Bad SW update in Microsoft Office!!

Just now, while reading the last post of the blog MELIDS (see The others section) I have remembered that I wanted to talk about the new Microsoft Office 2007.

Everyone who knows me, know that I am a pro-windows fan, but in this case I have to say stop. Based on what SE-3, SE-2, SE-1 and all the other subjects about knowledge acquisition, have shown me, it's that when you develop a SW project you must take into account what the user needs and wants and not do some showy application or interface that people is going to get frustrated with.

This is the case of the last Microsoft Officec 2007, over all Power Point and Word. Almost all the people that I know and try to work with them, get mad and shut off the computer where it is installed and try to do it again with an older version of Office like 2002 or 2003. Why??

Simple, because nobody can really understand the interface, you get lost, you don't find the icons or the functionalities. And if you save without really looking, it saves the doc into a new format called .docx or something like that.
So when you try to open it in your personal computer you can't.

This is my example of a very bad SW update; people don't like it, and if WE (engineering students) can not really get it, how are the normal users do it?? )

Please follow the rule:

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools". Douglas Adams

Thanks

Nieves

Audit!!

Hello everyone:

Although we though that if we did the selling we didn't have an audit, that was a wrong assumption of our part. We have to do it also.

The audit consists on recording a CD (good that it's before the canon law is in use) with all the repository of the project: folders, old versions of documents, etc.

Then the customer or in this case the auditor will tell us the result on the audit and how we have to change some documents.

That's all, so finally it's not a lot of trouble, and the CD has already been delivered to the auditor.

Hope we get good results.

Cheers

Nieves

P.S I am on holidays break, if someone wants to read a book about SE, this seems good enough (it could be a christmas presents ;-) ) :
Title: Practices of an Agile Developer: Working in the Real World
Authors: Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Chapters: Excerpts from Introduction and Chapter 1
ISBN: 097451408X; Copyright © 2006 The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC.

Huge Discovery!!!

Hello bloggers:

Today I have realised a very important fact, but first I have to explain the situation.
This last month, I have been in some job interviews (yeah, I know, bu that's not the point), anyway in everyone of them, they have asked me:

• How do you work in group?
• How do you solve conflictic situations?
• How do you deal with someone that does not do his/her job?
• Can you follow an schedule and a list of tasks?
• etc.

And let me tell you, in that moment I though: Hey, that's what I am doing in this project!!! And also what we have been doing for almost the last 3 years of the degree.
So, that has been my discovery, that although the project can seem boring, hard-work, and all those things that we know; in reality it is preparing us for what is about to come, so we don't go blind in the next 4 or 5 months when we begin really working.

But although all this seems like I should thank my teachers of SE3, sorry but cannot do; it goes against the student rule:
"the student is always the one that suffers"
LOL

Anyway, you can contradict me, support me, etc. But if you do, please say so giving reasons.

Thanks a lot

Nieves

Review of the DDD and SVVP comments

Hello again!

Today we had another review regarding the huge changes we had to make in the previous version of the DDD and I am happy to inform everyone that this time, the customer was really happy with it; so we don't have to make any changes from the final delivery of this document. That time we can use it in other documents.

Also today we sent the first draft of the SVVP document; and in this case we had a little problem with it, because of some 'communication issues', let's say. But finally and thanks to the hard work of our team, the document could be delivered before deadline (Today at 1 p.m., Madrid time).

So now we have begun our christmas holidays for this project. But before we go, we are going to divide a little work for each member, so they don't get lazy with all the food and parties and then we have a not so tight schedule.

But we are happy, because the worst of a software project has passed.

Congratulations Team

Your project manager

Nieves

How did the selling go?

Hello people:

The selling was mmmmm... interesting is a good word. It was my first one, so I didn't know what to expect. But I had a great time listening to the elevator pitches and when we had to show our presentation, we were really nervous.

At the end, we had some mistmatches but in general it went well. I don't know if we sold the product or not; but the important thing is that now we know what we can meet in an event like this.

One of my mistakes was about the SW methodology in Mexico, because I though there was none, but apparently it exist as is something like PROMOVER or PROVER or so. But I have searched again in the Internet, and I have not found anything related to that. So I believe what the customer told me, because he was from Mexico, but I didn't find it.

Anyway, we did it and now it's in the past; yesterday we delivered the pre-final version of the DDD and tonight or tomorrow morning we will deliver the SVVP or Tests.
This week the schedule has been changed, so now we are going to have reviews on Monday and Tuesday because our customer can not meet with us on Thursday, so we accomodate his needs as best as we can.

And then it'll be christmas break; in that time, our development team will keep on working to finish the last 2 documents. So then we have time off after the break.

Post more tomorrow after the review.

Cheers

Nieves