[arrl-odv:22452] Re: LOTW Programmer & IT Task Priority
Barry: I’ve altered the subject of this thread to make it easier to track the different topics. My understanding is that this position was authorized by the Board last July and now we don’t even have a viable candidate some 7 months later. C++ is not some arcane programming language that only a few programmers know. I realize that finding the right or nearly right candidate slims the pool, but being at the beginning stage of the search 7 months later is inexplicable. I asked Mr. Keane about how the position was originally advertised; he told me a couple of means including in one of the ARRL news emails. I don’t recall seeing it—perhaps it was buried in an edition that had something else that caught my attention and I missed it. I’d strongly recommend sending out an email blast to the entire membership advertising the position (and only advertising the position). It costs us nothing but may yield the right candidate. Likewise putting it on the ARRL’s FaceBook page and twitter account will spread the word at no additional cost. Yet another advertising venue would be to put an ad in QST of significant enough size to catch attention. I’m certain that the fantastic people in the advertising and graphics sections could put something together that couldn’t be overlooked. While the right candidate might not be an ARRL member, it’s quite possible that an ARRL member knows the right candidate. On a different but still IT related topic, during the discussion of a subsequently withdrawn motion you promised the Board that you would provide a list of the IT section’s current taskings along with their priority so that the Board could review the priorities. I don’t recall ever receiving that list. Doug K4AC From: Shelley, Barry, N1VXY [mailto:bshelley@arrl.org] Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:21 AM To: k4ac; arrl-odv Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:22446] Committee Reports From January Board Meeting Doug: To answer your specific question, we have yet to identify a qualified candidate. Initially, we went out to the marketplace through national search sites, our web site and the professional networks of the people who comprise the LoTW advisory groups. Those efforts returned relatively few (less than 10) resumes which, quite honestly, was disappointing. None was a perfect candidate and several didn’t even have the necessary C++ programming experience we’re looking for. The LoTW back end is written in C++. Of the two most interesting candidates that we interviewed, one (a ham) didn’t have enough C++ background and the other, as it turns out, didn’t have permission to work in the United States. Something he failed to mention when he applied. Michael Keane feels, and I agree, that we need someone who can hit the ground running. Hiring a less experienced programmer will only result in a longer training period and a drain on Michael’s time which could be used for other projects. We expect this individual to take a leadership role in LoTW going forward. Since the Board meeting we’ve expanded our search by contacting a search firm that specializes in programmers and I’ve tried to expand that through some contacts I have locally although I suspect the search firm will be more fruitful. We’ve relaxed the initial requirement for the individual to work in Newington but this a) makes the requirement for experience with the ability to work independently even more important and b) opens up the possibility of our having a remote employee which would create nexus in another state. This would result in our having to collect and remit sales tax on sales in that particular state. Not something we can’t do, just another complication and explanation to members of that state. We continue to look and I’ve made this a priority for Michael early this year. 73, Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY Chief Financial Officer ARRL, Inc. The National Association for Amateur Radio (860) 594-0212 www.arrl.org From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Rehman, Doug, K4AC Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 10:02 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:22446] Committee Reports From January Board Meeting We are nearly a month since the January Board Meeting, yet the committee reports have still not been posted for the membership to view. (http://www.arrl.org/committee-reports) I’ve received a request for the DXAC Report which I find on the ODV secured portion of the website. I presume I can forward that to the member, but the point is that they should be able to find it themselves. At the point we are publishing the minutes of the Board Meeting, why aren’t we publishing the Committee Reports? Is there a reason why this information hasn’t been published yet? As long as we’re on the topic of things not being published yet, what’s the status of the RM-11708 FAQ? While I’m on a roll, have we hired the LOTW programmer yet? If not, why not? Thanks & 73, Doug Doug Rehman, K4AC Director Southeastern Division ARRL—The National Association for Amateur Radio® doug@k4ac.com www.arrlse.org <http://www.arrlse.org/> www.facebook.com/arrlse
At 04:21 PM 2/19/2014, Doug Rehman wrote:
On a different but still IT related topic, during the discussion of a subsequently withdrawn motion you promised the Board that you would provide a list of the IT sectionâs current taskings along with their priority so that the Board could review the priorities. I donât recall ever receiving that list.
Doug - Pages 52-53 of the 2014-15 Plan had the list of IT projects and priorities for the year. Let me know if you need a copy. -- Tom ===== e-mail: k1ki@arrl.org ARRL New England Division Director http://www.arrl.org/ Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444
Tom: I've got the 2014-15 plan, but my understanding/recall was that Barry was going to provide a more detailed task list. The 2014-15 plan breaks down projects into three levels (High, Medium, and Low), but there is no clear indication that the order within those levels is a prioritization. To save everyone from looking up the information, I've pasted it below. I would also like to see which IT personnel are assigned to each item listed and the anticipated number of person hours each project is anticipated to entail. Doug K4AC "We have identified the following specific projects for the IT Department in 2014. This is the priority list with which we will begin the year. This does not mean that priorities won’t change or projects can’t be added, but it must be noted that additions to the list will have to be prioritized and will impact the delivery of those projects deemed lower on the priority list. High Priority Projects: 1. Membership and Subscription Module in AIS a. Web membership application/renewal b. Automatic renewal of membership c. Membership account management 2. Wholesale publication sales module in AIS and integration of wholesale publications sales order processing with back-end delivery and accounting systems. 3. Replacement for DXCC (“ATS”) system 4. Improve ARRL web site performance where possible. Medium Priority Projects: 1. Logbook of the World program enhancements (these will be dependent on the filling of the position of LoTW Programmer approved by the Board). a. Perform code maintenance and upgrade version of SAP MaxDB database b. Instrument, monitor and tune database performance c. Establish a Logbook of the World co-location site. d. Migrate unique functionality of the DXCC system to Logbook of the World (5BDXCC award) and add 5BWAS award e. Add CQ WAZ award to Logbook of the World 2. ARRL Headquarters local network reconfiguration and upgrade. 3. Upgrade web site software components including content editor. 4. Improve preparation and delivery tools for ARRL electronic newsletters (ARRL Letter, Contest Rate Sheet & E-Letter). 5. Provide member authentication web service to support exam generation website built and operated by outside vendor. Low Priority Projects: 1. Upgrade office desktops to Microsoft Office 2013 2. Contest 2020 Generally, it should not be assumed that these projects will be completed in the order shown above. Application of resources will be to higher priority projects over lower priority projects but it should be kept in mind that resources are different for programming versus hardware projects. However, because there are limited resources (mostly staff time) available to be assigned to projects, the order in which projects are started, worked on and completed will not necessarily follow the list exactly. Multiple projects will be worked on simultaneously." -----Original Message----- From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Tom Frenaye Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 5:12 PM To: 'arrl-odv' Subject: [arrl-odv:22456] Re: LOTW Programmer & IT Task Priority At 04:21 PM 2/19/2014, Doug Rehman wrote:
On a different but still IT related topic, during the discussion of a subsequently withdrawn motion you promised the Board that you would provide a list of the IT section’s current taskings along with their priority so that the Board could review the priorities. I don’t recall ever receiving that list.
Doug - Pages 52-53 of the 2014-15 Plan had the list of IT projects and priorities for the year. Let me know if you need a copy. -- Tom ===== e-mail: k1ki@arrl.org ARRL New England Division Director http://www.arrl.org/ Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444 _______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv
Barry went home sick yesterday afternoon and is out today, but will pull together more detail and hopes to share it with ODV today. There's no need to request copies. The detail will not be quite as in-depth as Doug has requested. Dave K1ZZ P.S. The RM-11708 FAQ went online earlier this morning. Committee reports should be up later today.
All: I’ve attached to this message a copy of pages 52-53 of the ARRL 2014-15 Plan which was e-mailed to the Board in early December and approved at the Annual Meeting in January. These pages serve as the summary of the IT Department’s tasks and priorities for 2014. The information below is intended to supplement that information as requested. First, I have to point out that all of the software development projects require work from several departments, not simply IT. Users have significant responsibilities in the development of the specifications as well as the testing of the written code so allocation of resources is important for several different departments in each project. The IT Dept. personnel who will be referenced below include programmers Michael Keane (MK), Dennis Budd (DB), Maureen Farmer (MF), database engineer John Proctor (JP), and infrastructure and network staff Andy Shefrin (AS), Andrew Peichert (AP) and Adam Bernard (AB). It should be noted that while MK isn’t referenced with each project, he will play some role in each one depending on needs. I will use the reference numbers in the attached document in the reporting below. It should also be noted that we need to complete 2 holdover projects from last year, the Centennial QSO Party (MK and MF) and the Travel Plus Android App (DB). As an aside the programming staff, depending on where a particular project is in its timeline, could be working on more than one project at a time. High Priorities: 1. Membership and Subscription Module – This will be a team effort in IT using MF, DB, JP and MK. We won’t begin this project until after the initial coding is done on #2 & #3 in the high priority list and completion will extend into 2015. 2. Wholesale pub sales module – DB is the lead on this. As it uses some of the same methodology of the e-store, this project is expected to be completed in Q2 of this year. 3. New DXCC – MF is the primary programmer on this project which is likely to take most of 2014 to complete. 4. Web site – AP is the lead in design and developing an improved hardware infrastructure for the ARRL web site. New hardware similar to that employed with LoTW has been ordered (will be leased from Rackspace, the web site host) and testing will begin in the near future. Likely implementation is about 2 months. Medium Priorities: 1. LoTW – Other than immediate situations which will be handled by MK, this work will fall to the new programmer. Items a, b and c are defined as “filling the hole” of technical debt while d and e are enhancements that have been listed for a while. 2. Local network reconfiguration – AP and AS. Project is beginning this month and equipment has been ordered. 3. Upgrade web site software components – MK will be the lead on this one. 4. Improve newsletter deliveries – In effect, this is part of #3 above. 5. Member authentication for exam generation – Likely DB but do not have specifications as of yet. Low Priorities: 1. Upgrade desktop software – AS and AB. 2. Contest 2020 – Futures project, no specs yet but likely MK and J If there are any questions, please let me know. I will be traveling to VA beginning early tomorrow morning for up to a week, depending on the success or lack thereof, of my daughter's college basketball team. I will have access to e-mail while traveling and will try to respond, but responses may not be immediate. 73, Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY Chief Financial Officer ARRL, Inc.
I checked with my brother who is currently in the job market as a C++ programmer. He said the posting sounds like this position is looking for a C++ programmer on Linux/Unix. There is a shortage of those. He stated it would take some time for a C++ programmer for Windows to get up-to-speed on Linux/Unix so they would not hit the ground running. Bonnie Altus AB7ZQ Northwestern Division Vice Director From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Doug Rehman Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 1:22 PM To: 'Shelley, Barry, N1VXY'; 'arrl-odv' Subject: [arrl-odv:22452] Re: LOTW Programmer & IT Task Priority Barry: I’ve altered the subject of this thread to make it easier to track the different topics. My understanding is that this position was authorized by the Board last July and now we don’t even have a viable candidate some 7 months later. C++ is not some arcane programming language that only a few programmers know. I realize that finding the right or nearly right candidate slims the pool, but being at the beginning stage of the search 7 months later is inexplicable. I asked Mr. Keane about how the position was originally advertised; he told me a couple of means including in one of the ARRL news emails. I don’t recall seeing it—perhaps it was buried in an edition that had something else that caught my attention and I missed it. I’d strongly recommend sending out an email blast to the entire membership advertising the position (and only advertising the position). It costs us nothing but may yield the right candidate. Likewise putting it on the ARRL’s FaceBook page and twitter account will spread the word at no additional cost. Yet another advertising venue would be to put an ad in QST of significant enough size to catch attention. I’m certain that the fantastic people in the advertising and graphics sections could put something together that couldn’t be overlooked. While the right candidate might not be an ARRL member, it’s quite possible that an ARRL member knows the right candidate. On a different but still IT related topic, during the discussion of a subsequently withdrawn motion you promised the Board that you would provide a list of the IT section’s current taskings along with their priority so that the Board could review the priorities. I don’t recall ever receiving that list. Doug K4AC From: Shelley, Barry, N1VXY [mailto:bshelley@arrl.org] Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:21 AM To: k4ac; arrl-odv Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:22446] Committee Reports From January Board Meeting Doug: To answer your specific question, we have yet to identify a qualified candidate. Initially, we went out to the marketplace through national search sites, our web site and the professional networks of the people who comprise the LoTW advisory groups. Those efforts returned relatively few (less than 10) resumes which, quite honestly, was disappointing. None was a perfect candidate and several didn’t even have the necessary C++ programming experience we’re looking for. The LoTW back end is written in C++. Of the two most interesting candidates that we interviewed, one (a ham) didn’t have enough C++ background and the other, as it turns out, didn’t have permission to work in the United States. Something he failed to mention when he applied. Michael Keane feels, and I agree, that we need someone who can hit the ground running. Hiring a less experienced programmer will only result in a longer training period and a drain on Michael’s time which could be used for other projects. We expect this individual to take a leadership role in LoTW going forward. Since the Board meeting we’ve expanded our search by contacting a search firm that specializes in programmers and I’ve tried to expand that through some contacts I have locally although I suspect the search firm will be more fruitful. We’ve relaxed the initial requirement for the individual to work in Newington but this a) makes the requirement for experience with the ability to work independently even more important and b) opens up the possibility of our having a remote employee which would create nexus in another state. This would result in our having to collect and remit sales tax on sales in that particular state. Not something we can’t do, just another complication and explanation to members of that state. We continue to look and I’ve made this a priority for Michael early this year. 73, Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY Chief Financial Officer ARRL, Inc. The National Association for Amateur Radio (860) 594-0212 www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org> From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org <mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Rehman, Doug, K4AC Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 10:02 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:22446] Committee Reports From January Board Meeting We are nearly a month since the January Board Meeting, yet the committee reports have still not been posted for the membership to view. (http://www.arrl.org/committee-reports) I’ve received a request for the DXAC Report which I find on the ODV secured portion of the website. I presume I can forward that to the member, but the point is that they should be able to find it themselves. At the point we are publishing the minutes of the Board Meeting, why aren’t we publishing the Committee Reports? Is there a reason why this information hasn’t been published yet? As long as we’re on the topic of things not being published yet, what’s the status of the RM-11708 FAQ? While I’m on a roll, have we hired the LOTW programmer yet? If not, why not? Thanks & 73, Doug Doug Rehman, K4AC Director Southeastern Division ARRL—The National Association for Amateur Radio® doug@k4ac.com <mailto:doug@k4ac.com> www.arrlse.org <http://www.arrlse.org/> www.facebook.com/arrlse <http://www.facebook.com/arrlse>
participants (5)
-
Bonnie Altus AB7ZQ -
Doug Rehman -
Shelley, Barry, N1VXY -
Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ -
Tom Frenaye