levitra" /> levitra" />
Weather in Basra now: Click for Basrah, Iraq Forecast

Henry's Homepage
Blog Home
Contact me
(remove 'NOT_FOR_SPAM.' from my address)

Bookmark this page



previous month  MARCH 2024  next month
s m t w t f s
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18
19
20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31


SEARCH
 


RECENT ENTRIES
 
 
RSS ATOM


CATEGORIES
 
General [ 128 ]  RSS ATOM
    ACI  [ 52RSS ATOM
    Army Deployment  [ 113RSS ATOM
    Family  [ 67RSS ATOM
    Startups [ 6RSS ATOM
    STEM  [ 5RSS ATOM


BLOG ARCHIVE
 
RSS ATOM  Full archive
 
current month



20 Mar 2012
Record Tree Revisited
In 2006, ACI started working with Howard Sadler and his development team on a great concept: software to organize your life.

That’s only stretching it a little bit: Record Tree is an expertly designed tool to collect all the important things in your life, so that if you become seriously ill, someone can manage your affairs. This has immense appeal to those of us who have served in the military for any long deployment, anyone in healthcare who has seen the impact a sudden illness has on a family, and anyone who wants to be proactive for the benefit of loved ones.

We built an extensive inventory of important documents, and the key details about those documents, but we do not try to duplicate or store those documents. That wouldn’t be admissible in court, and might not be the latest version. But, knowing where every document is, and who the important contacts are, from your attorney to your lawn care, is essential in carrying on.

In 2006, our software was built around a SQL-Express database and enterprise-level tools. We made a robust application when what we really needed was a light, single-client application. Now, in March 2012, we have our new product! Thanks to the persistence of Howard, tireless work by Jason, and valuable input from many enthusiastic customers, we have a java-based version. The premise is the same: a standalone application that needs no Internet connection, and allows up to six family members to store every document and detail, then print reports from a handy wallet-card, to what we call the refrigerator report*, to an entire inventory.

Record Tree has a clean, new website, and is now compatible with all Windows platforms, and Macintosh systems above 10.6. Six years later, the vital documents and research is still just as relevant. Keeping this information private, until it needs to be shared with the right person, is still just as important.

Record Tree has a website, hosted and maintained at ACI.

*Refrigerator Report: a one to two page report you hang on your fridge. Emergency Response personnel often check this location for quick info on medications, emergency contacts, preferred physicians, allergies and medical alert conditions.
 
ACI , General , Startups
posted by  henry at  10:49 | permalink | trackbacks [54677]



25 Jan 2012
New River Mobile goes live with Valley Business Front
Last night, the Apple iTunes store informed us that our latest app, the Valley Business Front for iPad,was approved and ready for sale! While this isn't our first app, it is the first one we have published under our new Mobile App Development Division at ACI: New River Mobile.

Valley Business Front is an outstanding local business magazine featuring beutiful photos and well-written articles. Tom Field, Dan Smith, Nick Vaassen and the rest of the VB Front team do an amazing job each month, putting together relevant articles and promoting the great things happening in business in and around Roanoke and the New River Valley .



Now, readers with an iPad can download the latest release, take it with them wherever they go (even on a plane with no Internet signal), and bookmark favorites across multiple issues. Facebook, twitter and email integration is in there as well. We enjoyed putting this together, because we built an app that we will enjoy using ourselves!
 
ACI , General , Startups
posted by  henry at  14:32 | permalink | trackbacks [6695]



12 Jan 2012
Small, Efficient Teams are best
ACI got it's first big opportunity in 1998, when we were asked to develop a web-based solution for US Army budget management. We put together a team of three developers of moderate experience. In six months, we were able to field a solution that had hung up a 15-person team for over 2 years.
The reason for our success? We believe we did a better job of working closely with the customer, and communicating in the team.
Today I read a similar blog post, reinforcing the smaller is better concept with a few studies.
Regardless of the metrics and extrapolations, the general rule holds water:
How can small teams be so dramatically more efficient than large teams?

Communication and coordination overhead rises dramatically with team size. In the worst possible case where everyone on the project needs to communicate and coordinate with everyone else, the cost of this effort rises as the square of the number of people in the team. That’s such a powerful effect, in fact, that a large team couldn’t possibly hope to achieve the goal of everyone coordinating their effort. But a small team could.

QSM found another explanation for the huge cost differential between small and large teams. The defect rate for the large teams was five times greater than for the small teams. Defects consume time in discovery, documentation, and repair. That effort is obviously necessary, but doesn’t contribute directly to creating the desired software, and therefore inflates cost without any benefit to the schedule.

Other smaller-is-better axioms from our experience at ACI :

  • The average size of a custom software development firm is 5 to 11 full time employees (ACI is currently 15)

  • The corporate dynamic changes when a company goes from 20 to 35+; enter middle management and more layers.

  • Bigger size = more communication needs = more meetings.

  • Software developers HATE meetings.

  • Small firms typically need employees to wear more hats. This diversity gives smart developers higher job satisfaction.

  • Looking at the public company annual reports, the traditional "economies of scale" don't apply to custom software development.


 
ACI , General , Startups
posted by  henry at  12:55 | permalink | trackbacks [266]



10 Nov 2011
Encouraging Science and Technology Education
I've long been a fan of promoting education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Folks who know our family know that we have coached many robotics teams , and we're active in the local technology council as well as military STEM promotion.

I enjoyed this article on falling STEM numbers in USA Today on my iPad while working out at the Christiansburg Recreation Center.
Best quote: There is a global brain race, and the U.S. has been unilaterally disarming for years [Paul Saffo].

It's not all gloom, though. There are some bright spots, and we certainly want to continue promoting science as something really cool!




Followup, 11/14/2011: Eric and I exhibited with Team 401 at the Grand opening of the VT Collaboratory . Virginia Tech is making inroads in becoming the leading university in STEM programs. Mighty good!
 
ACI , Family , Startups , STEM
posted by  henry at  13:37 | permalink | trackbacks [1653]



10 Oct 2011
Startup Competition

Tomorrow at 9am starts the 1 minute pitch competition for Distilled Intelligence 1.0. I’ve just learned that the event IS going to be live-streamed! I invite anyone interested to join us at ACI to watch the competition!

The Startup Pitch Event Schedule is here.

The BIG deal is 54 companies pitching in 60 seconds each, 9:15-10:30 am. Follow-on rounds for those down-selected are at 12:30 (3 minute pitches “Gong Show”), and the top 11 at 2:30pm! Guess what? A Startup Comic is scheduled for 2pm.

Finalists (She Chooses plus 4 others!) are presented at 4:30pm.

Want to watch the business concept competition live at your own workspace ? Well, be that way if you must.
(requires pre-registration, but no fee)

Best of luck to Anne and all of us on the She Chooses! Team .
 
ACI , General , Startups
posted by  henry at  10:27 | permalink | comments [10] | trackbacks [188]





page 1 of 21 2