Project managers, Java experts, .Net developers and up and coming IT students gathered to swap industry gossip and discuss the hottest opportunities in the IT sector on Tuesday 4th December.

Three attendees scooped raffle prizes which included a gift voucher for Gars Chinese restaurant and meals for two at The Mesmerist provided by RDF.

‘I had a great night and met some awesome people,’ said Brighton based graduate Christina Hansen.

‘I’ve gained contacts and acquaintances, so it worked out,’ said Programmer Dominic Orme.

‘It was a successful evening. We unearthed local talent with a bright future. Can’t wait for the next one,’ said Business Consultant Jonathan Carr.

To attend our next event email Louise today.

For me, previous visits to ‘The Amex’ had been for a delicious pie-and-pint in Dick’s Bar before watching ‘The Seagulls’ ply their trade on the pitch. It was a whole different kind of “pitch” at the recent careers fair run there jointly by our two local universities – Sussex and Brighton. Students had the opportunity to pitch themselves to potential employers, and us employers the same chance in return - “a game of two halves” if you like.

It really was an exciting mix at the RDF stand. Our team of six comprised people who do the actual work, and we found students appreciated this – talking to fellow professionals about their career interests and what they might do when working with us, or our kind of business.

Our whole team was impressed by the interest shown in us as a company and in the calibre of the students themselves. Not that we are such strangers, as RDF has a proud record of employing local grads and undergrads over the years. What impressed me most was the sheer volume of talent. Of course I’d interviewed and worked with local grads and undergrads before, but did not expect to be so swamped with talent. Far from the day dragging at times, from the moment the doors opened to when they closed, we were on our feet talking to the next person heading towards us – and not only for a free stress-ball, LOL! Away from our stand, others too were busy, saying this was the best attended event of its type for many years.

Well, a great day out in itself is fine, but we are all about outcomes – and what outcomes! We collected specific information and contact details on over 150 students with relevant skills, qualifications and a genuine interest in joining RDF on our Graduate or Placement schemes or in Recruitment – now or in the coming years. RDF now has the hard task of following-up on all that interest, and the very difficult job of deciding which of the bright pebbles that washed up at The Amex that day will come to shine on our own beach.

Everyone was in anticipation as the judges sliced into their first cake… only 14 to go!!! Amongst the cakes there were also some savoury pastries, a Hansel and Gretel cake and my very own RDF gingerbread house. Although I was pretty certain I was going to win, Melanie’s Victoria Sponge beat us all to it with 1st place, Tillie’s chocolate house and Kathy’s cheesecake cookies came in at joint 2nd and Franco’s amaretto cake coming in at 3rd place. Everyone was then able to dive in and have a sample of all the delicious delights. We raised a total of £125 and with RDF doubling the takings, we were able to present ‘The Rockinghorse’ charity with a pleasing £250. Well done RDF, until next time we are all caked out.

User Stories rely on “conversations” between the product owner and the team, so the level of documentation can be poor as the system develops. Whereas with use cases the design work is documented up front so the system is more fully documented.

Having worked with clients using both highly structured use cases peppered with UML/OCL, and Scrum with user stories and acceptance criteria, I find myself wondering which is preferable and how can we combine the two to avoid the most common pitfalls.

Assuming that the requirements are defined at a high level, I have found that although user stories deliver the system or increment to the system that the business user (product owner) wants, including the ability to make adjustments and amendments quickly and easily during development, there is frequently no documentation as to the final structure of the system. This can prove problematic when trying to produce enhancements or trace faults. User stories are not updated, new stories are written, so if a change is required it is difficult to follow what needs changing and how. Use cases provide a model of how the system has been developed. When changes are made they are fully documented so the use cases are always an up-to-date description of system scope and behaviour.

We need to find a balance between the adaptability of user stories and the descriptive power of the use case. The more detail in the use case, if written up front, the more it contradicts the object of agile development where the developers have more leeway in the design process. By creating small informal use cases with simplified flows, not describing user interfaces or data formats in great detail but using wireframes and prototypes, it should be possible to convert them into user stories for the product backlog. Could we include the user stories within the use case, strengthening the documentation and providing a history of the development? Could we end up with User Cases or Use Stories?

On Friday the 13th of July 2012, seven Wincor Nixdorf UK and international employees embarked on a challenging bike ride in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support.

Starting at the Wincor Nixdorf offices in Wokingham, the team covered 120 miles on the first day in order to catch the last ferry from Ramsgate to Ostend in Belgium. Stage two of their challenge involved an arduous cycle across parts of Belgium and Holland, before finally finishing their journey at the Wincor Nixdorf HQ in Paderborn, Germany on day four.

The cyclists rode 400 miles in just four days, raising more than £7,500 for MacMillan Cancer Support in the process.

Congratulations to the team for their amazing achievement from everyone at RDF Group.

If you would like to read more about the team's journey or their fundraising progress, go to their charity page. To find out more about MacMillan Cancer Support and how you can get involved or set up your own fundraising event, have a look at their website for support and ideas.

There is a second category of bugs that I find unsettling because they could have been avoided by better communication. These are the ones where code behaves differently from specifications and models produced by analysts. I was once again reminded of how irritating this can be when I discovered the reason behind a bug that was raised a few days back. I don’t want to bore you with the gory details - in essence it came down to overreliance, by the developer, on a specific example I had included in the specification document and supporting model. The specification and model were correct, and so was the example, but I think the developer read the example and made an assumption about the general case, which in effect implemented a rule that the specification did not include.

This is just an example of bad communication. Doubly ironic because the example was included to improve communication, as specifications can be hard to read when they deal with general rules and have no examples.

So what is to be done to try and avoid this kind of ‘miscommunication’ bug? Here are five ways of dealing with it, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

At RDF, we strive to follow the first two practices in projects which adhere to our UP-based development process. The Unified Process is a risk driven iterative process, in which code is written and tested against precise specs and UML models. See my recent technical papers for more details.

Scrum projects use practices three and four. However, despite not having precise specs and models, we use acceptance criteria to test user stories, so code can fail these and miscommunication bugs raised. Reviews and walkthroughs are still useful to catch problems in complex areas before testing.

We have also built two systems in Mendix and found that the model/application is self-documenting, so the miscommunication bug never really occur in this type of project.

As a general rule, getting things right more often involves spending more time in conversations, reviews and workshops. No such thing as a free lunch, once again.

How’s the job hunt going? You got the interview. Great news! That means your CV is working for you, selling your assets and your abilities! Your recruiter is impressed, but now it’s show time…. The interview!

Your present job title and role, technical (hard) skills, your level of experience all look to be just what the client is searching for. A match made in heaven? Well, maybe – but to the client there are other considerations – such as, how will you fit the team, the company culture, what are you like to work with?

These skills are often referred to as ‘soft’ skills or personality based competencies, which companies value as much (and in some cases more) than technical skills.

Kate Lorenz, featured on AOL, kindly put together 10 of the most sought after traits that employers look for in candidates. Have a read. I put my own comments in and would love to hear yours too.

• A Strong Work Ethic
  

  Are you motivated and dedicated to getting the job done, no matter what? Will you be conscientious and do your best work? That means you need to drop the 9 to 5 attitude. In these financially challenged days people are employed to get the job done, not to clock watch.

• A Positive Attitude
  

  No one likes a grump. Are you optimistic and upbeat? Will you generate good energy and good will? We are not talking office clown – we are talking friendly, open and receptive to ideas, colleagues and change.

• Good Communication Skills
  

  Are you both verbally articulate and a good listener? Can you make your case and express your needs in a way that builds bridges with colleagues, customers and vendors? Think before you speak. Speak before you act. Communicate.

• Time Management Abilities
  

  Do you know how to prioritize tasks and work on a number of different projects at once? Will you use your time on the job wisely? I find this is a ‘must-have’ for many employers, and it is a real skill not to waste your own or your co-workers' time.

• Problem Solving Skills
  

  Are you resourceful and able to creatively solve the problems that inevitably will arise? Will you take ownership of problems or leave them for someone else? When faced with an issue, do you immediately seek senior management assistance or do you review the situation and offer a solution? Always remember that you are hired to solve the problems, not create them.

• Acting as a Team Player
  

  Will you work well in groups and teams? Will you be cooperative and take a leadership role when appropriate? Okay, so we all know there is no ‘I’ in team, but there is a ‘me’ and there are times when you have to step up to the plate and offer guidance. Be responsible and act accordingly, and always be accountable for your actions.

• Self-Confidence
  

  Do you truly believe you can do the job? Will you project a sense of calm and inspire confidence in others? Will you have the courage to ask the questions that need to be asked, and to freely contribute your ideas? See above! People are drawn to the positive and repelled by the negative.

• Ability to Accept and Learn from Criticism
  

  Will you be able to handle criticism? Are you coachable and open to learning and growing as a person and as a professional? Life is all about learning. Turn failure into success, by learning from it. Take criticism for what it is; an opportunity to improve and up your game.

• Flexibility/Adaptability
  

  Are you able to adapt to new situations and challenges? Will you embrace change and be open to new ideas? Nothing is as boring as listening to ‘in my day, we used to…’ Get with programme. Change is good, change is exciting, and change is inevitable!

• Working Well Under Pressure
  

  Can you handle the stress that accompanies deadlines and crises? Will you be able to do your best work and come through in a pinch? I like a bit of pressure; it sharpens me up and makes my day go faster. Time management (see above) is key. Map out what needs to be done and then focus on getting it done.

Keep these points in mind when you go for the interview. You got the interview because of your technical skills and your market knowledge. Your recruiter has ‘sold’ your credentials to the client – here is your chance – and it will very likely be your only chance to sell yourself to the client. Prepare and be prepared to impress!

When people talk about Java’s strengths, they will probably mention first of all the ‘write once run anywhere’ philosophy. In my view, this isn’t Java’s greatest strength, nor is it strictly true. The assumption occurs, because Java is part compiled down to bytecode, which then runs on a JVM, short for Java Virtual Machine. Technically the bytecode should run on any JVM. However, because there are 3 distinct variants of the Java libraries, the code will fail when trying to access libraries from the different variant it was compiled against. Additionally, various companies release their own JVMs, and the bytecode does not always run identically. A classic example is the IBM version, which handles several features, such as generics and autoboxing, in slightly different ways. Even when running against the same variant and JVM on the enterprise version of Java, different application containers have their own ways of setting up and executing the code that is generated.

I have always thought Java has other more significant strengths. Firstly, the number of feature rich, robust open source 3rd party libraries available provide both choice and significantly reduce costs. Secondly, it is simple and hard to get wrong, which means you can quite happily let someone without too much experience develop the more simple areas of the application and know they can’t do much harm, although it is always worth letting someone with experience define the architecture and design of the overall system. Additionally, code reviews are quick, tests are simple and development speed is fast. This is the main reason for being the teaching language of choice for many universities.

So, when is it appropriate to use Java as the language for your application? To answer this question properly, you really need to know what your application is going to do and which platforms you plan to run it on. On the enterprise front, Java is particularly powerful; you will probably find that most of your financial transactions have been processed by an application written in Java. Its enterprise edition was designed to scale easily and efficiently and communicates well with others. There is little reason not to use it within the enterprise, as it is cheaper to run, i.e. you don’t need a licence to run it, it provides hooks to get analytics of its performance and the modularity of the code is easily manageable. If it is a website, many other languages will do what you need, whether it is PHP or ASP.NET, however many of our clients use Java based UI frameworks such as Wicket or PrimeFaces to great success and with the ever increasing number of 3rd party toolkits, development is quicker and cheaper than ever. If you are writing a desktop application, then this is where the ‘write once run anywhere’ philosophy is properly leveraged and actually works. If you were writing for Windows only, then it would be a tossup between .NET and Java. However, you can achieve a decent native look and feel with Java and can be sure it runs on Mac OSX and Linux. Because Android uses the desktop variant of Java, porting a desktop application to the mobile device can be a relatively painless experience. Regarding mobile development, on Android Java is pretty much the only language you should use. On iPhone, it used to be the other way round, and Apple have been very insistent on developers writing in syntactically heavy Objective C, however they have relaxed their rules significantly. In 2011, Oracle showed off a Java application on the iPhone; but, it is still early days to know whether the language will become popular.

When Oracle bought Sun in 2010, Java was going through a midlife crisis, and the time between updates became protracted mostly due to infighting between members of the community. Other languages started catching up and .NET, Java’s main competitor, appeared to have not only gained ground but surpassed it in language features. Oracle has now provided a roadmap with planned releases on a near yearly basis, and plans to reduce the number of variants, and Oracle has already released the 7th version of Java. Java’s number of features is quickly catching up with its competitors and I have every faith that in 15 years, it will still be going strong.

About the Author

Jack Moxley has been developing in Java for the past 13 years. Although Java is his language of choice, he feels he can write this article without bias, as he can develop in more languages than he has fingers.

Five weeks into 2012 and how many of your New Year’s resolutions have you broken?

Well, I have yet to get up early and do my half mile power walk… on the other hand, I have managed to keep off the mulled wine, possibly due to the fact that there isn’t any left!

What are your resolutions for 2012? One of mine is to ensure I have a pipeline of candidates with the skills my clients are looking for. As a delivery professional, I often get calls from people asking me what technologies are in demand; what skills will make them more marketable? My next few blogs will be on how to make and keep yourself marketable in these challenging times; what technologies are expected to be hot, what soft competencies do employers look for and how do you capture a recruiter’s attention to ensure your CV gets sent for the job?

Let’s start with technologies - what skills will be in demand in 2012?

Here is Computerworld’s list of what looks hot for this year – based on a survey of 300+ IT hirers.

• Programming and Application Development
  61% plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months, up from 44% in the 2010 survey. This covers the gamut from website development to upgrading internal systems and meeting the needs of mobile users. I know my clients are always on the lookout for solid .NET skills. C#.NET is high on many lists and both Java and J2EE remain strong as well.
• Project Management (but with a twist)
  The twist is that they’re not going to just be looking for people who can oversee and monitor projects. They also want people who can identify users’ needs and translate them for the IT staffers, the increasingly popular business analysts. The tip here is to have and emphasize customer facing experience, whether key stake holders, suppliers or end users, clients want PMs who know how to and are comfortable with the business community.
• Help Desk / Technical Support
  Mobile operating systems have added a new dimension to help desk and tech support. Always in demand, MAC is a real plus, think of all those iPads and iPhones!
• Networking
  This demand is being fuelled partially by virtualization and cloud computing projects. The survey also revealed that execs will be looking for people with VMware and Citrix experience.
• Business Intelligence
  This is one to watch! Computerworld interprets this uptick to a focus shift in many companies, from cost savings to investing in technology. That will be nice if it pans out that way. BI buzzwords: Cognos, Oracle Enterprise and Hyperion, SAS, Business Objects and Netweaver.
• Data Centre
  Virtualization and the Cloud could also be behind the increased need for IT professionals with backgrounds in data centre operations and systems integration.
• Web 2.0
  Tech skills centred on social media will be in demand, with .Net, AJAX and PHP as key back-end skills, with HTML, XML, CSS, Flash and Javascript, among others, on the front-end.
• Security
  Although down from 32% in the 2010 survey, security stays a top concern of IT executives. Think ‘ethical hacking’.
• Telecommunications
  The survey indicates a demand for people with IP telephony skills, and for those familiar with Cisco IPCC call centre systems.

This list is just a snapshot of what hirers are looking for, so keep up to date with the market by staying tuned to the RDF Recruitment blog.

ITJOBBSADWATCH/2011

Nobody likes being delayed on the train but when it does happen, why not make the most of it? With the major train operators now offering an online ticket refund service, what could be handier than access to them all from a single App in the palm of your hand? RDF Group starts off 2012 with the launch of their new Train Refunds App, developed over the last month at their central Brighton office.

“The great thing about the Train Refunds App is that it enables you to deal with the refund, while you are delayed on the train. You don’t have to worry about retaining your ticket or remembering the details of a specific journey. With this App, you can have your claim sent off by the time you step onto the platform,” says Dave Wood, CEO of RDF Group.

With the Train Refunds App, users can save their preferred settings, such as favourite journeys, contact information and season ticket details for future use. If the network connection fails, the App saves your current form to the history tab, where users can also view their past submissions, and even use these as a shortcut to resubmit a frequent journey by simply changing the time and date of the delay.

Key Features:

• Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad - available from the App Store.
• Light footprint – less than 1MB, downloads in seconds.
• Stores your contact details and preferred settings.
• Current train operators available: First Capital Connect, Southern Railway, London Underground, London Overground and Docklands Light Railway - more to follow.
• Automatically saves an active form if the network connection drops or the device runs out of charge.
• Saves all historical submissions for future use and reference.

With almost twenty years of experience as an IT solutions company, RDF Group is firmly established within the industry, offering a wide range of IT solutions as well as consulting and recruitment services. With a head office in Brighton and an affiliate in Livingston, RDF Group’s offices combined houses about one hundred employees and a wealth of knowledge and talent.

Staff at RDF Group have already put the App to the test on a few delayed occasions, and Araceli Hurtado, Designer at the Brighton office comments: “On my way home from a training course in London, I was delayed for more than 2 hours and although I didn’t think the train company would pay any compensation due to the cause of the delay, I decided to give the App a try. Two weeks later I received a cheque in the post for the full amount of my ticket - it couldn’t have been more straightforward.”

Try out the Train Refunds App for yourself by visiting the iTunes App Store or go to the RDF Website for more information. For feedback or comments, please email trainrefundsapp@rdfgroup.com.

Sussex Enterprise recognised our long-standing, well established relationship with the local business community.

Working in partnership with Sussex Enterprise we will reach out to local companies, helping them to leverage IT to refine and enhance their business processes, adding value to their business.

RDF Group has a strong base of expert consultants, analysts and software engineers, based in Brighton, and can deliver a comprehensive portfolio of IT Solutions: from hosting and infrastructure through mobile optimisation of websites and application development, to complex enterprise solutions and bespoke systems.

Organisations I have worked with have often faced difficulties developing in an Agile way. The main issue is what I believe to be the major impediment to Agile usage - the, sometimes ideological, clash between existing working practices and Agile tends to disrupt the Agile process. For example, a development team may be reliant on an external team who are working in a waterfall mindset. This is where strong management is key in ensuring that other areas of the Organisation support the Agile team(s) in a timely fashion to avoid delays.

Some Agile and Scrum processes seem to work better than others when compared to other development frameworks. For example, although tools are available for task tracking (e.g. Jira), a task board on a whiteboard close to the development team works extremely well once the team gets used to their ownership of tasks and the board itself. However, some things take more getting used to - the User Stories for Agile projects that I have worked on are not always as complete as one might hope. This leads to confusion and difficulty when, for example, Sprint planning - the team is expected to commit to delivery of functionality that may not be sufficiently defined.

Overall, Agile can save development time and certainly gives a different and powerful slant on project 'ownership'. However, the best applications of Agile that I have seen take a pragmatic approach and only introduce the Agile processes that work alongside the Organisations existing methodologies. In these cases, it can be said that the Organisation is working Agile but with a small 'a'.

and you have to transfer data about groups and accounts in a data file, then make sure that your file structure does not look like this:

Use the same structure you have identified in the problem domain, that is:

The irony in this situation was that a robust domain model did exist and was the basis for the new software platform data and component structure. However the data files were designed by the team in charge of the legacy system, who had no access to these models and worked in a more traditional model-less fashion.

The same principles that apply to batch data files also appy to messages and parameters of service operations. Make sure these match the structure of the corresponding domain model elements, to reduce software complexity and make interfaces resilient to changes in requirements.

User Interfaces

UI requirements vary a lot according to the complexity of the task, the frequency of use, the type of user and so on. However I have found one element common to all applications where the end users are also the business experts: the concepts the users need to see and manipulate through the user interface must be the same concepts around which the data model and the system business architecture is organised. If differences exist, they will inevitably lead to higher costs in development and maintenance. New and changing requirements will become harder to accommodate. This philosophy has a few practical consequences:

• In complex domains, the domain model becomes the key artefact to share knowledge between business and IT. It is essential that it is produced in conjunction with the business, that the terminology used is agreed by all stakeholders, and that the model is widely understood and communicated. All design activities, UI design, data design and component design will be heavily based on this model. In several projects, visual diagrams depicting key parts of the model become a lingua franca for efficient communication between business and IT.
• Do not try to be clever and produce two separate models, one for business consumption and one for the technical team. Often IT designers are tempted to invent concepts and structures that might make a solution more reusable or generic, but do not match the thinking of the business people. This temptation is to be avoided at all costs.
• Do not pamper your business people by sheltering them from the complexity of their own business world. Attempts to make the user interface less transparent and more idiot proof will lead to inefficiencies and distortions that will not improve business processes and will alienate business people, preventing them from using their business knowledge when they use your application.

In summary, give business users visibility of the applications’ conceptual model of the data, and, conversely, represent the business users’ view of the world, as in their UI, in the underlying data model.

You will have guessed by now that I am a strong believer in building robust domain models as a prerequisite for project success. Models must be earnest in reflecting the business as seen by the business people. Domain modelling is not an academic exercise beloved by purists for its own sake. On the contrary, it is essential to the design of a solution that will last the test of time, especially new requirements.

If you have any feedback on my stories or have had similar experiences, I’d like to hear from you: Franco.Civello@rdfgroup.com.

http://www.vendorcom.com/event.php?event_id=109 For the networking event

http://www.vendorcom.com/event.php?event_id=110 For the conference

Both have experience of graphic design and web site design. We selected James and Mayur on the basis of their stylish work portfolio, their drive and commitment to deliver, and their communication and technical skills.

James has been with RDF since May and has already contributed to the rebranding of a web site for one of our major clients, as well as working on our own web site. Mayur is currently working for a mobile app project for a large corporation.

Both are enjoying the challenge of working as part of development teams that deliver software solutions such as mobile apps, B2B and B2C sites. In these projects, UI designers need to deal not only with demanding clients but also with equally demanding team members such as analysts, developers, technical architects, test analysts, project managers. They have to consider how their artefacts integrate with wider project artefacts, and use environments and tools that extend their technical skills in new directions.

We wish them both a rewarding career at RDF.

With sleek design and increased functionality the new site provides businesses of all sizes with an enhanced range of complimentary services now made accessible on one easy-to-use site.

RDF Group came to the market in 1994 and has its headquarters in the heart of Brighton with an additional development facility in Livingston, Scotland. Since that time the company has firmly established itself as a key player in the industry. With some of the best minds in the business RDF Group offer clients a wide range of design, development, testing and maintenance services. They also provide tailor-made IT solutions and recruitment services to an ever-growing and wide range of long standing clients.

Jade Taylor, Marketing Manager at RDF Group, said: “Not only does the new website provide much more information about RDF’s services, which broadly includes Software Development, Testing, Support and Maintenance and IT Recruitment, it also hosts a live jobs board, a technical blog, a wealth of case studies, company news, twitter feeds and more.”

“With its fresh new design and increased functionality, the new site provides for much more of a pleasant user experience, our visitors can now find the services they are looking for in seconds.” said Chief Executive at RDF Group, Dave Wood.

RDF Group have a respected and proven track record helping businesses with small projects, as well as sourcing the right staff and playing a key role in major development challenges. The new website now effectively conveys this whilst providing a forum for RDF's technical experts to share their knowledge via the new blog.

“Clients range from start-ups' to FTSE100 companies. The launch of the new website now looks set to see the company further develop existing relationships and expand its client base in 2011.” said Dave Wood.

Visitors to the site are encouraged to give their feedback by sending any thoughts or suggestions they may have to feedback@rdfgroup.com.

IIP is the UK’s leading people management business improvement standard, focused on meeting business needs and delivering improved performance to many organisations. RDF is extremely proud to retain the standard, recognising that it is essential for organisational growth.

Jo Scott, HR Manager of RDF Group, comments: “Since being awarded the accreditation three years ago, we’ve all worked very hard, not only to maintain current processes but also to significantly improve them, as recognised by our IIP Assessor.”

Kevin Newman, Investors in People Assessor for Inspiring Business Performance, comments: “Being awarded the Investors in people recognition is a great achievement. RDF’s processes have greatly improved – their communication methods are strong and they are excellent at recognising their people.”

~Ends~
For more information about Investors in People, visit http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/
For more information about RDF Group, for images or to publish this article, contact Jade Taylor on 01273 200100.