Week 26

It almost feels like it's been two weeks with the day off in the middle. They should really work on those calendars so July 4th always falls on a Monday or Friday!

I've been continuing with the Edsmart project this week, of course. Ross and I have a meeting Monday afternoon with the Banner team to see if there are modules in Banner that can do some of the required pieces of Edsmart so as not to need a re-write of those sections. Considering the depth and constant changing of the numerous forms involved in Edsmart, I can't see them covering much of it, but I can hope. Ross and I have met to go over what we need to present at the meeting to show the scope of the project and the data that will need to be put into reports that are generated on a regular basis.

The entrance application is in test with Kimber and her new assistant. We've asked them to keep a running list of errors or modifications that will be needed. I've started on the next form and have done some more research into the project and how best to incorporate the rest of the forms so they flow smoothly, something that was seriously lacking in the previous version. I would have, of course, preferred to have done the entire design and analysis from the beginning, but there just wasn't time. I'm hoping that doesn't come back to bite me in the b*** come later in the project, if indeed we are to continue with it (rather than transferring it to the Banner team).

I've been also working with Alex to learn about the project management software he's trying out and putting in my projects. It's an interesting application that should really help us with our projects by breaking them into appropriate stages and making sure that they are done correctly to minimize errors and maintenance time after they are put into production (before they are ready, which is what seems to happen all too often due to time constraints). However, there is definitely more to ignore than to use with this particular application.

I've been doing a bit of research on Javascript and other interesting dynamic html tricks. I love being able to do snazzy, dynamic pages, and make sure they work in multiple browsers and operating systems. It drives me crazy when programmers don't take the time to test cross-browser compatibility and only program for IE. Considering we're going more and more towards Firefox (the best browser EVER!), it's important that our programs work on all browsers.

Travis has requested a new ssl cert for moodle so we can get that running with a real certificate, but we haven't had the credit card hold lifted to purchase it. I'm hoping to get that all done by the end of the day. Also, library.wou.edu cert is about to expire at the end of the month, so they'll need to get that renewed soon as well.