How to describe a platform to non-developers? [closed] - system

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I've been trying to describe the concept of platforms to some non-developer people on my team. I'm trying to explain how platforms are more than just tools and environments. For example, the Facebook Platform. How to describe the fact that the platform is more than just the website, but includes protocols like XFBML, opengraph, etc.
Facebook Platform is one example, but I would be interested if anyone has an abstracted way to describe what 'platforms' are in the tech world. I've had difficulty explaining this concept before in situations unrelated to flash.
Analogies that aren't tech related would be helpful as well.

I would say something about it being all-inclusive and extending to include all functionality that the entire ecosystem around that particular piece of software needs to thrive.
The Wikipedia page might help in putting it into words: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_platform

I use a "restaurant" metaphor, myself: Think of the kitchen, the bar, the dining room as components to the platform. How the decor can change in the dining room without changing the function, but can affect how customers perceive the business. How the recipes instruct the cooks, and the interactions with the wait staff can all affect different aspects of the business much like different pieces of your platform can be modified to affect different aspects of your business. Oh, and don't forget management!

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How to discover which technology a website is built upon? [closed]

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How can I know wether a website is based on Wordpress / Wix / React / Next.js / Nuxt.js / PHP etc?
I know answer for two, maybe you can help with other popular technologies.
Wordpress: I mostly check wether the https://theirdomain/wp-admin.php drop onto the login screen. It helps many times. And usually their html has prefixes based on their page builder. I.e. if they use Elementor is used, it has many elementor- prefix in the html tag names.
Next.js: Under body there is always a mandatory <div> with id __next.
I am most curious about the following two sites, what they could use:
https://www.szauna-szeansz.hu
https://sebeszem.hu
A software tools is welcome to propose to get infos about used technologies in websites.
You can use Wappalyzer: https://www.wappalyzer.com/
Or tech specific devtools like the VueJS ones or Vue telescope, then React ones etc...
Otherwise, checking the source code.
For the first one
For the second one
Then it comes down to know a bit of e-commerce platforms etc.

Requirements for a personal project [closed]

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Gathering requirements is an essential stage creating software or web applications.
I have searched the web extensively without finding any directions on how to elicit requirements for personal projects. All information i found - including books i read - is focussing on different stakeholders.
So i´m wondering, what would be the best way to 'gather' the requirements for personal projects?
I can't imagine i'm the only one with this question. I have plenty of ideas for webapplications. Since i am the only stakeholder at this time - no users are identified yet, i need to develop a couple of applications for personal use - i find it hard to interview my self to elicit those requirements.
As English is not my native language, apologies for possible textual errors.
You can have a document with all the information you have in your head of the project in a bullet list format called "Project Memoir". Just list all the information & business rules you need to put in the project. You can after that start developing a kind of informal Software
requirements document (as it's for a personal project) containing some essential information for you in the development phase, like a feature list with their description, use cases & scenarios that will help you in testing in later phase, mock up screens for defining the UI look & elements, data elements lists for defining screen contents. Just keep it simple & easy as it's for only your personal use.
Hope that would help :)
The questions are supposed to be a trigger of a thought process.
What makes it any different in case you are the developer next to the stakeholder? Your thoughts are those of a stakeholder and you will have to try to identify your own requirements by this process.
Identifying your own requirements with a structured approach will help you identifying requirements that you would otherwise have encountered during development.
If the sole purpose is not only personal, I doubt whether it is a good idea to start developing. Then you will need to find prospects to interview. Investigate the possible markets.

Decent tool for producing a glossary of technical terms [closed]

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I'm currently developing the front end of a new CMS for a digital streaming company, the main problem the project has is keeping track of the technical language that has sprung up around it.
It currently involves around 60 staff in four countries, aside from a wiki (which has thus far failed to be kept up-to-date), anyone have any good tools or tips for building and maintaining a glossary for a project like this?
aside from a wiki (which has thus far failed to be kept up-to-date)
This comment makes me pretty nervous about suggesting other solutions. Wiki's can come with their own problems, but keeping it up to date is not a problem inherent in the platform. It's a cultural or organizational problem. A wiki provides a very easy way to track and update data. If, today, you cannot keep it up to date, ask yourself how you will solve this problem if you change the tool?
Changing to another platform could solve things like: The wiki isn't scalable for that amount of data; we want to make controlled edits; we need to release in multiple languages; we need to release in other formats.
For the updating problem, try something simple to start, like assigning a dedicated team member to glossary maintenance. They don't have to be the only contributor, but if you have someone who is dedicated to paying some attention to this area you will have a much better chance of keeping things up to date.
In an untended garden, it's not the fault of the soil that you have no flowers.
DITA has a glossary specialization. You can maintain a central company glossary in it. In individual company documents, you create a mini glossary topic then use a content reference to pull any terms you need into your document.
It does sound more like a version control issue though.

Defining the Vision Through Business Requirements [closed]

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How to write a vision [generally] for some business ? Is it have some template ? any example ?
Business about online ticket services .
What is a 'vision'?
It's such a nebulous objective... I don't see how there could be a template. Unlike requirements specifications, functional specifications etc, there is no accepted understanding of what a 'vision' actually is...
I'd speak to the person who commissioned you to write the 'vision', and ask them what exactly they are trying to achieve and what their expectations are.
Here is a nice article on the Vision. Note that it doesn't have to be a heavyweight document (spend as little time as possible but as much as required). For more formal templates, RUP has some for the Vision artifact.
Karl Wiegers' book, Software Requirements, has an excellent template. I've used in for several projects. It seems a bit formulaic at first, but over the subsequent days and months, really helps a team keep focus.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0735618798/processimpact
http://www.processimpact.com/books.shtml
The Business Motivation Model is a great source. They define what a business vision is, relate this concept to other relevant concepts in the organisation, and give good examples.
If you are interested in how business requirements are refined into user requirements and how, eventually, they determine what a software system does, you may want to have a look at the OPEN/Metis white paper.
First i warn you : Do not be a template zombie...
Secondly to give you just an idea OpenUP has a nice -non commercial Vision Template...
Check my answer how you can get it : RUP (Rational Unified Process)

How to setup a donations page for a charity website? [closed]

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I need to help a human rights organisation to setup a donation page at their website. They have tried PayPal and GlobalGiving and they found some glitches with these services like ceiling, transaction fees, etc. They want to setup their own mechanism. So what are the possible options and how much programming is needed? Is there any free-open source e-commerce or charity modules available?
Sounds like you are looking for something very customizable here, what I would recommend you is to do some custom coding or leverage solution like wufoo. You can build as simple as a form that whole bunch of fields and sends all these result to paypal or other payment gateways. Leveraging pre-built solution like wufoo is often recommended for non-technical people and/or simple, quick tasks like this.
(Alternatively) Most well-known applications like drupal, Joomal, wordpress (you name the rest) have fairly good support/module on this area, however, most of them require some degree of customizations and often become an overkill solution (mainly because of the learning curve).
You might look into Google Checkout. It's not free, but they do have an option tailored to non-profits (link).
The main benefit of going with them is that you won't need to set up a direct relationship with a CC merchant gateway, which can be a good sized hassle, especially for a smaller nonprofit. To me, the other benefit is that it keeps you far away from Raiser's Edge / Blackbaud, purveyors of some of the most awful donation pages I've ever had the misfortune to see or use.