www.teratech.com 1/48 1 real world flip fusebox life-cycle process michael smith, teratech, inc....

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www.teratech.com 1/48

Real World FLiP

Fusebox Life-cycle Process

Michael Smith, TeraTech, [email protected]://www.teratech.com

301-424-3903 x110

Copyright TeraTech 2003

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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

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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

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More About Me

• 22 years programming• 7 years with ColdFusion• 4 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

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What is FLiP

• Fusebox Life cycle Process • Plans your development and client

communication• Contains

– Wireframe– HTML Prototype + Devnotes– Sign off – Circuit mindmapping– Fusedocs

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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!)

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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

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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.”

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Fusebox has evolved…

1998: Fusebox 1 & 2 2001: 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.

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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

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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

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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

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Two approaches - TraditionalRequirements

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

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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.

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TraditionalS

tart

Fin

ish

In many methodologies, the farther along the project is, the fewer people cancontribute to it.

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Let's "FLiP" that aroundS

tart

Fin

ish

With FLiP, as a project progresses, more developers can contribute to it.

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The 3 stages of FLiP

Requirements/Design

Architecture

Coding

Testing

Deployment

DiscoveryDesignImplementation

Prototype

Wireframe

Devnotes

Sign-off

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Fusebox Project Life Cycle

• Wireframe• HTML Prototype• Prototype + Devnotes• Sign off• Architecture + Fusedoc• Final Code• Acceptance Test

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FLiP diagramWireframePages and Flow

HTML PrototypeGraphics and fields, Devnotes

Sign-off(OK vs make change and resubmit

Iterate with user

Iterate with user

Fuseactions & CircuitsMark up fuseactions in printout of prototype

MindmapGroup fuseactions into Circuits, indentify fuses

GenerateConvert to fusebox skeleton

Fusedocresponsibilites, IO

Code Fusesdsp, qry, act, lay, fbx

Design Database

Test Fusestestharness

Integration TestCompare to prototype

Deploy

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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

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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

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Sample wireframe

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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

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A good prototype is an exact replica of the finished application

The prototype The deployed application

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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.

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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

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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

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Sample DevNotesEach message identifies who wrote it.

Message threads can be removed when no longer needed. Such threads are removed from view, butremain in the database.

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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

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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”

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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 circuits4. Determine fuses that can be reused or need to be written5. Split fuseactions into query, action, display6. Write Fusedocs for each fuse7. Write fuses8. Create test harnesses9. Integration / acceptance testing

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Identifying Fuseactions in Prototype

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Mindmap Circuits and Fuseactions

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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.

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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.

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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

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Sample Fusedoc

<fusedoc name="act_ValidateLogin.cfm"><responsibilities>

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.

</responsibilities><properties>

<history author="hal helms" date="02 May 2002">Built to illustrate Fusedocs

</history></properties><io>

<in><string name="XFA.goodLogin" /><string name="XFA.badLogin" /><string name="userName" scope="form" /><string name="password" scope="form" />

</in><out>

<structure name="CurrentUser" scope="Session" optional="TRUE" onCondition="on XFA.goodLogin">

<string name="userID" /><list name="userRoles" /><string name="fullName" />

</structure></out>

</io></fusedoc>

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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

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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

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Roles in software development

Client

Team

Programmer

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Fusebox only book

• Discovering Fusebox 3 by Hal Helms and John Quarto-vonTivadar

• Consise coverage of Fusebox framework

• No FLiP

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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 (very active and responsive)

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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

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Questions?

Email me at

[email protected]