Thornton , Colorado Google 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.

The Gaming Black Market

[Aug, 05, 2012] |
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When you think about the black market, I’m sure the majority of you will think of prohibition days. When alcohol was made illegal, it did two things: It made the bad guys more money, and it put the average joe in a dangerous position while trying to acquire it. Bring in the 21^stcentury. Sure, there still is a black market… but come on, who is afraid of mobsters anymore? Today, we have a gaming black market. It has been around for years, but will it survive? With more and more games moving towards auction houses, could game companies “tame” the gaming black market?

In the old days of gaming on the internet, we spent most of our online time playing hearts, spades… whatever we could do while connected to the internet. As the years went by, better and better games came about. Then, suddenly, interactive multiplayer games came into the picture. These interactive games, mainly MMORPGS, allowed for characters to pick up and keep randomly generated objects known as “loot”. This evolution of gaming created the black market.

In the eyes of the software companies, the game is only being leased/rented by the end user. You don’t actually have any rights to the game. This is where the market becomes black. The software companies don’t want you making money of “virtual” goods that are housed on the software or servers of the game you are playing on. The software companies, at this point, started to get smarter.

Where there is a demand…

Basic Java Tutorial - Elements of Popularity in a Programming Language

[Nov, 08, 2012] |
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Different programming languages gain popularity for different features. Java tutorials have proven particular popular over a long period of time, thanks to a diverse group of strengths inherent to the language itself. Let’s examine some of the basic elements of Java, and find out what it is both powerful and popular:

· WORA – Write Once Run Anywhere is a programming ideal that has never been effectively achieved. The goal is to be able to write code a single time, and have it deploy in the same way across multiple platforms. Although it is still an ideal, proper Java tutorials exist that demonstrate how we are moving closer to success.

· Object-Oriented – This programming philosophy designates that there is no coding that takes place outside established class definitions. A large class library is also available right within the core language pack.

· Compiler plus Interpreter – Once you have written your code, you can compile it into bytecodes which are then fed into a JVM, or Java virtual machine. You can then follow popular Java tutorials to see how you can extensively debug your code using this functionality.

Finding the Right Candidate from a Recruiters Perspective

[Mar, 23, 2017] |
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I’ve been a technical recruiter for several years, let’s just say a long time. I’ll never forget how my first deal went bad and the lesson I learned from that experience. I was new to recruiting but had been a very good sales person in my previous position. I was about to place my first contractor on an assignment. I thought everything was fine. I nurtured and guided my candidate through the interview process with constant communication throughout. The candidate was very responsive throughout the process. From my initial contact with him, to the phone interview all went well and now he was completing his onsite interview with the hiring manager.

Shortly thereafter, I received the call from the hiring manager that my candidate was the chosen one for the contract position, I was thrilled. All my hard work had paid off. I was going to be a success at this new game! The entire office was thrilled for me, including my co-workers and my bosses. I made a good win-win deal. It was good pay for my candidate and a good margin for my recruiting firm. Everyone was happy.

I left a voicemail message for my candidate so I could deliver the good news. He had agreed to call me immediately after the interview so I could get his assessment of how well it went. Although, I heard from the hiring manager, there was no word from him. While waiting for his call back, I received a call from a Mercedes dealership to verify his employment for a car he was trying to lease. Technically he wasn’t working for us as he had not signed the contract yet…. nor, had he discussed this topic with me. I told the Mercedes office that I would get back to them. Still not having heard back from the candidate, I left him another message and mentioned the call I just received. Eventually he called back. He wanted more money.

I told him that would be impossible as he and I had previously agreed on his hourly rate and it was fine with him. I asked him what had changed since that agreement. He said he made had made much more money in doing the same thing when he lived in California. I reminded him this is a less costly marketplace than where he was living in California. I told him if he signed the deal I would be able to call the car dealership back and confirm that he was employed with us. He agreed to sign the deal.

Tech Life in Colorado

CNBC's list of "Top States for Business for 2010" has recognized Colorado as the third best state in the nation for business. Colorado is also the home to a bunch of federal facilities such as NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command, United States Air Force Academy, Schriever Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, and Fort Carson. On top of the beautiful mountainous scenery and sunny weather, tech life has been brewing steadily in the last decade in Denver and Boulder.

The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do. â€¦Thomas Edison

other Learning Options

Software developers near Thornton 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.

DaVinci Coders · Ember.js Denver · Full Stack ·

Fortune 500 and 1000 companies in Colorado that offer opportunities for Google for Business developers

Company Name	City	Industry	Secondary Industry
Level 3 Communications, Inc	Broomfield	Telecommunications	Telecommunications Other
Liberty Global, Inc.	Englewood	Telecommunications	Video and Teleconferencing
Liberty Media Corporation	Englewood	Media and Entertainment	Media and Entertainment Other
Western Union Company	Englewood	Financial Services	Financial Services Other
Ball Corporation	Broomfield	Manufacturing	Metals Manufacturing
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation	Greeley	Manufacturing	Food and Dairy Product Manufacturing and Packaging
Molson Coors Brewing Company	Denver	Manufacturing	Alcoholic Beverages
DISH Network Corporation	Englewood	Media and Entertainment	Media and Entertainment Other
Arrow Electronics, Inc.	Englewood	Computers and Electronics	Networking Equipment and Systems
DaVita, Inc.	Denver	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Outpatient Care Centers
Blockbuster LLC	Englewood	Media and Entertainment	Media and Entertainment Other
CH2M HILL	Englewood	Energy and Utilities	Alternative Energy Sources
Newmont Mining Corporation	Greenwood Vlg	Agriculture and Mining	Mining and Quarrying

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the hartmann software group advantage

why take Google for Business 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 Colorado 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.
Discover tips and tricks about Google for Business programming
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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.
Prepare to hit the ground running for a new job or a new position
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We teach with sophisticated learning tools and provide excellent supporting course material
Books and course material are provided in advance
Get a book of your choice from the HSG Store as a gift from us when you register for a class
Gain a lot of practical skills in a short amount of time
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