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Exceptional experimentation with extreme programming
We have recently upgraded our laboratories with some modern analytical instrumentation. Each of these devices consists of very impressive technology permitting rapid analysis of samples at a level of convenience and automation that was the stuff of science fiction only a few years ago. However, the most common shortcoming of each instrument is its associated software application. I know it is common to absolutely hate the latest video game until you learn how to play it, but after working with these instruments it is easy to wonder if the software engineers have ever seen the instrument attached to their application, let alone have had to use it several hours per day. No matter how innovative the instrument, the user can't help but base their opinion of the entire instrument on the application interface they must use to operate it.
Attaching an instrument to a control computer can be a very straightforward process. The number of channels to be monitored along with each channel's frequency, dynamic range, slew rate, and required resolution are compared against a matrix of available data acquisition and control devices such that...