What is the HOME method? [closed] - methods

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A client asked me if I knew anything about the HOME development method. I, together with wikipedia and acronymfinder, drew a complete blank.
Has anyone here heard about a development method called HOME?

The best answer to this is to follow this link and read the shrt description of the method by the authors themselves.
http://nyttf.dk/?pagetype=book&vareid=44021-1
I can recommend this method as I teach it in project management at a Business Academy for Multimedia Designers i Denmark

The closest thing I found that mentioned a HOME development model was this document on Google Books. Apparently, it stands for Holistic, Open Multimedia development Method. But without context, I can't be sure this is right. But my best guess is that if this isn't right, it's another acronym.

You probably have your answer by now.
(Developing Multimedia- A Holistic Approach , by Maire Oosterbaan and Louise Harder Fischer)
HOME - holistic open multimedia development method it is a method based on two principles:
holistic meaning that all activities are viewed from both a product-oriented and a process-oriented point of view.
It is open, meaning it can be adjusted to most developement scenarios and types and products.

I've never heard of it, either.
I'm sure there's a way for you to garner insight from your client as to what he means.
Perhaps you could ask something like, "In what context are you interested in knowing more about HOME?"

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How to include advertising in an application? [closed]

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Are there any services that allow you to place advertising in Windows software? I want to give away my software for free but still need to eat!
Check out OpenCandy, they have a really nice concept IMHO:
only a single, opt-in ad - in the installer (so your application remains ad-less). There is an interesting post about them # DonationCoder.
It is, of course, trivial to put a fixed collection of adverts into your code. The trouble comes if you want to sell eyeballs and have the ads change. Then the code has to go talk over the network to get new adds.
Many people would have a name for this: adware. If people find you making network connections behind their back, as it were, they are likely to break out some more negative terms.
However, if you are completely open and honest about it when you offer the code for download, then your conscience might be clear.
Practically, you need to have code that makes a network connection to some site of yours, pulls the ad content, and displays it in some sort of annoying popup.
Check with individual affiliate programs to see if they allow links in applications.
You can also try the Freemium model: Turn on some extra features if they pay for your program.
Or link to your website for support information, instructions, etc., and place ads there.
Or offer an e-mail newsletter with updates, news, etc. Advertising in these is easier.
You can also ask this over at http://www.startups.com

How to manage and record flash meeting? [closed]

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I call this a flash meeting, but maybe there is another more appropriate name.
Once in a while (and sometimes more often) one of my developers comes to my desk and asks how he should code a particular piece of code.
The code itself is not directly answering a feature, meaning that it hasn't been designed during requirements, but it is part of the feature's internal behavior.
After discussing for 5 minutes, we settle on a solution. My question is how should I record that discussion so that in the future, when someone else looks at that piece of code, that person will understand why it was developed this way and not that way?
Should I ask the developer to write directly in the code the summary of the discussion, or should I open up a Word template and write down the discussion as if it was a 2 hour meeting? Any suggestions?
This is where having a development wiki really pays off. You can just create a wiki page for the flash meeting, and link it to relevant other pages. Write up what was discussed, then ask the other programmers to check it and update as they see fit. There is one place to record everything and you can link it to whatever else you need, for instance SVN urls to a code branch or link to other wiki pages for the other people involved, the codebase being worked on. Later on, if you need to look it up, you can also search for keywords which you put into the wiki page specifically to make it easy to find later.
I'd do it with the code, as long as its not an essay. a brief paragraph and you're done.
There's nothing that would bother me more than viewing a piece of code and then having to go down to some share to look for a word document that explains it.
As long as its a small feature related discussion. big design stuff should go into its own meta document, most likely.
History information can go into version control checkin comments
In the information can be captured briefly, then one option is for the developer to describe the discussion in the comment when s/he checks the file(s) into version control. If you don't trust developers to look in source control if they have questions, then add "See checkin comments for this file on mm/dd/yy" in a comment in the source before checking it in.

non-developer mgmt and outside developer [closed]

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I am the sole software developer in a company and I answer directly to the owner of the company. We also use the services of an outside developer. The owner isn't a developer but 'wrote software in qbasic' many years ago. He has reasonable abilities to spec projects. The outside developer doesn't answer directly to me, and my boss is really a micro-manager and wants to keep it that way.
The outside developer likes to use layers of abstraction (frameworks and wrapper classes), but has implemented them when I was stuck on months-long projects. When I return, the boss now wonders why it is so time consuming for me to do maintenance on projects (including one that I initial wrote from scratch).
I'm unhappy reverse engineering his code and I'm having trouble articulating the fact that I must learn a complete different interface from code that looks alot different than what I wrote in the first place. At the same time, the outside developer looks like a hero. Suggestions on how to articulate this to a technical/yet non-technical boss and how to put a lid on this happening in the future?
At the risk of sounding patronising, be careful that it is not just your perception of what you think your boss is thinking, which may be quite far from the reality.
Your boss may be wanting you to explain the situation not because he does not trust you, doubts your competency, or wishes to belittle you; but rather to understand where the difficulties are so that he can make an informed business decision on whether it is worth you reverse engineering this code- or perhaps be better to leave it as is and move on, on different aspects of the project.
Being honest and explaining that you have limited experience with these frameworks/wrapper classes may "buy" you time to not only learn these frameworks (which will hopefully benefit you greatly in the future), but may also mean that you are appearing to embracing and extend upon the other developers code, which is good team spirit if nothing else.
At very least, ask your boss to ask you if there are aspects of your explanation that he needs further clarification on. Keeping nice clear lines of communication will help everybody move forward faster.
Hope that helps!
Gav
I don't know if you can get away with this with your boss.. I could with mine, but not everyone can.
First, this has to be done respectfully, and the suggestion I'm about to give should be within the scope of a longer discussion. When it comes to the point of having to explain the difficulty of working with this developer's code...
Type up a paragraph in English, have someone type up the same sentence in some language your boss does not know. (Chinese, Spanish, Klingon, whatever.) Give your boss a (language) - to - English dictionary and explain that while you are technically capable of translating this outside developer's code into something useful, it takes time, just like it would take him time to translate from (language) to English using the dictionary.
Perhaps this would work best in the context of trying to establish standards for working with outside agents and potential new hires.

What are the best interface features of a CMS you have used? [closed]

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There are a million and one CMS' that do a good job but the interface and usability of it let the entire system down (like a lot of websites out there).
Whenever I need to develop a bespoke system for content management I always try and draw on my past experiences and those of my clients to work out what works well and what doesn't. So each time I do one there is a similarity to the last but with some extra tweaking to make it that much better.
So the question is what CMS interface / features have you found a pleasure to work with and why?
Note: This could be editing pages, products, sitemaps, just about anything you needed to manage through a CMS
I personally think inline-editing is a massive speed boost for clients and developers.
Drupal 6's draggable menu reordering is a great feature. It is faster and more intuitive than the weight system from Drupal 5 and the up/down arrows I have seen elsewhere.
I agree with jchrista, drag-and-drop is very nice. This is the feature that initially drew me to Sitefinity. There is an online demo of this here.
I hate InterWoven (just because I find it slow and non intuitive--subjective..), but it has a nice WorkFlow setting that enables you to control the versions you have on the server between what you have been working on and what should be deployed.
Also a good (go back to before the screw up) productivity tools
MOSS has lots of interesting features that are supposed to do the same thing also, which I will look forward to test as we move towards that platform.

What is the best way to store a knowledge base of business rules for helpdesk? [closed]

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Does anyone know of any software or a good way for developers to build up a knowledge base of business rules that are built in to the software for help desk to use?
We already have a helpdesk software but we are not looking to replace this.
A wiki is definitely the way to go. Processes change, sometimes frequently, and in a fast-paced environment like a help desk a tool that allows quick, easy access and management of that type of content is extremely important to allow people to do their jobs effectively.
One of the greatest benefits I've found is the heiarchical sturcture of many wikis, allowing employees to find the correct content from a number of different customer angles.
Can you be more specific?
This may fall under "policies and procedures" management software. Here are some:
http://www.softscout.com/software/Human-Resources/Policy-and-Procedures.html
I'd like to find one that's more wiki-like or easier to integrate into a a website serving as a more general company knowlege base.
I would recommend a wiki wiht a "Wiki Gardener" role- someone who cleans up the duplicate entries and sorts.
Wiki technology with a Rich Text Editor option would useful if your Support Desk are not totally technical.
Having some structure is imperative, developing something in any Wiki that makes sense to the general editing populace, and has a low threshold to get from reading to editing. You will also possibly need a migration strategy for taking hundereds of little notes into something more readable and searchable.

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