----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 4:13 PM
Subject: [RBG7-L] - Re: Developer
Updates
Joel, I think you have gotten a great number of
good ideas from many on "the" list. As a user more than a developer I
would like to add a couple of points. Thirty years ago I was running
some school programs for both colleges and high schools and know what I
hit.
1. Education of the user is an
absolute. Don't let ask for something without making them think it
through. What works in one school will work for many, if not most,
others and if a school is made to think through what they're asking for you
may be able to change minds or make a consensus driven change. Act as
the "provocateur" in the change process.
2. The idea of using tables is, I
believe, the only way to go. To develop those tables though you will
surely need some school driven consensus groups.
3. Take the updates out of the hands of
the schools if at all possible. Since schools can't even agree on a
consistent grading structure they'll never do the updates if left on their
own. If the updates are driven by you make certain what the backup
procedures are so no one is left in the lurch.
4. Hardware issues may cause some
difficulties if there aren't minimums set up. Make certain the programs
check to see if those minimums are there.
5. Make certain that one request doesn't
leave another school out in left field. I know that sounds basic but
I've seen it happen too frequently.
6. Create a manual for them that can be updated
through a remote process. Razzak certainly gave us a great list of PDF
support the other day.
Sounds like an interesting and challenging
product. Good luck.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 11:22
AM
Subject: [RBG7-L] - Developer
Updates
I have a question for the developers out
there. First, a little history.
I am developing an application for our schools
nationwide. Although the base application is the same for all the
schools, some of the schools require customization due to geographic
locations or operational issues.
Therefore, what is the best way to manage these
changes? It would be quite a task to maintain a separate application
for each school. What about general updates to everyone's
application? What is the best way to approach these
updates?
Thanks in advance for any feedback
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