April 91 - MADA Software Awards
MADA Software Awards
Arvid Jedlicka
An expert might create, on a rainy Saturday, what would take the rest of us a week to
produce. How do you prevail upon the expert to create and share that small, elegant,
solution?
The MADA Software Awards are a big part of the answer to this question. Each issue of
FrameWorks will contain an Awards topic. The topic will be vague enough to allow
diversity in solutions, yet explicit enough get a general focus on the subject.
Individuals may then submit code relating to the topic. A panel of experts will evaluate
the entries, choose a Best Submission, possibly an Honorable Mention, and award
prizes to each submission selected to be published on an Awards Disk.
PRIZES!
The Best Submission award is a check for $1000, plus a free five-day registration to
the next MADA conference. Honorable Mention will receive an award of $200. All
other submissions selected to be published on the Awards Disk will receive an Awards
Disk fee of $100. The results will be published in FrameWorks and MADA press
releases, and announced at the Annual MADA Conference.
Wanted: Creative Solutions
The description of each Awards topic, and the criteria for evaluating it, will be foggy.
It would be easy to give a very specific topic, a list of requirements that must be met,
and a definitive set of criteria for judging. But in that case, most of the entries would
meet the objectives, and the net gain would be small.
We're not looking for entries that meet predefined objectives; instead, we want that
exquisite little solution that was not obvious, the nugget of knowledge that others
overlooked, or a class that was developed because there were no constraints.
software award guidelines
When will it start?
A new topic will be announced with each issue of FrameWorks, along with the results
from previous topics.
Topic specification
The topic will be specified in very general terms. This will allow the greatest latitude
in creativity, yet give the entries a common theme.
Awards
For each topic, awards of Best Submission and Honorable Mention may be presented,
depending on the number and quality of the entries. The Best Submission award
consists of $1000, registration to the next MADA Annual Conference, and a plaque to
be presented at the conference's Annual MADA Banquet. The contributor's entry is
placed on the Awards Disk.
Honorable Mention awards may also be presented, depending on the number and quality
of the entries. Contributors winning Honorable Mention receive $200, and their
entries are placed on the Awards Disk.
Any other submission selected to be published on the Awards Disk will receive an
Awards Disk fee of $100. An entry cannot receive multiple awards. Multiple entries
in a topic by a single person will be processed as one entry.
Who may participate?
Best Submission awards are open to all MADA members, excluding the MADA Board of
Directors, the MADA Software Awards Evaluation Panel for that topic, and the MADA
Software Awards Coordinator. There are no restrictions for Honorable Mention awards
or for other submissions that receive an Awards Disk fee, so that any member or
non-member may submit an entry with the intent of having it placed on an Awards
Disk.
The evaluation panel
The evaluation panel will consist of three to five MADA members selected by the
coordinator. Criteria for panel selection include, but are not limited to: expertise in
the topic area; expertise in object-oriented analysis, design, and programming; a
willingness to participate. If you would like to be involved in the evaluation process,
please contact the coordinator.
The evaluation
Each submission will be reviewed by each member of the evaluation panel. Criteria for
review include, but are not limited to: general usefulness; innovation; quality of
implementation. The evaluation panel will then select entries to receive Best
Submission and Honorable Mention awards. The coordinator will not participate in the
review process other than to facilitate communications among the panel members.
Release forms and copyrights
A signed release form must be returned to MADA or the coordinator before the
submission of an entry will be considered complete. To paraphrase the release form:
"Contributor retains copyright to all submitted material, but grants MADA the right
and license to publish all or any part of the material in any manner MADA deems
appropriate for the benefit of the Association and its members.
A release form can be found on AppleLink (Developer Support: Developer Talk:
Macintosh Devel-opment Tools Discussions: MacApp Discussions: MADA), America
Online (Departments: Computing & Software: Developers: Developer Associations:
MADA: Announcements) or by contacting MADA or the coordinator.
When to submit entries
When a topic is announced, a submission closing date will be specified. The open period
between announcement and closing may vary, but will normally be about 11 weeks.
Completed entries must be received by the coordinator no later than midnight of the
closing date to receive consideration for Best Submission or Honorable Mention
awards.
Notification of winners
All contributors will be notified of the evaluations panel's decision within 2 weeks of
the closing date. Arbitration The decisions of the evaluation panel are final. Comments
relating to any aspect of the awards process should be directed to the coordinator.
Issues unsatisfactorily resolved by the coordinator will be presented to the MADA
Board for final adjudication.
The April '91 Topic
The first piece of software presented in a MADA publication was by Carl Nelson-the
March 1987 issue of the MADA Newsletter (volume 1, issue 2 ) contained the UAsync
Unit. It therefore seems appropriate that the first MADA Software Awards topic be
communications.
It is important to remember that the topic is very broad. Carl's "submission" dealt
with the serial port. Your entry could be an abstract class to wrap around the
communications toolbox; it could be AppleTalk related; it could allow an object to be
transmitted from one machine to another; it could be If you can comfortably use the
word communications in the description of your work, submit it.
When and where to submit
Closing Date: Midnight, June 30, 1991. Entries can be sent to any of the following
addresses:
• AppleLink*: MADA.LIB
• American Online*: MADALIB
• Compuserve*: 76174,2277
• GENIE*: A.JEDLICKA
• Delphi*: ASJ
• Mail, UPS, Federal Express:
Arvid Jedlicka
The Thought Shop
16879 Lime Road South West
Prior Lake, MN 55372-2321
*Release forms require a handwritten signature. Contributors using electronic means
must mail the release form to the address above, or FAX it to (206) 259-2154. n