Colton Bybee's Module 2 Assigment

Module 2

                While preparing for this week’s assignment, I found the subject matter to be very interesting. Many of the topics were easy for me to understand because I could relate what was being discussed back to my own life experiences.

                What is workflow software? To me, workflow software is the ability to communicate more effectively through software. Work flow software has changed the world in just a short amount of time. There are many example of workflow software and two in particular that I would like to expand on. In my field of work, I am the middle man or a link of communication to many other people and companies. In order to complete just one of my projects, I usually have to talk to contractors, insurance companies, providers, funders, coworkers, my boss, and the consumers. Sometimes, during the middle of one of these projects, I start to think about what it would have been like to try and work jobs like mine a hundred years ago. The resources at my disposal would be limited and I would definitely be a lot busier than I am now. I wouldn’t have been able to just get on my cell phone and call the contractor to change something or to get a bid. I wouldn’t be able to send off emails as well as receive responses for projects in the same day. There wouldn’t have been a computer with access to the internet where I could find the best prices and deals for the specific item that I needed. Heck, Amazon Prime and its free shipping would have been just an unlikely dream! During this day and age, the workflow software has made all these processes much faster and very time efficient.

Another example of the workflow software is the process of building a car. To me, this is a perfect example of workflow software because it allows for efficiency and speed. Instead of teaching people what is needed to make a car, companies are able take advantage of the workflow software system by having computers communicate to machines that instantly understand the process and are able to do what is needed in order to build a functioning and safe car. I am thankful for workflow software every day because it makes my job easier as well as many other complicated but necessary jobs that happen around the world.

What is open source software or community develop software? Open source software is a huge part of today’s social network. Open source software gives us the ability to share information, pictures, data, answer questions, and much, much more. I think two great examples of open source software are Facebook and Instagram. Both of these popular social networks allow people from all over the world, both rich and poor as well as old and young, to share information and communicate and receive feedback from a large audience of people.

                What is outsourcing? Outsourcing is the ability to take work that you need done and contract it out to other companies not only in or around the United States, but all over the world. This is a great benefit to many companies because it allows for the communication that is needed to make a business successful. As a kid, my family and I were huge into snowmobiling. We knew sleds inside and out. I was quite fascinated when I learn how these huge machines operated. By doing some research, I came across a TV series called “How it’s made”. One of the episodes I watched showed how they made different snowmobiles, from each small piece all the way up to the finished project. The TV show also talked about all the different companies that helped finalize the process of building a snowmobile. The company’s tasks ranged from making all the plastic components of the sled to actually making the engine and the frame of the snowmobile itself. The whole process of the making of the snowmobile is just one example of how important outsourcing can be and it also demonstrates the benefit of how many jobs and opportunities are created around the world due to this system.