labmedit.net

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Exceptional Performance

Yahoo!'s Exceptional Performance team evangelizes best practices for improving web performance. They conduct research, build tools, write articles and blogs, and speak at conferences. Their best practices center around the rules for high performance web sites.

Rules for High Performance Web Sites

The Exceptional Performance team has identified 13 rules for making web pages fast. Each rule is discussed in the Developer Network Blog articles listed below.

1. Make Fewer HTTP Requests
2. Use a Content Delivery Network
3. Add an Expires Header
4. Gzip Components
5. Put CSS at the Top
6. Move Scripts to the Bottom
7. Avoid CSS Expressions
8. Make JavaScript and CSS External
9. Reduce DNS Lookups
10. Minify JavaScript
11. Avoid Redirects
12. Remove Duplicate Scripts
13. Configure ETags
14. Make Ajax Cacheable

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This was insipired by the article "Subrversion for Designers" on think vitamin

Creation of SVN repository for project on server

1. 1st I installed subversion on my server with apt-get install subversion
2. 2nd I created a directory tree for version control under /usr/local/svn
3. Each project is then contained within its own directory under this i.e. /usr/loca/svn/My_Project
4. I then issue the command "svnadmin create /usr/local/svn/My_Project"
5. Then I import the web site I'm developing into svn with the following: svn import /location_of_files file:///usr/local/svn/My Project/ -m "Initial import"
6. This creates the 1st version in the repository.
7. I then edit the svnserve conf file in the My_Project/conf directory to the following:

[general]anon-access = none

auth-access = write
password-db = userfile

This allows access to the repository via password control.

A userfile is created with the user name=password format

i.e.

[users]

UserName = Password

Accessing Repository

As I do most of my development on a windows machine I installed tortoise SVN http://tortoisesvn.net/ which is an SVN client that is implemented as a Windows shell extension, which makes it integrate seamlessly into the Windows explorer.

Create a Directory where you would like to store a working copy of the web site e.g. c:\web developement\some project

Right click on the directory and select the SVN checkout option on the context senstive menu.

Enter the location of the repository in the subsequent dialog box

This will checkout a version of the web site to the local machine. These file can then be edited using the appropiate editor. Once happy with the files the documents are the checked back in by right clicking the root directory and selecting the SVN comit option.

The typical work cycle looks like this:

Update your working copy

svn update

Make changes

svn add

svn delete

svn copy

svn move

Examine your changes

svn status

svn diff

Possibly undo some changes

svn revert

Resolve Conflicts (Merge Others' Changes)

svn update

svn resolved

Commit your changes

svn commit

Link to subversion manual

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

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Real world example of tagging.
Implemented in KLM baggage handling at Schipol.
Surprised at the error rates of reads in fast moving pieces. Accepted an error (IR) of 8%

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Should be aiming towards single piece flow instead of batch flow. Batch flow introduces "waste" into the process by its very nature. Single piece flow will always outperform batch flow analysis. All optimisation should be towards improving the flow of samples through the laboratory.

Lean principle is to reduce waste as waste raises costs. Simple things like tidying up the laboratory improves working practices and reduces waste.

Value stream mapping

A process of mapping the flows and movements in the laboratory to identify areas of waste. Simple message is not to try and do everything in one go, leave time for changes to take place and bed in. i.e. split into phases.

Identify bottlenecks 1st and then move on:

e.g.

Reception
then analysis
then courier

Cant impose any changes on staff need to get them to buy into this. Have a small group feeding into a "lean executive" who can make decisions.

Activity of product

(need to get Rachel's data on this and re-audit sample flows within the laboratory)

Map of what sample is doing in time and in space. ? Film the processes to also map what staff are doing. Stress filming the process and not the operator.

Structural layouts drive waste. Don't waste talent, don't install automation before lean principles have been followed otherwise you are automating an inefficient process. Return on investment is typically 15-18 months.

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