languages) and how to communicate better with clients too.
In this Fusebox Conference interview I talk with Rey Muradaz on "How NOT to
Fusebox". But first some news.
*********
Conference and training news
* SecretAgents is new sponsor
* Team Fusebox members will get special shirts at conference
* Post conference CSS class by Sandra Clark hands on CSS
http://www.teratech.com/training/oc_classes.cfm#css
*********
Now back to the interviews
Michael Smith: Rey I hear that you are talking on "How NOT to Fusebox" at the
Fusebox Conference. So what *will* you be talking about?
Rey Muradaz: I have to confess to a little misdirection--of course, this really
is a presentation on Fusebox. In a nutshell, I'll be discussing the benefits to
implementing Fusebox in a team environment, even when the implementation is,
shall we say, suboptimal. The presentation is mostly oriented towards
team/project leads and managers, but anyone working in a group environment
should be able to benefit from it. If nothing else, you'll get some laughs at
some of the code samples from my "colleagues".
MS: I understand you gave this presentation at CFUN-04 as well.
RM: That's correct, and I was quite pleased with the turnout, despite going up
against the lovely and talented trio of April Fleming, Matt Liotta and Hal the
Godfather. However, based on feedback from that session and a subsequent show
for a local CFUG in LA, the presentation is New and Improved (can it really be
both?) for FBCon, with the aforementioned bad code samples, significantly
greater audience participation, and live animals!
MS: It is just for team development or can single programmer shops get benefit
from Fusebox?
RM: As someone who does a lot of solo development, I can personally attest to
the benefits of Fusebox even for those who are "playing by themselves". For
independent developers, Fusebox brings (at least) two great benefits--ease of
maintenance (you don't have to relearn your spaghetti code six months later when
you go back to see your client), and code reuse (the fuses/fuseactions you build
are often modular enough to be recycled from project to project). And of course,
for teams, Fusebox makes the interaction of the players significantly easier and
more effective, as well as facilitating functional specialization, so you can
make the most of the skills of each member, as I discuss in my presentation.
MS: So do you have to be a Fusebox shop to find the presentation useful?
RM: Good question, Michael. The short answer is no. While this will certainly be
useful to FBers, the feedback that I've gotten suggests that the presentation is
even more beneficial to people who are considering implementing FB but haven't
yet taken the plunge. For those of us who have already drunk the Kool-Aid, it's
hard to remember a time when Fusebox was anything other than The Obvious Choice
(tm), but for a lot of folks looking at Fusebox for the first time, the decision
is not nearly as clear. I will be making the "pro" case for using a framework
(and particularly Fusebox), but I welcome any audience participation that
highlights the "con" arguments as well (this really is a search for Truth, after
all :).
MS: But you *are* targeting manager-types?
RM: That's the audience that will find this most immediately relevant, but if
there's anyone who's a little further down the food chain who's been trying to
get the powers-that-be to implement FB and is looking for some good arguments to
bolster their case, they'll definitely get some help here as well. I also
welcome anyone who has useful or interesting stories to tell about their own
successes and challenges with frameworks--as Nate Nelson (thanks Nate!) pointed
out to me after CFUN, a high level of audience participation is a Good Thing
(tm).
MS: Is there anyone who *shouldn't* come?
RM: IMH(?)O, anyone coming to FBCon will benefit at least a little from my
presentation. But seriously, what you won't get from me is hands-on technical
information about using CF or FB. There will be no code samples in this
presentation (at least none you'd want to replicate). But who comes to
conferences for hands-on information anyway?
MS: Yes, that is a very humble opinion there! Sounds like this session will have
a lot of learning that you can't get from a book. Thanks for talking with me.
You can see more interviews at http://www.cfconf.org/Fusebox2004/news.cfm and at
Fusion Authority http://www.fusionauthority.com/. Fusebox Conf is Saturday 9/18/04 -
Sunday 9/19/04 in Washington DC area. It costs $199. For more information on
Fusebox Conf see http://www.cfconf.org/Fusebox2004/
--- How NOT to Fusebox--Lessons from the Trenches by Rey Muradaz
Take ten developers of various skill levels and a thousand code pages. Add in a
novice management team, a gigantic, conflicting and ever-mutating set of
requirements, and incredibly short time frames. Set pressure cooker on High.
Serve Warm.
Sound like a recipe for disaster? It nearly was. The saving grace for this
ragtag army of coders was the use of the Fusebox framework. As a proof of the
incredible robustness of FB, despite the fact that nearly every development
convention of the framework was ignored, this team managed to turn out working
products on time and under budget, but it wasn't pretty.
Fortunately for you, Rey Muradaz took notes during this year-long odyssey, and
has gleaned a set of useful lessons for anyone engaged in a team-based Fusebox
project or process. Whether you're a team leader or one of the code-grunts at
the bottom of the heap, Rey will help you understand how to effectively
implement Fusebox in a team environment, while also pointing out some of the
major pitfalls to avoid, and how to keep smiling in the direst of circumstances.
If you're in a smooth-running shop, this presentation will give you a sense of
just how bad it could be (i.e., let you laugh at the pain of others), and if
you're feeling like one of the inmates in the asylum, you can come and share
your suffering. With any luck, you'll learn a few things that will ease the
pain.
Rey Muradaz is still attempting to short-circuit the reincarnation process by
living several lives in the same lifetime. He has been, at various times and in
no particular order, a dishwasher, a writer, a Wall St. analyst, a roast-beef-
sandwich-maker, a workers' comp rep, a telemarketer (I was desperate), a legal
advocate for Alzheimer's victims and their families, CTO of both a non-profit
(still eking along) and a for-profit (sadly defunct) targeted at supporting
senior citizens, and a proud husband and father. He finally abandoned his
efforts to whip a small cadre of City of Los Angeles contractors into the
premier FB-coding team in the land (Fusebox Rules!), but he's turned the lessons
learned into a useful presentation so your team can avoid making the same
mistakes. In his spare time (?), he keeps abreast of the ins and outs of
intellectual property law, and crafts reasonably-priced, bullet-proof licenses
and contracts for software developers.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fusebox Conference is organized by TeraTech who received four CFDJ awards.
If you need ColdFusion project help, mentoring or training
then ask the experts at http://www.teratech.com/
Best Consulting - TeraTech
Finalist Training - TeraTech
Finalist Community site - CFConf
Finalist Web Dev Tool - CFXGraphicsServer
---------------------------------------------------------------
This year's conference has 12 nationally known speakers including
Hal Helms, John Quarto-vonTivadar, Jeff Peters, Sandra Clark, Michael Smith,
Steve Nelson,
Brian Kotek, Rey Muradaz, Matt Liotta, John Paul Ashenfelter
Fusebox Washington DC area 9/18 - 9/19/04:
* Learn Fusebox, Mach-II and more!
* Network with your peers and top national speakers
* Have fun exploring what is new in Fusebox
Tracks:
* Advanced Topics
* Basic Topics
* Optional classes on intro to Fusebox, Intermediate Fusebox and Mach-II
Pricing schedule - register today to save!
* Just $149 Early Bird Price from 1/1/04 - 7/31/04
* Ok $199 Regular Price 8/1/04 - 9/10/04
* Opps $249 Late Registration 9/11/04 - 9/17/04
* Onsite $300
Register today
http://www.cfconf.com/Fusebox2004/
--
Michael Smith, TeraTech Inc - Tools for Programmers(tm)
TeraTech voted Best Consulting Service by CFDJ readers!
CF/ASP Web, VB, Math, Access programming tools and consulting
405 E Gude Dr Ste 207, Rockville MD 20850 USA
Please check out http://www.teratech.com/ - email mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED],
or call us for more information; in the USA at 1-800-447-9120,
+1-301-424-3903 International, Fax 301-762-8185 Thanks!
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