By Avonelle Lovhaug
Publication Date: 5/6/2008 5:00:00 PM
I really enjoy helping a customer make good use of technology. This week I am writing code that processes street addresses. The code cleans excess spaces, and replaces words used in street addresses like "Avenue" and "North" with consistent abbreviations. The code will also validate the addresses, so that we aren't saving an address without a street name or zip code, etc.
All this processing helps my customer to keep a clean address database, which will their mailings will be sent out with fewer problems. And since some of these addresses are published for others to use, it will mean fewer phone ...
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Comments (0)
Publication Date: 4/1/2008 5:00:00 PM
I should have known better.
I recently received an email from a government website that I have used for purchasing savings bonds for my nieces and nephews. I guess I should say I used it once. After that first time, I realized it wasn't worth the hassle.Let me tell you why:
Publication Date: 3/27/2008 5:00:00 PM
Noted author Steve McConnell discusses the various studies that show huge variations (10:1 or more) in the productivity of different programmers with the same levels of experience. Many of us in the industry have experienced this first hand - watching the destruction of a project budget by an individual who burned hours at an alarming rate with little to show for it.
But doesn't billing on an hourly basis just compound this problem? We are rewarding the individual who is least productive by paying him the most. It certainly gives the developer no incentive to work efficiently.
Most clients haven't heard ...
Publication Date: 3/21/2008 5:00:00 PM
"When I used the software today, I got an error. Can you fix it?"
This is the exact text of the email I received. No specifics on what she was doing when she got the error. No information about the error message itself.
Even worse, this particular user helps other users setup their software. So I can't even try to log-in as her - frankly she could have been using any number of accounts.
If you have ever felt that a software developer wasn't being responsive to a bug you have encountered in the software, stop and think for a ...
Publication Date: 3/16/2008 5:00:00 PM
I spoke at the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals group last Friday. The topic was Project Management, which is definitely something of interest to me. I focused on 3 key areas:
Top 5 Programmers to Avoid
What everyone should know about bugs
How to tell if an estimate sucks
The Secret to Building a Crappy User Interface
The Problem with Selecting the Lowest Bidder
5 Ways to Control Software Development Costs
Avonelle is a talented expert in her field. She has blended well with our team and built applications that we are proud to deploy to our associates. Her talents helped us execute a vision expediently and with quality. If we could do it all over again, we wouldn’t change a thing.
Peter Edstrom @ Renewal by Andersen
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