develpreneur podcast
Posted on Free and Low Cost Tools

Software Ticketing Systems – Free and Low-Cost

Bug tracking and software ticketing systems are used in every shop I have ever worked with.  Some of these are decidedly low-tech solutions that are no more than a spreadsheet.  Some of these solutions can help you do far more than just track issues.  They can even help you raise the overall quality of your processes. Ticketing Systems Are Almost a Commodity Bug tracking and ticketing systems are ubiquitous.  A lot of companies have even built custom solutions for their internal use.  The problem space is that easy to address.  As mentioned before, even a spreadsheet can be sufficient for all of your bug tracking needs.  I know how easy it is to build these systems from personal experience.  Over the years, I... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Patterns of Software Design

Software Design – The Adapter Pattern

The Adapter Pattern is one of the easiest to understand and relate to the real world.  We see adapters used every day and they have become a critical factor in our daily success.  Almost every device we have utilizes an adapter in some way. The Adapter Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the “Gang of Four” definition to set the stage for our discussion. “Ensure a class only has one instance, and provide a global point of access to it.” There are many names for an adapter pattern.  However, they all imply the same thing.  The implementation boils down to a translator between two parties.  A commonly experienced real-world example is a power or recharging adapter.  These accessories translate the power... Read more

automated testing
Posted on Testing

Why Bother With Automated Testing?

I recently saw an article that questioned whether automated testing was a good investment.  They essentially laid out an argument that automated testing tools are too expensive, too fragile, and never give a worthwhile ROI.  I am not a tester or QA specialist.  Nevertheless, this seemed a gross assumption to make.  I have worked with testing automation projects of various sorts and found a huge benefit from them at times.  There are some excellent points made in the article.  However, I think we need to look at how to achieve value from automated testing rather than throw it in the trash bin. Regression Testing The first thing that comes to mind when discussing automated testing is meeting regression needs.  This not... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on A Summary Of Amazon Services

AWS Business and Productivity Tools

This episode tackles the AWS business and productivity tools group of services.  It includes Chime, Alexa for business, WorkMail, WorkDocs, and we add a quick look at WorkSpaces.  These combine to provide a set of solutions for small to large companies that are not focused on tech workers.  These services are aimed at handling everyday business needs like document storage and sharing, communication, and your workspace/desktop. WorkDocs This service is Amazon’s answer to products like DropBox and Microsoft’s OneDrive.  It does not have the same level of automated synchronization with a client application as the other solutions.  However, it is highly secure and a solution you can use even when you require compliance with PCI, HIPPA, or similar highly-secure standards. WorkSpaces The... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Free and Low Cost Tools

Customer Relationship Management Tools – Free and Low-Cost CRM

Customer Relationship Management Tools are big business.  You can see examples in vast and expensive solutions like SalesForce.com.  However, not every answer is world-class and focused on the enterprise customers.  There are also plenty of options all the way down to the free and low-cost arena.  We will look at some of these contenders that not only can serve your needs. They also can be easier to implement than SalesForce. CRM Tools Are Broad in Features One of the most significant challenges in selecting a CRM is matching the requirements.  There are a lot of directions a CRM can go and still be focused on customer management.  There is the sales pipeline approach that focuses on analytics about your customers.  On the... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Patterns of Software Design

Software Design – The Singleton Pattern

The last of the creation patterns we will cover is the Singleton.  This is a pattern that has a little controversy around it and may even be an anti-pattern.  It is easy to implement, but the reason for needing one can trip you up. The Singleton Pattern Defined It helps to start with the “Gang of Four” definition and then we will dig into that. “Ensure a class only has one instance, and provide a global point of access to it.” This is what we use when we need one and only one instance.  An example might be the application settings or an instance that represents a real-world device (keyboard, mouse, maybe even a printer or hard drive).  When we access values... Read more