[Also in Fair Trade Technology]

While researching material for our new training manual on "Introduction to Software Engineering", I came upon this article [01].  It was an interview with Jim Johnson (Standish Group) about what the group's highly influential CHAOS Report came to be, how it's done and the role of Agile in successful projects.

And that's it.  In 2004, Agile Process ranked fifth in the top ten project success factors.  Iterative development and extreme programming have proven itself to simply work.  The whole idea of chunking projects into small manageable pieces make it possible for a group to find out what's going wrong and how to correct the situation before it gets any worse.

Then again, this is software development.  I'm wondering if this can also help in some other type of project.

References:
[01]  InfoQ: Interview: Jim Johnson of the Standish Group

[From The Geekette Speaketh]

Version Control Systems (VCS) have been around since the time people started developing software. It's an electronic way for keeping track of changes that have been made in the code. It also allows one to go "back in time" to the previous versions.

Though it is regularly used in software development, not many people know that VCS can also be used for publications. Few people take the time to know the versioning system built in to Microsoft Word and simply resort to saving their current work as a new file when major changes come up.

But what if you're typing your work in something other than a Microsoft Office product? There are free open source VCS available on the internet. Some options to consider (note that all of these are available on almost any operating system):

• Concurrent Versioning System (CVS or CVS-NT for Windows)
  
• Subversion (allows you to synch over the internet)
  
• Bazaar-NG (allows you to synch over the internet)
  
• Monotone (peer-to-peer)
  

I would think that some publication houses make use of some sort of versioning system. If not, items such as the one above would be a great help to them. As for myself, as soon as I've moved my site to the new server I plan to set up either Subversion or Bazaar so I could have a place to keep track of my writing projects.

Start:

Mar 28, '06

IF YOU'RE THE OWNER OF A SMALL- OR MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESS:

PC Magazine Philippines, in partnership with Intel Microelectronics Philippines and Microsoft Philippines, invite you to a SEMINAR ON HOW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED TO YOUR BUSINESS ADVANTAGE.

It's a WHOLE DAY seminar, inclusive of BUFFET LUNCH AT THE DUSIT HOTEL NIKKO, morning and afternoon snacks, seminar materials and certificates of participation. Yes, it's at the DUSIT HOTEL NIKKO, at the Ayala Center, Makati City.

And IT'S FREE!

You see, with two of the largest I.T. companies on board, we can afford to give participants all of the above benefits and advantages. The only thing that our partners ask for is that we provide them with QUALITY PARTICIPANTS.

And this is where you come in.

If you happen to own a small- or medium-sized business, whether it be a family firm, a partnership, a corporation or a single proprietorship, and if you really want to know what the latest I.T. technologies are and how they can help you, then please do join us. It's a ONE DAY EVENT that you won't regret participating in. And it's free, with no strings attached, so you have nothing to lose!

Well okay, there IS one string attached. You see, the seminars will already happen NEXT WEEK:

* For wholesale/retail or trading-oriented businesses, MARCH 28 (Tuesday)
* For manufacturing-oriented businesses, MARCH 30 (Thursday)
* For service-oriented businesses (including accounting firms, legal firms, etc.), MARCH 31 (Friday)

So we really need your reservations NOW because, since it IS free, there will only be LIMITED SLOTS.

If you believe yourself to fit the participant profile, and you sincerely want to learn about the latest technologies that can be at your disposal (not to mention a free buffet lunch at the Dusit!), we need you to reserve NOW.

Please email us your NAME, COMPANY, POSITION, and CONTACT INFO (mobile, office, email) at editors@pcmag.ph

OR call us at the HINGE INQUIRER PUBLICATIONS office at 813-4396, 840-0196, or 813-6848 local 804 and 805.

OR fax us the above info at 759-2022 to 24.

And we will get in touch with you and take care of the rest.

Frankly, we couldn't think of a better way to spend one hot summer day -- learning about how the latest in information technologies can help your business, being pampered and getting free meals, and mingling with fellow owners of SMEs.

We'd love to see you there. But you'll have to reserve NOW.

Another website talking about the local tech scene.

If you really want to know what's happening on the local tech scene, here's one of the sites to go to.