IBM Rational Build Forge Training — Legacy Enterprise Build Automation & Modernization

What Is IBM Rational Build Forge?

IBM Rational Build Forge is an enterprise build and release automation framework that provides centralized build management, project-based configuration, and agent-based execution across heterogeneous environments — including mainframes. Acquired by IBM in 2006 and integrated into the Rational suite, Build Forge was widely deployed in large enterprises (banking, insurance, government) for managing complex build processes across diverse platforms. IBM has shifted focus to UrbanCode and IBM Cloud Continuous Delivery, making Build Forge a legacy platform requiring maintenance and modernization.

Current Relevance

IBM Rational Build Forge is legacy enterprise build automation. IBM continues limited support for existing customers, but the strategic direction has moved to UrbanCode (also legacy-bound) and IBM Cloud Continuous Delivery (Tekton-based). Organizations with Build Forge deployments need engineers who can maintain existing build infrastructure while planning migration to modern CI/CD platforms — typically Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or a combination with Ansible for the broader automation landscape.

Who Should Attend

• Build/release engineers maintaining IBM Rational Build Forge infrastructure
• DevOps engineers planning Build Forge→Jenkins migration
• Engineering managers in banking/insurance with Build Forge deployments
• Teams managing mainframe build automation through Build Forge

Learning Outcomes

• Operate Build Forge projects, environments, steps, and adapters
• Maintain Build Forge agents across heterogeneous platforms
• Design Build Forge build processes with conditional logic and chaining
• Plan Build Forge→Jenkins/GitHub Actions migration
• Integrate Build Forge with modern CI/CD during coexistence periods

Course Modules

1. Build Forge Architecture — Management console, agents, projects, environments, steps, adapters.
2. Build Forge Project Configuration — Steps, step chains, selectors, environment variables, scheduling.
3. Adapters & Integrations — Source control adapters. Compiler adapters. Custom adapters. Notification setup.
4. Build Forge at Scale — Multi-platform agents. Mainframe integration. Security and access control. Reporting.
5. Modernization: Build Forge to Jenkins — Build logic mapping. Agent migration. Coexistence. Execution validation.
6. Capstone: Legacy Build Modernization — Document a Build Forge project, map to Jenkins pipeline, plan migration.

Important Note

This course exists solely for enterprises with active IBM Rational Build Forge deployments. It is not a career development course — it is a maintenance and migration enablement course. For modern build automation, see Jenkins Training or DevOps Engineering.

Related Courses

See Jenkins Training, IBM UrbanCode Training, and DevOps Engineering.