Sessions at Open Source Bridge 2009 about Design

Wednesday 17th June 2009

• Tangible open source!?

  by Dave Rauchwerk

  Beginning with an overview of the current state of open source hardware, hardware tool chains and collaboration platforms, attendees will learn everything they need to know to jump in and start their own open source hardware project. Starting with blank napkins, everyone will build out their ideas and leave with a complete design that is ready to manufacture.

  • Collaboration
  • Design
  • Hardware

  At 1:45pm to 3:30pm, Wednesday 17th June

  Coverage note

Thursday 18th June 2009

• Building a SQL Database That Works

  by fuzzychef

  Application developers and programmers everywhere need SQL databases, but find their actual database an albatross. Data is duplicated, hard to find, or missing. Performance is terrible. And you find yourself writing too much SQL and not your chosen language. ORMs promised to take this pain away, but, well ... nice try.

  As a developer, what you really need are some simple recipes for how to think about designing your SQL databases so that they are simple, maintainable, expandable and easy to troubleshoot. I’ll introduce some easy basic rules hard-learned over 15 years of SQL database design and how to avoid some of the most common simple mistakes which take dozens of hours to fix in production.
  Content will include:

  • Data modeling for normal humans
  • The Atomic Age
  • Where are my keys?
  • The embarrassment of premature optimization
  • Data extensibility and EAVil

  Slides are available at http://www.pgexperts.com/present...

  • Databases
  • Design
  • SQL

  At 11:20am to 12:05pm, Thursday 18th June

  Coverage note

• Practical Paper Prototyping

  by Randall Hansen

  *Paper prototyping is important*

  In user interface design we want to make lots of mistakes, and we want to make them early where they're cheapest to fix. Just about the cheapest fix you can make is drawing a large X over your sketch, turning over the piece of paper, and starting again on the other side.

  A paper prototype can be used for:
  * Design discussions: "I think these elements work much better side-by-side.
  * Client communication: "Is this what you mean?"
  * Developer scoping: "We have five screens with 14 interaction points, only three of which are non-trivial."
  * Usability tests: "What do you expect to happen if you click that?"

  *Paper prototyping is easy*

  Can you draw a box on a piece of paper with a pen? Can you write? The hardest thing about paper prototyping is the problem you're solving; the process itself is rapid, iterative, and transparent. We'll talk about the most important aspects, with efficiency tips born of years of experience. We'll also walk through several rounds of prototyping and testing a small application.

  • Design
  • Paper Prototyping
  • Prototyping
  • Software
  • User Experience

  At 2:45pm to 3:30pm, Thursday 18th June

  Coverage note