Posts by Chris Dockree

Study finds 268% higher failure rates for Agile software projects

Many "Agile" projects are more a case of "I don't actually know what i want but i will when i see it".

It's symptomatic of a general dumbing down of project purpose by people who don't really care.

And, what do you know, these projects fail!

You're too dumb to use click-to-cancel, Big Biz says with straight face

Re: ever mindful of the limits of netizens' mental capacity

I don't know what you are remembering? I remember people saying - "what's the point?" We understand £ S D Why do we need to change? Turns out we needed to change because ...??

So what exactly is the problem?

What's so challenging about receiving unsolicited emails? It's very very slightly annoying to receive another "solar panels" email. - click - Add to spam. Very very very slightly annoying. And why are you so worried about being spammed by legitimate emailers? You used Amazon - they drop you an email every now and then. They p**s you off - you don't buy from them ever again. You blacklist them. It's not difficult.

Keir Starmer's techno-fix for the NHS: Déjà vu disaster or brave new blunder?

Why would the OBVIOUSLY required IT integration of our biggest national spend (NHS) be impossible?! The problem is NOT the political parties - WE elect them, right or wrong!

The question is why their manifestos are not enacted? How come the changes they want take so long to come into force and are delivered so badly?

We know the answer from all of the previous disastrous failings. Repeated utter incompetence in the outdated structure of our civil service - slow, incompetent, top heavy, over-protected, insecure, outdated, luddite, politically biased ...

What chance does anybody have as an elected politician to get great / new ideas enacted??

EU's Cyber Resilience Act contains a poison pill for open source developers

Re: Cui Bono.......Again!!!

that's not quite correct. In contractual terms the customer purchases a LICENCE for the software, which will include the terms of use and get out clauses. Which is where the Law has failed utterly. Software should be secure and responsibility should be clear - data breaches should cost those companies that profit from using "free" software VERY dearly.

Low code is no replacement for software development, say German-speaking SAP users

Okay chaps ... for the last 10 years my business has run with a No Code platform. We have replaced ALL of the bespoke coded systems we had developed / managed / supported for our clients. We haven't come across a lack of functionality in what we use. And we run many different client services, customised to our clients individual requirements - such as maintenance services, Task Management, Large dataset extraction and submission, Project Management, government KPI services, educational services, Site Visit management ... and not a single coder involved on any of them.

Okay - we're a tiny entity in the grand scheme of things. But if you are interested in actual No Code experience, we certainly have it. And it IS the future.

'Automate or die!' Gartner reckons most biz apps will be developed via low-code by the people who use them

Re: Low code / no code .. I wish

Never used Golang - but quick wiki - and i can see it is "an open source programming language". The No Code platform I've been using does not require any understanding of any programming language. I need to know language other than what the subject matter expert /client uses (!) and the platform toolset.

Re: No code?

I think - if you look hard enough, you'll find a reason to not use a No Code platform. But for most applications they'll be fine.

Re: No code?

All of these platforms use databases at their heart. If you want to monitor database activity (for some reason) dip into the many tools that provide that analysis, so long as the platform provider enables access. The system we use is based on MS SQL server. The database work (table structure, speed and resource optimisation) has been done already, by the platform provider. We use the platform to build a system model and (a little like object oriented programming methodology) use this structure to feed various interface / form / chart control options. Our biggest system so far has 42 million discrete objects, all part of the clients website, which provides nearly all of their management systems as well as ecommerce and public facing services. - and when I say "our biggest system" ... the client does most of the development, using subject matter experts - not a code authoring team. We mostly just support them.

Re: Low code / no code .. I wish

... correct - but without the need for a code author. In my experience (I have worked with these types of platforms for the past 8 years) most of them are limited in one way or another and are, frankly, half-hearted attempts to keep away from. But not all of them! Whilst some of them leave the back door open for "custom" code work, some of them provide tools to cater for "arbitrary" data / ways which are simple and even quite enjoyable to use. Connectivity - same problem if you are doing all that custom development work.

Re: Don't knock it

Fair enough!

Re: No code?

That type of 3d printer doesn't exist yet - though you know it will!! But right here, right now - you can get platforms that will build you a software system without the need for a coding team. Interface, logic, database, file storage, security, interraction, auditability, management, reporting, modelling, testing, version control ... all you bring is the nowse, the business case and your own creativity. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.

Re: Low code / no code .. I wish

Such a thing does exist. I'm building systems with one now. Quick and Easy?? It's taken me a week to develop a reports management system - with an object structure, properties, web interface, full security, forms, actions, notifications and fully auditable object history. It has been built into an existing system, tested and modified. And I am 61 - easily distracted, prone to dozing off and not as quick as some on the uptake! If you haven't tried it don't knock it.

Low / No Code solutions are aiming at the Developer / Product Owner, who can potentially dodge all of the time, cost and stress of using a coding team. They may well fail because their idea is rubbish, or the platform they choose won’t do it or ??? But they’ll fail a lot quicker, cheaper and with a lot less stress than they would with a coding team on board. On the other hand they may succeed. Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!