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September 1st, 2011
Excelisys celebrates 10 years as of 9/1/2011 in building, supporting, migrating, upgrading, tweaking, fixing, and integrating quality custom database solutions and web applications.
Specializing in technologies like FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Go, MySQL, MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Adobe Flex, PHP, AJAX, ASP.net, Integration with QuickBooks, Excel to FileMaker conversions, iPhone and iPad integration, and other various database technologies and frameworks for Web, Mobile, and LAN/WAN deployment strategies. Our goal is to foster solid relationships, provide exceptional value, extreme high quality, intuitive end-user usability and excellent customer service for our clientele.
If you are a new or existing client of Excelisys, we have a present for YOU! Find us on FaceBook or Twitter, send us some wishes via a Tweet or FB post and we will give you an hour of our time, on our dime!
We look forward to celebrating the next 10 years!
Tags: Birthday, Excelisys
Posted in Custom Development, FileMaker, FileMaker 11, FileMaker Go, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker10, MySQL, PHP, Web | No Comments »
April 28th, 2011
Why We Are Agile Developers
Standards and consistency are two important elements in the development of any software. As a developer, I employed many different types of standards over the years, including no methodology, waterfall, spiral and now agile, just to name a few. As the VP of Production for Excelisys, I saw the need to have a common methodology for developing all of our projects, regardless of the specific development tools or the people involved. With multiple project managers, an array of developers and an infinite variety of clients and projects, having a single development methodology streamlines operations across the board.
There are, as you may or may not know, so many methodologies from which to choose, the three most common of which are “waterfall,” “spiral” and “agile” development. Waterfall development, much like the image it evokes, is a “top-down” methodology best utilized when the developer and the client both know all of the details of the project up front and expect little change along the way. There is minimal back and forth between client and developer. Instead, there is an initial gathering of force and a rush of uninterrupted, full-steam-ahead development activity.
While waterfall development sounds great in theory, it is in fact unrealistic and idealistic, especially when creating custom solutions. Often times, clients are unaware of what they don’t know. They’re not sure what details to gather or what the scope of their solution could entail. In a waterfall development scenario, they are the blind leading the visionaries. As a result, instead of a Niagara Falls solution, they’re left with a trickle down the mountainside.
Spiral development is a modification of the waterfall methodology that accounts for continual feedback and revision, but still relies on a great deal of solidified details up front. So instead of an uninterrupted rush of water, spiral development includes a series of plateaus where the water can collect, spin and then fall to the next level. Metaphorically, that is.
We at Excelisys employed a spiral development process until we found that it could no longer accommodate both our talents for troubleshooting and our clients’ needs. What’s more, we found that we often did not possess enough information up front to utilize either of the aforementioned methodologies to their fullest potential. So I chose to adopt the third, waterfall-less agile development methodology.
Agile development is a lean development methodology that involves constant delivery and communication between developer and client.
The work is completed in pre-determined chunks that are presented and reviewed with the client before proceeding to the next stage of the solution.
Best of all, within the agile process, we develop against a defined set of features, written from a user’s perspective. These features are intended to be as specific as possible, and refer to a single distinct task that a user would perform, such as “print a report showing the monthly sales totals by clicking a button and specifying a date range” or “click a button on a form view to add a new invoice and go to the invoice data entry form.” Once all features are listed, they are prioritized, and assigned to specific stages of client review called releases and iterations.
It is important to reiterate the fact that in agile development, you only deliver as much as is necessary to complete the feature and nothing more. This eliminates loose ends and focuses the development. And, if better solutions arise along the way, the agile method allows for and assumes that a certain amount of re-factoring of code is going to be a part of the process.
We at Excelisys have found agile development to be an efficient and effective approach to solving our clients’ custom software needs. It allows us to begin developing right way, without the long discovery and specification time required by the waterfall and spiral methodologies. It affords us the opportunity to work closely with our clients to develop the solution that is perfect for them. Finally, agile development encourages open communication and collaboration, as clients have a great deal of input into the functionality and design of the solution, and we have the ability to quickly adapt the development to suit the needs of the client.
Ultimately, the agile development process best reflects Excelisys’ organizational strengths and talents, as well as our approach to building strong, collaborative relationships with our clients. In The Agile Manifesto, the creators of the agile development process might have said it best when they outlined the values system of the agile approach:
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
“While there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.”
We couldn’t agree more. And that’s why we’re agile developers.
Author: Kurt Knippel – VP Production/Project Manager, Excelisys, Inc.
Posted in Application, Custom Development, Developer, Development Process, FileMaker Pro, MySQL, PHP, Uncategorized, Web | 1 Comment »
September 30th, 2010
The Illusion of Fixed Pricing
The economy sucks, and we’re all working within tighter budgets that have been squeezed down to the bare essentials. In this economic climate, when choosing between custom solutions providers who employ fixed pricing or those who charge by the hour, fixed pricing would appear to be the right choice. At first glance, it appears to allow you to set aside a pre-determined sliver of an already thin budget and afford you the opportunity to forecast a number of different projects with greater accuracy.
But appearances can be deceiving, especially when you’re seeking a custom solution. In fact, I would argue that a truly custom solution cannot be created within a fixed pricing model. How could one promise to deliver a custom solution—one made according to the specifications of a unique individual—within a pre-determined framework? In other words, if you do not know EXACTLY where you are going, and no one has gone there before, then you cannot know how long or difficult the journey will be.
Cutting Corners, Padding Hours and the Bait and Switch
The truth is, in the world of fixed pricing, quotes and bids, someone loses, and that someone is usually the unsuspecting client. In order to stay in business, businesses have to turn a profit. Some of them ensure that they turn that profit by padding their fixed prices and their quotes so that you pay more for less work. Others low–ball on the front end—or offer something for free—and pad their hours later. (Think about it: a profitable business wouldn’t low–ball itself on a fixed price.)
Still others hit you with the bait and switch: They get in the door on a low-ball price, go over on hours, play dumb and then hope that you’re in deep enough to surrender to their demands for additional hours until the job is complete. In other words, they bank on your exhaustion with the process.
Fixed pricing also stifles creativity and TRUE problem solving. The best solution for your unique needs might take more time or more research than originally estimated; a better solution might be discovered midstream that would necessitate additional hours of work. When a business operates within a fixed price, it will turn to the kinds of solutions that have been profitable for them in that pay range in the past. Corners are cut. Crappy code is produced. The idea of a “custom” solution is abandoned. Clients are furious.
Penalties for Customization
Another shady practice that advocates of fixed pricing employ is to build into their contracts a clause that enables them to begin charging you by the hour once your solution exceeds the original fixed budget. Why do they do this? Because every change you make, every little thing you add—in short, every time you wish to give input that would render your solution more customized—affects the time required for the project. And that’s when they pounce.
Why Pay for Anything Besides Completed Work?
Truly custom solutions involve significant client input and change. The more a firm gets to know you and your unique needs, the more efficiently they can work on your behalf. Many pre-packaged, fixed pricing solutions leave little room for the depth of discovery that customization requires.
NO ONE can claim to have the psychic ability necessary to quantify the unquantifiable. That’s why, when you hire a firm that charges by the hour, you pay for the work they complete. Period.
Disclaimer: Some amateurs might view an hourly billing model as a free pass to rack up ridiculous hours of work on your dime. You will know these shysters when you see them. But rest assured, a consummate professional will respect your budget and stay within agreed upon parameters. That doesn’t mean you can expect the Taj Mahal on an outhouse budget, but it does mean that you can expect to get what you pay for.
Author: Christo – Founder/CEO of Excelisys, Inc.
Tags: Custom Development, Hourly versus fixed pricing
Posted in Application, Developer | 4 Comments »
September 11th, 2009
Engineers at FileMaker Inc. have finally dispelled a rumor.
During the recent FileMaker Developer Conference in San Francisco last month, quite a few attendees approached us asking whether a statement heard in one of the sessions was true or not. It seems one of the presenters from FMI suggested the idea that Excelisys‘ now famous drag-n-drop technique was not necessarily reliable and should be used with caution.
The statement was made in recognition of the fact that the technique, which allows you to create a once-impossible user interface feature, is based on what engineers call an “unexpected behavior” which could possibly change in future versions of FileMaker Pro. However, this behavior is NOT a bug, and is in fact considered a feature by many developers.
The behavior in question is the fact that an auto-enter calc will trigger before a script trigger is executed. Discovering this behavior was a surprise to many, including FMI engineers.
We wanted to set the record straight, so we spoke with FileMaker engineers. The word finally came down from them this week that there is almost no likelihood of this behavior changing anytime soon. Of course, FMI can’t guarantee the low-level behavior will persist in future versions, nor would we expect them to. But we are confident that such a change is highly unlikely.
So relax and integrate this amazing technique into your solutions with confidence. The advice to use with caution is generally made when any technique is dependent on an unexpected behavior. But with a confirmation direct from the “horse’s mouth”, as it were, we consider this a green light.
Tags: DevCon, Developer Conference, Drag-n-Drop, Excelisys, FileMaker, FileMaker 10, Free, script triggers, Tip, tips-n-tricks
Posted in Developer, FileMaker, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker10 | No Comments »
September 4th, 2009
EXCELISYS IS NOW 100% SNOW LEOPARD COMPATIBLE
South Bend, IN, September 3, 2009 — Excelisys, Inc., a database solutions and consulting organization specializing in quality custom database application design, development, and consulting for LAN, WAN, Web, and Mobile deployments, and a member of the FileMaker Business Alliance, is pleased to announce that all of their FileMaker® Pro development and consulting practices, abilities and methodologies are fully functional and 100% compliant with the new release of the Apple® Mac OS® X 10.6.
Snow Leopard Compatibility
All of the following Excelisys practices are fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.6, a.k.a. Snow Leopard: Initial Free Consultation, Project Scope Gathering, Design Specification Production, Estimating, Interim Build Delivering, Final Deployments, and most importantly, Ongoing Support.
“We are very excited and pleased that our services are 100% compatible and fully functional with this new Mac OS release,” said Christo, CEO and founder of Excelisys. “Our methods are now bug-free and ready to use!”
Scott Mosher, Business Development Manager at Excelisys, is confident that the company’s quick response time was a key element in their smooth transition. “Keeping up with evolving software and operating systems is integral to the success of any good development and consulting firm. At Excelisys, we worked quickly and efficiently to update our practices and policies to adapt to this new OS. We are most confident that our services will continue to be as rock solid as they have historically been, and plan to move forward with no interruptions.”
Geoff Ryle, President and Co-Founder of Excelisys, envisions immediate benefits for the company’s clients. “With the release of Snow Leopard, our clients can now enjoy enhanced productivity and superior performance with the solutions we build for them.”
“The entire computing industry is moving from 32-bit to 64-bit technology, and it’s easy to see why,” explained Greg Furry, VP of Technology at Excelisys. “Today’s Mac computers can hold up to 32GB of physical memory, but the 32-bit applications that run on them can address only 4GB of RAM at a time. 64-bit computing shatters that barrier by enabling applications to address a theoretical 16 billion gigabytes of memory, or 16 exabytes. Does that scare you? It shouldn’t. At Excelisys, we’ve been planning for the 64-bit changeover for 8 years.”
Snow Leopard Discount
To commemorate this auspicious occasion, Excelisys is offering discounted hourly rates until September 30th, 2009, and bonus hours based on time purchased and used. Call one of our FileMaker® experts today at 866-592-9235 or e-mail us at info@excelisys.com to find out the details of this extraordinary offer!
About Excelisys, Inc.:
For over 8 years, Excelisys, Inc. has been helping companies become more efficient, reliable, and profitable by providing excellent, integrity-driven consulting and development software services. From custom FileMaker® Pro database development and consulting, to the eX-File jump-start products, to Web Site/Application design, development and consulting services. Excelisys is should be your first strategic partner of choice for all your company’s technology needs.
Contact:
Excelisys, Inc.
South Bend, IN 46635
Phone (sales): 866-592-9235
Media Contact: 574-273-5805
Email: info@excelisys.com
Web: http://www.excelisys.com/
Copyright 2009 Excelisys, Inc. All rights reserved. FileMaker Pro is a registered trademark of FileMaker, Inc. Apple, Mac, and Snow Leopard are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc.
Tags: Apple, Mac, Mac OS X, Macintosh, Snow Leopard
Posted in Application, Developer, FileMaker, FileMaker Pro | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2009
Excelisys is once again a major sponsor for the FileMaker Developer Conference. Excelisys has been a sponsor for the FileMaker DevCon for the last 7 years, this the largest gathering of FileMaker developers in world.
Join us at the Hilton San Francisco on O’Farrell Street, August 13-16, Thursday through Sunday for the annual FileMaker Developer Conference 2009. You’ll get the most intensive technical FileMaker educational opportunity of the year and you can stop by our booth and get some advice, assistance, and maybe a goodie or two to take home!
Tags: DevCon
Posted in Developer, FileMaker, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker10 | No Comments »
April 21st, 2009
A group from Excelisys consisting of Andrew Persons, Mike Duncan and Geoff Ryle recently participated in the recording of an Adatasol podcast that was just released. We had a great time, and enjoyed talking tech and FileMaker with co-hosts Dan Weiss and Theo Gantos. In the podcast, we discussed our latest free “tips-n-tricks” postings that take advantage of FileMaker Pro 10‘s new script triggers feature. Check out this and past podcasts at their website or on iTunes.
Tags: eX-Files, Excelisys, Excelisys Business Tracker, FileMaker, FileMaker 10, FileMaker 7, FileMaker Business Tracker, FileMaker Pro, PHP, podcast, Tip, tips-n-tricks
Posted in Developer, FileMaker, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker10, Mike Duncan, PHP | No Comments »
April 2nd, 2009
A group from Excelisys consisting of Andrew Persons, Mike Duncan and Geoff Ryle participated in the recording of an Adatasol podcast last night. We had a great time, and enjoyed talking tech and FileMaker with co-hosts Dan Weiss and Theo Gantos. In the podcast, we discussed our latest free “tips-n-tricks” postings that take advantage of FileMaker Pro 10‘s new script triggers feature. Check out past podcasts at their website or on iTunes, and stay tuned for our upcoming episode.
Tags: Excelisys, FileMaker, FileMaker 10, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro 10, Free, podcast, tips-n-tricks
Posted in Application, Developer, FileMaker, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker10, Mike Duncan | No Comments »
January 21st, 2009
Excelisys Seeks 2 FileMaker Experts for 40 Hours a Week:
- Certified Lead FileMaker Pro Developers
- Junior FileMaker Pro Developers
EXCELISYS, Inc. (www.excelisys.com), a custom database solutions
development and consulting group, is currently seeking talented and
motivated individuals to join the Excelisys FileMaker production team.
Our goals are to foster solid long-term technology partnerships with
our customers, and provide a creative and positive environment for our
team members that empowers each with the confidence to thrive and do
his or her best.
You’ll be working side-by-side (either virtually or physically)
with some of the best-of-the-best in the FileMaker development
industry while honing your own skills and talent designing, developing,
and managing a variety of custom FileMaker projects.
The benefits of being part of the Excelisys team are numerous:
- Work wherever you like – at home, at Starbucks – anywhere!
- Pick your own hours – bit of a night owl? No problem.
- Tap the knowledge pool of our talented and experienced team
- Learn while you work – think you’re hot now, just wait!
- In-house contests that award winners with trips and mula!
- Advance access to new technologies and product development
- Reimbursement of the FileMaker Certification Exam fees!
- Better pay and incentives for Certified FileMaker Pro Developers
- We help you stay organized using our web-based project mgmt system
- A refreshing “culture” that stimulates growth and emphasizes individualism
————————————————————————————————————-
Here’s what some of our developers have to say about working with Excelisys:
“I used to spend a lot of my time looking for development work or
chasing down clients who owed me money. In between, I’d squeeze in
the time to do the actual work. Even though I charged a decent hourly
rate, I was really making much less since I couldn’t work 40 hours a
week, let alone 20. Excelisys has allowed me to focus on what I
really love most: creating, designing and programming. I don’t have
to wear all those other hats anymore; instead I have more time to
work and earn a living, plus more leisure time to spend with my family!”
“Since joining Excelisys I’ve learned so much. I used to think I was
a pretty good programmer; they must have thought so too since they
hired me. But now I’ve become so much more valuable! It’s not enough
to know how to program, you’ve got to know how to get the customer
excited about the work, show them your passion. Before, I used to try
to impress them with some wicked code I wrote. But since it’s hard to
see what’s under-the-hood, that wasn’t always enough. Being part of
the Excelisys team has taught me not only how to be a better
developer, but how to present my work with much higher value and keep
the customer steadily satisfied and confident.”
“I’m proud to work with Excelisys. They’re not just another meat
grinder looking for “code monkeys”. They are the real deal. They
truly care about their customers, AND their developers!”
————————————————————————————————————-
The individuals we’re looking for can handle projects of all sizes
and possess strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills. In
addition to being well organized, efficient, and able to work with
limited supervision, candidates must be reliable and possess strong
communication skills.
These openings are for skilled and experienced FileMaker developers
willing to commit to 40/hrs a week who can work well within a virtual
office environment under minimal supervision as well as part of a team.
VERY IMPORTANT- SAMPLES OF YOUR FILEMAKER WORK WILL BE REQUIRED!!
We are looking for both junior and senior level developers…
PLEASE, FILEMAKER NOVICES NEED NOT APPLY!
Min. requirements for these 2 positions include:
- 4+ years experience developing with FileMaker Pro (1-3+ years with v7/8/9)
- Strong understanding of relational database design
- Working knowledge of complex calculations and conditional scripting
- A good eye for human interface design
- Experience with requirements gathering, cost estimating, and scope preparation for custom FileMaker projects
- Must be a team player
- Must have broadband (Cable/DSL) internet access or better
- Mac AND Windows workstations, or the ability to run Windows and OSX
- Working knowledge of OSX, Win XP, NT, 2000, 2003 and Vista environments a plus
- Hands-on experience working with FileMaker Pro Server & (Advanced) a plus
- Committed to making and meeting deadlines
- FileMaker certification preferred, but not required
Optional BONUS Skills:
Proficiency in Web programming languages such as HTML, Lasso, PHP,
and XML as well as development experience with Servoy, .NET, SQL
Server, MySQL, ODBC, JDBC, and Excel is a definite plus.
Responsibilities:
- Reports to Project Manager
- Works close and participates with Project Manager and Client from concept to completion
- Provides weekly build deliverables and progress reports
- Writing and debugging code for custom solutions
Compensation and perks:
- Hourly ($30-$60) plus bonuses and LG commissions (lead generation).
- Hourly rate determined by skill set, proficiency & certification status.
- Annual bonus plans based on performance
To apply for a position, send your resume in PDF format to:
jobs@excelisys.com
We review all employment submissions.
Tags: jobs employment
Posted in Developer, Job, MySQL, PHP, Web | No Comments »
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