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ThoughtWorks
Company typePrivately held
IndustrySoftware industry
Founded1993
FounderNeville Roy Singham
Headquarters
Illinois
,
United States
Number of locations
36
Key people
Martin Fowler Jim Highsmith
ProductsMingle, GoCD, Snap CI, Gauge (alternative for Twist), CruiseControl, Selenium,
Servicescustom software applications
Number of employees
3500+
DivisionsThoughtworks Studios
Websitewww.thoughtworks.com

ThoughtWorks is a privately owned, global technology company. It provides software design and delivery, and pioneering tools and consulting services. The company is closely associated with the movement for agile software development, and has contributed to a range of open source products.

History

1980s to 1990s

In the late 1980s Roy Singham founded Singham Business Services as a management consulting company servicing the equipment leasing industry in a Chicago basement. According to Singham, after two-to-three years, Singham started recruiting additional staff and came up with the name ThoughtWorks in 1990.[1] The company was incorporated under the new name in 1993 and focused on building software applications.[2] Over time, ThoughtWorks' technology shifted from C++ and Forte 4GL in the mid-1990s to include Java in the late 1990s.

1990s to 2010s

Martin Fowler joined the company in 1999 and became its chief scientist in 2000.[3] In 2001, ThoughtWorks agreed to settle a lawsuit by Microsoft for $480,000 for deploying unlicensed copies of office productivity software to employees.[4]

Also in 2001, Fowler, Jim Highsmith, and other key software figures authored the Agile Manifesto.[5] The company began using agile techniques while working on a leasing project.[6] ThoughtWorks’ technical expertise expanded with the .NET Framework in 2002,[7] C# in 2004, Ruby and the Rails platform in 2006.[8] In 2002, ThoughtWorks chief scientist Martin Fowler wrote "Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture" with contributions by ThoughtWorkers David Rice and Matthew Foemmel, as well as outside contributors Edward Hieatt, Robert Mee, and Randy Stafford.[9]

ThoughtWorks Studios was launched as its product division in 2006. The division creates, supports and sells agile project management and software development and deployment tools including Mingle, Gauge(formerly Twist), Snap CI and GoCD . On 2 March 2007, ThoughtWorks announced Trevor Mather as the new CEO.[10] Singham became Executive Chairman. Also in March 2007, Rebecca Parsons joined ThoughtWorks as Chief Technical Officer.[11][12]

2010s to present

In 2010, Jim Highsmith joined ThoughtWorks.[13] Also in 2010, CTO Parsons was named as one of Fast Company's "Most Influential Women in Technology".[14] At the start of 2012, ThoughtWorks moved its 40-person sales team on straight salaries instead of commission.[15] In early 2012, Aaron Swartz joined the company.[16] In May 2012, Ken Collier joined the company.[17]

In April 2013, ThoughtWorks announced a new collective leadership structure and appointed four co-Presidents of the global organization.[18][19] The appointments followed the announcement that the then current CEO, Trevor Mather, was leaving ThoughtWorks to take up the role of CEO for the Trader Media Group.[20]

In May 2013, Dr. David Walton was hired as Director of Global Health to "lead its practice in serving the technology needs of healthcare institutions in resource-poor environments."[21] Walton has done work in Haiti since 1999, including helping establish a 300-room, solar-powered hospital and the establishment of a noncommunicable disease clinic.[22] In 2015, Guo Xiao, who started as a developer in ThoughtWorks China in 1999, became the Chief Executive Officer and President. Also in 2015, Chinese marketing data company AdMaster acquired Chinese online form automation platform JinShuJu from ThoughtWorks.[23][24]

ThoughtWorks has more than 3500 employees, working from 36 offices in 14 countries.

Software and services

The company’s primary service is the creation of custom software applications for corporate clients. Projects for North American, European or Australian clients are often delivered from India, China, Brazil or Ecuador. The firm also provides consulting services related to software development, design, architecture, operations and IT transformation among others.

Proprietary software

On July 28, 2008, ThoughtWorks Studios released a proprietary continuous integration server called Cruise. Despite the name, this is not a derivative of the open source CruiseControl, but instead a new product written from scratch, which was released under a proprietary license.

On July 10, 2010, ThoughtWorks Studios released a continuous delivery platform called GoCD. GoCD includes the functionality of Cruise, which is no longer sold.[25] From April 2014 GoCD has been open source and is available on GitHub.[26]

Mingle is a software to facilitate agile project management and collaboration. Released in May 2007, Mingle was the first commercial application to be created using JRuby.[27] Mingle was released as a SAAS offering in 2013.

Snap CI was released into an open Beta in July 2013 and eventually available for purchase on a subscription basis in April 2014. Snap CI allows you to automate the build and deployment of Java, Scala, Clojure, Rails, PHP and Python applications to various deployment platforms such as Amazon AWS, Heroku, RedHat OpenShift etc. by modeling the build and deploy process as a deployment pipeline.

Gauge is a light weight cross-platform test automation tool. It has the ability to author test cases in the business language. Gauge has an extremely modular plugin supported architecture, which makes it very flexible and scalable. It uses Behavior Driven Development (BDD) and Test-driven development (TDD) for functional testing of the application. Gauge evolved from Twist which was a software built to facilitate test automation and functional testing with simple authoring. Twist is no longer supported by ThoughtWorks.[28]

Corporate philosophy

ThoughtWorks has a tri-pillar system of corporate beliefs, inspired by Ben & Jerry's model.[29] These beliefs, referred to as the "3 Pillars" include (1) Sustainable Business (2) Software Excellence and (3) Social Justice.[30][31]

Social justice work

ThoughtWorks launched its Social Impact Program in 2009.[32] This program provided pro-bono or other developmental help for non-profits and organizations with socially-driven missions. Clients included Democracy Now! (mobile content delivery site), Human Network International (mobile data collection), and the Institute for Reproductive Health (SMS-based fertility planner).[33][34][35] In 2010, ThoughtWorks provided software engineering services for Grameen Foundation’s Mifos platform.[36] In 2012, the company paired with the GSMA Development Fund to launch an online knowledge-sharing platform designed to help underprivileged populations globally.[37] Since 2013, ThoughtWorks has devoted full-time work to Bahmni, an open-source software for hospital systems in low-resource settings in South Asia.[38] In 2015, ThoughtWorks coordinated with activists for Hands Up United to provide technical training, and its many offices support organizations like Black Girls Code, Systers, MotherCoders, and other organizations that help historically excluded groups to gain technology learning.[39][40][41][42]

Hiring and diversity

ThoughtWorks has been known for its rigorous interviewing and hiring processes.[43] Between 2010 and 2015, ThoughtWorks increased its percentage of women in tech roles from 17% to 32%. ThoughtWorks has increased its percentage of females in tech roles by hiring developers who have degrees outside of computer science and ensuring female candidates are interviewed by females.[44] As of 2015, 8% of the company's employees identified as black and 3% as Hispanic. In Australia, ThoughtWorks practices quota hiring (requiring one female hired for every male) and conducts pay reviews to ensure female employees receive equal pay and status.[45]

Agile adoption and leadership

ThoughtWorks has long been a vocal advocate of Agile and Lean principles and practices, speaking often on the topic at conferences and creating Agile self-assessment tests.[46][47][48] Part of ThoughtWorks' client services includes helping large enterprises like GE move to Agile.[49][50] The company employs well-known signatories of the Agile manifesto--Martin Fowler and Jim Highsmith--and uses Agile in client projects.[51] Rebecca Parsons, CTO of the company, has served as the Director of the Agile Alliance.[52]

References

  1. ^ Lundy, Dave. 2003. Ex-activist backs revolution in software. Chicago Sun-Times, October 23. "At the time, I was an independent consultant working in the leasing business, but I realized I didn't want to work on my own. So I recruited a few people, and we built a company called Singham Business Services for two or three years doing consulting and leasing. Then in 1990, I came up with the name ThoughtWorks."
  2. ^ Gale Directory of Company Histories accessed 2011-7-20 "The fledgling enterprise recruited some of its first technical staff by posting bulletin board notices at the University of Chicago. ThoughtWorks soon grew from an initial staff of 8 people to 30 consultants at the time of its official incorporation in 1993.
  3. ^ Jones, Capers (2013). The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering. Pearson Education. p. 234. ISBN 9780321903426. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  4. ^ Simpson, Glen (January 31, 2001). "ThoughtWorks Will Pay $480,000 To Settle Software Copyright Case". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  5. ^ "Agile Manifesto history". Agile Manifesto.
  6. ^ Lundy, Dave. 2003. Ex-activist backs revolution in software. Chicago Sun-Times, October 23.
  7. ^ Martin Fowler books, section: Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture, accessed 7-20-2011
  8. ^ Ruby at ThoughtWorks accessed 2007-7-20.
  9. ^ Fowler, Martin (2002). Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture. Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN 0321127420. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  10. ^ "ThoughtWorks, Global IT Services Firm, Names Trevor Mather CEO". Business Wire. Brookshire Hathaway. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  11. ^ Hastie, Shane (June 19, 2012). "An Interview with Rebecca Parsons - ThoughtWorks CTO". InfoQ. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Executive Profile: Rebecca Parsons". Bloomberg.
  13. ^ "Jim Highsmith Joins ThoughtWorks". Information Technology Newsweekly. 28 September 2010.
  14. ^ Joseph, Damian. "The Most Influential Women in Technology 2010". Fast Company. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  15. ^ "For Some, Paying Sales Commissions No Longer Makes Sense". The New York Times. November 21, 2013.
  16. ^ O'Neill, Cathy. "ThoughtWorks". Mathbabe. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  17. ^ "ThoughtWorks Adds Industry Leader to Agile Analytics Practice". Wireless News. May 9, 2012.
  18. ^ Smith, Fiona (August 1, 2013). "Thoughtworks: Where Four Heads Are Better Than One". Financial Review. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  19. ^ "ThoughtWorks Announces New CEO and Collective Leadership Structure". PR Newswire. April 10, 2013.
  20. ^ Cookson, Robert (April 3, 2013). "Trader Media Resolves Search for Chief". Financial Times. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  21. ^ "ThoughtWorks Announces the Hiring of Dr. David Walton". Health & Medicine Weekly. May 24, 2013.
  22. ^ "Bringing the Best of Modern Medicine to Those Who Need It Most" (PDF). National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. NFID. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  23. ^ "AdMaster Acquires Chinese Online Forms Firm JinShuJu from ThoughtWorks". M&A Navigator. November 10, 2015.
  24. ^ "More M&A/IPO News for Nov. 3". Dow Jones. Private Equity & Venture Captal. November 3, 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  25. ^ Rubinstein, David (2010-07-20). "ThoughtWorks Studios unveils new release management platform". SD Times (Software Development). BZ Media LLC. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  26. ^ "GoCD on GitHub". Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  27. ^ "Mingle from ThoughtWorks Studios to Be the First Commercial Software in JRuby". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  28. ^ "A Farewell to Twist". Twist Automated Testing. ThoughtWorks, Inc. Retrieved 2016-01-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |registration= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ "Ben & Jerry's three-part mission guide". Ben & Jerry's. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  30. ^ Chiranjoy, Sen (March 27, 2010). "Big Software Packages on Last Legs". Economic Times of India. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  31. ^ Fowler, Martin. "ThreePillars". Martin Fowler's blog. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  32. ^ Vishy (Aug 29, 2012). "Your Vision. Our Software. World-changing. Introducing ThoughtWorks Social Impact Program". TechSangram. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  33. ^ "CycleTel overview" (PDF). US AID - African Strategies for Health. US AID. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  34. ^ "Welcome to the Team ThoughtWorks University!". Human Network International. Human Network International. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  35. ^ "Aug 12, 2011 update". Facebook. Democracy Now!.
  36. ^ N, Abhay (July 29, 2010). "ThoughtWorks to help scale up Grameen's Mifos Software Platform". India Microfinance. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  37. ^ "GSMA LAUNCHES MOBILE AND DEVELOPMENT INTELLIGENCE PORTAL". GSMA. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  38. ^ "Bahmni FAQ". Bahmmi.org.
  39. ^ "Black Girls CODE Johannesberg @ThoughtWorks Braamfontein, Johannesburg". Black Girls Code. Black Girls Code. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  40. ^ "Systers @ 2015 Google I/O". Anita Borg Institute.
  41. ^ "#Moco Founder Tina Lee and Susmita of ThoughtWorks kicking us off". MotherCoders. Facebook. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  42. ^ "FERGUSON REIMAGINED: HANDS UP UNITED LAUNCHES THE 2ND COHORT FOR THE ROY CLAY SR. TECH WORKSHOP". Hands Up United. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  43. ^ Smith, Jacquelyn (August 9, 2013). "The 25 Companies That Give The Most Difficult Job Interviews". Forbes. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  44. ^ Peck, Emily (Jun 18, 2013). "This Company Proves You Can Hire More Women In Tech Right Now. No More Excuses!". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  45. ^ "Case Studies: Research showcasing leading practice in two organisations" (PDF). Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Australian Government. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  46. ^ Silverman, Rachel Emma (Feb 2, 2012). "No More Angling for the Best Seat; More Meetings Are Stand-Up Jobs". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  47. ^ "New 'ThoughtWorks Learning' Roadshows, Training and Knowledge Help Accelerate Agile Adoption and Success". PR Newswire. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  48. ^ "ThoughtWorks Agile Assessment". SlideShare. LinkedIn.
  49. ^ King, Rachael (May 30, 2012). "GE Becomes More Agile". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  50. ^ Skelton, Matthew (Oct 9, 2013). "Leaving the Platform–Branching and Releasing for Independent Subsystems". The Trainline. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  51. ^ "Module 3: ThoughtWorks Case Study". Strategic Marketing Management.
  52. ^ "Keynote: Rebecca Parsons". Agile on the Beach Conference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
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