Latest Posts - Page 128 of 201

March 20, 2019March 10, 2019 Lessons Learned From Consulting

Deliverable Packaging and Creating a Customer Experience.

When we complete a project for a customer or employer, we give them a product. Thus, there is a form of deliverable packaging that we need to consider for that hand-off. This concept may be confusing, but it is not complicated. You do not need to shrinkwrap a box with a USB drive in it or anything like that. Instead, we are focused on documentation, scripts, and how you hand over the final product. The Simple Stuff When your deliverables are source code or a single document, then little packaging is needed. It is either the file sent via email or committed to source control. No installation is required. However, you should provide comments or some sort of notes, so... Read more

March 19, 2019March 17, 2019 Become a Better Developer

Personal Project Management – Small Scale, Big Value

I have met more than a few developers that see project management as an unnecessary overhead for software development. On the one hand, I have experiences where PM was done wrong and slowed down progress. However, I have also seen where it can be a critical factor in the success of a solution. That leaves us to consider where personal project management can bring value to or small or side projects. Finding A Balance We need to look at personal project management as many other things in life. Moderation is required and a determination of the value of balance. Any project management is an overhead to the implementation process. Unfortunately, that is not arguable. We are making lists or adding... Read more

March 18, 2019March 10, 2019 Lessons Learned From Consulting

Project Deliverables, Quality, Guidelines and Best Practices

Sooner or later, every developer is asked for project deliverables. This may be source code, binary files, or full-blown documents. No matter which of these is required, the best approach is to make sure these are complete. Thus, let’s look at some guidelines, suggestions, and best practices to help you nail this part of your job. Follow The Instructions First and foremost, follow directions. We should have learned this in grade school. Just as in those educational exercises, project deliverables should directly come from the requirements. Do not add deliverables unless they are implied. More importantly, do not skip on any of the project deliverables. The best way to look at these is to see them as what you will be... Read more

March 15, 2019March 1, 2019 Lessons Learned From Consulting

Communicating Progress and Status – Consulting Tips

No matter how good you are at your job, sooner or later communicating status will be required. A helpful hint is to avoid waiting until this becomes a requirement. Instead, get in the habit of regularly reporting your progress and status to your boss. Since this is a regular task, you should find the proper balance between keeping it short and providing enough detail. A Weekly Status Template First and foremost, try to keep your status report to a single page. The commonly accepted parts of this communication are, list what you did, list what you plan to do, list any issues or questions. Your weekly report should be able to capture these items in less than ten bullet points for each.... Read more

March 13, 2019March 1, 2019 Lessons Learned From Consulting

Your Code Repository and Ownership of Source – Consulting Tips

A software consultant brings intellectual tools with them as well as applications. This capital comes in the form of experience and also the more concrete source code. That includes anything you take advantage of in your personal code repository. Although we typically are not fans of legal issues, we do need to spend the time reviewing contracts and ownership rights before we jump into that project or use our library. Using Your Code Repository There are two issues to understand when using your code. One is whether using that will contractually cause you to give up ownership. The other is whether a client allows you to use outside code in their project. You may think that the code you use that... Read more

March 11, 2019March 1, 2019 Lessons Learned From Consulting

Developer Tools and Licenses as a Consultant (or Employee)

One of the common aspects of consulting that is missed is clarity about developer tools and licenses. In particular, this obstacle is natural to overlook when you are used to being an employee. The challenge is not just being able to access the tools; you also have to navigate what can be used for your customers. Even more, there are applications you can use for your projects, but they are not licensed for your customers. Get Legal Developer Tools and Licenses Step one is to make sure you are adequately covered. Every tool you use (i.e., install on your machines) should be appropriately licensed. If you do not, then you might find yourself on the wrong side of a software... Read more