May
2002 Newsletter
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Developer’s
Journal
Once a project
is approved, we begin a development process with some
interesting creative twists. Here are some highlights
from the notes on the recent development of a marketing
job-tracking system.
Jan 31 - Proposal approved, so ninety-minute Discovery Meeting is set for Feb 7 for six primary users of new system.
Feb 1 - Series of ten questions sent to client contact via email. Key issue: Current Request Form lists 67 types of Deliverables. Are there really that many? Answer is essentially, “Yup.” OK, we’ll have to present all those options without overwhelming users. Final rollout tentatively set for Mar 4.
Feb 2-6 - Discovery Meeting documents prepared, including Objectives and Features Review, Meeting Outline, Menu Development and Deliverables Categorization (all 67 of them…)
Feb 7 - Discovery Meetings take on a life of their own. The outline is followed and blanks are filled in, but inspiration comes from the issues that emerge amongst the team. In this case, it’s differentiating Requests from Jobs and how to categorize the Deliverables.
Feb 8-9 - Discovery Meetings are stimulating and exhausting at the same time, best followed up with contemplation and a good night’s sleep. Keep pens and Post-It Notes within arm’s reach...
Feb 10 - Collect half a dozen seemingly cryptic Post-Its scattered about. One simply says “Colors.” Others read “Hitchcock,” “Pencil,” “Scratchpad,” “Conventions” and “Detachment.”
Feb 11-15 - Hitchcock’s shoots were so well-planned that they seemed almost boring compared to the typical chaos and long hours spent on film sets. We want this kind of efficiency both in development and the final solution.
Colors differentiate six major Deliverable categories once basic information common to all Jobs is collected.
Scratchpad database is created by cloning Master database with Pencil color scheme.
Conventions are prominently posted on database Home Page, easily modified as system evolves.
Detachment from the process is when some of the best “work” is done. Exercise, sleep, daily routine and escapes are essential.
Feb 11-18 - Diagram databases. Develop color schemes and templates. Create Word form to collect initial job data and Excel form to share it during production via exports. Incorporate Telemarketing and Trade Show Evaluation functions. Create fields and reports to track POs and Budgets.
Feb 19-25 - Provide basic database tutorial to core user group in advance of rollout.
Mar 1 - Group Tutorial with six core users. Work with IT Department on final installation. Go live!
Mar 15 - Onsite two hours for final tweaks and modifications. Smooth sailing every since…
Dazzled by Technology.
Again.
Got a call. The
boss was visiting the office in Scotland, and wanted to
show them the PM Solutions system developed for the US
team.
He asked for some screen shots via email. Now, anyone who’s seen our demo (you have seen our demo, right?) would know that a few screen shots wouldn’t tell the story.
Database program already installed on his laptop, so we emailed him a copy of the database itself, about 750K, no larger than a few screen shots would have been. Worked great. All were dazzled.
Your Call is Very
Important
We provide
support for dozens of users, yet only get a few technical
support calls every month.
Virtually all issues are resolved over the phone. Most recently, we talked a user through the modification of an export script so the data would be saved to her new laptop. It took a couple of minutes.
Sometimes the simple act of calling for help solves the problem. We encounter the occasional ghost in the machine, but, thankfully, it’s not too common.
The fact is, nine out of ten users that we serve have never called once for technical support, and they use our systems daily.
So, for our growing list of satisfied users, when the phone doesn’t ring, we’ll know it’s you.
As for the rest of you…What are you waiting for?
Let’s stay in touch.
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