Business-focused custom software

• The Little Things Matter

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 12/4/2007 4:00:00 PM

  

  Occasionally software developers fall into the trap of thinking that the little things aren't important.

  Sometimes the little things are small cosmetic problems with our applications. A misspelled word, some misaligned controls, or some CSS that looks funny in the wrong browser - all of these things can seem like "little things". Unworthy of concern or time.

  The problem is that these little things can detract and distress. Users can't focus on the software they are using when their eyes are drawn to a flaw. If the flaw isn't corrected quickly, it becomes a blight in the software. It demonstrates a lack of ...

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• How much flexibility do you really need?

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 11/26/2007 4:00:00 PM

  

  A business requirement I often hear when designing software is that the application must be flexible and easy to change without additional programming. This seems like a sensible idea - we all know that nothing stays the same, and flexibility can make the software continue its usefulness despite changing business conditions, regulations, and standards.

  There are two challenges with this requirement. One challenge is that flexibility is a very vague term. For some users, flexibility means that they can customize the colors or menu text. For others, flexibility means the ability to create custom business rules or reports. And for some people, ...

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• Why your simple idea isn't

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 11/6/2007 4:00:00 PM

  

  Business people often describe their software application idea as "simple" or "easy" to build. Have you? Here are some things you may not have considered which can make building your application less "simple":

  • Security. Who needs to have access to this software? Even if your application is publicly available (and many aren't), there may still be certain restrictions for some users which increases complexity.
  • External users. Will your customers see this software? If so, you'll want to make sure there is enough professional polish on it.
  • Platform support. How many different operating systems and/or browsers does this application need to ...

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• Planning for a scary future

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 11/2/2007 5:00:00 PM

  

  Every year at Halloween I buy too much trick-or-treat candy. Why? I don't want to disappoint any costumed children that may come to my door. Buying an extra bag or two of candy is an easy and fairly inexpensive way to handle the risky business of stiffing a local cherub.

  Throwing money at a problem isn't usually the best way to mitigate risk. Still, contingency planning is something technologists must embrace. While server experts must plan for issues like hardware failure, software developers must think about how their applications will respond to unanticipated problems. Error handling is one area that needs to be considered in ...

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• Keep it under control

  By Avonelle Lovhaug

  Publication Date: 11/1/2007 5:00:00 PM

  

  I'm often amazed at the number of developers who don't use source code control software. The arguments I've heard against it are lame and half hearted:

  Too expensive

  Other than some time to set it up and the disk space to set aside for it, there is no reason for it to cost anything at all. There are several source code control options that are open source or free. (Some examples include Subversion and CVS.) Personally, I use Sourcegear's Vault, which is free for a single user.

  Only large teams need source code control

  Even teams of one person can benefit ...

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