One of our customers, forwarded me the following CNN article.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/09/ces.apps/index.html

A must read.

For the past 8 years, I have been developing enterprise applications in Java and C#. When I first started developing iPhone apps in Objective-C, I missed the comfort virtual machines (vm) provided me. But, once I completed my first app (with smooth sliding and scrolling views, fancy graphics, and animations) I was happy to give up all vm benefits for the close to the metal nature of  Objective-C. I am so glad I didn’t forget the importance of explicit memory management from my early 90s C programming days.

When you think about it, performance is paramount when it comes to apps running on hardware constrained mobile devices.

Couple of days ago, Omid, our CEO, pointed out an important fact to me: Apps cover not just the traditional application space, they are also the new universal format for content that is both informative and functional.

Considering that the content space is orders of magnitude larger than the application space, it’s no wonder that app market had such an explosive growth in such a short time.

We are just at the beginning of this new phenomenon.

If IBM Rational is serious about EPF, it should contribute all of RUP content, and allow users to freely tailor and blend its content. By now, it’s obvious that OpenUP is not comprehensive enough for real-world projects and had minimal acceptance.

In the last few months. third party software development world has made a historical paradigm shift to cloud-based computing and App store distribution model.

The most significant aspect of this shift is the opening of almost any platform  (televsions, cars, netbooks, phones) to sophisticated third party applications. Each of these platforms has its own unique technology. Previously, these platform were only open to minute number of embedded developers closely working with the hardware vendors and the code was pre-installed on the hardware before it reach the consumer. Now any third party developer can develop apps for any number of these platforms.

Imagine developing an app  that users can download to their iPhones that interacts with an app that they have running on their Samsung HD TV. All through a cloud-based platform. The users simply go to Apple’s and Samsung’s App Stores and purchase the app. Or an app running on Ford cars interacting with Android phones. The possibilities are endless.

The multi-technology and app store distribution model of this new paradigm has significantly increased the complexity of the development process, hence making new generation of software development methodologies critical. For example, we have tailored some of our development processes to include micro iterations (to satisfy quick-time-market business requirement), and app store submission/approval activities.

I came across the term “bloatware” in a Forrester Research report and right away I thought of RMC. The author, Clay Richardson, writes:

Bloat kills. Whether it’s excessive complexity in the application, its underlying platform or architecture, or the process used to deliver it, overloaded platform software and heavy processes impede delivery of the solutions the business demands.

RMC’s steep learning curve, heavy-client architecture, lack of support for collaboration, and underlying IDE platform make it a bloatware poster child.

Lately, being immersed in mobile application development, I have ever greater appreciation for lean intuitive applications and disdain for bloatware.

The version 1.5 of MOF Mobile Reference is available for download as of yesterday. This version includes MOF roles, processes and activities. Now I am working on the next version of CMMI Mobile Reference that will include sub-practices and work products.

An early version of MOF Mobile Reference is available at the Apple App Store now. I am already deep into the development of the next version, which will contain much more content, and it should be ready in a couple of weeks.

While sifting through various Microsoft Operations Framework documents, I came across an interesting definition of process in a document called Using MOF for ISO/IEC 20000: A MOF Companion Guide.

A process is a set of interrelated activities designed to transform inputs into pre-defined acceptable outputs. The benefit of a process-based framework is that you then have a repeatable set of activities in place designed to take the input, modify or change that input, and deliver the desired output. Because the process is documented and repeatable, it is now a tangible item that can be monitored, measured, and improved over time. If you do not like the outcome, you can either change the inputs, change the process activities to improve the output, or change the expectation of what the output is to be. By defining and communicating the expected output, you also control the customer’s expectation (and therefore the customer’s satisfaction).

What I like best about this definition is how it relates the concept of process all the way to the benefits for the end customer. The definition also builds on the tangible nature of defined processes which makes process monitoring, measurement, and improvement possible.

Keep in mind that both MOF and ISO-20000 are process based.

Over the last few days, I have been working on a mobile reference app of the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF), which I submitted to the Apple App Store this morning. I will let you know once it’s approved and ready for download.

I always wanted to dig deeper into MOF, partly because I had noticed many of our larger customers increasingly utilize it in their mission critical operations. Developing this app has provided the opportunity to do so. I find that developing an application forces you to understand the underlying details of subject.

In developing the first version of this app, I gained a thorough understanding of MOF’s meta-model. I am very impressed with MOF’s vast amount of practical content, and am already thinking about designing the next version of the app with much more content.

My overarching goal in developing these mobile references is to represent the already codified body of knowledge in a form more conducive to internalization. My belief is that the Mobile Internet Platform is ideally suited for effective internalization of codified knowledge.

This is a work in progress but I feel it will mature rapidly.