Vagrant: Up and Running

Foreword

Jeff Sussna

Founder and Principal, Ingineering.IT

Every so often, you encounter software that immediately strikes you with its combination of clarity, simplicity, power, and usefulness. You simultaneously say “wow!” and “why didn’t I think of that?” But you couldn’t have thought of it. It needs an author who can conceive and implement that particular vision, not just appreciate it. Vagrant is that kind of software, and Mitchell Hashimoto is that kind of author.

Software as a service dramatically lowers the cost of change for its users. As a result, they come to expect near-instantaneous responsiveness from software vendors. The ability to continuously deliver new features is taking its place alongside the features themselves as a competitive advantage. Service providers face the conundrum of needing to accelerate velocity without sacrificing quality. Vagrant provides a critical contribution to solving that problem.

Agility experts often talk about John Boyd’s OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) Loop. An Air Force pilot, Boyd developed the OODA Loop concept to describe the process of reacting to an enemy during airborne battle. Victory came from “getting inside your enemy’s OODA Loop”—in other words, being able to react, respond, and change more quickly than your enemy.

Approaching software delivery as a form of battle requiring fast reflexes conjures up visions of fear, tension, and sweat. But fear and tension lead to mistakes (aka bugs). How do you get inside your competition’s ...