September, 2007

Comment Too Good to not Pass On

After Monday’s Blog Entry on “One-Size-Fits-???” I received the following from a fellow friend, associate and customer that is just too good to not pass on.  (BTW — I did chastize him about not posting for all to see).  He makes a very valuable point in his reply to me. Continued »

No Lack of Development “Ideologies”

I find myself continuously amazed by the number of software development methods that are available, and question whether any single one could possibly “fit” any project.  (Please see my previous post “One-Size-Fits-???”)  My experience has been mostly with small to mid-size companies where application software is looked upon to perform many roles, just as are the users of the software.  This is a good thing — handle a transaction once and be done with it.  Continued »

One-Size-Fits-???

In a recent visit to my dentist, I had the experience of having the Xray tech “fit” an ungodly uncomfortable piece of plastic into my mouth for the xray.  When I said something about how uncorfortable it was, her comment to me was “one-size-fits-all, which really means of course, that one-size-fits-none!”  I’m not sure I agree with that statement, but the one-size that was used on me certainly didn’t fit.

Her comment started me thinking about how the statement applies to software applications.

Continued »

Software Simplicity Perspectives

I’d like to call special attention to one of the written principles contained in the “Agile Manifesto” relating to simplicity,  “Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.”  Yes, I agree with this statement.  I also think that “feature creep” is a primary foe of simplicity, but that is perhaps for another post. 

However, I wonder how many other developers such as I have experienced the “lack of simplicity” in creating software that is ultimately “simple” for the end-user.  I don’t think that “simple” for the end-user is necessarily “simple” for the developer…and once again I turn to communication as a key ingredient.  I find myself constantly asking the question “What will make this easier for the user?”

Fellow NEDC developer Garret Mott has published an excellent white paper called “Software as a Conversation“.  I believe this is excellent reading for developers who are concerned about keeping simplicity in their application program “conversations”.  Garret’s perspective in this paper can easily serve as a reminder to developers to perhaps “visualize” themselves as the user when designing.

Buy, Build or Ignore? — What does THAT mean?

What I’m getting at here is this — Let’s say you have users in your organization who need to have certain information — but the information is not readily available except on a paper form located somewhere in another location. You may realize this as a possible use for a document management system. Great! …Until you have priced it that is! “Buy” is NOT in the budget! Is “Build” an option? Can a custom designed program accomplish what you’re looking for? Might a “Build” option be affordable? …Or…Should you just ignore the need altogether and wait for the lack of information availability to “show up” in a dramatic way which might “raise some eyebrows” so that it will get attention? These issues I expect will come up on a regular basis in this blog.

Please Hear What I “Really” Need

I recently had the opportunity to visit a potential client to look at a
software development project that had been started by another developer
over a year ago. Just the fact that nothing was yet operational (nor
really functional to the potential user) was really a warning sign to me
as I looked at what existed. The entry screens looked like the forms
which the customer wanted to print — cluttered, and of course, far more
entry fields than would likely be used — very inefficient.
Continued »