When Humans Are Away

One unforeseen consequence of the mandated shut-ins has been the emergence of animals in places where people would otherwise occupy. Stories of monkeys taking to the streets in Thailand cities, rats finding their ways into people’s homes instead of restaurant garbage, and sheepish wildlife being sighted in public areas have been appearing.

Click image for WSJ article.

Click image for Chicago NBC article.

Click image for the Hill article.

This global phenomenon does not stop in major cities. A similar occurrence has been observed right here at the Ablesoft office. Fortunately, it is not rats or wild animals, but rather a staple of our office who is attempting to re-establish his role in the office hierarchy - Doug.

Once outnumbered by humans, Doug accepted his place as the token tech. company dog. Now, the tide is changing, and Doug is establishing ways to challenge those who remain in the office as 'Top Dog'. Below is a glimpse of his desperate climb to the top.

A sign of the turmoil to come first began with Doug’s showcased reading choice. Clearly directed at Noel, Ablesoft’s President.

Meetings became impossible with Doug’s constant insistence that he had already reserved the meeting room.

Then came the unusual content selections in ASI’s break room.

The stand-off finally came to a head with Doug claiming the boss’s spot….

Just to realize, he had crossed the line…

As sanctions are beginning to lift things are getting back to normal for the employees of Ablesoft. Gradually, employees are returning to the office and look forward to being back in each other’s presence soon. Although Doug has settled back into his role of the token tech. dog, he is not afraid to remind us whose home Ablesoft really is.

From the employees of Ablesoft, we wish you good health and a smooth transition back into normalcy. Also, a little less turmoil with your pets than us.

Our Takeaways from this Year's Microsoft Build

Microsoft Build Day 1

Day 2

What would otherwise be hosted in a packed convention center in downtown Seattle filled with flash, hype, and grand statements on technology, Microsoft's annual tech convention took a different approach this year. Condensing a 3-day event to a 48-hour marathon of online content, Microsoft's build conference adopted a more intimate tone. Flash, or not, the developers of Ablesoft were focused on one thing - the tech. We made sure to take the necessary steps to avoid missing one moment. Following that experience, here are some of the takeaways from the Ablesoft team:

WinForm Example

The story of WinForms by Monty Python

Respect the Elders
Since its inception in 2002, Windows Forms (WinForms) was introduced as Microsoft's first user interface technology for building .Net Framework applications. Because of its power and relative ease of use, developers and organizations utilized the technology for business applications. Many which are still in use today. As with any 'legacy' technology, over time whispers of obsolescence quickly gain traction to fear that the technology will not be supported, or in other words dead. In this recent build conference, Microsoft clarified that WinForm apps will be adapted for the future - so the technology can live to see another day.

Microsoft’s open source offering to developers.

Sharing is Caring
With the recent explosion of virtual working, Microsoft has advanced 2 years in 2 months with their collaboration tools according to Satya Nadell, Microsoft's CEO, in his keynote. That future puts an emphasis on collaboration across employees and developers with Microsoft Teams, open source communities, and environments that foster co-creation across developers. A few updates:

Microsoft Teams – With the Power Platform, will give the ability to add low-code programs to carry out workflows. I.E. sending automated on-boarding materials through to a new-hire through Teams. For more examples, click here.

Open Source Communities – Starting with the acquisition of GitHub in ‘18, Microsoft has continued to tout its push to open source communities where developers can share programming pieces for quicker application development.

Converging Technology
Where is the Microsoft giant bounding towards these days? To a centered, inward peace. With the proclamation of agile, modern, and open development being the future, Microsoft is seeking to converge many of their development technologies, such as WinForms, WPF, and UWP into shared platforms. This journey ends with businesses using polished applications while lowering their maintenance costs across time. So, Microsoft is more of the 'Big Friendly Giant' than a tormenting one:

Microsoft keeping their little developer friends content.

Collaboration Technologies – Microsoft Dev Ops and Microsoft Teams will pair together as a tool for developers to communicate, track requirements, and monitor the development of programming for applications.

Despite missing out on the perks of conventions with the complimentary coffees, lunch buffets, and free vendor swag, the Build conference was viewed positively by the Ablesoft team. Microsoft is providing a clearer path with the unification of their technologies which is energizing our developers in forging our future technology approach. Stay tuned for more.

The Bugs Among Us

As a reference, the ‘before’ shot. Clear damage near the fridge represented a ‘small’ matter to address.

In the programming world, the term ‘bug’ represents a malfunction within a program that is generally hidden and interferes with an expected outcome. Bugs can range from a minor miscalculation, to a large-scale technical glitch that may compromise the system. Typical of engineering, even its origin story is quite literal when Grace Hopper, a computer scientist, discovered a moth trapped within Harvard’s computer in 1947 which was throwing off results and puzzling colleagues. Common and potentially disastrous, bugs are an undeniable force which need to be managed under the watchful eye of a programmer. This story is about a different type of bug. A literal bug. The termite.

Apologies to the squeamish. Soon into the tearing out of flooring, termites in action discovered.

Like for most, this past month has provided an opportune time to address long-overdue tasks such as cleaning, organizing, and making updates to one’s living environment. Noel and his wife Sally (Owner and Head Investor) were addressing the latter with the exciting prospect of changing out the flooring across their home. Quickly into the project, minor termite damage was discovered. What began as minor, quickly escalated with each tile removed. Reader’s be warned, what you are about to see are the devastating effects of hidden bugs.

An example of the hidden carnage ravaged under the entrance to the kitchen.

No more white wall, and floor for that matter.

Further progress into tearing out revealed more damage. Note the white wall.

Last one for good measure.

Fortunately from a systems perspective, Ablesoft has avoided such painful surprises as Noel and Sally through effective ‘bug’ management. In using a software development tool called Microsoft DevOps, testers are easily able to identify bugs, developers exterminate them, and progress is then shared across the team. So Noel’s home may have been compromised by those pesky bugs, but his systems are not.

This story is not solely a warning of the damages hidden bugs can cause us – both virtual and real. With the large scale damage has come a push for Noel and Sally to rethink the layout of their home and incorporate new ideas. In additon, the decade long wood buffet for the termites could have ended in even larger infrastructure damage to the home if continued to go unnoticed. That said, their experience is one that would be wished on very few. With that, monitor the bug, respect the bug, and you just may avoid a hidden disaster. 

Ablesoft’s Home Invasion

It's difficult to avoid using predictable expressions when describing the havoc COVID-19 has wreaked on our lives. "The new normal", "It will get worse before it gets better”, and "They are out of toilet paper", are some among many phrases which have inadvertently slipped into our conversations. With those expressions have also come changes in the way we work, live, and socialize. One of the largest changes for Ablesoft was transitioning to a fully remote workforce.  Even for a tech company, we emphasize the intimacy of our small office environment and were concerned at what would be lost in sacrificing it. As a precaution, we setup daily Microsoft Teams ‘check-ins’ in hopes of staying connected in a casual way. Below are some of the highlights from invading each other’s homes.

What would otherwise have been a risky proposition, the pasty team of Ablesoft was able to enjoy a meeting at the beach.

The marketing meeting included Michelle’s encouragement of Lisa on baking her first cookie people..

…..They tasted great!

Ablesoft’s head investor (Noel’s wife), stopped by for a morale boosting pep talk.

Fortunately, the office was still able to carry out our annual tradition of ‘hat day’. Some of its participants were a fire fighter, hacker, witch, and a fan of a hopeless team.

Despite the unknowns and forced adjustments, perhaps the changes have fueled new ways for us to communicate and come together. Or,at the very least, provide some mild entertainment. From the team at Ablesoft, we hope you all the best of health, safety, and sanity.

Talking Design with Next Generation Entrepreneurs

Prior to being owned and renovated, the building Ablesoft resides in today was a dusty resale shop. Originally built in 1893, the weathered floors, relic-filled boxes, and eerie history of manufacturing caskets provoked similar responses when the prospect of purchasing it was brought up by the owner, Noel. "Really?". Six years later, Ablesoft employees proudly walk visitors through the office like kids showcasing their prized effort. Built just how they like it. And like most projects, the journey to the finish yielded many lessons. 

A Before Picture of the Office…See What I Mean?

Six Years Later, Current Day.

This week, the nostalgia of renovating the office was provoked when students from Oregon High School paid a visit to Ablesoft. Hearing through the Oregon grapevine that Noel was familiar with a variety of design tools, the students came looking for guidance on creating layouts for their new business. This ambitious project is one of many initiatives stemming from the OHS Entrepreneurial Club. The program creates an environment for students to launch ideas and get hands-on experience. Like Noel 6 years ago, the students have the opportunity to convert an empty building into a functioning business. The building is located in Mt.Morris, and currently is being designed as a Tea Shop featuring local artists, entrepreneurs, and an environment to learn. Stay tuned for more.

The visit was a success with Noel and the OHS crew sharing ideas on how to get started after a quick demonstration of Homestyler, Noel’s design tool of choice. Noel was impressed by the student’s engagement and ability to focus on the task at hand.

Despite the daunting nature of the coming renovations, we are excited for them, and look forward to the day we can enjoy their results.

Noel reviewing the old photos of the building with the OHS entrepreneurial members. Doug was trying to get in on the action too.

The Brainstorming session.

Fostering a Culture of Internal Theft at Ablesoft

In the office environment, there are a lot of unspoken resentments that tend to fester over the year. Being a family-run company only exacerbates this. Stolen parking spots, watching the last cup of coffee get drunk, and loud typing are few among many slights we experience and inflict every day on each other. At Ablesoft, we believe in relieving these stresses in the most passive aggressive ways possible. That is why this past holiday party we decided to partake in the tradition of white elephant.

Many would agree, the most important part of white elephant is laying down the rules. Many families and companies operate along different guidelines, so we appointed our head developer Alan as the head of rules and regulations. Doug, the dog, provided quality control.

After the rules were set, and the Ablesoft employees were disarmed with an afternoon lunch, the white elephant battle ground commenced. Some of the highlights included:

Our head designer Lisa proudly showing off her favorite coffee. It was promptly stolen from her.

Noel excited by his gift, only to be stolen by Noah.

Our intern Noah, contemplating what he’s willing to lose for his internship under his boss’s watchful eye.

Michelle opening Eric’s gift, which are notoriously undesirable.

After six excruciating rounds of gift opening and theft, civil discourse won out. The Ablesoft team was still able to band together with the holiday spirit, aside from Doug who received no gifts (and refused to acknowledge the camera).

Until next year, Ablesoft…

Three Unanticipated Benefits in Hiring an Intern

This past Summer, there was much debate at Ablesoft on how to move forward with adding a new employee. Being a small company, we were sensitive to the impact both financially and culturally when introducing an outsider. But, we knew a move needed to be made to satisfy our growth goals. In August, the verdict was found in the hiring of an intern from Northern Illinois University. He is a Computer Science major who was looking for a company to give him a chance. We were looking for someone we could gradually ramp up with our changing processes while avoiding financial risk. Enter Noah.

Not only does Noah serve up a mean cup of coffee, but he has also offered up an array of unforeseen benefits in kicking off our internship program.

Alan teaching Noah the fundamentals of collaboration.

An opportunity for employees to manage

With a small company, the opportunity for a worker to get management experience is quite limited. As our employees mentor and supervise Noah, they are gaining valuable management skills.  The internship becomes a symbiotic relationship.  Noah benefits from real world, hands-on development, while senior developers get practice in breaking down tasks into delegated chunks and training. This has brought confidence in both the mentee in learning and the mentor in managing.

Noah taking on responsibilities and learning the importance of attention to detail.

Taking on the necessary tasks

Noah provides an extra set of hands to alleviate our developers’ workload.  Short-term tasks and research can be transferred to him, giving him the opportunity to learn something new, while minimizing workflow interruption for other employees.  Specifically, he has researched new development technologies, initiated his understanding of C#, and has a role in testing applications prior to release to the customer. All of which has freed up time for our full-time developers to pursue more impact-ful work, and for Noah to learn.

Noah sharing his input on how to further innovate our software development practices.

Challenge to habits

On-boarding a new employee creates a compelling reason to question current processes. With a fresh outsider’s view, long-running practices that have become sterile are more easily identifiable. As a result of bringing Noah on, we have included modern practices in our training program such as co-development meetings with senior programmers.

In addition to these benefits, Noah brings a new personality and dynamic that is greatly appreciated in our tight-knit work environment. From that, we have realized great short-term benefits despite our mutual long-term investment in each other.