Smolin From Program to Product

Turning Your Code into a Saleable Product
1. ed
ISBN: 978-1-4302-0614-9
Verlag: Apress
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 201 Seiten

This book is not a general software business reference, like our MicroISV book or the Eric Sink book. It's specifically for readers who have an existing project, or an idea for one, and want to turn it into a product. They can follow this book for the best chance of success. It is written in a non-technical, friendly, conversational style, and is filled with excerpts, advice, and war stories from someone who's been in the trenches for years.

Rocky Smolin began programming computers at the age of 16 at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He created and marketed his first commercial product in 1969 while an undergraduate at Bradley University, and received a master's in business administration from San Diego State University in 1974. During the 1980s, Smolin co-authored PMS-II, the first popular critical path project management system for PCs. He went on to develop and market E-Z-MRP(r), an entry level manufacturing system for small manufacturers, and The Sleep Advisor(r), a consumer-targeted expert system to identify and remedy sleep problems. Smolin is the author of How To Buy The Right Small Business Computer System (Wiley, 1981) and co-author of Production and Management Systems for Business (Prentice-Hall, 1990) Today, Smolin's company, Beach Access Software (BchAcc.com), provides custom databases and applications for a wide variety of businesses. He lives in Del Mar, California with his wife of 30 years and two children.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Smolin, Rocky

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Contents at a Glance;6
2;Contents;7
3;Foreword;11
4;About the Author;13
5;About the Technical Reviewer;14
6;Acknowledgments;15
7;Introduction;16
7.1;So Why Did I Write This Book?;18
8;Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?;18
8.1;Why Am I a Programmer?;21
8.2;Who AreYou?;24
8.3;What’s the Big Idea?;25
8.4;What This Book Is Really About;25
8.5;How They Did It: An Interview with Software Developer and Entrepreneur Al Vanderpool;27
9;So What Do I Do First?;39
9.1;DefineYour Product;39
9.2;How to BeYour Own Systems Analyst: Making a System Specification;40
9.3;Who Gets to Use It? Controlling Access to Data inYour Application;53
9.4;Navigation: FindingYour Way Around the Program;57
9.5;The Platform;62
9.6;The Wrap-Up;62
9.7;How They Did It:An Interview with Jewelry Designer, Software Developer, and Entrepreneur Barbara Carlton;64
10;The Program: From the Outside Looking In;76
10.1;What I Don’t Want to Talk About;76
10.2;How to Hire a Programmer;77
10.3;What I Do Want to Talk About;80
10.4;And in Conclusion, My Friends . . .;105
10.5;How They Did It: An Interview with Jackie and Doug Murphy of Murphy’s Creativity;106
11;The Price of Success;118
11.1;A Matter of Definition;118
11.2;The Thing About Software . . .;120
11.3;Finding the Peak of the Revenue Curve;125
11.4;Pricing Options;127
11.5;Getting Paid: SettingYour Payment Policies;130
11.6;Actually Getting Paid: Dealing with Your Receivables . . . and Their Payables;131
11.7;Leasing and Self-Financing;132
11.8;Annual Support: Creating an Annuity;132
11.9;And in Conclusion, My Friends . . .;133
11.10;How They Did It: An Interview with Arthur Fuller;134
12;Legal Matters;144
12.1;How to Talk to a Lawyer;145
12.2;Who OwnsYour Software?;146
12.3;Never SellYour Software;148
12.4;The Business Format;151
12.5;Insuring Success;154
12.6;What IfYou Get Hit By a Truck? Software Escrow;155
12.7;Copyrights;156
12.8;Trademarks;157
12.9;There Be Pirates Out There . . .;158
12.10;How They Did It: An Interview with Barry Matfield;163
13;Some Final Considerations;170
13.1;When to Stop Programming;170
13.2;The Version Two List;171
13.3;Custom Tailored or Off the Rack?;172
13.4;Manual Labor;173
13.5;It’s a Wrap: Packaging Your Product;180
13.6;The Last Word: How to Eat an Elephant;184
13.7;How They Did It: An Interview with Steve Capistrant of Symphony Information Services;185
13.8;How They Did It: An Interview with Reuben Cummings of Government Finance Consultants;193
14;Sample Software License;199
14.1;E-Z-MRP® Material Requirements Planning System—User’s Guide;199
15;Index;203