Comments on The Technology Edge: Situational Applications - Build for Today be Read...

Great blog J. The "situational application...

2009-07-16T00:13:35.292-05:00

Great blog J.

The "situational application" can be a great approach to solve departmental needs or even corporate wide needs where the feature set is narrow in scope. I've always tried to build these applications with a tool set/stack that allowed for the application to scale with the expanding requirements that come over time. If the tool set/stack can't scale beyond a certain point, it needs to allow for the ease of data (and maybe even logic) export so that when you out grow it, you can easily move to a more robust solution.

I completely agree with the approach of getting a ...

2009-07-12T20:59:13.355-05:00

I completely agree with the approach of getting a 1st cut in front of the users/stack holders as soon as possible for as little cost as possible. You can always trade up from a Hyundai to a Ferrari or something in the middle like a Lexus if needed. Over the past few years I have learned to embrace the Agile development methodology and the idea of time boxing to be great ways to build applications.

Great points David. But I have to say it, does an...

2009-07-10T09:33:25.277-05:00

Great points David. But I have to say it, does anyone really need a Ferrari? :-) It's like Lance Briggs crashing his Lambo, some people just can't handle the horespower and need something smaller.

But you are absolutely right, even situational apps need to be architected in a way that's scalable and flexible, and the original point of the app has to be kept in mind so it doesn't outgrow it's original purpose.

It is a very interesting point of view, and one I ...

2009-07-10T08:54:54.841-05:00

It is a very interesting point of view, and one I have advocated for quite a while. It also applies to implementation of inherently complex systems (SAP, for example). If you try to throw the whole thing in at once, you usually fail because it's just overwhelming.

The flip side is that for inherently complex processes, the KISS principle can backfire, because tools designed for a simple purpose cannot always be expanded to encompass the greater complexity. Lotus Notes, for example, is an outstanding collaboration tool, but a lousy application platform, and try as they might, IBM has not been able to make the transition.

A good analogy is that no matter what you do and how much you spend, you will never turn a Hyundai into a Ferrari. If you need Ferrari performance, you're better off just buying the Ferrari.

This exactly what "Getting Real" by 37si...

2009-07-10T05:56:36.752-05:00

This exactly what "Getting Real" by 37signals is all about (among other things). Its a great book.