Working on a joomla project
Posted on | April 18, 2011 | 1 Comment
Sorry to break my blog hiatus with a frustration expelling post. I worked on a joomla migration project. The website is a portal for a community. Nothing that requires cloud networking to function. As far as I can tell, the old website is fast enough for me. Some proMicrosoft company was contracted to do the migration to cloud network Azure.
The reason for the migration was cited as:
“Needed to move the website to a cloud network, and the cloud network only works with Joomla 1.6. We need the whole site moved to Joomla 1.6 from 1.5″
Why would an Azure network works only with Joomla 1.6? I couldn’t get that figure out so far. Anyone who could explain why? And what’s more, all nonstatic files are saved to a blob server. This would impact all modules that does file creation, writing and saving. The modules have to be modified to read and write to a blob server. Not sure if there is any wrapper doing file read write to a blob server instead of filesystem. No mention of this on the Web. This part of the post is lacking in technical details regarding why at this point of time, only joomla 1.6 is supported on Azure. It would be nice if someone could comment with links below.
Joomla 1.5 seems to be working on Linux cloudnetwork. See link here. So I don’t know why is Azure selected instead of a Linux option. If Azure can’t support Joomla 1.5. Most components are not Joomla 1.6 ready anyway. Funny that some decision makers would choose an opensource solution and then a expensive host. I believe that the security of the website depends on the website not the webserver.
The project has a dateline which for a moment elastic and the next firm and finalized. Flicker client are just so hard to please. It is a project that doesn’t make sense. The new website is identical to the old website. There is no need for a speedy move to cloud network if it is not going to work with joomla 1.5.
There is just so much project woes with working with this company.
- Datelines are not fixed, their people lax and then come back expecting things to be completed overnight.
- Expects things to flow beautifully when no instructions are given
- Conveniently forget to update me when payment is due
- Weird management person who just have to have the last word and tells you to move on when their action is demanding an explanation from you. This person turned my explanation to a self defense attack for his reputation. (Is this a sign of self denial of their wrong? Running out of sensible argument?)
- This management person seems to enjoy fire fighting and doing things by means of brawn instead of brain.
I can’t help but feel that the management person is deceptive from the start. Too self promoting but well.. let’s just say that when I checked out brags, they fall thru.
Collective Notes based on similar encounters. Sorry the race is not named to avoid my blog labelled as racist.
They are good persuaders. Too good, think salesperson who made you buy something you don’t want to buy and spend 15 mins following you around and talking to you about the goodness of their product.
“Can even trick the birdy in the tree to come down.” by a cabbie uncle. Cabbie uncles met a lot of people. Most of them are people savvy. Great people to have conversations with and learn from.
From another person, N:
- They can’t keep to their dateline and
- will wring their way out of the situation and try to make it appear it is your fault.
- You must give them a deadline and follow up with them a lot.
- They likes to argue or debate a lot.
- They like to do things without considering the bigger picture.
- They are very hierarchic in nature.
I observed all points in the people I worked with in that company. This person N is spot on!
Having shared the above observation. I must state that I have worked with some who do not display the signs above.
To take away
Better check out a company’s reputation or the staff before start of project. Do not take on projects on a shoestring budget with squeezy dateline from first time clients. It is usually troublesome. Important note to myself.
If the end client is mine, talking to me personally, I would tell them,
“Your website doesn’t needs to be in a cloud network, nothing in joomla is cloud ready. If you want, you are better off getting a network hosted with linux servers. Windows or Linux, both the same, you don’t have any classified information that requires such a big company like Microsoft to support”
So is it Azure or a Linux cloud network you are voting for?
System Development with a Design Firm?
Posted on | April 21, 2010 | 1 Comment
Hands up those design firms that are taking in system projects as well. Hands up those who REALLY have a functioning Tech team!
That’s lesser hands.
Designing and implementing a website is not the same as developing a System. The process that starts the both are different. Yes, the designer and the developer both have to go thru the waterfall life cycle. But that’s where the similarity pretty much ended. A real IT system development company will provide the client with a detail and accurate breakdown of the cost of development. But a design firm’s quote often fall short of the requirements expected by the client and also fails to convey the real scope of the project to the outsourced developers.
An application needs extensive documentation, more than mockups. Requirements, workflow, database documentation, deployment instructions, redeployment processes for the scripts & database. Changelog.Database synchronization, system backup. Logging and evaluation.
For a design website, Requirements, sitemap, deployment instructions, system backup. Logging and evaluation. Yes google tracker is the most popular tools used but what is done to analyst the data? Nothing I am sure. Just a ok so I know it, that’s good enough.
Readers, please feel free to point out if I have left out anything for the development & design processes.
Sadly, in Singapore, a big chunk of the budget is spent on Marketing, Branding and Ads. Less is spend on research, systems, websites are reproduced using cookie cutter method, without evaluating whether it is suitable, enhancing, improving or not.
Companies believe in that IT spending on ERP systems are beneficial to them. But often they can’t accept that R&D is needed for the best solution flow that fit their work processes, company culture & workers. Instead of expecting a full fledge system with the most advanced AJAX effects, capable of wonderment and fast turnaround time, settle for a prototype first. From a prototype, build up modules of the system to work on its own before linking up the whole flow. Really fixing and mending a live application is not R&D. There is no proper deployment processes and documentation.
If the company is unable to allocate budget for a prototype and on going development work for a system, why not settle for a hosted application?
I so wonder why do companies send their IT projects to design firm? Lack of budget? Don’t know any better? When the company don’t have development processes in place, it is a sign that your project might just be their first? Often these companies that outsource their ERP to Design Firms, are also the ones to go first when recession comes.
On the other hand, I have also seen designers who are also great programmers, judging from their portfolio. So I shall conclude that when companies refrain from spending on their IT projects, they could be just ignorant about IT & Web or they just plain don’t care.
Off the shelf software or custom build?
Posted on | September 17, 2008 | No Comments
When setting up a web application, owners have 2 choices. One is to use an off the shelf software, the other is to custom build.
Polls
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