Comments for Adept Technologies http://www.adeptechllc.com Software, Agile Process and Security Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:57:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 Comment on I Miss my Treo by Julia http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/12/i-miss-my-treo/comment-page-1/#comment-4640 Julia Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:57:13 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=281#comment-4640 Only when my Treo finally bit the dust and I had to replace it, I too have made the switch from Palm to a Blackberry. I went into Sprint and asked them what would be the best replacement for my Treo that had ease of messages and the best calendar, they suggest the PalmPixi. At first I was excited because I loved my Treo so much I thought nothing but good things of Palm. The only thing I didn't like about my Treo was that it wasn't compatiable with Pandora's Internet Radio, I love that. But the Pixi did offer this feature so I wanted to upgrade.. Boy was that a mistake! I had the Pixi for not but a week and I couldn't take it. There was too much going on and the mostly touchscreen menu was not for me, I like to be able to scroll around with a left,right,up,down. So I opp for a BlackBerry that so many of my friends had raved about. I'm still trying to adjust. I do like the apps that are offered and the navigation and themes that I never had on my Treo. But yes, the messages are scattered in 4 different places! This makes no sense to me. I do also like having the BlackBerry Messenger. But one thing I can not get over is how awful the calendar is!! I miss my Treo so much. I like having the color coded events to easily look at a month view see what colored icons I had going on that week and quickly be reminded what I had going on. I am actually amazed Blackberry has nothing similar. In fact, I don't know that any other device has a calendar that suits my needs like the PalmTreo. I struggle with this everyday, still waiting for someone to get on this. I love my blackberry, and am growingly getting attached to it, but I still consider giving it all up just to have my calendar back. I miss my Treo. Does anyone know of any solutions? Or calendar options? Or should I just go back to my Treo? Only when my Treo finally bit the dust and I had to replace it, I too have made the switch from Palm to a Blackberry. I went into Sprint and asked them what would be the best replacement for my Treo that had ease of messages and the best calendar, they suggest the PalmPixi. At first I was excited because I loved my Treo so much I thought nothing but good things of Palm. The only thing I didn’t like about my Treo was that it wasn’t compatiable with Pandora’s Internet Radio, I love that. But the Pixi did offer this feature so I wanted to upgrade.. Boy was that a mistake! I had the Pixi for not but a week and I couldn’t take it. There was too much going on and the mostly touchscreen menu was not for me, I like to be able to scroll around with a left,right,up,down. So I opp for a BlackBerry that so many of my friends had raved about. I’m still trying to adjust. I do like the apps that are offered and the navigation and themes that I never had on my Treo. But yes, the messages are scattered in 4 different places! This makes no sense to me. I do also like having the BlackBerry Messenger. But one thing I can not get over is how awful the calendar is!! I miss my Treo so much. I like having the color coded events to easily look at a month view see what colored icons I had going on that week and quickly be reminded what I had going on. I am actually amazed Blackberry has nothing similar. In fact, I don’t know that any other device has a calendar that suits my needs like the PalmTreo. I struggle with this everyday, still waiting for someone to get on this. I love my blackberry, and am growingly getting attached to it, but I still consider giving it all up just to have my calendar back.
I miss my Treo.
Does anyone know of any solutions? Or calendar options? Or should I just go back to my Treo?

]]> Comment on I Miss my Treo by John Wirtz http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/12/i-miss-my-treo/comment-page-1/#comment-4639 John Wirtz Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:29:20 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=281#comment-4639 The problem with smart phones is that once you start using one brand it becomes habit. Like so many other things in life we get use to what we use regularly. In my case, I started with a basic phone and seperate pda when I switched to the Blackberry. So the BB was my first smart phone and I have become use to it. Smart phone maker's biggest problem though was until Apple got into the game with integration and marketing, none of them pushed software beyond what was preinstalled on the device. Now everyone is playing catch up with Apple even though there are plenty of sources already out there for other devices, except Android which didn't exist before. I've tried the iphone, sidekick and treo and haven't been impressed with any of them. The Treo seemed old but capable and wasn't very satisfying. The Sidekick seemed like someone took the much maligned but very capable WinMo OS and put it in a toy. Finally, oy, the iphone, don't get me started. As you mentioned the upgrade train you lock into with Apple just to get the functionality that should have been built in from the start and only to end up with a mediocre product. The only thing Apple has done right is to create an integrated app store. For me, the problem is that its integrated with itunes which I lothe. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not an Apple hater, I think they make some fairly good products. They lock you into their draconian hardware and software rules. If you deviate, they'll happily brick the hardware you paid for. So you really don't own your Apple products. At least with the BB, WinMo device, Android, and Treo devices you could buy third party software without voiding your warranty. If you haven't found it yet, try Crackberry.com for software and recommendations. They were there before RIM created App World. I know, not much help with what you need. The problem with smart phones is that once you start using one brand it becomes habit. Like so many other things in life we get use to what we use regularly. In my case, I started with a basic phone and seperate pda when I switched to the Blackberry. So the BB was my first smart phone and I have become use to it. Smart phone maker’s biggest problem though was until Apple got into the game with integration and marketing, none of them pushed software beyond what was preinstalled on the device. Now everyone is playing catch up with Apple even though there are plenty of sources already out there for other devices, except Android which didn’t exist before.

I’ve tried the iphone, sidekick and treo and haven’t been impressed with any of them. The Treo seemed old but capable and wasn’t very satisfying. The Sidekick seemed like someone took the much maligned but very capable WinMo OS and put it in a toy. Finally, oy, the iphone, don’t get me started. As you mentioned the upgrade train you lock into with Apple just to get the functionality that should have been built in from the start and only to end up with a mediocre product. The only thing Apple has done right is to create an integrated app store. For me, the problem is that its integrated with itunes which I lothe. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not an Apple hater, I think they make some fairly good products. They lock you into their draconian hardware and software rules. If you deviate, they’ll happily brick the hardware you paid for. So you really don’t own your Apple products.

At least with the BB, WinMo device, Android, and Treo devices you could buy third party software without voiding your warranty. If you haven’t found it yet, try Crackberry.com for software and recommendations. They were there before RIM created App World. I know, not much help with what you need.

]]> Comment on I Miss my Treo by Johnny http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/12/i-miss-my-treo/comment-page-1/#comment-4638 Johnny Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:31:51 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=281#comment-4638 Unfortunately I have come to the sad conclusion that phones are no longer made for users, they are made for the people that review phones. The wow factor is more important than the usability of the phone. I really think that there has been no better smart phone series that the Treo’s. My biggest frustration is with Palm. They did a lousy job marketing the phone to the public and showcasing all the apps that were available. I am always anoid at the fact that people seem to think that the IPhone is the only phone that can do what it does. Palm has failed to learn the lesson that Apple learned the hard way, it’s the apps that sell the phone and the customer will want the largest selection of apps, even if they don’t come from palm. I think Palm didn’t push these apps because they wouldn’t make any money from them directly. But they may have held on to more market share. When I dropped my phone for the 150th time and finally killed it, I switched from my palm 700p to a Blackberry Storm. What a disaster. The only good feature that the Blackberries had was the e-mail push technology which is now available everywhere. What I really hated about the Blackberries is the way they lump all messages together. I would look at my phone to see I had messages then it was like an Easter egg hunt to figure out what kind of message it was, (voice, text, etc.). THEN, when you want to reply to a text message for example, the phone asks you if you want to send an; e-mail, Text message, MM message, or voice mail. If you get an e-mail and want to reply the phone asks you if you want to send an; e-mail, Text message, MM message, or voice mail. If you get a MM message and want to reply the phone asks you …well, you get the idea. Contact management was awful and the calendar was useless. The touch screen, which requires you to use your fingers often selected the wrong text on websites or in trying to edit a message. Couple that with the slow response from touch screen and you could go mad trying to send an e-mail. Plus I had to use two hands to manipulate the phone, all that swiping made the phone more inconvenient to use. I finally went on e-bay and purchased a 755p which was in mint condition. I have since started to use p-tunes heavily to listen to internet radio and I have added a Bluetooth GPS. I expect to be buying another off of e-bay to that I can have another back up. My only dwindling hope is that Palm will see the light and make a phone that will similar button layout as the Treo’s and can run the Palm OS emulation software that has come out. The fact that there is Palm OS emulation software to begin with ought to be a big hint to palm. I myself started on a Palm 5000, (remember those?) and have almost 20 years of contacts in my phone. Switching that over will be no easy task so I will give up my Palm OS device when they pull it out of my cold dead fingers, or until I can’t get another one on e-bay. Unfortunately I have come to the sad conclusion that phones are no longer made for users, they are made for the people that review phones. The wow factor is more important than the usability of the phone.
I really think that there has been no better smart phone series that the Treo’s. My biggest frustration is with Palm. They did a lousy job marketing the phone to the public and showcasing all the apps that were available. I am always anoid at the fact that people seem to think that the IPhone is the only phone that can do what it does. Palm has failed to learn the lesson that Apple learned the hard way, it’s the apps that sell the phone and the customer will want the largest selection of apps, even if they don’t come from palm. I think Palm didn’t push these apps because they wouldn’t make any money from them directly. But they may have held on to more market share.
When I dropped my phone for the 150th time and finally killed it, I switched from my palm 700p to a Blackberry Storm. What a disaster. The only good feature that the Blackberries had was the e-mail push technology which is now available everywhere. What I really hated about the Blackberries is the way they lump all messages together. I would look at my phone to see I had messages then it was like an Easter egg hunt to figure out what kind of message it was, (voice, text, etc.). THEN, when you want to reply to a text message for example, the phone asks you if you want to send an; e-mail, Text message, MM message, or voice mail. If you get an e-mail and want to reply the phone asks you if you want to send an; e-mail, Text message, MM message, or voice mail. If you get a MM message and want to reply the phone asks you …well, you get the idea.
Contact management was awful and the calendar was useless. The touch screen, which requires you to use your fingers often selected the wrong text on websites or in trying to edit a message. Couple that with the slow response from touch screen and you could go mad trying to send an e-mail. Plus I had to use two hands to manipulate the phone, all that swiping made the phone more inconvenient to use.
I finally went on e-bay and purchased a 755p which was in mint condition. I have since started to use p-tunes heavily to listen to internet radio and I have added a Bluetooth GPS. I expect to be buying another off of e-bay to that I can have another back up. My only dwindling hope is that Palm will see the light and make a phone that will similar button layout as the Treo’s and can run the Palm OS emulation software that has come out. The fact that there is Palm OS emulation software to begin with ought to be a big hint to palm. I myself started on a Palm 5000, (remember those?) and have almost 20 years of contacts in my phone. Switching that over will be no easy task so I will give up my Palm OS device when they pull it out of my cold dead fingers, or until I can’t get another one on e-bay.

]]> Comment on Just Enough vs. Just In Case by Keith McMillan http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/01/just-enough-vs-just-in-case/comment-page-1/#comment-4637 Keith McMillan Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:30:26 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=273#comment-4637 Hello Lev, I'm afraid we're going to have to disagree on this. I used to be a proponent of modeling every use case/user story, and then keeping the model up to date, so we knew the design of every use case, which classes it involved, and what methods. Over time, we had to let go of updating all those models after someone changed something, due to the pressure of delivering more to the customer, and a funny thing happened: it just didn't matter that the models weren't up to date: nobody used them. Sure, it's a good idea to make sure that the features you want are represented as user stories, or use cases, to make sure you don't forget something important, but that can be done in a very lightweight way (keeping track of themes or epics, and then making sure there are stories for them, for instance), and that's not what I mean by complete traceability. Traceability to me is being able to refer to a detailed model for the story (typically class and sequence diagrams), and knowing that the model is correct. That means that someone kept it up to date, or rather that <i>everyone</i> who worked on the system did. The value of producing a model for a story or a use case is in thinking about how you're going to deal with the requirements, and that can be done at a whiteboard. If it's put into a formal modeling tool, in my experience it's seldom referred to afterward, sometimes because it's no longer correct (because nobody updated it), sometimes because it doesn't cover the right level of detail in order to be useful, and sometimes because it's just easier to read the code. In my experience, which is considerable after over a decade working for large companies as a consultant, here's only one that got any real value from complete traceability, and they were filing FDA paperwork for medical devices, so it was a requirement for them. I appreciate your comments, even if we disagree, Keith Hello Lev,

I’m afraid we’re going to have to disagree on this. I used to be a proponent of modeling every use case/user story, and then keeping the model up to date, so we knew the design of every use case, which classes it involved, and what methods. Over time, we had to let go of updating all those models after someone changed something, due to the pressure of delivering more to the customer, and a funny thing happened: it just didn’t matter that the models weren’t up to date: nobody used them.

Sure, it’s a good idea to make sure that the features you want are represented as user stories, or use cases, to make sure you don’t forget something important, but that can be done in a very lightweight way (keeping track of themes or epics, and then making sure there are stories for them, for instance), and that’s not what I mean by complete traceability. Traceability to me is being able to refer to a detailed model for the story (typically class and sequence diagrams), and knowing that the model is correct. That means that someone kept it up to date, or rather that everyone who worked on the system did.

The value of producing a model for a story or a use case is in thinking about how you’re going to deal with the requirements, and that can be done at a whiteboard. If it’s put into a formal modeling tool, in my experience it’s seldom referred to afterward, sometimes because it’s no longer correct (because nobody updated it), sometimes because it doesn’t cover the right level of detail in order to be useful, and sometimes because it’s just easier to read the code.

In my experience, which is considerable after over a decade working for large companies as a consultant, here’s only one that got any real value from complete traceability, and they were filing FDA paperwork for medical devices, so it was a requirement for them.

I appreciate your comments, even if we disagree,

Keith

]]> Comment on Just Enough vs. Just In Case by Lev Ayzner http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/01/just-enough-vs-just-in-case/comment-page-1/#comment-4636 Lev Ayzner Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:54:54 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=273#comment-4636 While I agree with "just enough" mentality in general, I may not agree with traceability is "incredibly expensive and time consuming to produce, and to maintain". Knowing what is the right thing to do is necessary but not sufficient. Necessary and sufficient is doing the right thing the right way... Then, it may provide "good enough" value. Hard to believe that no one has got any positive experience with traceability. Thanks, LevA While I agree with “just enough” mentality in general, I may not agree with traceability is “incredibly expensive and time consuming to produce, and to maintain”.

Knowing what is the right thing to do is necessary but not sufficient. Necessary and sufficient is doing the right thing the right way… Then, it may provide “good enough” value. Hard to believe that no one has got any positive experience with traceability.

Thanks,
LevA

]]> Comment on Just Enough vs. Just In Case by Ryan http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/01/just-enough-vs-just-in-case/comment-page-1/#comment-4635 Ryan Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:34:49 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=273#comment-4635 I agree with your post, Keith, but I think there is another complication here. Sometimes the "just in case" is hidden behind a well constructed facade backed by well thought out (but usually quite convoluted) theories and ideas. It requires digging and wading through the facade in order to realize that what is actually behind there is simply a "just in case" or sometimes a nice CYA. Unfortunately, tearing down the facade usually takes a lot of time and effort. I agree with your post, Keith, but I think there is another complication here. Sometimes the “just in case” is hidden behind a well constructed facade backed by well thought out (but usually quite convoluted) theories and ideas. It requires digging and wading through the facade in order to realize that what is actually behind there is simply a “just in case” or sometimes a nice CYA. Unfortunately, tearing down the facade usually takes a lot of time and effort.

]]> Comment on Just Enough vs. Just In Case by Keith McMillan http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/01/just-enough-vs-just-in-case/comment-page-1/#comment-4634 Keith McMillan Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:15:29 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=273#comment-4634 Hello Rama, "Just enough" is going to be different for every team, and for each activity you undertake, so it's not possible to give concrete guidance on how much is just enough. That's the reason I suggest that we ask "why?" If we ask "who needs this, and for what? Is this the best form for what they need?" we stand a better chance of finding all that make-work we do "just in case." We're always going to be asked to do more than is "just enough" but at least if we're asking the questions, we can try to keep our focus on providing just enough. Thanks for your comments! Keith Hello Rama,

“Just enough” is going to be different for every team, and for each activity you undertake, so it’s not possible to give concrete guidance on how much is just enough.

That’s the reason I suggest that we ask “why?” If we ask “who needs this, and for what? Is this the best form for what they need?” we stand a better chance of finding all that make-work we do “just in case.”

We’re always going to be asked to do more than is “just enough” but at least if we’re asking the questions, we can try to keep our focus on providing just enough.

Thanks for your comments!
Keith

]]> Comment on Just Enough vs. Just In Case by Rama http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/01/just-enough-vs-just-in-case/comment-page-1/#comment-4633 Rama Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:45:14 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=273#comment-4633 Hi Keith It is no doubt a very interesting and informative discussion. We face these kinds of issues often. It will be really good if we extend this further and try to explore on how we could help the team define " Just what is enough". I believe that many a times although the team members are aware of the "Just enough", but what prevents them from implementing the thought is the litmus test for determining what is " Just Enough". Thoughts welcome Regards Rama Hi Keith
It is no doubt a very interesting and informative discussion. We face these kinds of issues often.
It will be really good if we extend this further and try to explore on how we could help the team define ” Just what is enough”. I believe that many a times although the team members are aware of the “Just enough”, but what prevents them from implementing the thought is the litmus test for determining what is ” Just Enough”.
Thoughts welcome
Regards
Rama

]]> Comment on Just Enough vs. Just In Case by Petri Heiramo http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/01/just-enough-vs-just-in-case/comment-page-1/#comment-4632 Petri Heiramo Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:31:23 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=273#comment-4632 Nice post, and to the point. Thanks for writing it. Yours, Petri Nice post, and to the point. Thanks for writing it.

Yours, Petri

]]> Comment on Just Enough vs. Just In Case by Casey http://www.adeptechllc.com/2010/03/01/just-enough-vs-just-in-case/comment-page-1/#comment-4631 Casey Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:46:01 +0000 http://www.adeptechllc.com/?p=273#comment-4631 Keith, a thousand times YES! I currently work for the large IT department you were recently consulting for, and this article really gets down to one of the major root causes of project delays here. I'm tempted to print up t-shirts and posters with the phrase "The antidote to 'just in case' is 'just enough'" on them. Thanks for your insight. Keith, a thousand times YES! I currently work for the large IT department you were recently consulting for, and this article really gets down to one of the major root causes of project delays here. I’m tempted to print up t-shirts and posters with the phrase “The antidote to ‘just in case’ is ‘just enough’” on them. Thanks for your insight.

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