Module 2

Friedman gives a very good example of work flow software on a larger scale than what I am going to discuss in my essay, but it serves as a different perspective in the varieties of circumstances that could pertain to this subject. I work at a local credit union, and was fortunate enough to actually be part of the designing phase team. As you might expect, the credit union's primary business goal is to make loans. Up until a few years ago, our core software lacked some critical functions that we felt were needed, not only for our membership, but for the employees as well. The piece of software I am referring to is built on Java, and has four major steps involved; I'll simply refer to it as our loan module.
Step one of our loan module begins when a member either fills out a loan application online, or applies in person at one of our branches. Once the application is entered online and submitted, it then becomes an XML file, which serves as a stream line to the core software. Once the application is received, step two occurs, which is pulling a credit report on the applicant. When a report has successfully been pulled, different scoring models then load up and take into account several different factors. One major one you may be familiar with is the FICO score, which is better known as your credit score. Once these complicated calculations take place, it then proceeds onto step three, which is the review stage. This stage involves another set of complicated calculations which is called a scoring model. This model either approves or denies the loan based off of a variety of data. Should an application be automatically denied (which a large percentage are, unless very strict guidelines are met), and it exceeds the loan officer's lending limit, the application will be placed in a queue for a manager review and decision. At any point during this process, should an application need to be put on hold, or information needs to be gathered at a later date, the application can be placed in a pending status, and any loan officer an any one of our branches may take ownership of the application and finish it up for the member. The final step in this process involves distribution of the loan. Should the application be approved, checks are disbursed, and the loan created. Conversely, should the loan be denied, the proper paperwork is created and distributed to the member. This, of course, is a broad view of the process, but one that I hope serves as a good example of how real world work flow software operates.

Open source software is the result of combined effort on the part of millions of computer programmers, end users, and vendors who all collaborate in an effort to build free software. These open source communities believe software should be free, and used to enhance the lives of users around the world. One of my favorite quotes I have ever read happened to be in this chapter on open source software. In this chapter, Mr. Cohen has just learned about a new piece of software called “Apache”, and he discusses it with his development director who reveals to him it is open source and is free. In his astonishment, he asks the question “well, who supports it if something goes wrong?” And he responds, “I don’t know it just works!” I could not have said it better myself; it just works. Open source software is important because it gives millions of users the ability to freely use and enhance it. Open source software source code is freely distributed, and can be built upon by all those that choose to. It also enables a wider perspective of enhancement, unlike proprietary software, which is developed by a narrow group of developers. It also serves as a start-up, as companies can then develop bells and whistles for open source software that can then be sold for company profit.
Outsourcing is the contracting out of services or goods, generally at a price. In Friedman's example, the Y2K phenomenon required skilled workers to fix the internal clocks that could only read six digits instead of the required eight. The job at hand was so large, the only reasonable answer was to hire India's skilled workforce to fix the problem. This also held benefit, since the cost of outsourcing to India was much cheaper and faster than anything the Americans could accomplish. Outsourcing is important because it allows a business to focus on what it does best, and generally comes with higher quality, and a cost benefit.

My favorite part of this reading assignment was the focus on open source software. As you might have guessed from some of my previous comments, I'm a huge fan. Any time I have the option to use either a proprietary product, such as Microsoft, or open source, the winner is almost always open source. I use it on almost a daily basis. In fact, the very word processor I use to do the majority of my school work on is open source, that being open-office. There is a variety of wonderful open source software available to the public, and I'd encourage all to get familiar with it, and enjoy what software communities have to offer.