Eugene Gilburg: Multi-Application Development Using a Common Data Model

How would you approach the problem of developing several applications that each have a distinct look, feel, and feature set, yet all want to share the same data model and database server?

We at Sage Software have took up this problem as several of our business units each wanted a web app that serves their own need, but ultimately all of which work with a common project management and accounting model, and are interested in sharing as much of both code and data between us as possible, to minimize development effort as well as enable fluid, real-time data sharing from a common data store.

Rails does not come with a project/solution hierarchy similar to some other web development platforms, so we had to invent our own.

The presentation will cover both the technical solutions and challenges we encountered, and the development process we follow as several teams all try to work together without stepping on each others' toes.