Chris Kubica is another inspiring member of the FileMaker community that seems to have done it all! He's the author of the best-selling book, "The Book of FileMaker 6." He's spoken at the annual FileMaker Developers Conference, written numerous articles, and recently passed the FileMaker 8 Certification exam. Read on to learn more about Chris, his experience, and insights into the world of FileMaker.
How did you get started in IT?
Very circuitously. I majored in theatre arts and comparative literature in college and have never taken a computer class. But ever since my grade school had its first Apple ][ installed in the library, I'd been what used to be called a "computer hobbyist". At the time it meant I'd more likely be found in the computer lab at school playing Lemonade or Bard's Tale or programming silly animations in Apple Basic than out on the school grounds playing kick ball or flirting.
Anyway, I went through high school and college fully intending to be a full time artist of some sort, either as a poet, playwright or actor. But when I finally did graduate and found myself living in Chicago, applying for jobs in the theatre (and temping as a secretary to pay bills) I had a cathartic moment... either I could live my life as a starving artist or I could make Creativity a hobby and things computer-related my day job. So I flip-flopped, teaching myself different software applications as I encountered each at various temp assignments throughout Chicagoland. Looking back, it was the right decision for me.
How long have you been using FileMaker, and how did you get started with it?
I first used FileMaker in college in '92. The dorm where I lived and worked as a night security guard had FileMaker Pro 1.0 (I think) installed on a little Mac Plus behind the front desk and used it as a night security log and as a basic database to re-label and forward former residents' mail.
Later on, in Chicago, I was called by one of the temp agencies and asked if I "knew FileMaker" and, of course, I said "Yes." As a temp, you basically always say "Yes" if you want to keep getting called...Ami Pro? Yes. WordPerfect for DOS? Yes. MacWrite 2.0? Yes. So when a doctor at Rush Medical Center needed someone to write a patient tracking database in FileMaker Pro 3.0, I said "Yes" and got the gig.
I really enjoyed using FileMaker, so I went looking for more consulting work doing FileMaker development exclusively. I worked for a Chicago-area FileMaker shop for a year and then went out on my own under the company name "the fm pro" in 1997. I've been at it ever since.
Tell us about your company, Application Architects, LLC. How and why did you start the company?
During the dotcom boom I spent a few years working for a Chicagoland consulting firm and ended up building the, at the time (and as far as I know), largest full time "virtual" FileMaker development team in the country. After that company went bust (and our family had moved to Indiana so my wife could pursue her PhD at Purdue), I needed to go it alone again. I wanted to found a company that was very professional and rose above any of the silly naming used by tech companies in the late 90's and early "Oughts." Making it an LLC also made it a little safer as I was at less risk (financial and legal) should something go awry.
You've done work for a very wide range of clients -- everything from state governments to non-profits to pharmaceutical companies. What's the most challenging project that you've had the opportunity to work on, and why?
One of my best current clients, a Boston area pharmaceutical company, is my most challenging project and I'm very grateful for it. The situation is any developer's dream, really...the President contacted me and said, in a nutshell, "We want you to come in and build FileMaker-based systems from scratch in virtually every area of our rapidly-growing, international company using the latest tools, as many servers and plugins as you need and with any and all of our relevant employees at your disposal. Up for it?" Of course, I said "yes."
The main challenge has been managing expectations, various developers, other stake holders and schedules. There are many, many projects going on at once and many of the systems are deeply entwined with one another. Added challenges include: all of the regulatory hoops each
system has to go through in order to be called "compliant", working with client contacts and developers located all over the world and coming up with standards for coding that we can all live with. Plus, this client demands that we really push FileMaker to its limits... We use every tip and trick in the book and as well have been among the first shops, to my knowledge, to deeply integrate FileMaker with SAS, SAP, Liquent/Documentum and other "enterprise class" software.
You've got offices in Indiana, California, and Melbourne, Australia. What's it like having offices in various locations? What types of challenges (and opportunities) does that present?
It is hard, no doubt about it. The challenges are that part of the company is always on, about 23-7 (versus 24-7...there is about one hour where we are all synchronously asleep or AFK). Plus, client contacts in different countries work different days. For example, a lot of our contacts are in Israel and the Israeli work week is Sunday through Thursday. So I often work Sundays. Managing meeting times, multi-native-language situations and putting together project teams is a challenge. Keeping people happy and making folks feel "connected" in that real human sense is hard, too, when you're literally spread around the Earth.
The opportunities are that I can really say to clients that "someone is available to help almost any day or time of the week." Plus, a dispersed, international team brings a diverse array of valuable skills as well as interesting culture and personality to the team.
Besides using FileMaker to develop solutions for your clients, what role does FileMaker play in the day-to-day operations of Application Architects?
I use it to manage the business, of course... Companies, contacts, billing sheets, quotes, invoices, and so forth.
I've also used it to manage my wedding invitations, X-Mas card list, book and music collection and... You name it. FileMaker really is a Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool in the purest sense.
What do you like best about your job?
The independence. I can work at home, at the airport, at a hotel, in my Dad's spare bedroom or at a Starbucks half a world away. I can take time off to raise a baby, to help a friend, to go on a book tour. What's is important is that the work gets done, it is of high quality and that we're available to be in touch at the drop of a hat.
I also enjoy learning other people's business. Just building databases all day gets boring, in truth. Over the last 9 years, I have gotten the inside scoop on making drugs, running a laboratory, running a staffing firm, making printer cables, running a non-profit, managing calendars, managing real estate properties, catering parties, booking travelers on barge tours down "fleuve français", running a magazine, booking classified ads and manufacturing tutus for children's dance companies all around the world.
What do you like least about your job?
These days I do less coding and more people and functional managing. I like managing projects and interacting with all kinds of people, but I also miss always being on top of every new FileMaker "tip and trick" that comes along. I just became a FileMaker 8 Certified Developer yesterday, so don't count me out just yet, but coding isn't my full time focus anymore.
I also sometimes don't like the "always on call" aspect of my job. While I do control my own schedule and when and where I take time off and when I travel, my clients and I understand that I am kind of always on call. I even have a special e-mail address that, when used in an emergency, pages me in like six places at once.
All in all, I have been blessed with interesting and rewarding work and any complaints I have pale, PALE in comparison to the benefits of all I've got.
What are your favorite new features of FileMaker 8?
I think PDFMaker and ExcelMaker as well as the new emailing features will be big wins. I also think the new Get Nth Record function will prove to be one of the more useful under-the-hood innovations of recent years, especially in the hands of the many creative developers out there.
What other features would you like to see in FileMaker in the future?
I'm pretty happy with FileMaker's current features. I feel blessed and wowed by every new release. There is really nothing else out there that holds a candle to FileMaker in bang for the buck.
What's your favorite tool, plugin, or technique for developing FileMaker databases?
FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced. The latest release has really made development a lot easier, more intuitive and client-smile-making. Too, there's nothing like sitting in front of a skeptical prospect, clicking a button and having a database automatically generate and attach 500 personalized e-mails to 500 different contacts with a unique, customer-specific PDF-based report attached... All occurring in under 5 minutes.
Let's talk a little about some of the certifications that you have. Application Architects is an Associate-level FileMaker Solutions Alliance (FSA) member. What impact has being a member of the FSA had on your business?
The greatest value of FSA membership, to me, has been connecting with the many other smart, creative and generous FileMaker developers that are part of the community. Without them, FileMaker-based software or, indeed, FileMaker, Inc. itself, would not be what it is today: a thriving, happy community of great people using truly useful (and easy-on-the-pocketbook) software.
You're also a FileMaker 8 Certified Developer. How has that
certification helped you?
In regulated environments, certifications are taken very seriously. I can't quantify it, but I'm sure the certification has been one of the tipping points of many a new Application Architects client.
What advice do you have for someone that is just getting started with FileMaker?
First, spend a lot of time just using FileMaker software and build applications that you can immediately put to work around the office. Start small, then build on it...expand. Once you've hit a glass ceiling, take a FileMaker Inc.-sanctioned training course for about a week. Then, if you are really serious, do some work as a junior developer for an existing firm. Read FileMaker-related blogs like this one, download all the free tips and tricks files you can and dissect them until you know how they work inside out. Later, network with other developers in your area via a user's group or at the annual developer conference.
You're the author of "The Book of FileMaker 6: Your One-Stop Guide to FileMaker Pro, Pro Unlimited, Developer, Server, and Mobile" (ISBN: 1886411816). How did you come to write that book?
The bottom line is I have an over-developed sense of ambition and I had the idea that doing a book would help my career. So I drew up an outline over the course of several months, sent out proposals and then jumped into writing for the next three years. See the next answer on whether or not it ended up really being worth it in the end.
"The Book of FileMaker 6" was (and still is) very popular. What impact did writing that book have on your career?
Again, I can't say that I can quantify this in any tangible way, but many clients and other developers mention having seen the book (or own a copy). I've even had a few people say it was the "best computer book they'd ever read." I'm not sure that's anywhere close to the truth, but it has added at least a level of curiosity to my vitae that makes me stand out, I guess.
On the other hand, the book took three years to pull together and was a significant strain on my home and work life. And while it was and still is a best-selling FileMaker-related book (it is right this moment in the FileMaker book top ten on amazon.com; not bad for a computer book three years and two full FileMaker Pro versions after publication!), the dollars to hours ratio for the time spent writing it is without a doubt under whelming.
Are you planning to write additional FileMaker books in the future?
I seriously doubt it.
You're also involved in some interesting non-FileMaker projects. Can you tell us a little about "jdsalinger.com" and about "Letters to J. D. Salinger?"
Letters to J. D. Salinger is a pet project that sprung out of my love of writing letters (hand, pen, ink and paper letters... not emails) and of the fictional works of J. D. Salinger. I don't think there's enough room here to explain how the book came about, but you can read all about that in the book's introduction. You can buy the book via links on its site: http://jdsalinger.com/
What technology has most changed your life?
E-mail. Before it, everyone in my life...family, friends, former teachers, colleagues, heroes, writers, columnists, editors, advisors were "out there somewhere", lost in the mists of distance, political borders, time zones and postal delivery times. Now each and every one of these people is almost instantaneously available within a maximum of 8 hours via e-mail or, even better, Internet-based telephony or Instant Messaging. I like being completely disconnected sometimes, but I really am glad that I can keep in touch so easily nowadays. I imagine it will be even easier when our kids are grown.
What are your favorite things to do that don't involve work?
Spending time with wife and daughter, playing chess, playing go (http://www.usgo.org/), exploring used bookstores, reading and collecting books, writing poetry.
I'm also starting a foundation called People's Endowment for the Arts with the initial mission of saving Poetry in America. How's that for a lofty goal? :)
Thanks Chris!
For more information about Chris and his company (Application Architects, LLC), visit www.applicationarch.com.
FileMaker Addict Has Moved!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
Jesse Feiler
Author / Software Director
Philmont Software Mill
Jesse Feiler has been developing solutions with FileMaker for more than 20 years. He is the author of several books on FileMaker, the most recent of which is "FileMaker 8 @ Work: Projects You Can Use On the Job." Read on to learn more about Jesse, including some of the interesting work that he is doing with FileMaker and OS X's Automator technology.
How did you get started in IT?
When I was in college, I studied social psychology (fortunately for the world I didn't continue in that field). We did lots of surveys and questionnaires, and my professors were mystified by computers and how to use them to tabulate the data and perform statistical calculations. I discovered I loved it much more than social psychology, and wound up working for them.
How long have you been using FileMaker, and how did you get started with it?
I got started with FileMaker back with version 2. I'd had experience with mainframe databases, and had learned a lot about structuring databases. Even though we didn't have a relational database with FileMaker until later on, I still structured my data as if it were going to be in a relational database one day. My first project was for a woman who ran a local non-profit arts organization, and my job consisted primarily of telling her that certain data items didn't belong in the database (such as personal comments).
In what ways are you using FileMaker today?
I work largely for small businesses and nonprofits. There's a lot of what they call contact management work -- but it's really running-the-business work. Each organization is different in their approach to their customers and their products. Typically, my clients are people who are computer-savvy and who already use computers in their businesses, but they feel that they're not getting the most out of their software. There are people who have built databases on the FileMaker starter solutions who see additional opportunities and who realize that they don't have the time to do the work themselves. I also frequently run into people who think their problems are enormous -- in part because they're so close to them, and in part because they can't compare them to other businesses' problems.
Tell us about your company, Philmont Software Mill / North Country Consulting. How and why did you start the company?
Until the advent of personal computers and products such as FileMaker, my work was limited to large corporations. Although I often worked on small projects, the computing horsepower and the database systems that I needed didn't exist on the desktop. In the late 1980s I saw that it would be possible to do the kinds of projects I liked in a new environment -- the desktop and the world of small business. That's how my consulting business started, and that's pretty much how it has remained.
As the desktop environment has grown in power, I find it interesting to note that small businesses now often are ahead of large corporations in their uses of technology. With the Internet and products such as FileMaker, the playing field is level on the technology side -- and I believe that small businesses have the edge in their ability to move quickly.
Over the years, you've had the opportunity to work on projects for a wide range of clients -- from small businesses to non-profit organizations. What's the most interesting or challenging project that you've worked on, and why?
This is an easy one -- Daily Banking Statistics for the Federal Reserve Bank of NY. Overnight, it collected data from the Federal Reserve offices around the country. It was downloaded to a personal computer and massaged onto a single piece of paper. At 10:00 AM, members of the Open Market Committee held a conference call to discuss it; the result of the conference call was the Fed's 11:00 AM intervention in the government securities market. These deadlines were immutable. (The 11:00 AM intervention is described quite accurately in Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities.") As you can imagine, there was little margin for error. A failure of the system could easily wind up on the front page of the newspapers here and abroad. And just to make life interesting, this was the first time personal computers were connected to the Fed's mainframe systems in a project such as this.
What do you like best about your job?
The best part is meeting interesting people. As a consultant, I find myself learning new businesses several times a year. Because my work is primarily the design and implementation of FileMaker systems, I don't have much contact with clients after the project is done, so there's a constantly changing group of people to meet.
How has being a member of the Filemaker Solutions Alliance (FSA) helped your career and company?
The access to the various information resources is invaluable. In addition, I've been using the FSA product discounts more and more with clients.
You're also an author, and have written several books over the years. The most recent is "FileMaker 8 @work." What can you tell us about the book?
The book primarily consists of 10 projects. The code can be downloaded, and the book describes the process of creating the projects. I'm able to explain not only what I've done but why I've made some of the choices I've made. The idea is that you can take the projects from the book and use them -- perhaps even without modification -- for your own purposes.
What particularly interested me about this format is that the introductory material is minimal -- we just get onto the business of creating solutions.
It's only been out a couple of months, but the feedback so far has been very positive.
Do you have any other books planned?
Yes, but unfortunately we don't talk about them until they're announced by the publisher.
You're doing some very interesting work with the OS X's Automator technology and FileMaker. Tell us a little about that.
Automator is a great tool on Mac OS X. It is built very much on AppleScript, but it provides an automation environment that is much richer than just scripting. You combine actions into workflows. The actions can come from many places -- Apple, or third-party vendors such as FileMaker.
I combined a custom solution with actions that I wrote based on the FileMaker samples and wound up automating the production of a small business. They are very seasonal, so when they go into a production cycle, they don't have a moment to spare for several months. During their production, they're working away like crazy. By providing workflows that use FileMaker actions and InDesign actions, I was able to automate the entire production line. Several people work at the same time with a variety of workflows running against a shared database.
It was a great project, and, according to the client, totally changed the way they did business.
Moving data from a FileMaker database into a program such as InDesign has been one of the mainstays of AppleScript, but I found that with Automator I could do much more sophisticated processing than I ever could with AppleScript.
I can't wait for the next Automator/FileMaker project!
In "FileMaker 8 @work" you wrote, "Over the years, FileMaker has managed to simultaneously become much more powerful and easier to use." Looking back at the various releases over the years, what do you think are the most significant changes to the product?
1. Multi-platform support (FileMaker 2, 1993)
2. Networking. This isn't really a FileMaker feature so much as a feature of personal computer technology. Without networking, we wouldn't have anything like the environment we have today.
3. Relationships (FileMaker 3, 1995)
4. Multiple tables in a single file and the relationship graph (FileMaker 7, 2004)
5. Web publishing (FileMaker 4, 1997, and the XML/XSLT architecture that we now have)
What are your favorite new features in FileMaker 8?
The copy/paste functionality in the Define Database dialog of FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced is terrific, as is the table import feature. In addition, the new tab panel control saves an enormous amount of development time.
What other features would you like to see in FileMaker in the future?
I'd like increased support for rollbacks of transactions. Also, an integrated audit trail would be fantastic.
What's your favorite tool, plugin, or technique for developing FileMaker databases?
It's a technique. Sitting with clients IN THEIR OFFICE for an introductory meeting. Even when it involves several hours of travel, it's worth it. After that, most of my work is via email or phone.
When you sit in their office, you see who's there and how they work. You hear how often the phone rings. I look at their data and their reports -- the actual data always reveals things that a summary doesn't. And you learn their vocabulary. Nothing makes it easier for a client to start using a FileMaker system than if the terminology is their own.
I've just worked on a project where a critical report is called something like Daily Summary by Customer (DSC). In all honesty, that's not what it is -- it's a summary by product. But they've been calling it the DSC for many years -- first on paper, then on a spreadsheet. In the new FileMaker solution, it's still called the Daily Summary by Customer. We all know that that's not a good title, but it's their title. This may seem trivial, but using the client's terminology is a big key to a successful project.
What advice do you have for someone that is just getting started with FileMaker?
Do a project that will succeed. The only project I resigned from was one with a rather sophisticated user. He wanted everything including the kitchen sink put into the system, and very quickly I saw that we would never make it into test mode, much less production. Limit your scope -- the goal of the project is to get done. Then, because FileMaker is so flexible, you can modify it and enhance it. But first of all, finish something.
What technology has most changed your life?
Wireless technology, including cell phones. We still haven't explored all the consequences. Right now, I'm sitting at my desk in the middle of my office. I'm facing a bay window overlooking Lake Champlain. When I say that the desk is in the middle of the office, I mean that -- it's not against any wall. I'm using my primary computer -- a laptop, and there are no cables around. There's a wireless router in the corner with a printer attached to it, and there's another computer over there.
I could rearrange my office any time I want to without worrying about cables. And if it warms up a bit, I could pick up my laptop and move it and myself out under the maple tree and still have access to everything I need (including the Internet).
What are your favorite things to do that don't involve work?
Reading and dinner with friends.
Thanks Jesse!
For more information about Jesse and his company, visit www.northcountryconsulting.com or www.philmontmill.com. And to learn more about Jesse's latest book, "FileMaker 8 @work: Projects and Techniques to Get the Job Done," click here.
How did you get started in IT?
When I was in college, I studied social psychology (fortunately for the world I didn't continue in that field). We did lots of surveys and questionnaires, and my professors were mystified by computers and how to use them to tabulate the data and perform statistical calculations. I discovered I loved it much more than social psychology, and wound up working for them.
How long have you been using FileMaker, and how did you get started with it?
I got started with FileMaker back with version 2. I'd had experience with mainframe databases, and had learned a lot about structuring databases. Even though we didn't have a relational database with FileMaker until later on, I still structured my data as if it were going to be in a relational database one day. My first project was for a woman who ran a local non-profit arts organization, and my job consisted primarily of telling her that certain data items didn't belong in the database (such as personal comments).
In what ways are you using FileMaker today?
I work largely for small businesses and nonprofits. There's a lot of what they call contact management work -- but it's really running-the-business work. Each organization is different in their approach to their customers and their products. Typically, my clients are people who are computer-savvy and who already use computers in their businesses, but they feel that they're not getting the most out of their software. There are people who have built databases on the FileMaker starter solutions who see additional opportunities and who realize that they don't have the time to do the work themselves. I also frequently run into people who think their problems are enormous -- in part because they're so close to them, and in part because they can't compare them to other businesses' problems.
Tell us about your company, Philmont Software Mill / North Country Consulting. How and why did you start the company?
Until the advent of personal computers and products such as FileMaker, my work was limited to large corporations. Although I often worked on small projects, the computing horsepower and the database systems that I needed didn't exist on the desktop. In the late 1980s I saw that it would be possible to do the kinds of projects I liked in a new environment -- the desktop and the world of small business. That's how my consulting business started, and that's pretty much how it has remained.
As the desktop environment has grown in power, I find it interesting to note that small businesses now often are ahead of large corporations in their uses of technology. With the Internet and products such as FileMaker, the playing field is level on the technology side -- and I believe that small businesses have the edge in their ability to move quickly.
Over the years, you've had the opportunity to work on projects for a wide range of clients -- from small businesses to non-profit organizations. What's the most interesting or challenging project that you've worked on, and why?
This is an easy one -- Daily Banking Statistics for the Federal Reserve Bank of NY. Overnight, it collected data from the Federal Reserve offices around the country. It was downloaded to a personal computer and massaged onto a single piece of paper. At 10:00 AM, members of the Open Market Committee held a conference call to discuss it; the result of the conference call was the Fed's 11:00 AM intervention in the government securities market. These deadlines were immutable. (The 11:00 AM intervention is described quite accurately in Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities.") As you can imagine, there was little margin for error. A failure of the system could easily wind up on the front page of the newspapers here and abroad. And just to make life interesting, this was the first time personal computers were connected to the Fed's mainframe systems in a project such as this.
What do you like best about your job?
The best part is meeting interesting people. As a consultant, I find myself learning new businesses several times a year. Because my work is primarily the design and implementation of FileMaker systems, I don't have much contact with clients after the project is done, so there's a constantly changing group of people to meet.
How has being a member of the Filemaker Solutions Alliance (FSA) helped your career and company?
The access to the various information resources is invaluable. In addition, I've been using the FSA product discounts more and more with clients.
You're also an author, and have written several books over the years. The most recent is "FileMaker 8 @work." What can you tell us about the book?
The book primarily consists of 10 projects. The code can be downloaded, and the book describes the process of creating the projects. I'm able to explain not only what I've done but why I've made some of the choices I've made. The idea is that you can take the projects from the book and use them -- perhaps even without modification -- for your own purposes.
What particularly interested me about this format is that the introductory material is minimal -- we just get onto the business of creating solutions.
It's only been out a couple of months, but the feedback so far has been very positive.
Do you have any other books planned?
Yes, but unfortunately we don't talk about them until they're announced by the publisher.
You're doing some very interesting work with the OS X's Automator technology and FileMaker. Tell us a little about that.
Automator is a great tool on Mac OS X. It is built very much on AppleScript, but it provides an automation environment that is much richer than just scripting. You combine actions into workflows. The actions can come from many places -- Apple, or third-party vendors such as FileMaker.
I combined a custom solution with actions that I wrote based on the FileMaker samples and wound up automating the production of a small business. They are very seasonal, so when they go into a production cycle, they don't have a moment to spare for several months. During their production, they're working away like crazy. By providing workflows that use FileMaker actions and InDesign actions, I was able to automate the entire production line. Several people work at the same time with a variety of workflows running against a shared database.
It was a great project, and, according to the client, totally changed the way they did business.
Moving data from a FileMaker database into a program such as InDesign has been one of the mainstays of AppleScript, but I found that with Automator I could do much more sophisticated processing than I ever could with AppleScript.
I can't wait for the next Automator/FileMaker project!
In "FileMaker 8 @work" you wrote, "Over the years, FileMaker has managed to simultaneously become much more powerful and easier to use." Looking back at the various releases over the years, what do you think are the most significant changes to the product?
1. Multi-platform support (FileMaker 2, 1993)
2. Networking. This isn't really a FileMaker feature so much as a feature of personal computer technology. Without networking, we wouldn't have anything like the environment we have today.
3. Relationships (FileMaker 3, 1995)
4. Multiple tables in a single file and the relationship graph (FileMaker 7, 2004)
5. Web publishing (FileMaker 4, 1997, and the XML/XSLT architecture that we now have)
What are your favorite new features in FileMaker 8?
The copy/paste functionality in the Define Database dialog of FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced is terrific, as is the table import feature. In addition, the new tab panel control saves an enormous amount of development time.
What other features would you like to see in FileMaker in the future?
I'd like increased support for rollbacks of transactions. Also, an integrated audit trail would be fantastic.
What's your favorite tool, plugin, or technique for developing FileMaker databases?
It's a technique. Sitting with clients IN THEIR OFFICE for an introductory meeting. Even when it involves several hours of travel, it's worth it. After that, most of my work is via email or phone.
When you sit in their office, you see who's there and how they work. You hear how often the phone rings. I look at their data and their reports -- the actual data always reveals things that a summary doesn't. And you learn their vocabulary. Nothing makes it easier for a client to start using a FileMaker system than if the terminology is their own.
I've just worked on a project where a critical report is called something like Daily Summary by Customer (DSC). In all honesty, that's not what it is -- it's a summary by product. But they've been calling it the DSC for many years -- first on paper, then on a spreadsheet. In the new FileMaker solution, it's still called the Daily Summary by Customer. We all know that that's not a good title, but it's their title. This may seem trivial, but using the client's terminology is a big key to a successful project.
What advice do you have for someone that is just getting started with FileMaker?
Do a project that will succeed. The only project I resigned from was one with a rather sophisticated user. He wanted everything including the kitchen sink put into the system, and very quickly I saw that we would never make it into test mode, much less production. Limit your scope -- the goal of the project is to get done. Then, because FileMaker is so flexible, you can modify it and enhance it. But first of all, finish something.
What technology has most changed your life?
Wireless technology, including cell phones. We still haven't explored all the consequences. Right now, I'm sitting at my desk in the middle of my office. I'm facing a bay window overlooking Lake Champlain. When I say that the desk is in the middle of the office, I mean that -- it's not against any wall. I'm using my primary computer -- a laptop, and there are no cables around. There's a wireless router in the corner with a printer attached to it, and there's another computer over there.
I could rearrange my office any time I want to without worrying about cables. And if it warms up a bit, I could pick up my laptop and move it and myself out under the maple tree and still have access to everything I need (including the Internet).
What are your favorite things to do that don't involve work?
Reading and dinner with friends.
Thanks Jesse!
For more information about Jesse and his company, visit www.northcountryconsulting.com or www.philmontmill.com. And to learn more about Jesse's latest book, "FileMaker 8 @work: Projects and Techniques to Get the Job Done," click here.
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