ArcherPoint Microsoft Dynamics NAV Developer Digest - vol 15
The ArcherPoint technical staff—made up of developers, project managers, and consultants – is constantly communicating internally, with the goal of sharing helpful information with one another.
As they run into issues and questions, find the answers, and make new discoveries, they post them companywide on Yammer for everyone’s benefit. We in Marketing watch these interactions and never cease to be amazed by the creativity, dedication, and brainpower we’re so fortunate to have in this group—so we thought, wouldn’t it be great to share them with the rest of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Community? So, the ArcherPoint Microsoft Dynamics NAV Developer Digest was born. Each week, we present a collection of thoughts and findings from the ArcherPoint staff. We hope these insights will benefit you, too.
Jon Long on standard practices for upgrades:
Three topics that can raise blood pressures in non-upgrade circles are Dev License, Data Loss, and Code Comments.
Dev License – The Dev License is widely used in and upgrade on the client’s server. Normally, it might not be best practice to save the DEV license or “upload” the Dev license to a client’s db. Certainly not so in an upgrade. The Data Migration requires it.
Data Loss – The “Prevent data loss from table changes” property defaults to
Code Comments – in upgrades tend to stray from the norm. I’m not going to say anymore on this subject here other than to say that an upgrade presents an opportunity to make the code better than it was. If the commented out code is not auto-merged by the tool, it will be left as is. But, if it’s involved in a conflict and has to be manually merged, developers should remove commented out code. There are many exceptions and there are no rules per se.
Alan Campbell on Risk Neutrality:
Risk Neutrality: This is a post by the author of “just give me a number”. Read it you will like it, especially sales people. I like the following paragraph, which forms the basis for our Agile approach:
“Even when one is in the happy situation of choosing between alternatives with positive values, businesses often yield sub-optimal results by applying their risk tolerances at the project level. The natural human desire to stamp out all risk leads many companies to enact arbitrary thresholds for projects to meet (e.g., no more than a 15% probability of losing money). They will spend millions of dollars to acquire information (imperfect information, I might add), which may reduce the probability of loss from, say, 18% to 13%, thereby crossing the magic, completely arbitrary threshold. This is a waste of their shareholders’ money.”
Read the entire article, Risk Tolerance and Risk Neutrality (You Can Live with More Risk than You Think).
Dan Sass posted a link on Lessons for First-Time CEOs:
Excerpt:
Whether you are a first-time leader or a first-time CEO, the basics apply:
- Keep in mind that leading is different from managing
- Pay attention to transitions, getting a head start, managing your message, building your team
- Focus on the cause – it’s about inspiring and enabling others
Read the entire post: Lessons for First-Time CEOs from Medifast’s Mike MacDonald.
Dan Sass posted a link on the traits of indispensable employees:
Want employees who are competent and hard-working and truly care? Here’s what to seek out and nurture:
- Fire in the belly
- Smat works
- Empathy is your friend
- Integrity is integral
- All for all
Read the entire post, 6 Magic Traits of Indispensable Employees.