IT SHOPKEEPING

The Waterfall model has become the whipping boy of 20th century software development.  The idea that analysis, development, and testing are separate, distinct phases of a development project, where time must be allocated to each, and one must be completed before the next begins, is history.  Although it was seldom actually practiced, with time and budget constraints compressing schedules and steps, it was often an ideal to shoot for.  There was some integrity in it, as I recall.  For a long time, we regarded the model as a sign of …

MVC (Model-View-Controller) is the latest fad in Microsoft .NET development. As Agile and Scrum sweep the industry, a need has grown for continuous integration and deployment, requiring automated unit testing. Conventional ASP.NET architecture makes unit testing of page functionality difficult because form controls are tightly coupled to back end code-behind logic. That is, to simply unit test the selection of a dropdown list along with a Submit button isn’t straightforward. Enter MVC. By clearly delineating front end form functionality, the View, from back end business …

Pragmatic Programmers’ Ship It! by Jared Richardson and William Gwaltney(2006) still hasn’t gone out of style. It lays an IT Shop 101, 202 foundation that’s extensible by the modern flavors of Agile, Scrum, etc.    The upshot:

A HealthcareSource spinoff startup, Healthcaresource.com, enlisted me to help build a new product for them called Sourcing Manager.  It’s now done and successfully brought to market.  Users are clamoring for demos and signing on to for year-long license contracts.  The value this product provides is so significant that users can recoup the costs of the product in a matter of weeks.  Not bad, HealthcareSource.
Congratulations Troy Hatlevig and team!  Special thanks to Susane, Sindhura, Todd, Heather, and Les.

Flash vs. Silverlight: a useful technical comparison here at Smashingmagazine. And the winner by category:
Animation – Silverlight
File size – Flash
Scripting – Silverlight
Video/Audio – Silverlight
Sound processing – Flash
Accessibility – Flash
Platform compatibility – Flash
Text representation/SEO – Silverlight
Supported image formats – Flash
Socket programming – Flash
Webcam support – Flash
Deployment – Flash
Windows application – Flash
Media streaming – Silverlight
Other Adobe vs. Microsoft face-offs:
Silverlight vs. Flex C# is a real OO language vs. ActionScript which is not. Flex looks better.
Illustrator vs. Expression Design Expression Design is not a head-to-head competitor with Illustrator as a standalone graphics editor, …

Is your software project steep and rocky? Can you predict the weather in your office? How many bodies lay on the side of your project trail?
The best sherpas on Mt. Everest expect failure and death as the most likely outcome. They assume that any grey cloud in the sky may develop into a dangerous fog bank, cold front, or blizzard. Recent powder on angled slopes above could pose an avalanche risk. Too quick a pace could dehydrate the team. Too slow a pace and nightfall may come before they reach …

What began as a little donation of web development to a local non-profit has evolved into a series of recommendations and a pilot program for a national organization.  I currently serve on the board of the Institute of Management Consultants – New England Chapter. (IMCNE)  As webmaster and marketing chair I am responsible for the public face of the chapter.  Much work has been done by the National organization to provide a unified web framework for all chapters and the New England Chapter led the charge in the uptake of this technology.  …

Among the inventors of the commercial Internet as we know it, Burst Media has assembled some of the most insightful and productive tools for the management and sale of online advertising. Burst creates formidable advertising assets out of the “long tail” of internet destinations by assembling Publishing Networks, constellations of similarly-themed web sites, which advertisers and ad agencies may tap in their targeted campaigns.
With customers eager for the Web 2.0 experience, Burst Media enlisted Lexicon Systems to facilitate an evolution of their product suites to .NET. Management planned to upgrade …

Focus on your job and you’ll get better at it?  True.  It may even lead to pay raises and promotions.  But sooner or later you will hit the social ceiling.   In spite of your long hours.  In spite of your top-notch work.  Here in this technical field where many of us fled to avoid people and human interaction which is messy and unpredictable compared to the reasonable, civil interaction that takes place between human and machine:
The social ceiling is our most dangerous career obstacle.

MAXIMUS, a Massachusetts state-funded health-care vendor, hired Lexicon Systems to interface legacy apps with newer systems.  Systems include State Medical Coverage mainframes and patient information databases.  Lexicon’s designs create a more seamless workflow for clerks and customers, as MAXIMUS manages very high call volumes for services and information.