When it comes to promoting and developing iPhone apps, the application icon is key.

“Your app icon is the window to your software” -Steve Jobs

Here are some tips for a good iPhone Icon:

• Make it unique
• If using a logo, keep it simple
• Try to convey functionality through a picture
• Use bright colors and clean edges
• Don’t forget about subtle background pattens

Now that you have some pointers you may have a good idea what you want your icon to look like, now how do create it? Simple, use an icon template. Here is one from Cocoia’s Blog:

http://blog.cocoia.com/2010/iphone-4-icon-psd-file/

A simple Photoshop PSD file which contains all the necessary dimensions, permutations, and shadings for a simple icon. Now all thats left for you is your imagination.

~Jack

The first obvious tool that we need to consider (and probably a factor like no other, and key to a project’s success) is the smooth and fluent communication flow among team members. Every decision we make will depend on each project’s specific characteristics and needs: client preferences, adopted development practices, etc. I will be describing here our communication template that we will be using as a model baseline for all our projects.

Communication will be both oral and written, using the following tools:

• Email – We’ll create different distribution lists to facilitate access for all members: project-wide, development team, etc.
• Jira – We’ll track key discussions, brainstorming, and other communications that end with a specific resolution within Jira tickets. This way we gain control over that discussion and force it to a concrete flow: discussion kickoff, brainstorming and opinion exchange, decision making and resolution.
• Skype – Skype is an amazing tool. Not only because of its quality and reliability, but also because it offers the best conference experience (aside from on-site meetings, of course) because Skype displays a visual alert for any conference participant who speaks – incredibly useful when you don’t know the people joining the conference and you don’t recognize their voices.
• Backup conference tool – FreeConferenceCallHD is a decent conference call product that is absolutely free – very important since it serves as a backup in case Skype fails for any reason whatsoever.
• Instant Messaging – We use IM whenever we want some conversations “recorded”, whether to easily create a minute of that meeting or to be able to share it with others later on.

Finally, but nonetheless important, is the strategic scheduling of the meetings. Everyone involved is committed to starting the meeting on time and keeping the duration controlled. Google Calendar is a viable tool that helps us apply this methodology.

We are getting ready to build out metrics for one of our large community based applications. In our preparation for this task, we have been reading and reviewing different strategies.

We ran across Neil Patel’s (of KISSmetrics) Web App Metrics talk from earlier in the year and found it to contain some excellent recommendations. I like his approach of trying to save development time and most importantly, taking baby steps toward event capturing.

Successful Web App Metrics from Carsonified on Vimeo.

When I was looking for any documentation on how to build a REST services that returns an image which a browser could render, I couldn’t find it. So I figured this entry might be worth writing.

The problem was simple. I had a file repository that stored images with unique IDs and I wanted to access those files directly using a URL without having to expose the repository file system to the web.

For example:

• Image ID: 323423
• Image Location: /var/filerepo/images/da3brja/hd62t.jpg
• URL: http://www.mysite.com/ImageService/323423

Of course, I could’ve written a Servlet to handle this, but I already had the REST infrastructure in place, so I wanted to use it.

The fact is that the solution was even simpler than the problem. The trick was using the Produces("image/jpg")annotation and returning an InputStream. Here’s the actual REST service code:

@Path("/ImageService/")
@Produces("image/jpg")
public class ImageService {
     @Autowired
     private FileRepositoryManager repositoryManager;
     @GET
     @Path("/{id}")
     public InputStream getImage(@PathParam("id") Integer id) throws IOException {
          File imageFile = repositoryManager.getById(id);
          if (imageFile==null) {
               throw new FileNotFoundException("image not found");
          }
         FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(imageFile);
         return fis;
    }
}

If you googled something like “return image REST CXF” and got here, then I’m happy.

Since last year’s successful attacks to dozens of top level technology companies, including the Aurora attack, many of the common IT security and protection strategies are now proving to be insufficient.  The Aurora Operation, as it was named, targeted an unknown vulnerability in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and siphoned off valuable information from infected computers’ hard drive. As expected, there are many emerging technologies currently available as countermeasures to these new, deadlier types of cyber-attacks. However, I also believe that some of the old security techniques are still mandatory in order to maintain the integrity of the information security infrastructure.

Here are the top 5 best practices that any Information Security plan must have if sensitive or financial information is at risk.

1. Setup a comprehensive plan. There’s no point in spending a lot of money on a firewall solution if any employee can setup a modem listening on its phone extension. The plan should include physical security, staff training, technology adoption, etc.
2. Protect mobile devices. Using the right software, software and technologies are now available to ensure that a stolen laptop or notebook device will be completely useless in the hands of the wrong people.
3. Keep a proactive continuous process. Vulnerabilities are being detected everyday, therefore systems must be regularly updated to prevent attacks like the ones used on the Aurora Operation.
4. Implement a Data Leak Prevention solution. DLP systems act like filters on all outgoing links of your company. Typically, they’re fed with all the sensitive data and they search for it on all outgoing traffic in an incredibly reliable and efficient manner.
5. Analyze the need for an Extrusion Prevention product. By means of analyzing traffic, the source of the information and the destination, these products will automatically identify potentially sensitive data that is about to go outside the company.

Naturally, many more practices are still mandatory for any good Information Security plan.  Nonetheless, I believe this plan is a good starting point that combines old-school security measures with newer, state-of-the-art techniques.

*Note: We like free stuff.

** Note: (By MVP, I mean Model View Presenter , not Most Valuable Player , but if you suggest using GWT, you might become the second definition)

***Note: We are hedging our bets and think that Google seems like a stable start up.

Romanlogic had the chance to do something that we do well…. running a TopCoder competition.  The situation was that we needed to get a geospatial application up and running on an Amazon virtual server.  The competitor had to do the following:

• Run a webserver and database
• Build client and server code to meet the specification
• Submit a working Amazon Virtual machine for review.
• Commit all source code to Romanlogic’s SVN repository

As time pressed, we didn’t get our solution as fast we hoped.  How did we handle it?  We did the following:

• Increased our price point
• Clarified the scope
• Contacted trusted members that we have worked with RL in the past

In 8 hours, we had our solution from Tecnoyotta, one of the sharpest competitors we have worked with, and after a few minor tweeks , delivered to our client.  TopCoder and it members have proven time and time again, their value as the world’s premier on demand software delivery mechanism.

In handling geographically dispersed team members, I find today’s highly-dynamic IT industry offers challenging scenarios to project managers. Some of these challenges, however, are not that different from the ones encountered in a traditional project environment. Here are some of the common difficulties I face in when working with remote teams, along with the methods I use to overcome such challenges.

1. Communication deficit – Due to geographical dispersion, I have a diminished ability to sense if every member of my team really understands and properly performs tasks assigned to them. To ensure that every team member is kept up-to-speed with project information crucial to their performance, I see to it that I develop good communication flow and a common “project language” that can easily be understood by the entire team.

2. Meeting deadlines – Handling remote teams requires me to find alternative approaches to perform the tasks and organize schedules in order to complete a project on time. In this case, I determine which tasks should be prioritized, along with creative planning, alternative analysis, and clear communication to project participants.

3. Dealing with each member – One of the hardest situations I encounter when managing remote teams is that which requires me to deal with each member of the team as an individual, while at the same time treating them as part of a group. In situations like these, I try to know each member on a personal level, and if possible connect with them for me to understand their specific contribution to the group. I also try to know what motivates them as a person, and finally, ensure that each member becomes an asset of the group.

4. Approachability – One of the major differences in handling remote teams versus the traditional single-location is that members cannot just enter through cubicles to talk to one another or knock on the manager’s door. In our case, the team members have to inform every one of their time zone, their work schedules, and availability. This is especially true for members who need to work closely with one another. As a project manager, I regularly assess team performance, address problems, and continuously gather feedback. For larger teams collaborating across different time zones, time differentials must be taken into account to ensure good project coordination and synchronized work performance.

5. Adapting management style – In this field, I find that the scenario of team management is a lot different from that of the traditional corporate environment. Since the working environment in a remote team is different, there could be a perception that it only requires informal management control and communication. I realize that the management style should be adaptable if one attempts to handle members that are out of sight, including a more formal and visible approach.

I think that to be a successful project manager of a remote team, you must have greater discipline, flexibility and adaptability. Communication is also a vital element. Success can be achieved by constantly recognizing and adjusting to various situations and human factors, while maintaining an open line of communication with your team members.

Q: How do you successfully handle a project being executed by talented worldwide resources working on all project phases from Conceptualization to Quality Assurance?

A: Picking a good set of online tools.

I wish it was that simple.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the answer is incorrect, but actually finding a good set of online tools is the complicated part of this equation. A good set of online tools to ease communication and collaboration, a good set of tools to plan, prioritize and track workload, a good set of tools that accommodates to the tailored process of a particular project and client.

At RomanLogic, we are constantly innovating and researching for these tools. Our task force is composed of people from all over the world and all of them have wide expertise working this way.

In this series of blog posts, we’ll go through our evaluation and findings of products like Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, Google apps, VoIP software, Configuration management tools, Attlassian Jira, etc.

Stay tuned!