David Jackson asked:

When we think of accessories, we think of those additional products that are used to enhance the look, feel and safety of a gadget or anything. Today, you have accessories for almost everything that you have in your collection. Be it car accessories or accessories for your personal look like funky belts, wrist-bands – you can now give a personal touch to all your favorite things and outfits. The smart and trendy communication cum entertainment gadget, the Apple iPhone that most of us are using now also has several accessories that users can easily add onto it. Not only in the field of iPhone application development we have seen tremendous growth, the accessory market for the iPhone is also growing by leaps and bounds. If a few months back, iPhone applications development India firms made a huge sensation by bringing some of the finest iPhone apps, the ongoing iPhone talk among the crowd is nothing but the smart iPhone accessories that are easily available for purchase.

If you are thinking of giving a personal touch to your iPhone thus completing your kind of look, iPhone accessories are the best things you can give a try on. iPhone accessories like cases, Bluetooth headsets, chargers, cables, screen protectors, iPhone books, car kits, iPhone cradles, iPhone headphones are high on demand currently. These accessories come at very affordable rates and you can buy them online easily. There are a number of online Apple iPhone accessory sellers who have accessories for all versions of iPhones.

By getting accessories like an iPhone screen protector, you can help your device get rid of dust and other harmful objects. Also, you can make your iPhone water-resistant by buying a water-resistant screen protector. So, the iPhone can be made to perform as per your necessities if you want it to. An iPhone mobile application is not the only thing that you can gift to your device, you can also endow it with cool accessories that too, without spending big amounts. Both iPhone application development companies and accessory makers are now doing equally good job for the iPhone users.

Tim Bryce asked:




“You eat elephants one spoonful at a time.”

- Bryce’s Law

In a nutshell, the concept of “stepwise refinement” is to take an object and move it from a general perspective to a precise level of detail. Architects have used such an approach for years, as have engineers building products. But to do so, they realized they cannot simply go from the general to the specific in one felled swoop, but instead, in increments (steps). The number of steps needed to decompose an object into sufficient detail is ultimately based on the inherent nature of the object. To illustrate, for architects designing a building, the typical steps include:

 



Develop artist rendering (to consider viability).

Design foundation and superstructure.

Design Floor plans.

Design electrical and plumbing diagrams.



In other words, before the first shovel of dirt is dug on the project, the architect knows precisely what the building will look like and how it will work. All of the guess work has been eliminated.

Engineers building products such as automobiles follow similar yet different steps:

 



Develop artist rendering (to consider viability).

Design major assemblies (e.g., chassis, body)

Design subassemblies (e.g., engine, transmission, electrical, etc.)

Design operations (e.g., the various components of the engine).



Like the architects, the engineers know precisely how the automobile will look, the parts needed to produce it, and the sequencing of assembly. All of the guess work has been eliminated.

“Stepwise refinement” ultimately represents a “divide and conquer” approach to design. In other words, break a complex object into smaller, more manageable pieces that can be reviewed and inspected before moving to the next level of detail.

There are those in the I.T. field that feel such an approach is impractical to implement, and instead of engineering your way to success, you should take an initial stab at developing a program, then continue to modify it until you have developed something to pacify the user’s needs. This of course is a hacker’s approach to development and may be fine for developing an innocuous little program but definitely not suitable for developing anything of substance.

Can the concept of “stepwise refinement” be applied to a single program? Absolutely. As a matter of fact, it lies at the core of the structured programming movement of the 1970′s-80′s. But can it be applied on a grander scale, such as an enterprise-wide Information System. Again, the answer is Yes. In fact, it is the logical way of attacking such a major endeavor.

Before we can tackle an information system, it would make sense that we first understood the inherent properties or structure of the object of our attention. It has always been our contention that an Information System is a product that can be engineered and manufactured like any other product. To this end, we see an Information System as a four level hierarchical structure consisting of the following components:

LEVEL 1 – SYSTEM – representing the overall product to be built.

LEVEL 2 – SUB-SYSTEMS – representing the business processes associated with the system (one or more).

LEVEL 3 – PROCEDURES – representing the work flow of each sub-system. There are essential two types of procedures; Administrative – representing procedures executed by humans; and Computer.

LEVEL 4 – PROGRAMS – representing the programs needed to execute each computer procedure.

As an aside, there is also a Level 4 for Administrative Procedures (to write the instructions/steps pertaining to the procedure), but for the purposes of this paper, let’s put this aside for the moment.

Under “stepwise refinement” the levels are decomposed top-down during the design process, and implemented bottom-up; a common engineering/manufacturing technique.

To implement this approach, a “blueprinting” technique is used which is actually not too dissimilar with that used by architects and engineers in other fields. Here, the blueprints are used to express the succeeding levels in the system hierarchy. To illustrate, consider the following diagram, where the work from the preceding phase feeds the next level in the system hierarchy:



What this means is that all of the guess work has been eliminated. So much so, that the creation of executable programs should be a relatively simple task. Again, the specifications for the programs were developed naturally in smaller and more manageable increments, not all in once.

CONCLUSION

The concept of “stepwise refinement” is not exactly new and has been used successfully in the engineering/manufacturing of products for many years as a means to manage complexity. It has only been in the last thirty years that people have been trying to implement the technique in the development of systems and software.

In the absence of “stepwise refinement” on a complex system, the “brute force” approach is typically used, whereby superficial work is done in the earlier phases and substantially more time is spent in programming second-guessing what is to be developed. This is one reason why companies today rarely tackle major systems development assignments, and are content with attacking it in piecemeal.

But if you can assimilate a system as a product, and believe it can be engineered and manufactured like any other product, than “stepwise refinement” is a pragmatic solution you can definitely use.

If you would like to discuss this with me in more depth, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail.

 

David Jackson asked:

What started with its launch, steadily transformed into a cult following and even after two years of its release – Apple iPhone unquestionably places itself as the most coveted and desired gadget in the present scenario. Soon after its official launch, many technology experts went overboard with their critical comments as they tried to thrash this highly innovative gadget for some nominal drawbacks. Ultimately, this genius gadget made these critics eat their words as it has been consistently adding more and more individuals in its substantial fan base. Besides bringing various leading technologies on the vanguard, Apple iPhone has also revolutionized the concept of touchscreen. Since its release, all the leading handset manufactures have released their versions of touchscreen handsets, but none could come a bit close to the popularity of an iPhone. A major development on the front of iPhone web application has also made significant impact.   

As a compact smartphone, apple iPhone offers many connectivity solutions. With the help of latest tools, you do get a lot in terms of refined entertainment. You can also use it as an iPod and surf the Internet in the easiest possible way on its intuitive screen. Considering its complete range of iPhone web application, iPhone appears like a slim gizmo. There is no dearth of options and tools, when it comes to customized applications for iPhone. You get a fully functional and well-designed PDA with a camera. On the other hand, it also works as an Internet communicator, as it enables you to surf – whenever you want. On the other hand, there are many special software applications, which are exclusively designed to make it a handy mobile handset for you such as: Calendar, SMS and MMS text messaging, voice mail, Safari, Maps, YouTube, iPod-style MP3 player, CoverFlow, and games.

Since the launch of the Apple iPhone 3G, many leading software companies across the world have been providing customized iPhone application solutions. In its well designed connectivity features, you get audio conferencing, caller ID, call holding, video calling, voice dialing, MP3 integration, internet access, email and text messaging among others. This superb gadget also enables you to enjoy Internet surfing via Wi-Fi network. You can surf the Internet by using its free safari web browser.

john asked:




Outsourcing is now one of the most popular terms you will hear in the business world. Obviously, it is something that companies benefit from because companies today are extensively using outsourcing as part of their company. Since companies benefit from outsourcing, you would want to consider outsourcing to also be part of your company.

However, you first have to know what outsourcing is in order to fully understand how it can help your company and why this service is so in demand in the business world today.

Firstly, outsourcing is when a company hires another company to do their business process or part of their business process. You may wonder why companies outsource their business process when you can do it the old way and take care of your business process in-house. The reason for this is that companies will save a lot of money when they outsource their business process in other countries in companies that accepts outsourced jobs.

This is because companies that accept outsourcing jobs from other countries already have the facilities and the manpower to do the business process that your company will give them. This means that you will not purchase the necessary facilities and hire the necessary manpower in order to get the job done properly Also, these offshore companies that accepts outsourcing jobs will charge cheaper rates to get it done and they also hire talented professionals who are qualified to get the job done for you.

Another reason why outsourcing is preferred by more companies today is that they can focus more on important matters concerning the company. By outsourcing a part of your business process, your company will be able to fully use all the resources it needs in order for your company to stay competitive.

For example, if your company makes software, you will need a help desk in order to interact with your clients and to answer any problems that your clients may have. If you don’t outsource your help desk, you will need to make use of additional workspace, purchase the necessary technology to start an effective help desk, such as computers and help desk software, and you will also need to hire help desk representatives with full company benefits to man the workstations.

By outsourcing your help desk to call centers located in other countries, you will be able to save a lot of office space to be used for more important company functions. Also, you will be able to save a lot of money from purchasing the technology and hiring full time employees and your company can concentrate more on vital factors.

Today, more and more software development companies are now considering outsourcing their software development program to IT companies in developing countries, such as India, China, and the Philippines. These countries are known to be full of talented IT professionals who are able to develop the software you need in order to satisfy your clients. And, they also charge half of the fee that an IT professional in your country may charge you.

These are the benefits that outsourcing will give your software company. By outsourcing your software development program, such as .Net, Java programming, and other business solution software, you will be able to save a lot of money for your company and at the same time, let your company focus more on important matters to keep your company competitive in today’s business world.