jxProject.com - Free Project Management Software

I have been working with computer technology since graduating from Mechanical Engineering school in 1986. From 1986 through 1994 I worked in Engineering/Manufacturing areas of technology including manufacturing process control and CAD/CAM systems, usually using UNIX/C. From 1994 through 2001 I worked on various business system technologies using TCP/IP, HTTP, RDBMS, OLAP, Java and Windows in industries such as software products, health care, wireless communications and e-commerce. My previous position was as a Senior Software Architect for a Venture Capitalized startup.

Perspectives:

I didn't realize it until around 1997 that I have a very keen interest in Industrial Engineering and Management Science. I can't help myself from always looking for better and more efficient ways of doing things. For example, I have designs for more efficient dishwashers and washing machines. It bothers me how much energy and water is wasted by these two common household appliances. There are millions of these machines out there being used every day, wasting resources. I tell you, it practically keeps me up at night.

If you really want to experience inefficiency in its nearly pure form, you can't do much better than the typical enterprise software development project. From my experience I'd say 40 to 70 percent of the effort involved in these projects is wasted. The trend these days is to improve software development efficiency by utilizing less expensive labor. However, if you look back to the early 1900s where Management Science really got started, better business and work processes are what lead to great leaps in productivity. Henry Ford and the equally infamous Henry Gantt changed the world with the automobile assembly line. Gantt was an advocate for improving efficiency through wage incentives as well as inventing the familiar chart layout that bears his name to this day. Better work processes are the best business differentiators. Lowering costs can keep your business afloat, but it won't put you ahead of your competition.

There are two technologies which have fundamentally changed the way software should be developed. Those are: Object Oriented Architecture and Multi-threaded execution. I see companies developing software the same way they did in the 1970s, even though the technology has completely changed. The failure to implement work processes which incorporate these different technologies is a significant contributor to the lack of efficiency in software development today. Part of what I am doing with jxProject is perfecting my own work methods to accommodate these new techologies.

I am very positive about the writings of Eliyahu M. Goldratt, who's books: “Theory of Constraints” and “Critical Chain” outline a more complete picture of forces that that act on business processes. I read his book, “The Goal” several years ago when I was working as a Plant Floor Process Control Engineer. If you are familiar with his ideas, this is basically where I am heading with jxProject. Critical Path analysis is simply not enough!

- Pete