Every now and then the guys calling the shots at Phase 2 will decide to take all the employees out of the office and do something fun. Last week it was determined that the fun experience we were all about to partake of was to be paint ball. There was some apprehension from some of the participants especially after the war cries of some of the more blood thirsty employees filled the air. Read More
Welcome to Arduino!
What is an Arduino? An Arduino is an all in one programmable microcontroller that allows you to start off very quickly in the world of microcontrollers. It is an Open Source hardware controller and there are many flavors out there, each catering to many different needs. Read More
Software Bill of Rights (Part One) – Development Philosophy Part 3
In my previous posts I discussed the way Phase 2 develops a deep understanding of our clients’ needs. Once we discover the needs and can fluently speak in the language of measures of success, we create a technology implementation plan. In the next series of posts I’ll cover my philosophies around the process of implementing a custom software project, we call it a Software Bill of Rights, credit to Jeff Palermo for articulating it as such. It’s what every client should expect from us, or any software partner. Read More
Measurable Success – Development Philosophy Part 2
As I discussed in my previous post, when we start a project at Phase 2, we always start by looking at the people involved. We look at the different constituents, both internal and external to the organization, what each wants and needs as well as the current problems each face. After we understand what particular groups of people are looking for, we ask the tough but essential business question: If the goals are met and the problems are solved, how does it positively affect the organization’s bottom line and/or mission? What is the measurable success the business will see upon the successful implementation of the software system? This question is so essential to a successful software project it sends my stomach in knots when I think about how often it doesn’t even get discussed. It’s easy, especially for technologists, to fall to the temptation of justifying software just because it’s cool, it seems needed or someone else is using it. It is equally tempting for businesses to reject software recommendations because it seems too expensive, too new or because the benefits aren’t clear. Technologically impressive but ineffective software doesn’t make for good business partnerships but, neither does unimaginative software that misses opportunities for real innovation. In our information age, businesses large and small need great software partners to survive. Read More
Software Bill of Rights (Part Two) – Development Philosophy Part 3
In my previous post I talked about why we have a Software Bill of Rights and described in detail the first Right. Let’s talk about the second Right. Read More »