The build server produces a lot of data that is amenable to visualization on a shared display. It is useful to be immediately aware that a build has failed, for instance.

The easiest thing is to just hook up a monitor in a kiosk-like configuration with a web browser pointing to your build server web interface. Jenkins has many plugins that provide a simplified job overview suitable for kiosk displays. These are sometimes called information radiators.

It is also common to hook up other types of hardware to the build status, such as lava lamps or colorful LED lamps.

In my experience, this kind of display can make people enthusiastic about the build server. Succeeding with having a useful display in the long run is more tricky than it would first appear, though. The screen can be distracting. If you put the screen where it's not easily seen in order to circumvent the distraction, the purpose of the display is defeated.

A lava lamp in combination with a screen placed...