In my last article I hinted about investigating the use of an open source tool in support of my current employment.  I won’t go into details about the use case itself but I will gladly describe the tool and its potential.  First, a little background.

The Need

As noted in previous articles, a large part of my work the past several years has been in information management, specifically product and application configuration.  I’ve so far had the pleasure of leading and supporting work on two major enterprise rollouts of workflow solutions, each employing different commercial offerings and approaches to implementation.

The first project addressed a huge gap in product data and change management for consumer products development.  PTC Windchill was selected for the workflow solution based on its own strengths and helped by the fact that PTC product engineering applications were already in use.

The next project at a later employer involved replacing a claims handling application with a true process workflow solution.  Serena Business Mashup (SBM) was selected over competing products due to its rich feature set and seemingly unlimited extensibility.  I found the development environment (Mashup Composer) to be flexible, powerful and intuitive.

Both projects were very successful in streamlining and improving the ability of stakeholders to view end-to-end processes and manage events in their domains.  The commercial products involved proved their value although expenses were certainly significant.

An Open Alternative

In my current employment I am once again faced with the need to improve management of an enterprise activity, except that the prevailing economic decline prevents the sort of corporate funding that had been required for the other two projects.  This led me to search for low cost or even free solutions.

I found several tools that looked promising, but just about every search highlighted one in particular: the open source ProcessMaker.  Glowing write-ups such as this one by Python Developer’s Journal gave the impression that this free tool just might be close enough to WindChill or SBM to significantly improve our change management process.

The Short Take

ProcessMaker is 100% web-based and managed at popular open source hoster SourceForge.  The PM website states that its code “… is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3”.  It is provided in Windows and Linux versions.

I downloaded and installed the latest Windows version (1.2-2865) to my work laptop running XP.  The installation included MySQL and the Apache web server.  The first installation attempt hung up on the Apache portion at the end, but the second try went smoothly.  I’m not sure what happened (or didn’t happen) the first time.

I’ve barely explored what ProcessMaker can do and yet so far I am impressed.  While its mashups have not yet reached the number that one can access for Serena’s offerings, the same potential is there and hopefully the open source community is already at work developing more to be shared.  ProcessMaker supports Web Service Definition Language (WSDL), enabling a process developer to integrate numerous off-the-shelf applications that provide similar access.

The interface is clean and fairly easy to navigate.  However, I could see immediately that I’ll have to read the documentation and/or follow tutorials before being able to develop a useful process model.  Still, by sheer intuition alone I was able to create a new user, associate him with a group, install a sample weather report mashup and run the activity successfully.  This speaks well for the UI design.

I did find some minor but obvious phrasing issues in some areas, possibly reflecting ProcessMaker’s international heritage (Colosa has offices in New York, Bolivia and Peru and partners with a Danish IT firm) but they were not showstoppers.  Indeed, even in my untrained fumbling I did not run into anything that raised any real concerns.

ProcessMaker has recently brought data table creation and management to its set of features, bringing it closer to its commercial peers.  I’m eager to test this particular addition and see how it stacks up against Mashup Composer’s robust equivalent.

Bottom Line

 WindChill was the first purely Internet-architectured data management and collaboration tool, so by now (version 9.1) it’s very mature.  Too much time has passed since I worked with WindChill so I couldn’t do a post mortem justice.  I do recall that it easily handled everything we threw at it and integrated well with our other enterprise systems… SAP, BPCS et al.  It’s strictly a commercial offering.

Serena’s Business Mashup solution certainly has the power to wire together any silos across an enterprise landscape.  Serena has taken a hybrid approach in this space, offering a closed commercial product supported by a growing collection of popular user-developed mashups.

ProcessMaker, however, is completely free and open so that the developer community can create and push upstream additions and improvements not only to mashups but also the core product.  Colosa, the group behind ProcessMaker, charges only for training, hosting and other support.

There’s nothing wrong with PTC’s and Serena’s commercialization of course but lately I’m coming to believe more and more that ProcessMaker’s open mode is that of the future… assuming of course it reaches the critical mass necessary to attract enough mashup developers.  My initial take is that it definitely has the potential.

I plan to continue exploring that potential and expect to do at least one more general follow-up once I’m more familiar with the product… hopefully soon!

It’s funny the turns Life takes.

I started programming in the eartly 1980s, on Timex Sinclair, Commodore 64 and TRS-80 computers in short order.  In those wild days when high-level languages were really coming into their own, free and open source software seemed more readily available than retail equivalents.  Hobbyist magazines, online bulletin boards and even the fledgling internet (pre WWW) were stuffed with code just waiting for eager learners like to me to take and tweak.  There wasn’t much in the way of formal free and open source protocol at the time– that evolved soon enough though.

But as I evolved myself, from hobbyist to ad hoc developer for various employers, I found myself drawn in deeper and deeper to the closed source world.  I discovered I had a liking and knack for Visual Basic and thus fell into the Microsoft development vortex.

It’s a seductive and powerful sucker, too.  It was all too easy to be “bought off” by events with (ironically) free training, free food and even giveaways of free software.  I ultimately joined a Microsoft program that dumped thousands of dollars of tools in my lap for an embarrassingly small outlay.  Resistance was futile.

Yep, I was assimilated.

Flash forward to 2005 when Nokia hired me to do data mining/management for factory quality assurance.  At first it was the usual: Microsoft SQL Server, the Office suite, VB.NET and even Oracle.  The only real challenge I faced at the time was ramping up SQL skills to an enterprise level.

Then, as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the Nokia 770 internet tablet burst into my life.

At first it was an utterly alien object, this Linux-driven refugee from an old Star Trek show.  I only knew it mobilized the Internet like nothing else at the time… and I wanted to put it to work.

I eventually took on a new role as quality engineer for certain Nokia products and that included the 770 and then the N800, which I helped launch.  Supporting the tablets meant getting acquainted with something I had marvelled at from afar but never touched until then:

Linux.

At first I had to perform all device flashing from a Linux command line.  A helpful colleague introduced me to Ubuntu and after acquiring a laptop for the work I dug in.  Just not too deeply– I was still using Windows tools for the bulk of my labors so I didn’t really have time to invest in becoming a Linux guru… although the desire was certainly there.

And now a few years and turns later, I find myself in another role where the old trusted tools need not apply.  I haven’t even coded in VB for over a year!  Couple that with my current employer’s strong desire to save money and wham!  I’m back in the open source world.

Which is fine because I’m embarrassed that after a few years embedded in the Maemo culture I’ve barely picked up anything.  I want to do more application testing and even some development but I still lack the foundation.

So I’m excited by the opportunity I have in my employment to investigate a process workflow solution (more on that in another article) that’s completely open source and takes full advantage of the open source ecosystem (MySQL, Apache, OpenBravo, Knowledgetree, Zimbra).  This is my chance to pull free of the Microsoft vortex, at least a little bit, and gain some proficiency in what I think will ultimately become the status quo.

I’m ready now to get into Qt… Python… and whatever else looks useful.  How-To posts like those at talk.maemo.org showing how to get Windows developers onto Maemo devices are just adding irresistable fuel to the fire.

Hello (open source) World, here I (finally) come!

Just letting people know I’m still alive.  Just swamped.

On the agenda:

• Finish the rework of my Maemo Summit 2009 Corporation-community-engagement presentation, upload and discuss here
• Blog here and at maemo-guru about the N900
• Provide update articles on the US employment situation
• Discuss the new Maemo Greeters program at talk.maemo.org.

Maybe this weekend…

…and in my opinion it then becomes the iPhone killer.

See if you can spot it, and figure out why.

What's right with this picture?

Enter guesses or arguments in the Comments section!

Before I get into the details surrounding my participation in Maemo Summit 2009 and its aftermath, I wanted to make something clear:

As your newly-elected maemo.org council representative for the next six months, I expect input and feedback on what YOU expect.  So I’m not just begging for participation, I’m insisting on it.

The way I see it, there is a “currency” to complaints.  By that I don’t mean timeliness but rather value and cost.  Registering a complaint against an individual or organization is an implicit demand for response.  Usually the level of response is disproportionate to the original demand or request; i.e., more time and resources are spent addressing the issue than in presenting it.

So if you’re lodging a complaint, keep in mind that there is an expectation of further engagement on your part.  Dropping a little bomb into a discussion and running is trolling.  We can all do better than that.  Your bombs create craters that require filling; complainants should participate in that.  Such an effort takes many forms but it could be as simple as providing greater detail to your original issue or even nurturing it through to a conclusion of some sort.  Take ownership of your ideas!

Only a few hundred people out of perhaps thousands of potential voters bothered to indulge us in this past election.  I won’t go into the theories around that but I will say it is humbling.  It suggests to the current council we have no community-driven mandate and that it will be difficult overcoming the perception of a “government of, by and for the few”. We intend to face that challenge head-on.

One way to overcome the stigma of low voter turnout is high member follow-up.  Don’t just complain idly about issues– post clear, detailed and objective complaints or suggestions at talk.maemo.org and participate constructively in the subsequent discussion.  Try not to succumb to raw emotional impulses or appeals; stay objective and focused on your goal.  Be tolerant of minor distractions but firm in your resolve.

I am hoping you will use the Comments section of this blog, twitter, maemo.org channels or any other means you have of contacting me openly and honestly.  I will gladly respond in kind.  Together we can achieve Great Governance of maemo.org which will lead to other great things!  YOU decide what those should be.

Just an FYI– I am actively maintaining 3 blogs now dedicated to different purposes:

This one: just as the tagline describes

Texrat’s Trap: personal ramblings that help keep this plain clean

Freelance Rider Company: the blog for my musical pursuits.

And I haven’t forgotten that I owe everyone some Maemo Summit and N900 goodness… just want to make sure I do the topics justice.

Okay, I’ve been asked to update everyone on my experience during and after Maemo Summit 2009 and I apologize for being late in doing so.  Catching up with work (the $ kind) came first.

I’m putting some things together so this post is just to let you know I didn’t fall into the Atlantic on the way back.  For one I want to work further on what was to be my presentation (more on that embarassing fiasco later) and I also owe the Maemo Guru a piece on the N900 that Nokia so graciously loaned me.  Not to mention entering a few pages of bugs, quirks and ideas into Maemo Bugzilla.

So, bear with me a bit and I’ll try to do some serious word crunching tomorrow.

No, that’s not a typo– I don’t mean packaging.  I’m getting ready for the Maemo Summit 2009 in Amsterdam and thought I’d share some experiences and ideas for fellow travelers.

I learned a lot from my last boss at Nokia, who was constantly jetting off here and there.  But I also gained hard-earned wisdom from embarassing experiences as well.

On my first trip to Helsinki (my first overseas) I unpacked in my hotel room to discover my laptop was missing.  I realized I did not remember checking it anywhere along the route– which meant it had apparently been left behind.  A colleague back in Irving confirmed it with a chuckle at my expense.  I had taken everything but the computer.

Fortunately I had prepared my N800 with a trial enterprise solution some Maemo guys had put together as a side project.  This meant I had a VPN client with which I could reach Nokia’s intranet resources, and was able to perform about 80% of what I needed to do there… albeit with some squinting.

Lesson 1: keep your wits about you, slow down, and make a checklist.

As the N800 preparation shows, even though I can be scatterbrained I’m a big believer in contingency planning.  Maybe because I am scatterbrained.

This means I carry a backup phone and extra clothes.  But on my first few trips I overdid it.  This became obvious in Zurich when the military took extra interest in the wires and devices in my backpack.  Other passengers in line were not amused.  The subsequent inspection delayed me a bit but thankfully not by too much.

Lesson 2: try not to take so many gadgets, regardless of how fun they are.  And if you must, then perhaps put them in checked-in luggage instead carry-on!  (edit: just keep in mind the risks, as Antonio notes below).

On that note, it occurred to me today that since I will be bringing a few electronic items to Amsterdam, it might be wise to include a note and some printouts related to the event atop the stuff in my checked-in bag.  Something to assure the inevitable inspectors that my gear has a harmless purpose. 

I have also learned that dry cleaners will gladly fold and seal your shirts if you ask, rather than hanging them.  This way they take up less space and arrive neater.  I have also discovered that putting shoes in the outer pocket of a bag is a very bad idea, no matter how stiff the material is.  Finally, printing out directions and destination details beforehand is very, very useful.  Trust me on that.  Same for loading your cell phone with important contacts.

I also make sure I bring at least two days clothing in my carry-on luggage.  During two out my last three trips my checked-in stuff has gone on separate journeys… and clothing in Helsinki is expensive.  I sympathize with the citizens.  Hint: avoid Stockmann.

Things I tend to lose or forget (other than laptops) are toothbrushes, combs, deodorant, belts and writing materials… so those get high priority on my list.  Shopping for deodorant in Mexico is not high on my list of things to do.

lesson 3: remember the checklist?  USE IT.

Anyway, I will be off in a few days and there remains a lot left to do.  Time to quit blogging and get busy!

Since starting this blog after my last job loss I’ve taken Nokia to task over what I perceive to be shortcomings and errors, particularly in staffing and ambitious enterprise projects like Ovi.

But in the spirit of fairness and balance, and in preparation of my trip to Amsterdam for the Nokia-sponsored Maemo Summit 2009, I want to take a moment to acknowledge one team that I believe is doing a fantastic job: Maemo.

The Maemo project started small but with a big promise: deliver a commercial, highly-mobile touchscreen computer running a (mostly) open source Linux-based operating system named Maemo.  This began with the simply-designed 770, improved dramatically with the retro-inspired N800, saw the introduction of a handy keyboard with the sturdy N810, and now stands to fulfill a large part of the potential with the exciting N900.

Through it all the Nokia Maemo software team has been the firewall for developer and even consumer frustration, and I say with much professional admiration they have seemingly weathered it well.  The device guys appear pretty much insulated from outside criticism but I have to wonder if that will remain so very long– the N900 is garnering attention from a much broader audience than previous models, as one would expect, and surely this will in turn broaden and intensify the light of scrutiny.

But for now I’m focusing on the software guys and what they’re managing to do on incredibly short timetables and fewer resources than I would allot if I were king.    I get the feeling sometimes their efforts are not always fully appreciated so this post is for them: I am thankful for your work.

One thing Nokia does very well is identify, hire and cultivate extreme talent.  In the case of Maemo, the company has outdone itself.  Thanks all, and I look forward to what you do next!

As a connoiseur of irony I enjoy it all, from the low-brow stuff to the really abstract examples that I find aren’t easily shared.

So I got a real kick tonight out of seeing Microsoft’s Bing zing itself in my Hotmail inbox.  While performing the daily spam-extraction ritual I was struck by one quarantined email in particular.  It wasn’t about the usual male member enhancement or internet bride offers, but rather something that should not have been placed there:

Microsoft's Bing has an identity crisis

I’m tempted to mark it as spam, but I’m concerned that this may cause a rip in the time-space continuum as Microsoft’s mailbots spin into a frenzied loop of escalating send/spam cycles.

Suggestions solicited… but time’s running out!