RE: Design shift of view

[Buck Calabro <mcalabro@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tuesday, July 21, 1998 3:36 AM, James W. Kilgore [SMTP:qappdsn@ibm.net] 
wrote:

-snip cool stuff about design paradigms-

> In my opinion, we (IT professionals) are still at level 4.  To advance 
to
> step 6
> does require a radical change in design philosophy and therefore
> application
> development tools. Yet, our employers/clients are the owners of a xxxxxx
> enterprise.  Using information technology in a newer light requires that
> designers understand the "broadened" viewpoint of the enterprise as a
> whole and
> move beyond hyperthyroid calculators, glorified typewriters and filing
> cabinets.

This is a great analogy, but I see code (and coders) that are still at 
step 2, i.e. they don't really consider the ramifications of moving a 
CHAIN or setting a new indicator (no, not my code <g>!)  That's why a 
discussion like this is so valuable: every new idea that people are 
exposed to opens one's mind a bit more...

May I suggest that a broadened viewpoint is valuable in and of itself, and 
that a better class of solutions will come about *without* the absolute 
necessity of a radical change in philosophy.  All too often, people hear 
about a new paradigm, etc., and see such things as the "flavour of the 
month."  Rather than focus on the differences between existing design 
concepts and newer ones, perhaps we should focus on the similarities.  The 
sale would sure be easier...

Buck Calabro
Commsoft, Albany, NY
mailto:mcalabro@commsoft.net

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