[AccessD] Scrum (was: Find First in an Array? ...)

Charlotte Foust cfoust at infostatsystems.com
Wed Feb 25 16:37:27 CST 2009


Gustav,

You really need to get familiar with strongly typed datasets in .Net.
You can build data entity classes that inherit the typed datasets and
then program against the data entity instead of directly against
tableadapters and datatables.

Charlotte Foust

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Gustav Brock
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 2:24 PM
To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Scrum (was: Find First in an Array? ...)

Hi Shamil

That could be an interesting exercise - all these tools would be new to
me, and converting an Access app to .NET WinForms will probably be a
task we all will face sooner or later (William is all about it, so he
says). I have only done WinForms from scratch.

One discussion will be how to perform data binding. Having used only
datatableadapters and datatables, I find all the SqlClient and
SqlCommand stuff for totally waste of time while I on the other hand
currently is struggling with the ADO.NET Entity Model as it looks
promising to me for many purposes. A bit like the tag/class discussion
... which I stayed off as I've never used a Tag for anything.

/gustav

>>> mcp2004 at mail.ru 25-02-2009 21:31 >>>

Hi Gustav,

My knowledge of Finnish language is almost at zero level - I used
English while in Helsinki, and I have found that most of the people
there knows English well enough to understand my English :)... 

As far as I currently realize SCRUM would be rather useless for
"alone-wolf" working mode - SCRUM is to empower teamwork.

I'm thinking first of all about simple project as e.g. converting MS
Access Northwind to .NET WinForms application - that first simple
project would produce useful result as e.g. set rathwer clear figure
based on working experience on how much it could take to convert simple
MS Access applications to .NET as well as it could help to setup initial
simple agile disributed environment. I'd expect there should be quite
some more useful practical outputs from this simple project if it would
be done SCRUM way as SCRUM results not only in percievable practical
outputs but also brings group and personal experiences, which can't be
achieved other way (at least I do not know such other ways)...

Not "preaching" here for any advanced rocket science software
development - just thinking about something like "dumb" manual
conversion of MS Access Northwind into .NET WinForms + .NET ReportViewer
Northwind desktop sample app but with this conversion done using SCRUM
development process applied as much as possible in distributed
environmnet starting from scratch and keeping in mind that first of all
a result - converted app should be delivered within max one man-month,
and if all goes well then even within 1/2 man month with another 1/2 man
month or less spent to build needed simple first version of distributed
agile development environment. (1/2 - 1 man-month needed for such
project is my current evaluation which could be wrong - this should be
changed/reevaluated by team in the very beginning - and this evaluation
should be a fun of playing SCRUM plannning pocker cards -
http://jeffsutherland.com/scrum/2007/10/planning-poker-cards-get-them-he
re.html  - :) 

Development tools: VS2008, and no third party tools/controls for
application development + some open source agile development tools -
something like described here maybe:

http://blog.benhall.me.uk/2008/08/continuous-integration-builds-for.html


No clear idea yet because to make this project a reality there should be
at least seven team members who would be interested to commit up to one
hour working on this project within working days within one month, and
they should have some beginners experience to design .NET WinForms...

Anybody? (There could be main seven team members with many their proxies
who can commit several hours of working on this project when main team
members will be very busy with their everyday duties but if this project
will ever get started then there should be equally distributed time
spent over project weeks as this would allow to calculate so called team
velocity based on rithm - and velocity value is quite important to
evaluate how "powerful team is" and how much it would take for this team
to make this or that future projects...)

The next project could be trying to make similar conversion but using
some (nand made) conversion automation tools...

The third one could be substituting MS Access backend with MS SQL
2005(?) backend...

The forth one could be getting .NET Winform sample app "converted" to
ASP.NET...
etc.

But it doesn't make sense to plan even for the second project now until
first one will be done, and if that first one will be done then
(according to SCRUM principles and expectations) there will be the other
day, with its own needs, and that other day will define what other
project is the most useful, practical and applicable to implement for
all the interested parties: stakeholders/users, ProductOwner,
SCRUMMaster and team members...

Thank you.

--
Shamil

-----Original Message-----
From: "Gustav Brock" <Gustav at cactus.dk>
To: <accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:07:34 +0100
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Scrum (was: Find First in an Array? ...)

> Hi Shamil
> 
> Yes, Finland is a nice place - I think - because last time I visited
the country was about 35 years ago! But I still remember how to order
two beers in Finnish - which by the way is a language very much
different from most Western languages. Just to learn how to count to ten
is a challenge.
> 
> I've always had the opinion that things like scrum is a bit overkill
when you mostly work on your own projects, but if it can help keeping
you organised including keeping track of notes and ideas, this could be
the occasion to give it a go. And a "demo" project could be a good
method to keep feet on the ground. 
> 
> What kind of project do you have in mind?
> 
> For those interested I think Danube may not be the best site to start
- here is a place that starts at zero:
> 
>   http://www.scrumalliance.org/pages/what_is_scrum
> 
> /gustav
> 
> 
> >>> mcp2004 at mail.ru 25-02-2009 15:59 >>>
> 
> Hi Max,
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Sorry for some following off-topic guys.
> 
> I have been Finland for several days, and I have got DANUBE's
(http://www.danube.com/) Certified SCRUMMaster training: I ilked it, and
it was an "eye opener" in some of the areas of agile software
development...
> 
> I also liked the foods, walking around Helsinki downtown, which is in 
> some places very much alike to St.Petersburg's architecture, clear 
> water and fresh air and a rather comfortavle Radisson SAS Royal Hotel 
> staying: would I have had been more wealthy I would have been going 
> travelling much more often to Finland, and the West Europe (and the 
> States and Canada and Australia... :) (never been in the latter two)) 
> - just to experience the difference of the living environment :)
> 
> It's so easy to get to Finland from here these days provided one have
Shengen Visa: by own car, by express bus, train etc. even by taxi -
still it's the other world with much more comfortable living envionment
and much more user-friendly common atmosphere... (Making very big money
one can create such a good living environmnet here also these days but
that would be isolated one, and of course no one with even huge money
can create such an "user-friendly" atmosphere as in Finland (I'm not
afraid on snow and frost you know :)) - creating the latter needs "mind
shift" of several generations...
> 
> Based on my new SCRUM experience I'm thinking to propose to develop a
sample SCRUM-process driven small (half to one man/month)
non-profit/open-source project here, I'm not committing for that
activity yet, and I'm not asking volunteers to commit (there will be
needed 7+/-2 developers) - I will try to prepare to it, hopefully soon -
that project experience and results can be published on AccessD...
> 
> Maybe it's time to start an AccessD-SCRUM discussion list?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> --
> Shamil

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