DevX delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with BMC AMI DevX's feature set?

Yes

Did BMC AMI DevX live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of BMC AMI DevX go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy BMC AMI DevX again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

The trick has always been to support "old school" mainframe developers in a cutting edge DevOps world. BMC AMI DevX manages to provide cross-platform interfaces and solutions that honor the past while serving the future. Change almost always involves a hit to productivity as developers unlearn old procedures and incorporate new ones. Eventually the new way of doing things should lead to higher productivity. Anyone introducing change seeks to have that "productivity dip" be as shallow as possible and last as short a time as possible. BMC AMI DevX accomplishes that well.

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