secretGeek.netCosmo: project status panel
At work we've now got a dedicated machine for displaying the project status at a glance.
Someone suggested we use Leapstream's ScoreBoard to monitor Hudson (the CI system we use), but we found there were more things we wanted to show than just the build status.
So we built an Asp.net MVC application called 'Cosmo' that combines build status, number of bugs/stories remaining in the iteration, and a count down to the next release.
This thing is visible from the whole length of the floor. Ah the hilarity that ensues.
It's not exactly production-ready code but it does the job.
We've also got gource (and code_swarm) visualizations of our source repository (thanks to the guy ducking out of the way in the photo above) and, soon we should have a build lamp hooked up via X10.
These are the things that matter.
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Dan F on October 14, 2009 22:25 sez:
Build chicken? Build chicken!?! Do tell more, that thing looks funny :-)
lb on October 14, 2009 22:51 sez:
@Dan F: You don't know what a build chicken is? Every project needs a build chicken.
The build chicken is what you get awarded if you break the build. So the last person to break the build will always be in possession of it.
Even if you're not using continuous integration you can have a build chicken. If someone fails to check in a file referenced by the project, such that the code will now *only* build on their machine, you would award them the build chicken.
any project without a build chicken is doomed.
Dan F on October 15, 2009 00:53 sez:
I know what's on my shopping list this weekend. Sounds healthier than having to buy the donuts.
From looking at the photo, I thought the chicken was hooked up to some kind of usb/x10 powered pole and got raised into the air when the build broke. That'd be kinda funny :-)
Kyle on October 15, 2009 09:25 sez:
>a build lamp hooked up via X10.
We've got this hooked up and it's great!
There are red flood lights mounted all around the room, and when the build breaks, the whole floor turns red!
PHenry on October 15, 2009 11:03 sez:
re build chicken
We have "the flower" for stuff like that. And it really has a dead bug in the big "sniffer" bowl. Very ironic.
I love the optics of the build status. Very cool! Kudos.
lb on October 29, 2009 19:27 sez:
Proposed new feature for cosmo:
Play a 'wilhelm scream' sound effect whenever build breaks.
http://hollywoodlostandfound.net/sounds/Wilhelm_tk4.wav
R on June 24, 2025 19:45 sez:
Came here to say a search in google today showed that the AI didn't know what a "builld chicken" was. We are all doomed
lb on June 24, 2025 20:29 sez:
Cheers @r.
I quizzed ChatGPT just now and it was very confident and very wrong on its opinion of what a build chicken is. I gave it another guess and it was still wrong and still just as confident.
Doomed. Dooooooooned.