March 2006 - Posts

• Kicking the addiction

  I love to cook, especially when it's a big meal that takes time, attention to detail, and effort.  I feel like I am creating a work of art, and the thought of sharing that art with others is a wonderful treat all by itself.  However, while doing a little introspection into some of my habits lately, I've realized that I invest more time, energy, and money on things like research, browsing recipes, thumbing through cookbooks, and drooling over kitchen catalogs, than I do on actual cooking.  What's the point in making huge investments when it rarely gets put use? I have a $235.00 dutch oven that's never been used!  I have a two artichoke steamers... seriously, who needs these?  I spent $80.00 on a mandoline... yep, you guessed it, never been used.  I could go on, and on... but you get the idea. It's time to change my habits, and focus my energies on the what matters most.... creating delicious works of art! Alright... I know what your probably thinking... what does any of this have do with Inetium and technology.  Well, many people (myself often included) invest tons of time updating their mental toolboxes with the latest and greatest tools and gagdets.  People get sucked into the thought of all the new possibilities this knowledge brings to the table.  It's addictive. So its time for a change... I am shifting my focus away from all the hype of the latest and greatest onto using the best strategies and delivering value.  I am committed to devoting more time and energy putting my tools and knowledge into practice.  I'm not giving up my passion for keeping up with everything... I am just going to spend more time on producing valuable results.  Don't get me wrong, having a robust toolset and knowledge on how to use those tools is important.  However, not if those tools never get used. Posted Mar 31 2006, 01:26 PM by jvogt with 2 comment(s)

• Updated WinForm UI Guidelines

  Upon taking on an existing project that was developed by other consultants, Ben and I noticed that the application lacked consistency and adherence to common UI guidelines.  With that in mind we created some simple guidelines that have improved the usability of the application tremendously.  I've added these to our internal guidelines checklist: * Identify all required fields * Verify form validation on all required fields * Identify all valid field ranges and special formatting requirements * Verify form validation on all field ranges and special formatting requirements * Identify all default values * Verify that all defaults values are initially populated in the form * Identify all readonly fields * Verify all readonly fields do not allow editing * Verify proper population and persistence of all fields on form * Display all validation errors in a consistent fashion with user friendly messages * Display all exceptions in a consistent fashion with user friendly messages * Allow users to cancel out of time consuming processes FYI: Existing guidelines that were already defined in our internal guidelines checklist: * The form ScalesProperly. * Tab order between controls has a natural flow. * Has a consistent layout. * Cursor to first input value. * Default close/cancel behavior. * Form Titles and Captions * Busy / Cursor Indications * Form Icons (Window Icons) * Document Form Behaviors and Test * Resize on Modal forms. * Start-up Postition (Center previous Form/Screen) If you think of any that we missed, let us know ;) Posted Mar 30 2006, 01:08 PM by jvogt with 1 comment(s)

• I've become a fan of OneNote

  Ben and I use Microsoft OneNote on one of our current projects all the time, and I must say, I've become a Raving Fan. It's a great tool for collecting, storing, and searching all of your notes... I highly recommend it. My favorite feature to date is best explained by Chris Pratley. Posted Mar 29 2006, 01:52 PM by jvogt with 1 comment(s)

• Meet three of Inetium's best in Boston!

  Jake, Wes, and myself will all be in attendence at the Microsoft Tech Ed 2006 conference! If you want to hang out with three of Inetium's best during the conference, let one of us know and we'll fit you into our busy schedules ;) Posted Mar 29 2006, 01:17 PM by jvogt with 1 comment(s)

• Thanks Erik

  I can't say enough about Erik Mau.  He's possibly the most helpful and hardworking person I've ever met!  Thanks for helping me with that transfer information Erik. You're definitely on my Raving Fan list :) Posted Mar 29 2006, 10:24 AM by jvogt with no comments

• Inetium and raving fans

  One of the many successes within our company has been our dedication to a Raving Fans committee.  When I first joined the company the committee was just getting started and it wasn't until recently that I actually read and understood the simple, yet powerful concepts contained in the tiny book.  While creating Ravings Fans takes strategy, planning, execution, and dedication... with effort it can be acheived.  While reading the book I came to realize the ideas do apply to the real world, and that there are some elite companies and people that I rave about... and that's what I want!  I want people to rave about me, and the companies I am affialated with. With that in mind I came up with a few highlights from the book: Major Topics: Decide what you want Understand the importance of having a vision Create the “perfect” situation Discover what your customer wants Determine who your customers are Determine what your customers want Listen to what they say Listen to what they don’t say Understand the meaning of Fine/Silence Deliver the vision plus one percent Consistency Flexibility Putting the Major Topics Together: In order to create raving fans you must follow the three keys: Determine what you want (create a vision) Determine what the customer wants (understand their expectations and vision) Deliver the vision plus one percent These steps build off of one another and each step needs to be continually evaluated over time to ensure that you are adapting to change. In summary the book emphasized the importance of starting out with your own vision, aligning that vision to meet the needs of the customer, and finally delivery through meeting expectations consistently with small progressions along the way.   Whether your customer is a team member, colleague, boss, client, or general consumer... the approach is the same.  If you become someones raving fan, they will aid and support you in many ways. Posted Mar 29 2006, 07:57 AM by jvogt with 2 comment(s)

• Secrets of my success

  Whether it be a simple routine task at home, weekend project, or a complex project at work, I've come to realize the factors that contribute to my success are almost always the same: I have a vision Before begining a project or task I envision what the final outcome should be.  I begin with a very high level vision and understanding of what needs to be done.  In the early stages there is no need to focus on the details.  Once you've come to a point where you have defined a small workable task, you can focus on the details and envision your implementation... but there's no need to do this until your are ready to do the work. I have a plan With a clear vision of my project or task in my head, I begin defining my plan.  Similar to the process of creating my vision, I begin by defining high level objectives or milestones.  I don't spend time thinking about the details until I am ready to begin the work.  Once I am ready to begin the work however, I take a manageable amount of work and create an implementation road map (task list).  During this process I think about all the things that need to be accomplished and a basic understanding of an implementation strategy. I am committed to executing the plan With my plan in hand, I am ready to commit myself to ensuring the project or task gets done.  I begin by understanding the amount of effort that is required for the successful completion of all my tasks.  If you find yourself feeling unsure of the amount of effort, you probably need to do more research.  Once I've determined the effort, I make a commitment to myself, my peers, my spouse (in the case of weekend projects), and my clients.  Along with this commitment I give them the expected results, and the expected completion date.  By creating a vision, defining a plan, and detailing the work that needs to be done, I find that I can confidently commit myself to the work and rarely find myself in a troubleing situation.  On larger projects I do not commit myself the entire project all at once, I personnally prefer creating logical phases of work that continually leads me to final outcome. I follow the plan and do the work Finally I take my plan and do the work.  To minimize risk during my implementations I keep my toolbox simple.  I use tried and tested techniques, methodologies, practices, and patterns.  I focus on completion and success.  Where newer technologies or tools are required I give myself adequate time to understand and use the tools appropriately. These principles are at core of all my successful endeavors.  Apply these guidelines to any process you model you like (Agile, XP, Scrum, RUP..) as long as you focus on success, the outcome will be always be the same ;) Posted Mar 28 2006, 04:39 PM by jvogt with no comments