Group Development

[russellmcox]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to manage a project where there are more than one Developer working on a project at the same time, from different locations?

Regards,

Russell Cox

[email protected]

[kenneth2k1]

Interesting question.

I recall from school that this is mostly done with large management systems written in C (+, ++). One development team would create the accounting module, say, and another would build the HR system, etc. Then these sub-tasks would have to be integrated.

This is where design and working off a common model is really essential.

I don't know... Does anyone do this type of task delegation with FM? I would think that it could be done as long as the different teams were working on separate files.

ken

[CobaltSky]

There are quite a few examples of folks doing team development of this kind. I've been a participant in such arrangements on a number of occasions and across several continents.

In addition to the issues that Ken raises, an important issue is 'standards'.

In a sense it doesn't matter so much what the standards are so long as they exist and all participants in the project are working to the same set.

There is no universal set of standards - and you'll find an abundance of them available for download from various companies and ineterset groups etc. A couple of examples are available from:

http://www.dataworks.ca

http://www.coresolutions.ca

I've yet to see a single set of standards that I would be comfortable with for all instances, but they nevertheless provide a useful management tool.

[Fitch]

Use a FileMaker or web-based checkout system, and keep all your files on a central server. We actually move files on the server when we check them out, so we have a "Checked In" folder, a "Tom has out" folder, etc. Each time you check a file out, make a backup of it, so you can always revert if needed.

Comment your scripts heavily! We use initials and dates along with the comments.

[Anatoli]

We first created Master template for the whole project. All the standard routines, security and layouts were there. We numbered the scripts and commented them heavily.

Then we just make fresh copy of Master template for each participant with specific tasks defined and then it was quite easy work, because if you need some routine, it is the same as in all other files.

For example "break from loop for administrator" was always script 0.28. If administrator need to break from loop, by holding Shift+Ctrl+Alt it will get Stop Loop Yes/No dialog, but only administrators access level, not users or managers.

[_ian]

Filemaker does not lend itself well to group development. However it can be done. The different locations aspect does introduce it's own issues.

I spent several months working on a large project where I collaberated with a developer in Los Angeles (I'm in London). The time difference worked to our advantage because he would start work on the files in the morning after i finished in the afternoon. This worked quite well. The big thing was not so much standards, because we pretty quickly got to know each others style, but communications. when i handed off the files in the afternoon I would phone L.A. as well as emailing a detailed report on everything I had written. Likewise i would start off my morning with an email from the L.A. developer. Generally we also tried to work on different components of the system to avoid problems.

Most of the other team development I've done was with people in the same location, sitting right next to one another so we were able to minimise the issues...

Ian

[JerrySalem]

I also used to work on a project with a couple of developers. Up to 7 at one time. We used a 'check in and out system' that was supposidly and 'industry standard'. It was very cumbersom, but it put us all in a correct framework.

Our work flow was to have a 'golden copy' on a server. When we needed to work on a part of the system we checked out the files we needed. Copied them to our local computers (along with a complete file set). When we were done, we checked in the files we took and copied those files into the 'golden' folder.

Hope this helps.

[MetaSys Software]

Hi,

I manage projects in FM Pro where six developers are simulatneously working on the same file. They are at the same location right now. However even if the developers are from different locations, I think in FM Pro environment, the project manager has to be very organised in task allocation. He should schedule the project in such a way that the team starts with 3 developers in the beginning and later more developers can be introduced. In this way we can handle dependent tasks simulatenously. Also get upto a stage of development wherein some developers can work offline only developing scripts because integrating scripts into the application offline is the easiest task in FM environment. When the developers are from different locations we can make use of softwares like VSS connect to check in / out files and restrict other users to modify the file.

Yes, we must define and follow the standards, may be created for the project that we are working on. There must be a QA / integrator person keeping watch on the development.

This is the way we manage projects.. and it works

Regards