Smelser.NET

In the last few years I have had the.. (clearing throat)... "Opportunity"... to participate in the implementation and operation of several CMM/CMMI-based software engineering initiatives. And while I truly enjoyed the work, there were a few moments when I was about to jump off a roof. Conceptually, the processes espoused by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) make a lot of sense. However, there was one common scenario that I saw repeated again and again by a number of different organizations, which often lead to disaster. The issue?... The application of large project processes on small projects. No matter which standard you follow, at some point your organization is driven to implement a 'common' organizationally defined standard that is to be implemented across all projects. Here is where things start to fall apart in many environments. Unfortunately, when some process improvement teams, process assessors, and/or management teams hear 'common', they hear... "We need 'one' process that meets all KPAs and everyone must follow that 'one' process". Here is where I come in... After seeing this several times, it was time I took one for the team. To that end, I tried to evangelize some ideas throughout a number of different forums... Here is a sample of some of that work... I hope it serves someone well.

Process Considerations for Small Projects.pdf (421.59 kb)

Tags: processes

I remember the day when I first saw a TIVO...  Besides being one of the best implementations of Linux I had every seen, I saw an appliance approach that just made sense.  Shortly after that, I was sitting in a Microsoft WinHEC session when I saw Microsoft Media Center for the first time.  It was at that moment I realized what TIVO was missing...  What was it? What every good geeks longs for...  Extensibility!

That right... I could make it do what I wanted.  Microsoft had empowered me.  AGAIN!.  Ok... I admit it... I drank the Microsoft Kool-Aid long ago, and yes I know you can hack TIVO.  With all this new 'supported' power, what did I do? I made a DNR plugin of course.  Microsoft has written a lot about the 10-foot user experience, and Media Center appears to be the embodiment of all that user interface research.  If you have not explored this space, it is worth a look.  Want to know more...  Check out this episode of MSDN TV - http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/episode.aspx?xml=theshow/en/Episode053/manifest.xml

UPDATE!...  On the 21 Feb 2006 issue of DotNetRocks,  Carl Franklin was kind enough to give me a small mention about seven minutes into the show...  Thanks guys...  You Rock!

Another UPDATE!...  On the 01 April 2006 I completed the construction of my very own media center...  This was a lot of fun and a real challenge...!  Now I will never miss an episode of Good Eats!

Click Here to see some of the construction work.
 

Tags: mce, side projects