The AndPlus Software Development Blog

One of the great innovations of the modern age—something even more useful than the beer-can hat—is mapping applications such as MapQuest and Google Maps. Not only can they show you the fastest way to get from A to B (accounting for traffic, construction, one-way streets, and other obstacles), but they can give you alternatives, such as those favoring or avoiding freeways or scenic routes. Some applications will even give you the best routes for traveling on foot, by bicycle, or public transportation.

Back in the 1960s, the term “hi-fi” (short for “high-fidelity”) was a popular buzzword. It started innocently enough as a term to describe the greater sound quality available from high-end stereophonic home audio equipment. But the term caught on in the marketing world and suddenly everything with a perceived elevated quality was known as “hi-fi.”

We take software prototyping seriously. Prototyping—in particular, rapid prototyping—is the best way to make sure we, as AndPlus developers, understand what our customers expect the software to do and how it will perform in supporting their business processes.

We’ve discussed extensively the concept, advantages, and tools of rapid prototyping. It’s central to our development process here at AndPlus.

Whenever any new product is designed, the designers should spend a good deal of time and effort on the product’s user interface. “Should” is the operative term here; sometimes it doesn’t happen adequately if at all.

Remember the “telephone” game? If not, it went something like this:

Kid 1 whispers a few words in Kid 2’s ear. Kid 2 then relays the message (again, by whispering) to Kid 3, and so on until the last kid receives the message and says it out loud. Usually, that message is not even close to the original, to the short-term amusement of everyone involved.