I just read a Human Resource article that was alerting managers to the fact that they might be bad interviewers. And the fact is, many of them are. I don’t mean to criticize, but good interviewing techniques don’t always come naturally - they are often the result of reading lots of good articles on how […]

In the article "Progressive Web Applications, Part 1," I laid out what a progressive web application is, and how it can enhance a web application to look and function like a real, native mobile application. I also covered what is and isn’t supported by today’s major platforms, Android and IOS. In this article I’ll be […]

Recently, I saw some interesting statistics about the hiring process. Studies have shown that 30% of hiring decisions are made within the first five minutes of an interview, and 5% are made within the first 60 seconds. That puts a fair amount of pressure on a person to make a good first impression. Obviously, you’ll […]

“Progressive Web Application” is a popular new terminology that encompasses an up and coming standard for web applications. This standard gives web apps the ability to be installed to a device and to function like a normal, lightweight device application. Devices can be mobile phones, tablets, or even more recently desktops. The app can be […]

Who knew that 80% of money transfers and 95% of ATM swipes are still powered by programs written in COBOL? This is very good news for retired COBOL programmers who want to keep doing a bit of work. It is also good news for younger developers who learned to program in COBOL to take some […]

If you follow the news about the labor market, you know that the unemployment rate is extremely low. Job creation continues at a strong pace. Even people who weren't previously looking for work have taken notice—and they are feeling optimistic enough about their chances that they, too, have started applying for jobs. These factors cut […]

In business, summer is typically slow when it comes to...well, everything. Not the least of the slow-downs is the revolving door of people coming and going from vacations. Decision makers are OOO (out of office), approvals for spending are challenging to chase down, and job interviews are often difficult to get scheduled. So, if you […]

Node Package Manager (NPM) is a great tool that brings order to the world of open source JavaScript software, and its CLI is an excellent extension to our software development toolset. However, as a software solution ages it can be difficult to keep NPM dependencies up to date and consistent across all development and build […]

Recently, Stout Systems had the pleasure of being the food sponsor for the Great Lakes Michigan .NET Users Group meeting. We love attending these users group meetings because not only does it help us keep abreast of the latest technological advancements, it also allows us to interact with whom we consider to be the cream […]

Is Custom Software Right for your Business? I know, I know… Not another buy-versus-build article. But wait. What if the buy-versus-build decision could be boiled down to a few simple yes/no questions? Well, it can! Question 1: Is there a software package, Web site or mobile application that comes close to delivering what you need? […]