1. www.teratech.com 1/48 Real World FLiP Fusebox Life-cycle Process Michael Smith, TeraTech, Inc. michael@teratech.com http://www.teratech.com 301-424-3903 x110 Copyright TeraTech 2004

2. www.teratech.com 2/48 Overview What is FLiP? General Concepts Why use FLiP? Common client communication problems and project snafus Wireframing, Prototyping, Devnotes, Sign-off How to get started in your organization Q & A

3. www.teratech.com 3/48 Speaker Information Who am I? Michael Smith President of TeraTech, Inc Rockville MD –http://www.teratech.com/ –ttWebReportServer, CFXGraphicserver MDCFUG, CFUN-03, Fusebox Conf Articles in CFDJ, Fusion Authority Winner CFDJ award Best CF Consulting

4. www.teratech.com 4/48 More About Me 24 years programming 8 years with ColdFusion 5 years with Fusebox Also work with SQL, JavaScript, HTML, VB, Oracle, Access Teach one-on-one and custom classes On site and custom development Fusebox and Process Methodology

5. www.teratech.com 5/48 What is FLiP Fusebox Life cycle Process Plans your development and client communication Contains –Wireframe –HTML Prototype + Devnotes –Sign off –Circuit mindmapping –Fusedocs

6. www.teratech.com 6/48 What FLiP achieves Organize project process Dramatically improves client-programmer communication Better management of client expectations Improves programmer-programmer communication (Including communication with myself from 6 months ago!)

7. www.teratech.com 7/48 Benefits of Standardization Better team communication Cheaper maintenance Fewer design time bugs New team members can pick up code faster Save time thinking about how to organize project

8. www.teratech.com 8/48 Why FLiP? Works well in practice Parts useable independently Community support “Fusebox began and continues to be guided by a developer community concerned with making their projects more successful, their clients happier, and their own work less frustrating and more rewarding.”

9. www.teratech.com 9/48 Fusebox has evolved… 1998: Fusebox 1 & 22001: Fusebox 3 Architectural Framework (Fusebox) Development Methodology (FLiP) Prior to Fusebox 3, the term, "Fusebox", meant both an application framework and a set of "best practices" for web software development. With Fusebox 3, a clear distinction is made: Fusebox is an application framework. FLiP is a lifecycle methodology.

10. www.teratech.com 10/48 Common Project problems Poorly defined requirements Scope creep Communication problems between client and team Code hard to understand, Non-working code Changes hard to follow Outdated code vs comments Duplicated code - Reinventing the wheel Inconsistent design approach Random order of development process Late requirements

11. www.teratech.com 11/48 FLiP goals provide a structured approach to determining what clients want make it possible for developers to write code once give clients exactly what they want and expect document decisions made determine acceptance testing before coding overcome the Mythical Man-Month problem

12. www.teratech.com 12/48 More FLiP goals support both traditional and distributed team development offer a structured documentation/ program definition language scale from small and simple to large and complex support wide variety of developer skill sets and levels

13. www.teratech.com 13/48 Two approaches - Traditional Requirements Design Architecture Coding Testing Deployment Traditional Many methodologies focus on writing code (and debugging), which takes up the greatest amount of the project time. Debugging

14. www.teratech.com 14/48 Two approaches - FLiP Requirements/ Design Architecture Coding Testing Deployment FLiP FLiP spends a great deal of time on requirements, design, and architecture, understanding that clients can only tell you what they want when they see it.

15. www.teratech.com 15/48 Traditional Start Finish In many methodologies, the farther along the project is, the fewer people can contribute to it.

16. www.teratech.com 16/48 Let's "FLiP" that around Start Finish With FLiP, as a project progresses, more developers can contribute to it.

17. www.teratech.com 17/48 The 3 stages of FLiP Requirements/Design Architecture Coding Testing Deployment Discovery Design Implementation Prototype Wireframe Devnotes Sign-off

18. www.teratech.com 18/48 Fusebox Project Life Cycle Wireframe HTML Prototype Prototype + Devnotes Sign off Architecture + Fusedoc Final Code Acceptance Test

19. www.teratech.com 19/48 FLiP diagram Wireframe Pages and Flow HTML Prototype Graphics and fields, Devnotes Sign-off (OK vs make change and resubmit Iterate with user Fuseactions & Circuits Mark up fuseactions in printout of prototype Mindmap Group fuseactions into Circuits, indentify fuses Generate Convert to fusebox skeleton Fusedoc responsibilites, IO Code Fuses dsp, qry, act, lay, fbx Design Database Test Fuses testharness Integration Test Compare to prototype Deploy

20. www.teratech.com 20/48 Wireframe Blueprint of project – compare to house plans No layout or graphics Focus on page flow and exits Client can walk through site Helps with estimating costs Many tools available: –sourceforge wireframetool –Rebar –Adalon's wireframe edition

21. www.teratech.com 21/48 Wireframe Provides a text-only walkthrough of the application from the client's POV Can be done in front of the client Helps concentrate on what the application should do, rather than how it should appear Forms the basis for moving to the prototype You control the level of detail and time spent

22. www.teratech.com 22/48 Sample wireframe

23. www.teratech.com 23/48 HTML Prototype Is an iterative process whose end is an exact replica of what the look and feel of the application is Guarantees that there is no miscommunication Requires no/very little code Continues until both client and architect agree that the prototype accurately and completely reflects what will be delivered

24. www.teratech.com 24/48 A good prototype is an exact replica of the finished application The prototypeThe deployed application

25. www.teratech.com 25/48 HTML Prototype Exact layout and graphics for all pages HTML and graphics will be reused in CF code Lets client see final site look and feel – a photo album of future site. Can show all users. Clickable – can walk through site Dummy data Not the real thing! Compare artists sketches to finished house.

26. www.teratech.com 26/48 Using DevNotes with the prototype Provides a simple mechanism for placing a context-sensitive, threaded messaging system on the bottom of each prototype page Allows continuing communication to occur during the prototyping process Documents the process by which decisions were made Ensures that client requirements are not lost

27. www.teratech.com 27/48 Devnotes Let you add written comments attached to each page Tag in OnRequestEnd.cfm Threaded discussion Record of all changes made Available from halhelms.com Other flavors of DevNotes out there

28. www.teratech.com 28/48 Sample DevNotes Each message identifies who wrote it. Message threads can be removed when no longer needed. Such threads are removed from view, but remain in the database.

29. www.teratech.com 29/48 The critical point of FLiP: prototype freeze Neither architecting nor coding begins until the prototype is frozen The prototype is only frozen when both client and architect agree that the prototype fully and completely represents what the finished application will look like and do Answers the question, "When do we begin?" Answers the harder question, "When do we end?" Forms the basis for later acceptance testing, eliminating the "moving goalposts" problem

30. www.teratech.com 30/48 Formal Sign Off Client decides when prototype is close enough to what they need Sign off is formal end of changes May bring up other needs or other parties who have to see prototype As pages are signed off DevNotes are frozen Page ok: “Yes” or “No”? –Do not use “Ok, With Changes”

31. www.teratech.com 31/48 Steps in architecting a Fusebox application 1.Identify fuseactions and XFAs that can be determined from the prototype 2.Fill in fuseactions/XFAs that are non-visual 3.Group fuseactions into circuits 4.Determine fuses that can be reused or need to be written 5.Split fuseactions into query, action, display 6.Write Fusedocs for each fuse 7.Write fuses 8.Create test harnesses 9.Integration / acceptance testing

32. www.teratech.com 32/48 Identifying Fuseactions in Prototype

33. www.teratech.com 33/48 Mindmap Circuits and Fuseactions

34. www.teratech.com 34/48 Circuit and Database design Only design the site structure when sign-off complete Only design database when sign-off complete –Compare to doing at beginning Use QuerySims to fake out database if DBA is not finished with database design yet.

35. www.teratech.com 35/48 Fusedocs All incoming and outgoing variables in fuses (including XFAs) are declared in an XML document known as a Fusedoc. The Fusedoc sits at the top of every fuse and is wrapped in CFML comment tags. It is written before the code is written, and provides a "contract" between the architect and the fusecoder.

36. www.teratech.com 36/48 Fusedocs rules 1. “Include everything a coder needs to write the fuse, and nothing more.” Environment variables – request.dsn No database schema No file dependences Only one fusedoc per fuse

37. www.teratech.com 37/48 Sample Fusedoc I check to see if the user can be authenticated. If so, I create a structure called CurrentUser and return to the fusebox with XFA.goodLogin; else I create no structure and return to the fusebox with XFA.badLogin. Built to illustrate Fusedocs <structure name="CurrentUser" scope="Session" optional="TRUE" onCondition="on XFA.goodLogin">

38. www.teratech.com 38/48 How to get started in your organization Start with the parts of FLiP you like Can use any of wireframing, prototyping, devnotes,sign-off or fusedoc independently Don’t ask for formal permission – just start using the part of FLiP you like best it on next project Explain roadmap of process to client and benefits to them of communicating more

39. www.teratech.com 39/48 FLiP Summary Better client – programmer communication More client communication! A picture is worth a 1,000 words, a simulation is worth 1,000,000 words Sign-off sheets used in acceptance testing Sign off stops endless expensive enhancements

40. www.teratech.com 40/48 Roles in software development Client Team Programmer

41. www.teratech.com 41/48 The client likes the process… They –see what they will get before they get it –can track progress by having known deliverables –pay less in time and/or money since there is less risk to team –Their expectations are managed better so they are happier

42. www.teratech.com 42/48 The team likes the process… They –can leverage their investment in tools and training –distribute pieces of a project based on skill sets and levels –reduce overall risk of project failure –develop faster and at a lower cost –Lower stress level due to knowing where in the process they are

43. www.teratech.com 43/48 The programmer likes the process… The programmer –knows what they're building –can concentrate on writing code –has an active online community available –is able to reuse fuses and modules –enjoys coding again

44. www.teratech.com 44/48 How about a FLiP book? Fusebox 3: Developing ColdFusion Applications by Jeff Peters and Nat Papovich Covers FLiP and Fusebox framework Full sample wireframe, prototype and code for thirdwheelbikes.com

45. www.teratech.com 45/48 Another FLiP book? Fusebox 4 & FLiP: Master-Class ColdFusion Applications by Jeff Peters Covers FLiP and Fusebox 4 framework

46. www.teratech.com 46/48 Fusebox only book Discovering Fusebox 4 by Hal Helms and John Quarto-vonTivadar Consise coverage of Fusebox framework No FLiP

47. www.teratech.com 47/48 Resources Fusebox core files are freely available from www.fusebox.org Various sites have free tutorials, white papers, sample code, etc. –www.halhelms.com –www.techspedition.com –www.grokfusebox.com –www.secretagents.com –www.bombusbee.com –www.fusium.com –Fusebox email list

48. www.teratech.com 48/48 Ready for some Fusebox training? TeraTech offers classes in –FB101 - Intro Fusebox –FB201 – Intermediate Fusebox and FLiP All classes are available at TeraTech training center in Rockville MD or onsite at your organization. One-on-One and Project mentoring also available

49. www.teratech.com 49/48 Questions? Email me at michael@teratech.com