Many meals can be created from the same quality ingredients, but it takes a good recipe—or, in the case of a programmer, a well-executed process—to please everyone at the table. The recipe for successful control systems programming can do just that.

Control system programming is the single biggest variable in any integrated system project. If done well, it can be the finishing touch for a well-designed and professionally installed system. If done poorly, it can negate all of the other efforts.

Let’s take this recipe analogy a bit further and find out how you can become the Bobby Flay of programming.

Gather your ingredients. To start the process off right, it is imperative to define the scope of work. Determine exactly what the system is designed to do, what the user needs and expects, what the budget supports, and what the time parameters allow. Successful projects strike the balance of these elements.

Follow the steps. Understanding the user’s needs, wants and expectations allows the control systems programmer to craft the optimal solution within the user’s timeline and budget. With all this in mind, the control systems programmer writes the code that makes it all work, kicking off the development process.

Give “the dish” your personal flair. Some programmers opt to develop code and interface designs in a quiet place and deploy when the site is ready; others prefer to be in front of the equipment while writing code so they can test along the way through the interface design, program development, testing, and deployment phases (kind of like tasting the meal as you cook it).

People “eat” with their eyes. Whatever the programmer’s process, the design and implementation need to sync with the overall project process and schedule. To keep things flowing properly, the programmer communicates with the project manager and establishes milestones to assess progress.

Personally, I am a believer of including checkpoints to monitor progress and receive feedback throughout the process to confirm the look at feel of interface design, define programming functionality, and test systems in-house prior to onsite deployment. Checkpoints like this reflect a quality process that can be applied from project to project for streamlined efficiency and accuracy- and a tasty outcome!

About the author

Steve GreenblattSteve

Steve Greenblatt, CTS, is president of Control Concepts, Inc., a leading independent provider of audiovisual control system solutions.

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