Eden Prairie , Minnesota Business Training

Since you asked for the three most important things that non-programmers should know about, and I’ve spent most of my career working with more non-programmers than programmers, I have a few interesting things that would help.

Number One - It Is Impossible To Accurately Estimate Software Projects

No matter what is tried. No matter what tool, agile approach, or magic fairy dust people try to apply to creating software… accurately predicting software project timelines is basically impossible.

There are many good reasons for this. Usually, requirements and feature ideas change on a daily/weekly basis. Often it is impossible to know what needs to be done without actually digging into the code itself. Debugging and QA can take an extraordinary amount of time.

And worst of all…

Project Managers are always pushing for shorter timelines. They largely have no respect for reality. So, at some point they are given estimates just to make them feel better about planning.

No matter how much planning and estimation you do, it will be wrong. At best it will be directionally correct +/- 300% of what you estimated. So, a one year project could actually take anywhere between 0 and 5 years, maybe even 10 years.

If you think I’m joking, look at how many major ERP projects that go over time and over budget by many years and many hundreds of millions of dollars. Look at the F-35 fighter jet software issues.

Or in the small, you can find many cases where a “simple bug fix” can take days when you thought it was hours.

All estimates are lies made up to make everyone feel better. I’ve never met a developer or manager who could accurately estimate software projects even as well as the local weatherman(or woman) predicts the weather.

Number Two - Productivity Is Unevenly Distributed

What if I told you that in the average eight hour work day the majority of the work will get done in a 30 minute timeframe? Sound crazy?

Well, for most programmers there is a 30–90 minute window where you are extraordinarily productive. We call this the flow state.

Being in the flow state is wonderful and amazing. It often is where the “magic” of building software happens.

Getting into flow can be difficult. It’s akin to meditation in that you have to have a period of uninterrupted focus of say 30 minutes to “get in” the flow, but a tiny interruption can pull you right out.

Now consider the modern workplace environment. Programmers work in open office environments where they are invited to distract each other constantly.

Most people need a 1–2 hour uninterrupted block to get 30–90 minutes of flow.

Take the 8 hour day and break it in half with a lunch break, and then pile in a few meetings and all of a sudden you are lucky to get one decent flow state session in place.

That is why I say that most of the work that gets done happens in a 30 minute timeframe. The other 7–8 hours are spent being distracted, answering email, going to meetings, hanging around the water cooler, going to the bathroom, and trying to remember what you were working on before all these distractions.

Ironically, writers, musicians, and other creative professionals have their own version of this problem and largely work alone and away from other people when they are creating new things.

Someday the programming world might catch on, but I doubt it.

Even if this became obvious, it doesn’t sit well with most companies to think that programmers would be paid for an 8 hour day and only be cranking out code for a few hours on a good day. Some corporate middle manager would probably get the bright idea to have mandatory flow state training where a guru came in and then there would be a corporate policy from a pointy haired boss mandating that programmers are now required to spend 8 hours a day in flow state and they must fill out forms to track their time and notify their superiors of their flow state activities, otherwise there would be more meetings about the current flow state reports not being filed correctly and that programmers were spending too much time “zoning out” instead of being in flow.

Thus, programmers would spent 7–8 hours a day pretending to be in flow state, reporting on their progress, and getting all their work done in 30 minutes of accidental flow state somewhere in the middle of all that flow state reporting.

If you think I’m joking about this, I’m not. I promise you this is what would happen to any company of more than 2 employees. (Even the ones run by programmers.)

Number Three - It Will Cost 10x What You Think

Being a programmer, I get a lot of non-programmers telling me about their brilliant app ideas. Usually they want me to build something for free and are so generous as to pay me up to 5% of the profits for doing 100% of the work.

Their ideas are just that good.

Now, I gently tell them that I’m not interested in building anything for free.

At that point they get angry, but a few ask how much it will cost. I give them a reasonable (and very incorrect) estimate of what it would cost to create the incredibly simple version of their app idea.

Let’s say it’s some number like $25,000.

They look at me like I’m a lunatic, and so I explain how much it costs to hire a contract programmer and how long it will actually take. For example’s sake let’s say it is $100/hr for 250 hours.

To be clear, these are made up numbers and bad estimates (See Number One for details…)

In actuality, to build the actual thing they want might cost $250,000, or even $2,500,000 when it’s all said and done.

Building software can be incredibly complex and expensive. What most people can’t wrap their head around is the fact that a company like Google, Apple, or Microsoft has spent BILLIONS of dollars to create something that looks so simple to the end user.

Somehow, the assumption is that something that looks simple is cheap and fast to build.

Building something simple and easy for the end user is time consuming and expensive. Most people just can’t do it.

So, the average person with a brilliant app idea thinks it will cost a few hundred or maybe a few thousand dollars to make and it will be done in a weekend is so off the mark it’s not worth considering their ideas.

And programmers are too eager to play along with these bad ideas (by making bad estimates and under charging for their time) that this notion is perpetuated to the average non-programmer.

So, a good rule of thumb is that software will cost 10 times as much as you think and take 10 times as long to finish.

And that leads to a bonus point…

BONUS - Software Is Never Done

Programmers never complete a software project, they only stop working on it. Software is never done.

I’ve worked at many software companies and I’ve never seen a software project “completed”.

Sure, software gets released and used. But, it is always changing, being updated, bugs get fixed, and there are always new customer requests for features.

Look at your favorite software and you’ll quickly realize how true this is. Facebook, Instagram, Google Search, Google Maps, GMail, iOS, Android, Windows, and now even most video games are never done.

There are small armies of developers just trying to keep all the software you use every day stable and bug free. Add on the fact that there are always feature requests, small changes, and new platforms to deal with, it’s a treadmill.

So, the only way out of the game is to stop working on software. At that point, the software begins to decay until it is no longer secure or supported.

Think about old Windows 3.1 software or maybe old Nintendo Cartridge video games. The current computers and video game consoles don’t even attempt to run that software anymore.

You can’t put an old video game in your new Nintendo Switch and have it “just work”. That is what happens when you think software is done.

When programmers stop working on software the software starts to die. The code itself is probably fine, but all the other software keeps moving forward until your software is no longer compatible with the current technology.

So, those are the four most important things that non-programmers should know about programming. I know you asked for only three, so I hope the bonus was valuable to you as well.

Voice Recordings

[Oct, 24, 2012] |
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Voice recordings are useful at any point in time. If you want to save a lecture (or presentation) that you are attending, or record a voiceover for a project, the iPhone can be your solution. You don’t have to use an old tape recorder, or a standalone recorder. The iPhone’s fantastic technology records high quality voice recordings on demand, whenever you need it.

To get started, look for an application named “Voice Memos.” Most likely, this particular application is found in your Utilities category by default. Once you open it up, you are greeted by a large microphone, indicating you are in the correct application. When you want to start recording, simply tap on the large red button in the bottom left, and you are on your way to begin recording. What is important about recording voices on this application to the highest degree of quality, ensure that your meter in the bottom is within the middle range; with the pointer in the red zone, your recording will be awfully loud, while otherwise, it will be too quiet. Finished recording? Simply tap on the square button, and you have your recording.

What can you do with these recordings? Once you have finished recording, you are able to now share this recording through email or even in a text message; email it to yourself so you can save it on your computer, and listen to it later, or start editing it to put into a movie production, or text it to a friend for their needs.

Fixing Copy and Paste for Remote Desktop

[May, 31, 2014] |
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From Brennan's Blog which is no longer up and running:

I use Remote Desktop all the time to work inside of my development systems hosted by Microsoft Virtual Server. I use the host system to browse the web for documentation and searches as I work and when I need to copy some text from the web browser I find many times the link between the host clipboard and the remote clipboard is broken. In the past I have read that somehow the remote clipboard utility, rdpclip.exe, gets locked and no longer allows the clipboard to be relayed between the host and the client environment. My only way to deal with it was to use the internet clipboard, cl1p.net. I would create my own space and use it to send content between environments. But that is a cumbersome step if you are doing it frequently.

The only way I really knew to fix the clipboard transfer was to close my session and restart it. That meant closing the tools I was using like Visual Studio, Management Studio and the other ancillary processes I have running as I work and then restarting all of it just to restore the clipboard. But today I found a good link on the Terminal Services Blog explaining that what is really happening. The clipboard viewer chain is somehow becoming unresponsive on the local or remote system and events on the clipboards are not being relayed between systems. It is not necessarily a lock being put in place but some sort of failed data transmission. It then goes on to explain the 2 steps you can take to restore the clipboard without restarting your session.

Use Task Manager to kill the rdpclip.exe process
Run rdpclip.exe to restart it

The clipboard communications should be restored. My clipboard is currently working because I just restarted my session to fix it, but I wanted to test these steps. I killed rdpclip.exe and started it and was able to copy/paste from the remote to the host system. The next time my clipboard dies I will have to check to see if these steps truly do work.

Tech Life in Minnesota

Minnesota is one of the healthiest states, and has a highly rate of literacy. The state supports a network of public universities and colleges. It encompasses thirty two institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, as well as five major campuses of the University of Minnesota. According to U.S. News & World Report six of the private colleges rank among the nation's top 100 in liberal arts.

You live and learn. At any rate, you live. Â ~Douglas Adams

other Learning Options

Software developers near Eden Prairie have ample opportunities to meet like minded techie individuals, collaborate and expend their career choices by participating in Meet-Up Groups. The following is a list of Technology Groups in the area.

HaskellMN · JavaScriptMN · Minneapolis/Saint Paul django Meetup Group ·

Fortune 500 and 1000 companies in Minnesota that offer opportunities for Business Analysis developers

Company Name	City	Industry	Secondary Industry
The Affluent Traveler	Saint Paul	Travel, Recreation and Leisure	Travel, Recreation, and Leisure Other
Xcel Energy Inc.	Minneapolis	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans	Minneapolis	Financial Services	Personal Financial Planning and Private Banking
CHS Inc.	Inver Grove Heights	Agriculture and Mining	Agriculture and Mining Other
Hormel Foods Corporation	Austin	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
St. Jude Medical, Inc.	Saint Paul	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Medical Devices
The Mosaic Company	Minneapolis	Agriculture and Mining	Mining and Quarrying
Ecolab Inc.	Saint Paul	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
Donaldson Company, Inc.	Minneapolis	Manufacturing	Tools, Hardware and Light Machinery
Michael Foods, Inc.	Minnetonka	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
Regis Corporation	Minneapolis	Retail	Retail Other
Fastenal Company	Winona	Wholesale and Distribution	Wholesale and Distribution Other
Securian Financial	Saint Paul	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
UnitedHealth Group	Minnetonka	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
The Travelers Companies, Inc.	Saint Paul	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Imation Corp.	Saint Paul	Computers and Electronics	Networking Equipment and Systems
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.	Eden Prairie	Transportation and Storage	Warehousing and Storage
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	Minneapolis	Financial Services	Securities Agents and Brokers
Best Buy Co. Inc.	Minneapolis	Retail	Retail Other
Nash Finch Company	Minneapolis	Wholesale and Distribution	Grocery and Food Wholesalers
Medtronic, Inc.	Minneapolis	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Medical Devices
LAND O'LAKES, INC.	Saint Paul	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
General Mills, Inc.	Minneapolis	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
Pentair, Inc.	Minneapolis	Manufacturing	Manufacturing Other
Supervalu Inc.	Eden Prairie	Retail	Grocery and Specialty Food Stores
U.S. Bancorp	Minneapolis	Financial Services	Banks
Target Corporation, Inc.	Minneapolis	Retail	Department Stores
3M Company	Saint Paul	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals

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why take Business Analysis Training with the hartmann software group?

A successful career as a software developer or other IT professional requires a solid understanding of software development processes, design patterns, enterprise application architectures, web services, security, networking and much more. The progression from novice to expert can be a daunting endeavor; this is especially true when traversing the learning curve without expert guidance. A common experience is that too much time and money is wasted on a career plan or application due to misinformation.

The Hartmann Software Group understands these issues and addresses them and others during any training engagement. Although no IT educational institution can guarantee career or application development success, HSG can get you closer to your goals at a far faster rate than self paced learning and, arguably, than the competition. Here are the reasons why we are so successful at teaching:

Learn from the experts.
1. We have provided software development and other IT related training to many major corporations in Minnesota since 2002.
2. Our educators have years of consulting and training experience; moreover, we require each trainer to have cross-discipline expertise i.e. be Java and .NET experts so that you get a broad understanding of how industry wide experts work and think.
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Save on travel expenses by learning right from your desk or home office. Enroll in an online instructor led class. Nearly all of our classes are offered in this way.
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Books and course material are provided in advance
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