Author: Tom (Page 338 of 427)

WordPress Plugins: A Dilemma

April 11, 2013 / Tom / 0 Comments

In case it isn’t obvious from some of my previous posts, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to some of the problems with the WordPress plugin repository.

Though I’ve already stated this in previous posts, my goal isn’t to complain without offering solutions – I hate seeing it, and I hate doing it – I don’t think it’s proactive and that’s why I enjoy many of the comments that have happened around this particular space.

But as I begin consider moving back to a premium model of offering WordPress-specific products and services, this has raised yet-another-dilemma.

Stop Complaining About Customers

April 10, 2013 / Tom / 0 Comments

One of the things that I enjoy the most about Twitter is the ability to meet, greet, chat, and learn from other people in my field.

Granted, not everyone uses Twitter for the same reason, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know certain people in my particular development space, and enjoy the conversation as much as the next person.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s helped make me a better developer because of the conversations that have gone from Twitter to this blog, or vice versa.

But there’s something that I’ve noticed on Twitter among my fellow developers – most notably freelancers or those who are at the head of smaller businesses – that I can’t seem to understand (or endorse): It’s complaining about customers.

An Update To The WordPress JavaScript Coding Standards

April 9, 2013 / Tom / 0 Comments

A few weeks ago, I published the first version of the WordPress JavaScript Coding Standards to the WordPress Codex. Since then, it’s already been updated with a variety of improvements from several other developers who are much more capable than I am.

However, there’s currently a major overhaul of certain documentation going on. For example, a number of us are working on the Core Contributor Handbook, the Theme Developer Handbook, the Plugin Developer Handbook, and more.

As of today, the WordPress JavaScript Coding Standards are now part of the Core Contributor Handbook.

How To Find WordPress Comments That Are Missing Replies

April 9, 2013 / Tom / 0 Comments

A little less than two months ago, Pippin Williamson, Andrew Norcross, and I decided that we were going to collaborate on a WordPress comment reply plugin.

Specifically, we were going to work on a plugin that was going to make it easy for publishers to identify comments to which they’ve not responded. We also set the arbitrary deadline of having it completed by the end of WordCamp Miami.

We met the deadline, soft launched the plugin yesterday, and are officially launching it today.

Software Project Estimation: Free or Paid?

April 8, 2013 / Tom / 0 Comments

Ever since I’ve gone into business for myself, software project estimation has been one of those skills that I feel as if I’m constantly refining.

Sure, I have a process for how I go about doing it now, and I have open conversations with potential customers as I try to understand their core business need before I go off to estimate the project, but the truth of the matter – and anyone who’s ever estimated a project knows this – is that estimating a project is also a function of how well the customer understands their current problem.

By that, I simply mean that if a customer has a felt need and they have a vision for how their process can be improved, it’s easier to come up with an estimation for a project than for a customer who has a felt need but a vague idea as to how it may be solved.

There’s a lot that can be written on this topic, but I’m primarily concerned with just one aspect of estimation in this post: should estimates be free or paid?