Software App Developer - needed for advise

[beeboybee]

Hi all i remember some threads that i can no longer find discussing Software developing Etc......

This is an area i know very little about.

I work in a very specialist industry Tv?Film and have a very viable idea for some software but i am unsure how to take this further.....
i am provisionally looking for some advise but if it went well i would be in a position to invest some ££ to get things moving with the right person....
i am Liverpool based but regularly visit Somerset and North wales.
i hope some one can point me towards a Software genius.

 

[beeboybee]

thanks for the interest guys... i am still working out the best way to explain my project and understand what software i need, and people to make it happen.
any help would be amazing

thanks all

 

[Hombre]

I'm not sure from your reply if you have had a number of PMs, or are tongue in cheek letting us know that you haven't?

If you were to suggest a possible target platform such as Windows, Linux, Apple, Android, etc. that you might rattle an appropriate cage and could get more response.

Alternatively a software development type of forum might give you significantly more hits, although there are developers on this forum. Not all of them visit every day however.

 

[beeboybee]

Busted... i was a shameful bump!

i have had a couple of people interested so far.

i dont really understand the differences between Windows, Linux, Apple, Android systems and how they effect what can be achieved.

at the moment i am trying to jot down my ideas to make it simpler to explain to people.

thanks for the idea for looking for a developers forum. i am also cautious about giving too much info to some one unless they steal my idea, as silly as that sounds....

 

[Winker]

I graduated with a honours degree in software development in 2000, but im no means an expert, once graduated I went on to write the Genesys software for Psytech (psychometric testing software). But gave up programming after that. I do write small pieces of software for myself, but nothing commercial anymore. Send me a PM outlining your thoughts and i will do my best to help you out or at least get you on the right path.

 

[Drew]

Hi
Like Winker I am happy to give you feedback etc if you want - I am not a developer but I am a freelance IT Consultant and might be able to validate/poo poo ideas etc.

I might be able to link you up to coders/designers etc. (on all sorts of platforms) but you are right not to be to free with your ideas...... if they are viable then they could be nicked!!

 

[RoofTops]

If you are worried about the idea being nicked you need to get a confidentiality agreement drawn up - speak to a solictor. It may not cost that much because if you find the right person they may have a template they can adapt with little effort.

With the agreement signed by both sides you could then outline your ideas to people. Your legal advisor could also help later if things reach the stage of needing contracts written.

However, such agreements are not totally bomb-proof but they are better than nothing because sooner or later, if you can't code yourself, you are going to have to explain what it is you are trying to do.

 

[beeboybee]

all good info guys,thank you
is there a recognised way/system of making charts or how parts of the software should link?
or will some doodles on paper do?

 

[RoofTops]

There are recognised methods for analysing sytems and representing the logic required but these are really for the software developer to do - but as an example there is one reproduced below. If you Google "systems analysis" and the same with "images" added you can find out more. What I think you are trying to do is draw a high level diagram of the system, what I knew as a Level 0 diagram but I suspect things have moved since I did my course in the days when there were still valves in computers.

 

[RoofTops]

Forgot to add image:

 

[alanf]

all good info guys,thank you
is there a recognised way/system of making charts or how parts of the software should link?
or will some doodles on paper do?

You may be starting too far into the process. Start with what you are trying to achieve for the user. Choosing 'how to' comes later.

 

[beeboybee]

Just making myself a flow chart now trying to make sense of it all.....

will post Asap for some feedback if possible

 

[beeboybee]

Here it is hope it makes sense, without giving all the details away its hard to describe.....

 

[beeboybee]

lets try that again

 

[RoofTops]

Doesn't help me I'm afraid. Why are the outputs from Orders 1 and 2 different? i.e. why does Order 2 go to 2 goose eggs each of which has a different structure to the output from Order 1?

 

[Hombre]

Multi displine information management system, for program making. Database oriented, without a doubt.

You may be looking for someone with strong database analytical skills.

Your diagram seems to depict the flow of information, but an entity relationship diagram would be required to establish the tables required, their relationships and indicative of the required processing. Pretty much the tip of an iceberg I suspect.

I have been wrong before though . . .

 

[rae]

You may be starting too far into the process. Start with what you are trying to achieve for the user. Choosing 'how to' comes later.

This is the important bit. What does it do for the user that they cannot do with current products. How will they do it? Why?

This is called "Functional Design", and it comes at the start of the development process. Lots of people (and quite large organisations) forget this bit and end up in a pickle later on.

Choices of operating system, database and the like are way down the line. At the moment you are working out if it needs to run on a mobile phone or a PC or both.

Your process model looks like SAP (big enterprise planning package) from 60,000 feet....

 

[AnotherNewBee]

The first thing you need to do is put down a description of what it is you want your new system to do. Start getting a Requirement Statement together.

Once you have that, and it as clear as you can make it, start approaching the right sort of people to start turning it into a workable system. They'll help you with a Feasibility Study, and eventually work through all the stages necessary to choose the right hardware platform, the right language, the right data storage (Oracle, DB2, MySQL) and eventually get to coding, testing, documentation, implementation, training, support and enhancement.

The stages necessary will depend on what it is you want to achieve, who the end users will be, and the plans you have for the future of the system.

If you want to get in touch, PM me. I have over 20 years doing all of the above in various countries around the world. I'm likely to be a bit rusty, especially with coding, but the principles remain the same. Good project management.

If you want more options, take a look at Elance on the web. There are other sources of virtual worker, but that seems to be about the best for systems design/development people.

 

[Nellie]

The first thing you need to do is put down a description of what it is you want your new system to do. Start getting a Requirement Statement together.

A thousand times this.

You need a system when you actually know what it is that you need to do and how you need to do it

 

[beeboybee]

Well this software idea has moved on a bit.... I now have a long long list of requirements , and I have started doodling how the forms will look onscreen, I have a meeting set up for next week with software company, they have sent me a NDA form to fill in. I will let you all know how I get on and thanks for the help. Specially the idea that it would be database system