Handy Hack: Make failure optional

When programming it’s always a good idea to check return status to make that no error has occured. In Perl we often write

somethingWeWantToDo or die "we failed because .....";

However when running in a test environment we may not have all our infrastructure in place to make our operation pass when needed (ideally we should use mock objects or some other testing framework). A  hack is to pass a flag into the program telling it that we are running in a test jig and we don’t care if our operation fails. The solution is simple, but a pain to work out after lunch…

somethingWeWantToDo or $testJig or die "we failed because .....";

If we fail and we are not using our test jig then we will exit with the appropriate diagnostics. i.e. failure is optional in a test jig

This is much easier than cluttering the code with conditonal if statements.

Setting up Serena Dimensions Design Parts and Allocating Roles

Once thing that often confuses Dimensions CM administrators and users is how to set up and use an effective Design Part Structure (DPS). There is no ‘once size fits all’ answer but I hope the following comments will help guide people to a more comfortable structure.

Handy Hack: Installing Ubuntu 8.10 on EEE PC 1000H

The 10″ EEE PC 1000H makes a good choice for people looking for a notebook with a little more storage and bigger keyboard than Asus’ previous model. Unfortunately, whilst the local Harvey Norman had a good price, I was still forced to pay the Microsoft tax. So the third job after I got home (after upgrading the BIOS and checking the hardware worked ) was to install Ubuntu 8.10. The process was pretty straight forward because I had a current Ubuntu system to create the USB boot disk and a wired network connection so that I could install the wireless tweaks. However it took a fair mount of Googling to hopefully this should save some folks a bit of time.

1. Get a copy of the 32-bit Ubuntu 8.10 ISO image. I used the Desktop version, alternative should work fine as well
2. Use the Ubuntu System->Administration -> Create Startup USB tool to copy Ubuntu to a USB stick
3. Shutdown Windows on the EEE. I had to do this via Windows shutdown to get the correct prompts on power up
4. Power up the EEE with the ESC key pressed. You should be prompted for a boot device
5. Boot from USB
6. Install Ubuntu in the normal fashion
7. Connect to wired Internet connection
8. Get latest updates
9. Follow these instructions
10. You should now have a working EEE PC with wireless

To configure Evolution email use ALT-f at the end of each configuration screen (the buttons can’t be seen)

Try setting the panels to autohide this will give you a little more screen room

The EEE PC trackpad buttons are pushed from the front by the way, not the top.

How to survive the emotional pressure of working at home

When you work from home there are various things you need to do to look after yourself:

1. Identify what you need to stay sane and make sure work out how to find or do it
2. Set up networks of friends on services such as twitter or facebook. Spend a limited of time each catching up with them — but be careful not to let it affect productivity too much.
3. Make sure you get out off the ‘office’ for coffee breakfast or lunch. I like to go to a local coffee shop
4. Join various groups relevant to your professional or personal interests and consider attending group meetings. IT people based in Melbourne can find a list at Perl Net
5. Set boundaries to help you switch off from work and do something else. Having an private office and defined office hours can help
6. Make sure that the people you live with understand when you are work and can’t be usually expected to join in other activities
7. Be flexible and break the schedule and work practices sometimes. After all flexibility is the main reason to telecommute

He also helps to create a decent working environment (space, light, furniture, storage, IT systems). I made some notes on this

What is Application Lifecycle Management?

The analysts and tools vendors have been talking about Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) for many years now and I think they have (of course) been somewhat self serving in their definitions. ALM seems to  include whatever product category they have in the current price list and then promising their integrations’ would be managements answer to cost and governance issues. I hope to say more about integrations in the future, but I’d like to look at the scope of ALM for now.

If you ask vendors and consultants (including me) about ALM scope you’ll get answers such:

• Requirements engineering
• Software Configuration management
• Dependency Tracking
• Change control and work tracking
• Test management
• Software development tools and process
• Software building and processes
• Deployment
• Process Governance

Depending on the vendor you might even get more traditional: Project and Program Management;  Project and Application Portfolio Management/Analysis; and Service Management activities thrown in as well.

The usual sales pitch is that everything is managed via a common tooling and provides a common repository. The major, and often single, selling point of this approach is improved governance and business oversight of the SDLC.

However I think it’s useful and important to look at the definition of ALM from a customers perspective rather than as analysts or vendors.

It seems that a more pragmatic approach is to describe ALM as the methods, processes and tools that support the management of change for software systems — with particular, but not exclusive, emphasise on the SDLC. In this context it does not matter if we are using Agile or Waterfall approaches, we chose the best tools and processes for our particular situation. This of course implies that in eighteen months time we may need to re-tool.

Furthermore the methods tools and processes of project management (PM) are much more mature and there is no real need to include them in this evolving segment — they have their own. Obviously PM will have an influence and impact on ALM and we need to design our ALM approach to dovetail with it. I realise that most vendors will not agree with this.

I have come to the conclusion in order to ’sell’ ALM into the teams that will use it we need to ensure, front and centre, that ALM provides a ‘better/faster/more’ improvement in daily productivity. That should be the primary focus of what is delivered.

Governance, audit etc should be secondary attributes and natural site affects of using ALM (important though they are of course and usually the primary sales message).

So at a practical level we need to be able to provide teams and their specialists with the best tools they need to do their job. Additionally we need to provide a supporting layer of data flows, events and data repositories to

1. Assist teams with traceability
2. Provide the tracking and management visibility to effectively steer the ship

So the point of this post is to plead with vendors to stop selling a one size fits all tool suite with deep integrations and start enabling shallow API and effective integrations to allow a truly best of breed approach for customers software purchases. It’s a shame that ALF project is shuting down.

Yes! At last someone explains the difference between LinkedIn and Facebook

The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook: The Most Egregious Sins on Social Media Sites, Exposed » techipedia | tamar weinberg

Forgetting that some individuals won’t network with you on a “personal” space like Facebook without knowing who you are, even with the proper introduction. If you’re looking to establish a professional relationship with someone, consider LinkedIn. Otherwise, consider building up a rapport with an individual before randomly adding them as your friend. Some people require face-to-face meetings before they invite you into their private lives. After all, Facebook was a tool that college students were using before it was open to the public, and some still use it as a purely personal and not a professional tool. LinkedIn is still seen as the more professional of the two.

I am one of these strange people, so please don’t try and initiate a business relationship with me on facebook. However I’d be delighted to consider a professional connection on LinkedIn