Atlassian recently released Compass, a developer experience platform that aims to enhance software architecture performance. Compass provides a software architecture catalog, integrates code repositories, and stores toolchain data. It also defines health standards to enable teams to track the continuous improvement of their software projects.
Matt Boulton, senior content designer at Atlassian, summarised the abilities of Compass in a blog post. Boulton stated that developers often get frustrated when trying to understand how a specific piece of code fits into the larger project. Key information like repository ownership, dependencies, or relevant contacts can be difficult to reach, leading to inefficient workflows.
This lack of context surrounding code and the time spent searching for it within the organization can impede progress. This disrupts the flow of development, creating bottlenecks within teams, which can ultimately delay the delivery of software to customers.
Users can integrate component information directly into the code repositories by connecting Compass to Bitbucket. This means details like the component's owner, dependencies, and relevant communication channels are viewable alongside the code.
Contextual information helps engineers save time searching for essential details, stay focused on development, and gain confidence in their work. It enables them to understand how their code fits into the broader software architecture.
Source: Bring more context to your code with Compass
As shown above, when you navigate to the Source page of any repository, a Compass component card will be displayed. This card will show the associated software component's owner team, its dependencies within the broader architecture, and relevant communication channels for quick access to support or information.
Following the announcement of Atlassian Compass' general availability, an interesting discussion emerged on Reddit, with users sharing their initial impressions. One user, Hisako1337, shared their plan to replace their internal backstage.io setup with Compass, praising its affordability compared to the maintenance of a customized solution. However, another user, STGItsMe, voiced frustration over the lack of an on-premise option for Compass.
Similarly, in a recent virtual panel discussion, the panellists agreed that platform engineering plays a crucial role in enhancing the developer experience. Platforms further facilitate organizational scaling by establishing uniformity in development practices. They ensure consistency and efficiency across teams and projects by codifying methodologies, toolsets, processes, and best practices into the platform.
Compass is accessible to users, either for free or upon request for their organization. Once added, Compass needs to be connected to a Bitbucket workspace. Then, a Compass Catalog can be utilized by using Bitbucket repositories directly or by linking existing repositories to components that are already present in Compass.
Boulton has invited users to share their thoughts on integrating Bitbucket and Compass, encouraging them to join the conversation in the Compass Community.