From Program to Product (eBook)

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.

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