Archive Group IV : Foundations of Application Development

Beginning Systems Analysis

5/8/2008 10:37:37 AM

  Blame my particular form thinking but I like to deal with business issues surrounding the IT industry.  By nature, when I see a problem or potential benefit area I look for ways to either solve the issue or to act on the opportunity.  Most times it is a good thing, others it just becomes 'Tilting at Windmills'.  It is fun and entertaining in any event.  (Keep in mind that my version of fun may not directly corrispond to yours, or the dictionary)

  With Application Express, XE, SQL Developer, and any number of other tools, our community has come to a point where the ability to attack a business need has definitly increased.  The APEX platform gives us a very concise and easy to learn Rapid Application Development environment to not only create an application but to quickly realize the benefits of that effort.  I came to APEX, html-db at the time, community when I saw that this was the type of system that could solve a lot more than just one or two issues.  I saw the potential to reap benefits that I previously would spend days and weeks just formulating the design for in other tools. 

  So since anyone in the community already knows this stuff why am I re-iterating it like a broken record?

  Without using any cliche, or attempting to do so, my observations of late have been that there is a whole lot of talented developers that can build just about any functionality into an application that one might desire.  There are books on how to do this.  I own more than a few of them now.  What is missing in all of this is the idea that systems development begins before you actually write code or build pages.  APEX lends itself very well to build first methods, but in this sense it becomes increasingly easy to build an application that is obscure, inflexible, and/or unsupportable.  This is the same with any tool you use and you can certainly do worse in most cases with other, hard-coded, systems.  Without some base thought processes and documentation, a new developer has a higher risk of losing their way or not being able to pull apart a broken component to analyze it and fix the issue.  Another fun result is that the progression of application developement is pretty predictable as the APEX platform evolves and as the individual developer increases in skill as well. 

  This topic is designed to cut the process of evolution short and get developers on the right track to defining and building applications that are scaleable, flexible and flow in such a manner that they become almost intuitive.

Comments

Process, Procedure and Flow

6/6/2008 9:50:59 AM

Continued From: Beginning Systems Analysis on 5/8/2008

  Whatever name you or your organization uses for this item, the foundation of a business data system is the Business Process.  Just about every application that can be concieved has a process of use that is associated with it but the underlying difference between a utility application like a "DVD Catalog" and a business App is that the process that drives its use is more than just the process to use the application itself.  So the Business Process is the first key area that has to be analyzed when attempting to build an Application that fills or automates a business need.  In some cases the process that is originally mapped is the old process that involves all of the hand-offs that many different functions will contribute to.  Mapping the process can be done any variety of ways from note pads to tools designed for process modeling like MS Visio or others.

  Recently I had the opportunity to go over a version of a process that I had seen in several organizations that centers around proactive safety and hazard mitigation and documentation.  This discussion goes back to the previous series on early adopters and such where the person detailing the process was, by every definition, very passionate about the activity and the surroundng circumstances.  By the way it was also a good refresher on how to tell a salesman from an advocate (or Evangelist), the salesman could never sound that kind of sincere without also being an advocate.

  So the discussion progressed and along the way I took abunch of notes on the steps involved in this particular process.  It is not that complicated, but then again the best trips from one point to another are the ones that make sense and don't go into too many twists and turns away from the end goal.  So here is the first an most common process model that comes from those discussions. 

  The things that I notice from this initial SWAG at the process is that while it is intuitive and follows a logical path it really does not tell you about the other elements tha make building an APEX Application, or any other for that matter, easier or more intuitive.  An information system is often defined as being a collection of Processes, People and Data System that achieve a goal or set of goal through integrated interaction.  So we have the process but now we need to find the other things involved.  So this is the next evolution of my process diagram that is more commonly referred to as a swim lane process flow.  It defines the lanes that represent the responsibile party to the activity or decision in the process.

   Now I have the people and the process that is happening now.  So all I need is to understand what data systems are currently interacting with the process and at what points.  What I know is that the data managed is largely captured on a small card that is roughly the size of 1/4 a sheet of paper.  It is double-sided and has a number of items in the form.  There is other data involved as well but this card is the initial point of entry when data is captured. 

  For the initial stages of good systems analysis and design the documenting of the process flow for the current state is essential to understanding what changes need to be made to improve and automate the process in the to-be state.  When you map the initial process keep an ear out for points of pain from the customer.  But make sure to document what the process is in the now so you have a basis to adress those issue in the next stage.

Update: 06/15/2008 : Got word the embedded files in the Blog were messing with the APEX Blog Aggregator so I went with poting a thumbnail with a link to the file instead.

Comments

- 6/6/2008 11:05:30 AM

How long did it take to get that process in place and documented?
I know a bunch of companies that don't know the process ;-)
Great stuff Jason,
Dimitri

Jason Aughenbaugh - 6/6/2008 12:05:34 PM

This process took all of about an hour once I found the right kind of person who knew the process in question.  When there is more than one group involved the documentation of the process can take longer but if you find a way to get everybody in one room and are a good facilitator you can accomplish a lot in a very short time.  That said the time to get documented depends on who you have access to and how willing they are to walk you through the information.

Process, Stakeholders and More, oh my.

6/12/2008 3:29:31 PM

Continued from: Process, Procedure and Flow on 6/6/2008

So far I have tried to explain that the process of business is the foundation of any type of application that can be built for that business.  There is one more tool that can be very useful fo this evolution of designing and building your application.  It is called a SIPOC.  Not to be confused with Sybok.

What is the SIPOC?

When you look this term up on the net you are going to find a number of references to Six Sigma, DMAIC and such.  Trust me it is really not that complicated.  One of the best references I have on this item is here: http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c010429a.asp

SIPOC is an acronym that literally stands for (S)uppliers, (I)nputs, (P)rocesses, (O)utputs, (C)ustomers. The reference comes from a method of process modeling and analysis that seeks to organize this information into one place.

Typically the SIPOC guidance will usually tell you to take a high-level process for this type of analysis but it is also useful at a more detailed level. At this level where the process is broken down into it more or most basic for you can see the interactions of people, process and tools, like data systems

For your pure enjoyment, or a reason to laugh at me.  I cleaned up my SIPOC utility and put it HERE with the items for my previous process drawings in it.  I also had to post another drawing with the corrisponding numbers for the process references.  It is built in APEX which was built in APEX and helps me to build applications in APEX too.  Circular Definition, anyone?

 

Anyhow, I find this tool really cut to the chase in determining the process and the key elements about the process and its users.  When you take this items to a good level of detail the system interactions with the process and the people involved really have a way of standing out and it make the task of designing the application and the underlying datamodel a bit easier and more consistent.

Updated Note:  Please keep in mind that the SIPOC Application has an output that I was still experimenting with and haven't yet perfected.  Also, feel free to add your own rows and see how this (very basic) application works. jda.

Update: 06/15/2008 : Got word the embedded files in the Blog were messing with the APEX Blog Aggregator so I went with putting a thumbnail with a link to the file instead.

Comments

bagslead - 3/23/2009 10:56:21 AM

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Archive Group III : Navigating the Corporate Muck

In the beginning

2/28/2008 11:04:22 AM

The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.

- Moore's Law and the US Navy Seabees' motto

So you’ve decided that Oracle Application Express is a really good fit for your company to build and configure web applications for internal and external use. Then you get that sinking feeling, how do you convince the company it is as good of an idea as you perceive it to be.

First, you are probably an analyst at my level that is trying to keep your fingers in the dam of end users building complicated Access databases, spreadsheets or some other desktop app that suffers from weaknesses in security, compatibility and flexibility that you or your group will ultimately have to provide assistance and support on.

For the record, I do not disapprove of end user development of workgroup applications. In fact, I am a proponent of the idea that who better knows their requirement then the user or someone that is involved in the process.  I usually recommend having a sandbox enviornment for them to work with or installing the Oracle XE product locally to give them free reign to move and grow with it. OXE also allows you as the IS Professional to migrate to a server with lower chance of compatability issues. (Call it Win-Win)

So now, much like Sisyphus, you are faced with the daunting task of moving this idea up the hill of corporate politics and policies. Take heart, you are NOT alone. Like any idea or technology, if it is new to a group of people there will be a short list of reactions.

1. I LOVE IT , GIVE ME MORE
2. Why change what isn’t broken.
3. Whatever
4. No

My next entry will take each of these in closer detail on the ins and outs of these people and how to mitigate the adverse and capitalize on the best parts to move you forward.

Comments (none)

Grab your rock and get to work!

3/3/2008 11:59:13 AM

Continued from 2/28/2008 : "In the Beginning"

  No matter what you are introducing to an organization it always has a common trait.  It's new.  New things always run the same gambit with people that the thing is introduced to.  As I said before you will get a short list of reactions to change and it is all about what you as the holder of your particular boulder, reference (Sisyphus), do with those reactions that can determine if you make it to the top of the hill or not.  

  The key here is to have a strategy of introduction that improves your chance of success.  It has been my experience that the lower-level analysts of an organization have a better understanding of the how and why of new techniques and tools than the upper mamangement. (I think I saw a Mathematical proof to that effect some time ago too :") ) Given that, is is reasonable to assume that these analysts and managers that are in or close to the Trenches have some good, creative ideas to get things moving more smoothly.  Then why is it that the vast majority of technology choices are often made from the top down rather than the bottom up.

  The truth is that you have any number of ways that something like APEX can become widely used in any company.  The first, and most obvious, way is to run the gambit of policy and politics through the chain to discover that red tape exists in abundance in even the most empowered of organizations, it takes time, effort and emotion in spades to make this path work, moch more to speed the process along.  The second option is to proof, collaborate and communicate then divide and conquer.  The people are your key. 

  The Early Adopter

  These people are great!  They usually are very enthusiastic about the 'thing' you are bringing to them and can help to get momentum to your efforts early in the game to win over the hearts and minds of the next groups of people.  The early adopter is like an Evangelist in the way they spread the word about what it is and how (or how well) it works for them or their customers.  In many ways you are one of them, quite possibly the first.  When you get this kind of person on board the net effect is that the momentum of your effort increases and becomes more self-sustaining.

  While the impact of an early adopter is often some of the most positive influences there are dangers.  Becoming an Early Adopter means investing energy and emotion into the effort.  It also means that the these people have 'needs'.  They need soulutions that solve their problems.  By the way getting an early adopter means that you may have built them something to either impress them on the technology or fulfilled a business need they had , or both.  The key here is that taking the shorter path of public oppinion for a new technology makes it more of a barter economy.  Just make sure you know when to say when on how much you are putting into that economy as well.

  The benefit of the early adopter is the access to the minds of our next group of people.  They are the ones that have solutions, possibly aging ones, that are comfortable with the groove they are in and may need some convincing to move in another direction.  BTW these are usually the ones that when something new is forced o them they can become more resistent to that change for the sake of it.  The overview point here is handle with care. 

To be Continued.................... 

Comments (none)

Moore's Law or Murphy's Law, take your pick

3/6/2008 4:35:30 PM

Continued from Grab your rock and get to work! on 3/3/2008

  I am often suprised at the amount of time I hear the phrase "If is isn't Broken, why fix it?"  Now if it were up to me, I would personally watch the effects of Murphy's Law take place and wait for them to come back and confirm that it broke.  However, like so many, my job is to evaluate and determine the best possible solution going forward, and be proactive about it.  Believe me you really don't want to know what life is like having to maintain an old VMS system using printed manuals and an E-Bay account. (not Pretty)

  The fact is that the very nature of technology is that it progresses.  As we progress we get newer, shiney, toys.  What many people who resist change for the sake of it don't realize is that many of the older technologies very quickly are superceded and fall into decreased support and then to obscurity.  So change is more of a requirement than an initiative.  The question becomes how to convince this type of person that the proposal is a good risk to go forward?

  The first thing to keep in mind is that these people are comfortable and secure in their environment.  Change does not generally come easy unless they are seeing the pain of the process they are in.  Even then you might come up on someone who is comfortable regardless of the pain.  Sometimes the best way to mitigate these personalities is to do show and tell.  Show them some good, small, examples of how the proposal fits their needs.  Keep an ear out for those good key topics where they might be uncomfortable with their situation.   Then find ways to make it work for them.  The benefits to having these people on board is thet they make you understand more about the business and the concerns of many users in their jobs.  As momentum builds these users will likely get swept up in the effort but the first few will help you to flush out all of your arguements for the harder sells of the effort.  Unlike the Early Adopter, you'll have more work to do but it is ultimately more worth the effort. 

Comments (none)

'Resistance is ...' Trademarked!

4/29/2008 3:07:24 PM

Continued from Moore's Law or Murphy's Law, take your pick on 3/6/2008

How much fun can one truly have when Navigating the Corporate Muck.  Well, friends, if the previous posts on this line of thought have not been enough to scare you away then I have yet another group of people for you to convince to see you point and accept the fact that change is, indeed, a requirement of life in the wonderful world of business and technology. 

This type of person, while small in number, have a huge voice that they are never afraid to use.  The resistence to change is so strong that they seem to be fighting the battle of their lives over a noble cause.  Not really, they are just more comfortable in their position than any other. 

So how do we deal with them, get them on our side and remove the resistor to the process of change?  Truth is that in many cases you won't.  The best that can be hoped for is to find either a passive-resistant medium where they do not feel it is an obligation to interfere or to build up so much momentum in previous acceptance that they find themselves overwhelmed by the tide and follow the group, albeit grumpily. 

You would think that I might suggest to you that these are the first or second group to be assimilated in an effort to get APEX or any new tech in the door, but no.  The reason I suggest that you handle them last is that, while small in number, their raised voices can turn the tide on the late adopters and make the job of gaining acceptance that much harder.  It is a bit of social engineering but the later in the game these people are allowed to yell about how they don't like change the better.  It saves the effort and keeps your stress level from spiking high enough where you feel that it isn't worth the effort.  Have faith, by the time the just-because resistence comes to bear, if you have laid a proper foundation for your effort, it will only be token resistence.

So in Summary,

1.  THINK!

2.  Find your early adopters and 'help' them become advocates

3.  Plan to show more than you are asked when it comes to winning the fence-sitters

4.  Don't try to win your 'just-because' resisters, too early, unless you have no other choice.

5.  Relax, this is an iterative process and it is not worth popping a vein over. 

6.  Finally: "Smile, it makes them wonder what you're up to." - SJG "Wisdom of the Illuminati" 

Cheers everyone!

Jason

Comments

- 4/29/2008 5:42:38 PM

Hi Jason,

  I came to this blog thru your post in the APEX blog about the SOX requirement thread. I know exactly what you mean. I am kind of going through the process of resistance (eventhough it is the right thing to do) for a similar kind of project in Oracle, so, I will try to follow your points. They make so much sense.

Thank you,

Rahul

 

RPRT Theory (Right Place, Right Time)

4/21/2009 5:05:41 PM

Have you ever had one of those moments where you felt like you showed up at the right place, at the right time?  I know we all tend to have more mixed results of the reverse, but it these time where you have to really think about how did that moment in time come up?  By design, chance, fate, or just dumb luck. 

In a lot of cases previous discussions have been geared toward shaping the destiny of a project through stakeholder analysis, or manipulation. However, recently I had an encounter of the truly rare kind in business technology, where the conversation starts friendly and progresses in a direction that is unexpected, almost eerily so.  A close friend of mine, stopped by my place recently just to say hi and chat a bit.  After a few minutes, he noticed some papers on my table, it was an ERD of all things.  Then he asks me a fateful question, "Do you know about Oracle Databases?"  First off my friend is a business guys that knew I am an 'IT Guy' but not specifically my skills.  I told him yes and the conversation took a direction toward his project's efforts and failings with getting an IT group to help them build a pilot environment for a new application they were looking to bring in.  When I asked what the issue was he tells me that they assume that the resources in time, equipment, and money would make it out of the question.  So they declined to even evaluate the pilot request without a full work-up (Business Case, Requirements, Resource Estimates, and all).  My first inclination was that they must've been buying the wrong product to have that kind of response.  When he got into telling me the actual stuff they needed my jaw hit the floor.  Simply put, they needed an Oracle Database, an Apache HTTP Server, and as he put it 'some other product they call Apex'. (pronouncing it "A-pex")

In the last three years I have been advocating, outright Evangelizing at times, the use of APEX in this environment.  And just when I thought that I must've found just about every stakeholder that could keep it going, another one comes out of the area that I least expected them to come from, not realizing that it was here.

To keep a very long story short, I was able to produce an environment for this project immediately, where they had assumed one didn't exist.  The pilot project is now more than a month ahead of schedule and all it took was having a mess of paper in my space and a chance encounter with a friend that asked the right questions at the right time.

It just goes to show that where there is one there might be more so I need to grab my rock once again and get to work.

Cheers everybody!!!!! 

Comments (none)

while :new.apex = :old.discussions loop (Loop : 1)

7/20/2010 3:23:14 PM

Welcome Version 4.0

Oracle Application Express (APEX) 4.0 arrived this month with anticipation and fanfare equivalent to a really large family reporting on a new grandchild being born. Having had a bit of time to explore and experiment with the new version I am more than impressed with this new and large step forward in the product. After a few weeks of beating up these new enhancements it has become clear that this software is going to be a force to be reckoned with for some time to come.

This latest release has brought some old conversations back to the surface in the many political, social, and techno-theological aspects of the business and IT organization that employs this software. (or finds that it is being employed ;”)

To RAD or not to RAD

Rapid Application Development (RAD) has been a subject of contention in the business realm for a few years now. It’s not to say that RAD is bad; just that it takes a certain understanding that it can and will get messy, if it is not controlled properly. Not all, in fact most, organizations should not use this methodology of software development because of this fact. (insert ‘popular OS’ joke here)

As a result of personal or organizational experience with RAD, many IT Architects shun any tool from the IT portfolio that has been remotely associated with RAD. The issue here is that RAD is a methodology not a programming toolset. One can, conceivably, use RAD with .NET and JAVA to create the same mess that they can get into with any other application development toolset available.

APEX has fallen prey to this misconception before and likely will again until some of the detractors actually sit down with it and understand that normal, organized, documented, and controlled application development can be done with it to produce functional, secure, scalable, and stable applications with it. APEX is not RAD but it is Radical in that it allows a team to use their own methodologies in the creation of a business application. In my experience APEX has the overwhelming advantage of producing the application quicker than the other options available.

Be it RUP, SDLC, RAD, Agile, or any other methodology, a toolset has to be used to create the application, but that toolset is not the methodology and likewise.

Comments (none)

while :new.apex = :old.discussions loop (Loop : 2)

7/20/2010 5:46:24 PM

Objectivity is in the Eye of the Beholder

Everything one encounters in life is subjective to our particular point of view. Be it social, political, theological, or theoretical; all people tend to see things different from others. Likewise, organizations of people tend to operate under the same dictionary as others with slightly to more different definitions. Take the term ‘Enterprise’, for instance.

When thinking of the idea of Enterprise software or software development most people might assume that the application would be produced using some really complicated development tools like .NET or JAVA. At the time when I encountered Application Express (HTML-DB at the time) I was thinking roughly the same thing. A few years later Oracle published a slide deck that show many things, but the one slide that catches the most attention when I show it is this one : (Slide 11)

This graphic seemed to capture what many developers, including myself, had been saying for a while. APEX is a development platform that is accessible to all levels of business application development. With one exception that many of us felt very strongly that APEX deserved to be shown as penetrating further into the Enterprise development portion of the business.

APEX can run with the big kids, too

Why, or better, why not? I hadn’t truly gotten it until I had a conversation with a few members of the development team a few months ago. The reason for this disparity seems to exist in the difference in dictionary between what is called Enterprise Software Development and what many businesses call Enterprise Systems.

Depending on your definition APEX is, or is capable of producing, an Enterprise system. Many companies I have encountered express this as an application or series of related applications that service multiple business units and/or multiple business locations or sites. Being that it is a multi-target application development toolset APEX fits this definition very well in both the development tools and the applications it can produce.

Where it comes to Enterprise Software Development, I have heard, APEX doesn’t fit the bill entirely. Since this methodology apparently requires multiple developers to be working on multiple units of the whole system in order to complete the final product, with source control and documentation. In the previous post I spoke about methodologies and the fact that given the right amount of control any development toolset can succeed or fail equally. Either way, the newer enhancements to APEX seem to suggest that it fits this definition more today than it did even six months ago.

There is but one other definition of Enterprise that comes to mind and it is a really poignant one. It is that large companies, the ones that Enterprise Software is usually targeted toward, are rarely enterprising anymore. They don’t take the risks that make up this definition. They have resources that make buying a Commercial (“Enterprise”) Solution for everything possible and therefore they are more stagnant, less flexible and less open to change. This is a very good spot to be for the APEX platform. It sports the power and security of an Oracle Database. As a multi-target solution it can produce a suite of business applications for the business that can fit just about every conceivable need and can be supported by a minimum of personnel. It enables the organization that employs it to concentrate resources into common effort that can free up other resources to work forwarding the business rather than supporting excessively diverse IT systems.  While doing so with a lower cost of ownership than other tools.

In the end, I find that APEX fits my definition of being suitable and scalable to any Enterprise. Other opinions may vary.

Cheers! :”)

Comments

Archive Group II : More things that might go with one another

Decisions Decisions

2/28/2008 10:12:46 AM

  Ok, So i've decided what I want to be when this site grows up.  Now the question is where to start.  I have a number of projects in various phases of disrepair and I think I should choose one and put it out on the apex.oracle.com and sourceforge.net sites.  While I decide that I may be discussing the trials and tribulations of introducing a 'new' technology, such as APEX, to a company that is not knowledgeable in practices that either make sense or produce functional results that leverage existing and available technology.  Yes this will be a somewhat less techy blog than most but the points are still valid.

Comments (none)

Building a Survey Instrument

3/3/2008 1:18:40 PM

Continued from 02/28/2008 : Decisions Decisions

  Ok, I think I have a good candidate for development.  I have wanted to do this one for a while but haven't had enough focus to try it.  A Survey Instrument. 

  All you have to do today is look up Survey Software on google and you'll get a wide range of services that offer the ability to create and process surveys for anywhere between $15 and $1000 a month with various bandwidth, tools and services to be had.  Many of these services only offer the product through their secure servers, while some might charge as low as $8000 to license a server install of the product inside your firewall.  This is an area where I think ApEx may well show most of its abilities as an application environment that can be developed relatively fast and the raw mathematical processing of Oracle in the same sentance.  

  I am going to put up the sourceforge spot here in the next day or two. Then maybe we might look at the initial requirements.

Comments (none)

The Price and Value of Information

3/7/2008 4:58:48 PM

Continued from 03/03/2008: Building a Survey Instrument

  I am somewhat amazed at the level of complexity of many of these survey sites.  They all look really pretty and expensive but it looks like, when you get into the meat of their service, that the data model used for online surveys isn't all that complex.  I have reviewed about five of the major sites and they all seem fairly simple on how a person can build, deploy and analyze a set of survey questions.  All things considered I think that the data model of any one of these services might match 90% of my initial SWAG at the database model.  I just wonder why some of these site cost as much as $1200.00/month to use.  Sure they use asp, php and java pages like no tomorrow but I am sure they must have met their return on investment many times over for the product that they are providing. So it seems to me that they are in the "Fun and Profit" phase.  I am probibly wrong about the fun and profit but it's my rant. :")~

  So from my initial observations I may be on the right track to begin development.  I have asked Carl if I can do this project on the APEX SourceForge site and am currently awaiting a response.  So, I don't have any updates on the locale of the files other than on my RAID at home.

Til the next time..................

Comments (none)

APEX Performance Tuning

5/28/2008 1:05:42 PM

Today I got the opportunity to attend a free web seminar hosted by Doug Gault of HOTSOS.  The topic is all about Performance Tuning of Application Express. 

Doug opened up with a topic that is near to my heart of knowledge and understanding of your environment and, especially, your target users.  Which leads into the idea that an understanding of the way APEX is installed and how it works from the perspective of how it processes the application and its elements. 

Just about all of the major best practices that I have seen in different documents and presentations plus a few items that are new to me. 

Some of the good skils and activities involved for me are 

  1. re-inforcement of a proactive monitoring of your applications and the APEX System/Applications

  2. the use of tools that are already a part of the APEX system

  3. using more stored procedures

  4. a good process of identifying and eliminating potential causes of a performance hit using a variety of tools that are readily available to anyone in the community.

In all things this time was well worth the time to participate.  The slide deck and presentation is available at www.HOTSOS.com go to events and then webinars.

Comments (none)

If at first you don't succeed. Change the rules!

9/15/2008 10:43:01 AM

I was sifting through my inbox this week and as I began the surgical removal of all of the SPAM that promotes "Natural Male Enhancement" and ads for dating service that help you to use your new found powers :P, I happend across an email from the IOUG.  Along with the usual listings of tech articles and general announcements I found a golden nugget, of sorts, for the APEX community at large.  The Oracle Application Testing Suite as referenced HERE.  Now naturally, me being the new toys kind of person, I downloaded it and began playing with it like my sons with Legos and XBOX games.  I struggled a bit with the install and eventually go some of the components working enough to build and run a basic test of one of my APEX applications. 

I found the e-tester a very quick tool to get to a functional state and testing the steps I gave it to work on and soon I had a full test of the typical 'end-user' experience on my app complete with baseline times for page rendering and such.  When I used this tool in conjunction with the HOTSOS ILO, I could see all of the 'fun' areas of the application where I was bound to need to do some more extensive work with performance tuning of the app before I release it into the wild.

Personally I like the tools and hope to get the rest of them working soon to make a more fully informed oppinion on this subject but the is a must see for the APEX developers out there.

More on this topic as my play time progresses.

Edit:  Unfortunately it only seems to be available to Windows to install but hopefully Oracle can start rectifying that.

Comments (none)

New Category (for the BLOG not really new for me)

9/16/2008 3:40:13 PM

There are some times when you really have to be comfortable enough with your mistakes that you are willing to not only share them but to allow others to come to terms with them as well.  At the Getty Trust, my good friend Jeremy and I would hand out, usually to eachother, the "I'm with Stupid Award", for all actions that went above and beyond the normal call of stupidity.  I know you've seen it in my avatar pic if you've visited my actual blog page.  In the Navy it was the reference to the DD Form ID10-T which if you were unlucky enough to have filled that one out you were pretty much certified for the whole of you tour, if not your career.  So now I am bringing back these similar traditions into my blog to air the finer points of my own stupidity in the hopes that many may soon know why it is that I learn more from breaking things than taking a class on them.  This is mostly due to the fact that even if I take a class I will, in all likelyhood, break it anyway just for spite.  It is a founding principle of Precision Guesswork and who am I to break with that kind of tradition.

So, to the point of this post. (Finally)  In my previous posting I was noting that Oracle has announced the Oracle Application Testing Suite (OATS as I have recently seen it shortened to).   I did have some difficulty installing the tools not because it was ambiguious or truly difficult, but because I neglected to follow the first bit of technical advice I recieved from my father, now a retired mainframe programmer from IBM.  That lesson was to Read The #!*&ing Manual aka RTFM, or in this case the install instructions.  To be fair I did read them I just didn't seem to pay attention.  Once I got past that little tidbit of knowledge it all came together relatively quick.  Now that I have all of the components running I did notice a few really quirky items about the OAT Suite. 

(Tangent: BTW it is really hard to write this with all of the OATS jokes I have running through my head right now)

The first thing that really jumped out at me is that in order to be effective as a tool set you have to have either Microsoft Access :"|~ or Microsoft SQL Server installed.  Once I finished cringing I started giggleing a bit at the thought that I just downloaded an Oracle product that cannot actually run on an Oracle database, yet.  The OATS forum and their archived forums do have some light at the end of that tunnel that suggests that this bug will be corrected.   Since this product was essentially part of a company aquisition then I guess we are at that critical adjustment phase where not all of the transitions have happened.  Anyway OATS still seems like a winner for diagnosing the Application Express items out there so long as you can build the currently supported databases (which it seems to build the mdb file even without having Access on your machine and SQL Server XE is still available :P.  Hopefully they will announce a Product Manager here soon and they can begin the process. 

Play time continues in earnest, so truthfully, go try it for yourself, and sew your wild OATS! 

(I know it is a corny joke but I think I might feel less of a troublemaker if I didn't get at least one out)

For now, I am with stupid once again.

Comments (spam)

Just when things were calming down. (APEX 4.0 EA)

1/5/2010 3:22:11 PM

  When my previous posting happened in April; I was making some professional changes.  Little did I know that during the turmoil of that change another would be on its heels.  As some of my friends and associates in the APEX community found out in October, I changed jobs again but moved out of the Pharma industry altogether.  Now working in the 'Green Energy' forum.  Now just as the new apsect of my professional career and personal life, moved to Arizona, have calmed down I get this announcement from Oracle that Application Express 4.0 has been released in Early Adopter 1.  Given the timing of the release I actually had to ignore it until after the holiday season.  This was mostly due to the fact that I needed the break after 2009 and was intent on taking one, the other reson has something to do with my wife and the hell that might have ensued if I didn't take the aforementioned break.  Now the new year is upon me, the job is still relatively new to me, my oldest son is soon turning eighteen and now I think I am sufficently stressed to start the adventure through the newly refined APEX as well. 

  I have yet to attempt anything trully detailed, like translate one of my existing applications into the new platform.  Likely won't happen until EA 2.  But what I have seen is really cool.  Much of it could be game changing in many ways.  I'll mostly leave things like reporting and charting to Dimitry, since I am really a novice by comparision but the first area that I gravitated to is the Team Development (TD) Features.  Anyone reading this blog for any amount of time should understand why these features attract me.  They represent the back-end work that is and should be involved with the developement of a business application.

  Currently this tool set is limited to feedback, to-do (tasks), milestones, bugs, and features.  From the get go I assumed that requirements, design and testing might also be included, I guess I have to request an enhancement.

Features:

  Features are pretty much like you might assume.  They are the documentation on what it is that you application does in the first place.  Although I can see that the majority of this won't actually be used by many of the APEX developers out there until the first release of their apps and only contain the items that are requested after that point; I have hopes that this become their first stop when designing their apps.

   One of the really good points here is the ability to associate items wit a parent, although I can already see that there are some instances where I might want to have multiple parents involved.  I also like seeing the activity log feature present here and in other areas of the TD applcation.  It allows the ability to assign

  The only true issue I have with it is the value lists in play do not allow you to adjust them for your particular team's status's, priorities and such.  Already submitted as an enhancement.

  Some items have bugs as of yet and others I have asked for clairification on their usage but for the most part features is usable.

In looking at this posting it is already getting long, so, next in the series:  to-do and milestones

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AE4-EA1 : Team Development - Features follow-up

1/7/2010 2:58:29 PM

  In looking at my last posting I realize that there was a few items missing or wrong about the Features aspect of APEX 4.0 Team Development.

  First off the features component does include some data fields on testing, documentation and Security assignments and status.  It is good to see that there is some kind of accounting for these aspects in the Team Development tools.

  In the other tabs there is a nice dashboard feature for an overview of all features in the system.  The Dev team has done a nice job of presenting some good metrics in this space, as well as the dashboards used for To-dos, Bugs and Milestones.  The thing that stands out in my mind is the missing context to the other components in the individual dashboards.  The reference only limited topics so it seems to take a bit of hunting to get the full picture. 

  The calendar view is another component that most of the TD application seems to have as a common theme.  Each one shows a basic calendar picture of their respective records.  In this sense it is a good addition to the tool but lacks the continuity of the other records involved.  One of my enhancement requests for the Dev team is to provide a Gantt option and consolidate the calendar records into one master calendar/Gantt that give a full picture of the tasking at hand. 

  Other aspects of this component include a progress log report, a focus areas chart and report, and a report of all owners and their progress toward completion. 

  Like I had mentioned before and despite any enhancement requests this is a very good first run on this type of aspect in APEX and I have hope to see it improve over time the way the rest of the platform has.

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Archive Group I : Random Thoughts and Stuff

Fun and Annoying at the same time

1/5/2008 9:20:33 AM

I find it funny the no matter how hard I try I can never seem to catch up on all of the things I have to do.  Just as I get two or three out of the way, i turn around and there is another four to add to the list.  

I guess it is the curse of adulthood that we are on a perpetually steep curve of work until we die.

More later I have to clean the house now.. :")~

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Project Re-purposed

2/28/2008 9:12:37 AM

  As much as I have resisted the urge and insistance that I create and maintain an 'Internet' presence, it looks as though I cannot put it off any longer.  So, I decided to repurpose this space to express some thoughts on one of my digital hobbies.  Oracle Application Express (APEX).  This product is a trully one-of-a-kind in my book, it was presented as the first of the Free 'Express Editions', in Oracle Express Edition, that we now see a flurry of on the market.  But it existed much earlier in the Oracle Database products as an application layer that has become one of the most flexible, powerful and easy to use products out there today. 

  Since this isn't my primary job where I work, I consider it to be more of a hobby that may grow as time progresses.

  On this site now are some links into this realm of web development and many of the major players are represented.  My purpose here is to share my knowledge as it grows and to show how an idea for a personal or business system progresses from idea to application across the steps in between.  It should be fun, but then again I redefined fun a long time ago.  As a result I have much more of it. 

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Vacation, Collaboration and General Insanity

4/18/2008 12:48:47 PM

Well,

  I  have not been a prolific poster to this thing of late.  This is due mainly to 'finally' having a family vacation to the land of the mouse in Florida.  Once back I had all of three days in the office then it was off to Collaborate 08 in Denver.  Funny thing is that it was 30 miles from home so I was thrilled.  So with 5 lbs. book in hand I met some fellow jet-lag junkies and proceeded into the press of the Colorado Conference Center.  The overall setup was good and had a lot of open space to move in most cases.  The only complaint I could trully give is the complete lack of coffee after lunch.  The net result, as any teacher can attest, is that the struggle between the session and the inevitible post-lunch food coma became an epic battle worthy of Homer and other poets of Antiquity.  This was my first Collaborate and having been an APEX hermit long enough I wanted to place faces with names and in turn had a lot of really fun conversations on a variety of topics, not all Oracle or even IT.  Great times and even better contacts. 

  In all cases the presentations I attended were exceptional and I always had something to take away from each that formed the basis for a new test or experiment.  In an odd way three of these individual nuggets have collided into one new concept that I will work on a bit and announce at a later date.  Either way it will be fun.

  The more favorite sessions delt with the best practices to:

                          Make your application function better:  John Scott and Dimitry Gielis (Separate Sessions)

                          Make your application look better:  David Scott

  However, one area I found to begina course of study on is more of a soft topic around Systems Design and the smooth flow of an application so that it leads the user in the right direction without having to write a whole manual on how to get there.  Again this a future topic of interest.

  For those who have met me and I have your card there is a good chance I will get individual emails out next week to at minimum thank you personally at maximum I have notes on items of interest and will be following up then. 

Cheers to all,

"If we don't change our direction we will likely end up where we are headed"  --Adaptation of a Chinese Proverb

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Carl Backstrom

10/28/2008 2:42:11 PM

I had never met Carl Backstrom face-to-face.  Even still, he was one of the reasons I became such an advocate for APEX in the first place.  His example as a member of the community set the bar exceptionally high.  In Denver last month I was at the training center on break and found his number and was very tempted to call.  Thinking now, I wish I had. 

I hadn't been keeping up on my reading lately and I got a call today from a friend to see if I had heard the news.

Carl will be missed by more than this community.  My condolences to his family and friends, and coworkers.

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Mom, Dad. I just Enlisted.............

12/3/2008 3:09:55 PM

This was the way my evening conversation started on August 5th 1992, the day I told my parents and the rest of my family that I had just joined the US Navy. Since my oldest brother, my father, and my grandfather all served as well I thought of it as a tradition, of sorts. This was mainly due to the fact that just about every generation of my family served in the military since the United States was founded.  I had no idea how right I was, about the tradition.  I was wrong about the specifics, though.  As my father explained it that day it was more a tradition of sons disobeying their fathers, and thereby making their mothers cry. 

While I was in the service I found that, in many ways, it is exactly like you'd expect.  In other ways not so much.  The one thing I do remember the most, apart from meeting my wife, was the men and women I served with.  There were some really great friends that I had the pleasure of knowing.  I trusted every one of them with my life, even the ones I didn't particularly care for had at least that measure of respect, because that is your reality.  I served seven years,  eleven months, seven days and fourteen hours.  Then I became a Veteran.  This year I made a fun thing for some of the Vets I work with and thought it was funny enough to share.  (Thanks to www.dispair.com for the DIY utility)

 

For those who may be scratching their heads.  The Purple Heart is a medal that is 'awarded' to soldiers and sailors of the US military if they are wounded in combat.  Some under very unique and daring circumstances that border on questionable sanity.

Cheers!    "Smile! It make them wonder what you're up to." -SJ

Comments

Tom - 12/29/2009 10:31:12 AM

I know this is an old blog, Jason, but it was the only one I understood. The IT stuff is way over my head. I'm just a simple private investigator-writer-director-actor. Good piece. I check back.

Questionable Sanity

9/9/2010 5:17:47 PM

As I get prepared for a combined conference (OOW) and Work Week in the Bay Area this month.  I thought to bring this one out for all of my fellows in the APEX community.  Hope to see you all on Tuesday night or before

 

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Moving in can be ‘fun’

Anyone who has gotten to know me understands that I have an ‘odd’ definition of fun.  In fact, I have often said that I redefined fun a long time ago and, as a result, have much more if it.  But sine I received the evition notice from Windows Live Spaces I’ve had some of this fun trying to determine where to go how to set it up and what to keep from my old space.  The result is more of a grouping of posts into this format so as to preserve sanity and some of the content.

Here goes!