From: Guecker928 Date: 2011-02-12T15:26:50+09:00 Subject: Re: Totally lost in learning Ruby --0-1858397866-1297492008=:43097 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Having been in and around software design for far longer than I care to=A0= =0A admit, here is some of what I have "learned" over the years about =0Aso= ftware design projects.=A0=A0=A0 Almost all=0A of the successful=A0 marketa= ble software design projects I have been =0Ainvolved in and observed over t= he years seem to have a few traits in =0Acommon that tend to lead to their = success.=A0=A0=20 I also apologize in=0A advance to the board that the main points in this po= st=A0 aren't really =0Aruby related at all and should probably be moved to = a different board =0Amore centered around the business aspects of software = design. First=0A off, at the very beginning of the project there are at least three= key =0Aroles that should be filled before the software design should serio= usly =0Abegin.=A0 However don't let me or anyone =0Aelse=0A discourage you = from trying. Be sure and read the last paragraph about =0Awhat I think you = should be focusing on in these early stages.=A0 In=0A any case, it will be = a great learning experience for you!=A0 The three =0Akey roles before the s= oftware design project really begins are the =0Amarketing role, the legal r= ole, and the finance role.=A0=20 The =0Amarketing role needs to decide if there will be demand for the softw= are =0Athat you are going to produce, when will you=A0 produce it and ident= ifying=0A which customers appear willing to pay good money for it.=A0=A0 Wh= o are the =0Acompetitors?=A0 Is your product a clone+ of something else?=A0= How will you =0Aproductize it, package it, promote it, etc.=A0 If there is= a real demand =0Afor your product there should be a company that will help= sponsor its =0Adevelopment or at least help you alpha and beta test.=A0=20 The legal=0A role involves walking the mine field of software design legali= ties=0A regarding reuse of other's ideas/codes/tools, etc. so that you don'= t =0Aget close to market only to find out that others, perhaps even one of = =0Ayour competitors, has deeper legal pockets than you and may even try to = =0Atie you up on legalities that may have escaped your attention while you = =0Aburn off your cash in court. The last role is the finance role.=A0 =0AIn order to quickly move an idea a= nd a viable product to market =0Agenerally will require some capital.=A0 Al= l of your own time spent on this=0A project is time that isn't available fo= r other endeavors.=A0 And as =0Aothers on this board have already suggested= , it will be incredibly =0Achallenging for one person to fill all of the ke= y roles involved in a =0Aproject of this nature. =A0=20 In the good old days 10-15 years ago, =0Ahere in the States anyway,=A0 befo= re the dotcom bubble burst practically =0Aanyone with a good idea could put= together a team and venture =0Acapitalists/angel investors would fall all= =0A over themselves to fund it.=A0 Such is not the case anymore!=20 The =0Alast paragraph:=A0 Whenever I find myself going in circles, I genera= lly =0Atake a long hard look at my project's scope.=A0 I would suggest that= you =0Ashould simplify your current plan's scope=A0 to not include any of = the =0Abusiness aspects yet regarding=A0 a new proposed software solution o= r any =0Aproposed enhancements to their current system but should totally f= ocus first on developing a software prototype=0A using currently available = tools to accurately model those aspects of =0Athe current environment of an= educational system that are of interest to=0A you.=A0 Only after you have = successfully modeled the current =0Aenvironment as you now know it should y= ou begin to look at ways to =0Aenhance it.=A0 In many software systems that= have been in the field for a =0Awhile,=A0 things tend to work the way they= do(trade-offs) because of an =0Aevolution to=0A meet some customer marketi= ng need.=A0=20 With this down-sized scope,=0A this will still be a great technical learnin= g endeavor for you to =0Aexperience developing a real-life software prototy= pe. =A0 This will also =0Abe very useful for you to evaluate the software m= odel's complexity, to =0Atest your own understanding of the environment, to= evaluate the software=0A tools available today and their capabilities, etc= . etc..=A0 =A0=20 Generally,=0A in my opinion anyway, successfully=A0 writing fundable, fully= =0Amaintainable secure marketable legal software generally will typically = =0Arequire the expertise of some marketing, legal, finance, and=A0 software= =0Adesign professionals that have already been there and done that. --- On Mon, 2/7/11, Hilary Bailey wrote: From: Hilary Bailey Subject: Re: Totally lost in learning Ruby To: "ruby-talk ML" Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 6:16 PM Hi everybody, Based on the responses I have been receiving, I will greatly appreciate=20 any comment on how to move forward from this point. Thanks in advance to=20 all respondents whom have been soooooo kind and patient. What I want to create is a database that can measure the performance of all entities in a school district. The closest software that exhibits some semblance is that of Microsoft Access. Where, as I understand it, the input entry of a single data can be housed and then derived, through a set of queries, then further analyzed=A0 through/by Microsoft Solver software. The difference with my proposal would be that based on selected indicators [which will be dynamically influenced by changed event(s) and policy(ies], which would be able to measure success. I have been exposed to a statistical software named SPSS and having worked as an economist, has influenced my outlook on creating an approach/database/software which would indicate in real time, measured results. As you can tell,=A0 there is an element of nervousness regarding saying too much. But on the other hand, if not much is said, not much help can be given. So it's a "catch 24", where since the last 20 years I have been improving on a systems that would be able to measure defined academic output, vis-a-vis, financial constraints etc.. Mike Stephens recommended Mendix as a possible solution to my woes. Do you know of such arena? Therefore, I figured that, doing it all by myself may be the best solution.=A0 However, some of my concerns are: "Why reinvent the wheel?', How can I create a sustainable system that does not compromise quality?, What curriculum structure should I follow that will meet my needs without, straying from my goals? Therefore, this is my dilemma, which seems to be going in circles. Any suggestions. --=20 Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/. =0A=0A=0A --0-1858397866-1297492008=:43097--