December is the month which looks very long in a year. The moment November ends, everybody start to think that its only a month for the new year. But this 30 days actually look stretched and you feel like pressing the fast forward button if atall this world can be controlled by a remote.
At the moment, i feel like Dec 1st came long time back but the joy stop there as its only Dec 8th today. See, thats what i am talking about. Really, just like everybody else, recession is hitting everything..:-)
These days many people talk about economy slowdown, recession, bad market and if somebody dares to question them what these actually mean, be careful as you will come across many definitions which any seasoned economist cant even dream of.
But, these people are true. Really, recession is effecting many things and its causing many plans go haywire. For some, this recession has been positive and when i say this, i really mean by prospective home or car buyers. Logically it has to be bad for those who are selling these.
Strange thing flashed across my mind!!!I belong to a generation which has possibly seen many surprising/shocking things. To name a few...
1. Terrorist attacks (9/11,26/11,7/7 etc)
2. Biggest Economy Slowdown
3. India's growth
4. Indian Cricket and Cricketer's Histronics
5. Indian Political Scenario (This is shocking) and many more.
And coming back to the point, i am looking forward to many interesting movies lined up and few visits by relatives which can actually make life exciting which otherwise has gone into a mode which is "9 to 8: 5 Days a week" routine where weekends are as valuable as gold and weekly holidays are as valuable as diamonds and leaves if planned properly are even worth more.
And like many fellow Indians i want to sign off with all the respect by saying "HAIL INDIA-HAIL ARMY/NSG/POLICE"......
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Unimaginable Terror
Nov 26th 2008....
What started as a pretty ordinary day turned out to be the worst nightmare....
it was all going fine that wednesday. India won the fifth match in a row and many of us already started planning for week-end which was due in 2 days.
Right after the match got over, we were browsing through TV channels and came across a news that there was gunfire reported from many parts of Mumbai. It was initially reported as sporadic gun fire, the reported as gang war and it took some time for everybody to really understand what was happening. What should be "Good Night" for every one turned out to be shocking after realizing that it was actually a terror attack.
For the next 62 hours, everybody saw and cried. The only question which flashed across many a minds, "How could this happen?".
Finally when the mission was over on Saturday morning, the real stupidity saw the day light.
Many facts were revealed about how our government had information about an impending danger and how lacuna in various establishments were exposed.
This might be the first big terror attack which was widely covered by the media and thus every "Stupid Common Man" has felt the shock and shared the pain.
It would be really great if the same media prevents the same "Stupid Common Man" from forgetting this attack. We should remember this attack and be more cautious and prevent our great grant old men/"woman" from making us forget about this attack.
I am deeply moved by this terror act and deliberatley avoiding the media coverage with a simple aim of not getting depressed. This attack has left a unerasable image and i want every one of us to atleast remember this national shame.
We cant say this as failure of government or intelligence because even the most powerful country in the world, America was also a victim of this terror.
The actual failure/success is judged by the actions taken by our government to tell the world about a single word, "BEWARE".
After 9/11, there was a strong message sent out by the Americans. It was simple but the most threatening.
"If Americans find even a unexploded bomb on their streets, they would go to the extent of destroying the people, country who were by even a sheer suspicion thought of being involved in the act"
Our government by snapping diplomatic ties, or snapping cricket, or by even building up of army across the border will achieve NOTHING.
Its time to send out the message loud and clear. Please do it. If it fails to do so, everybody will start to belive one simple fact that India has to have somebody over there who can be blamed for every terror attack and this is preventing India from taking action.
Stop being a country preaching non-violence as this is the era of terror and war.
What started as a pretty ordinary day turned out to be the worst nightmare....
it was all going fine that wednesday. India won the fifth match in a row and many of us already started planning for week-end which was due in 2 days.
Right after the match got over, we were browsing through TV channels and came across a news that there was gunfire reported from many parts of Mumbai. It was initially reported as sporadic gun fire, the reported as gang war and it took some time for everybody to really understand what was happening. What should be "Good Night" for every one turned out to be shocking after realizing that it was actually a terror attack.
For the next 62 hours, everybody saw and cried. The only question which flashed across many a minds, "How could this happen?".
Finally when the mission was over on Saturday morning, the real stupidity saw the day light.
Many facts were revealed about how our government had information about an impending danger and how lacuna in various establishments were exposed.
This might be the first big terror attack which was widely covered by the media and thus every "Stupid Common Man" has felt the shock and shared the pain.
It would be really great if the same media prevents the same "Stupid Common Man" from forgetting this attack. We should remember this attack and be more cautious and prevent our great grant old men/"woman" from making us forget about this attack.
I am deeply moved by this terror act and deliberatley avoiding the media coverage with a simple aim of not getting depressed. This attack has left a unerasable image and i want every one of us to atleast remember this national shame.
We cant say this as failure of government or intelligence because even the most powerful country in the world, America was also a victim of this terror.
The actual failure/success is judged by the actions taken by our government to tell the world about a single word, "BEWARE".
After 9/11, there was a strong message sent out by the Americans. It was simple but the most threatening.
"If Americans find even a unexploded bomb on their streets, they would go to the extent of destroying the people, country who were by even a sheer suspicion thought of being involved in the act"
Our government by snapping diplomatic ties, or snapping cricket, or by even building up of army across the border will achieve NOTHING.
Its time to send out the message loud and clear. Please do it. If it fails to do so, everybody will start to belive one simple fact that India has to have somebody over there who can be blamed for every terror attack and this is preventing India from taking action.
Stop being a country preaching non-violence as this is the era of terror and war.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
SAP......
<<>>.....and finally i am bitten by this three letter word....i was hearing about this for a long time in different contexts.....after Honeywell has deployed...there is no more "running away" from it....somebody in my department smartly quoted....its the only way to work...and supposed to be very user friendly....
this has all happened in a span of 7 days though we know the storm was coming 12 months back.....but i personally feel its the best thing that has happened to me professionally in the recent time.....
aah...BTW....i was reading a blog very recently where the author was in ever increasing admiration of South Indians....well one has to understand the fact that much of the chandrayaan team was from South...well i don't want to wage a argument over here...the point i was trying to make was that Andhra has a big role to play in SAP....my colleague was quoting about the presence of telugu's in this domain...
this reminds me of a very funny joke...almost a year back many people believed and perhaps still...the best way to get into SAP is getting into a bus and go to Ameerpet...find a SAP institute which offers training with live project facility...and dreamt of big break in SAP overnight....i from the bottom of my heart respect who made it....but at the same time pity all those who couldn't...this also has been the story line of many telugu movies these days....
i am tired and am in desparate to sleep...GOOD NIGHT....
this has all happened in a span of 7 days though we know the storm was coming 12 months back.....but i personally feel its the best thing that has happened to me professionally in the recent time.....
aah...BTW....i was reading a blog very recently where the author was in ever increasing admiration of South Indians....well one has to understand the fact that much of the chandrayaan team was from South...well i don't want to wage a argument over here...the point i was trying to make was that Andhra has a big role to play in SAP....my colleague was quoting about the presence of telugu's in this domain...
this reminds me of a very funny joke...almost a year back many people believed and perhaps still...the best way to get into SAP is getting into a bus and go to Ameerpet...find a SAP institute which offers training with live project facility...and dreamt of big break in SAP overnight....i from the bottom of my heart respect who made it....but at the same time pity all those who couldn't...this also has been the story line of many telugu movies these days....
i am tired and am in desparate to sleep...GOOD NIGHT....
Monday, November 3, 2008
Blogging...great way for fun during work....
And finally i remembered the most important thing.....that i should write....
And this i am doing beacuse of my attempt to break away from a stressed life....
Now i understand why it hurst you badly to sit in a office with many empty seats around you...i just thought of showing up in my office after a very long week-end (also diwali break) and was finally left trying to keep my self awake with nobody from my regular group of friends to disturb or get disturbed...done all the things which i could imagine doing in a office to see time run like a usain bolt...finished saying hi n bye to everybody in my phone book....assimilated a lot of unwanted knowledge about so many interesting things which otherwise are good discussion starters....finished pressing refresh button 101 times before kumble bowls his next bowl only to remind myself that Australians are cruising ahead....amidst all this the best things that can ever happen to me was getting nostalgic about my blogging....
all these days when i was away from my blogs...a lot happened....a trip to goa....lots of late night stays in the office....a great part with all the office colleauges....a trip to my native place...and ofcourse diwali....and also a lot of bad things to hear everyday....
trip to goa was very much needed and it came in the right time and rejuvenated...this trip coupled with a long drive in SWIFT was more intersting as i let the beast go wild on the spectacular road between pune and kolhapur...at one point i was racing with the actual beast-TATA SAFARI until my wife reminded me that i was driving a swift and not a HONDA CITY (most probably,my next car)....the drive was not very tiring and we reached goa with high energy levels...though the energy levels were little dented by a big dent on my car by some nasty crook....it doesnt take much time for goa to forget all that (actually thanks for the insurance guys and MARUTI guys)...we had a real good time....this being the first trip for my wife...we had covered all the beaches...had lunce and dinners at a variety of places with varying contrasts in ambience...but felt that theres lot more in goa left to explore which ofcourse will be done next time...and finally my wife has completed one long pending wish of seeing a beach...
and then came the trip to my native place....Vijayawada....it was all very flashy trip as i had to visit so many friends and relatives given the little time i had...nothing flamboyant to write about theis trip except that it gave me some nice time to spend in my home with my parents and sis....
lets discuss about the rest after a little while....
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Forgot But Not Lost.....
I was inactive for some time now and i am completely aware of that.....
Some of my friends were wondering about my absence but that has multiple reasons of which some are believable....its upto you to pick the believable one....
I am getting back to blogging and please bear with me as i am having a huge hang-over of my new car...so my blogs will have a heavy dose of references (might be stupid to some of you)......but the point is "I HAVE GOT A NEW CAR".....
And well....i am also busy with my work (i said u will have to pick n believe some reasons)......
hmm....forgot about cricket.....for some strange reason it has taken a back seat....strange that politics are indeed interesting....seen this kind of stuff only in movies till 22-July-08....
Also, i feel i can write about eating joints in pune....credit goes to my wife....she motivates me to explore my wild side of tasting a variety of dishes...
In between all this....my B'day came n went suddenly....silent ofcourse only for the world....it was exciting for me n my wife....
And BTW....this is not Monday morning.....
Some of my friends were wondering about my absence but that has multiple reasons of which some are believable....its upto you to pick the believable one....
I am getting back to blogging and please bear with me as i am having a huge hang-over of my new car...so my blogs will have a heavy dose of references (might be stupid to some of you)......but the point is "I HAVE GOT A NEW CAR".....
And well....i am also busy with my work (i said u will have to pick n believe some reasons)......
hmm....forgot about cricket.....for some strange reason it has taken a back seat....strange that politics are indeed interesting....seen this kind of stuff only in movies till 22-July-08....
Also, i feel i can write about eating joints in pune....credit goes to my wife....she motivates me to explore my wild side of tasting a variety of dishes...
In between all this....my B'day came n went suddenly....silent ofcourse only for the world....it was exciting for me n my wife....
And BTW....this is not Monday morning.....
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
50/50 Rule Vs 50/70 Rule for S-Curve
HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED that the "linear 50/50 rule" doesn’t seem to work well on your projects? That is, if you have an activity such as Prepare the Product’s Documentation, Code the Product’s Modules, or Run the System Test Scripts, when half of the allotted time for the activity has elapsed, you are 50 percent completed with the activity. Yet, when the remaining 50 percent of the time expires, the activity has not completed? This is a common problem on projects with activities that are made up of multiple so-called equivalent-weighted tasks.For example, if we have 100 pages of material to write in 20 days (Prepare the Product’s Documentation), we expect the progress of writing the pages to represent a linear progression. That is, each page takes the same amount of time to write and that five pages can be expected to be completed every day. But the reality is that if you are only 50 percent complete with an activity when half the time has elapsed, the activity is almost certain to be completed late.So, what can we do different? When planning an activity made up of many tasks that are approximately of the same level-of-effort, do not use the linear 50/50 rule. Instead, use the "S-shape curve 50/70 rule." That is, when 50 percent of the time has elapsed, 70 percent of the work must have been completed. The remaining 30 percent of the work must be completed in the remaining 50 percent of time.Let’s look at the exhibit to better understand what happens. The S-shape curve is common for planning many types of endeavors. It suggests that progress usually is slow at the start of an activity, builds to a peak when productivity is at its very best, and then slows again during the more difficult phase of completing the activity. Almost every activity you take on in life tends to play out this way. This is why many of us say we are on schedule midway into an activity, and believe we are, yet often are late in completing the activity.
THE NEXT TIME you are creating a plan for yourself, or are working with your team or project members in creating a plan, make sure that your plan takes into account the realities of the S-shape curve. Furthermore, when your progress is being tracked, show the planned progress as an S-shape curve where the vertical axis depicts the quantity being measured, such as the number of pages to be written, modules to be coded, or test scripts to be run. Then report your actual progress against your plan that is depicted as an S-shape curve.
THE NEXT TIME you are creating a plan for yourself, or are working with your team or project members in creating a plan, make sure that your plan takes into account the realities of the S-shape curve. Furthermore, when your progress is being tracked, show the planned progress as an S-shape curve where the vertical axis depicts the quantity being measured, such as the number of pages to be written, modules to be coded, or test scripts to be run. Then report your actual progress against your plan that is depicted as an S-shape curve.
Geeta Saransh about Project Management
This ones really funny.
Will discuss about this very soon...
By the way this also is a part of my series.....
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
CCPM-Student Syndrome!!!
In the first part of the series on CCPM, let’s discuss about Student Syndrome.
When a lead drafts a schedule with budgets for every task, it is no surprise that they build buffers into every task. They justify this by using a simple word “In-Case”. But this simple theory is one of the major reasons for schedule slippage and that’s what student syndrome is all about.
Student syndrome refers to the phenomenon that many people will start to fully apply themselves to a task just at the last possible moment before a deadline. This leads to wasting any buffers built into individual task duration estimates.
Though building buffers into every task be seen as a plan with good intention, the latest possible start of tasks in which the buffer for any given task is wasted beforehand, rather than kept in reserve.
This phenomenon is visible in all forms of work/business. This same behavior is seen in businesses; in project and task estimating, a time- or resource-buffer is applied to the task to allow for overrun or other scheduling problems.
But what’s the solution for this?
On the face of it, the most recommended solution is to cut down budget of every task by 20-25%. In other words, minimize or remove individual task buffers. To compensate for this build a cumulative buffer and start performing buffer management. Sound Simple!!! But the real problem lies in implementing it successfully. The most common problems encountered are:
Convincing project leads for reduction of task buffers
Amount to be reduced from task budgets
Identification of critical areas or critical path
Building cumulative buffer into the critical path
And finally adhering to the schedule and managing it
We have a lucky to have a panacea to the all the above mentioned problems. That’s what many management gurus call “Change Management”. In my next post, I will be elaborating on the execution of the CCPM process.
I am learning a lot these days and I am interested in sharing my learning. Oops!! I am not preaching any philosophy…..not in a mood and will never be….
And we have 3rd test match and IPL coming very soon……Lets see what our “Devils” have in store for us.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Well!....Well!...Well!
Let’s talk about some interesting Project Management concepts.
To start with lets talk about Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM).
Starting this week, I will be extensively writing about my experiences with CCPM.
So you can expect some interesting stuff which is not discussed in books.
Lets get back to some serious business and gain some gyaan…….
To start with lets talk about Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM).
Starting this week, I will be extensively writing about my experiences with CCPM.
So you can expect some interesting stuff which is not discussed in books.
Lets get back to some serious business and gain some gyaan…….
Friday, April 4, 2008
Big Day!!!!!!!!!!
Day has come and gone!!! Not a day to cherish. I hope everybody understood what I am talking about. Hike!!!! Its one day which reminded me that %ge figures can be misleading as long as the absolute figures are not revealed. It’s the day for which everybody around me was waiting for. Everybody has their own reasons though. While some made it the decision point to make a shift or not, others wanted to know about the company’s (manager’s) perception of their work. Anyhow company gave me the maximum it could and I am happy as there was a perfect balance (actually more) between expectations and my work. As I said previously it has got nothing much to cherish and so let’s end at this point.
Towards the end of my first year in Honeywell, the boundaries of my work have expanded and I am made responsible for many processes. This should justify my promotion to a senior level position. However I am constantly reminded of not getting complacent and keep looking for new horizons.
Well that’s enough for professional life. It’s been 4 months into my new mode of life and everyday seems to get more n more exciting. Long bike rides, candle night dinners, star gazing are some of the many things which come along with this new mode of life.
Towards the end of my first year in Honeywell, the boundaries of my work have expanded and I am made responsible for many processes. This should justify my promotion to a senior level position. However I am constantly reminded of not getting complacent and keep looking for new horizons.
Well that’s enough for professional life. It’s been 4 months into my new mode of life and everyday seems to get more n more exciting. Long bike rides, candle night dinners, star gazing are some of the many things which come along with this new mode of life.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
India has arrived….
And finally Dhoni’s devils have done it. Infact they did it in style. The last edition of Commonwealth Bank series is won by India.
Somebody please teach Aussies that sledging is a part of cricket. They have been thinking it otherwise for some time. This should bring the curtains down for Aussies dominance on cricket. Dhoni has everything going his way. He got what he wanted from selectors and gave every Indian what he wanted.
Well that brings this long cricket series to an end. Well as SRK rightly said, “Picture abhi baaki hain”!
This win will sure raise many questions regarding “seniors” which Dhoni will surely be able to answer in his own style.
This also means that I will be writing more about my work in blogs rather than about cricket.
Somebody please teach Aussies that sledging is a part of cricket. They have been thinking it otherwise for some time. This should bring the curtains down for Aussies dominance on cricket. Dhoni has everything going his way. He got what he wanted from selectors and gave every Indian what he wanted.
Well that brings this long cricket series to an end. Well as SRK rightly said, “Picture abhi baaki hain”!
This win will sure raise many questions regarding “seniors” which Dhoni will surely be able to answer in his own style.
This also means that I will be writing more about my work in blogs rather than about cricket.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Great Sunday…
Super Sunday was what media has christened 02-Mar-2008 as. And they had rightly predicted. Double Whammy for Indian Cricket. Isn’t it?
Just when all the multiplexes were drying due to lack of cinemas, Sachin and Under-19 colts gave me a reason to think that week-ends can be enjoyable even in the absence of good movies.
If Praveen Kumar provided ignition early-on, Sachin and Rohit gave it the all important fuel to sustain and burn down the hype which Punter boys have built around them. Playing India seems to be night-mare for Australians now-a-days. If they could say they feared Laxman the most in test team, they should fear the whole Indian team. This team has reinvented itself. No fortune teller could have predicted this. T20 World-Cup winners, Series win against Pakistan, Many first-times (first test win in Perth and first ODI win in SCG) all speak for themselves.
And if they could win one more on Tuesday, this team surely would become invincible. This would add a pinch of salt to injury and would make Symonds and Hayden keep quiet for a long time to come. I am sure Dhoni would be preparing for his speech on awards ceremony which should be satirical in pay-back mode.
This series might be the last one for Australia to win ODIs comfortably (Only if they can this time). It’s because Cricket Australia is suddenly facing dearth of quality players. Gilly, Tait and Hoggy retired because of their own personal reasons. India at the moment has the strongest bench in the cricket world. How could one imagine Suresh Riana, Zaheer, Karthik, R P Singh, Sehwag and many more not present in the playing XI and still India is winning? And we even have many players performing big at Ranji Level. BCCI has made the right move by launching IPL.
One news channel has this sports analyst who rightly said, “Suddenly Indian team is at home under the captaincy of Dhoni”.
You might be wondering why I am writing all this. It’s Monday morning and so…..
Have a nice week….
Just when all the multiplexes were drying due to lack of cinemas, Sachin and Under-19 colts gave me a reason to think that week-ends can be enjoyable even in the absence of good movies.
If Praveen Kumar provided ignition early-on, Sachin and Rohit gave it the all important fuel to sustain and burn down the hype which Punter boys have built around them. Playing India seems to be night-mare for Australians now-a-days. If they could say they feared Laxman the most in test team, they should fear the whole Indian team. This team has reinvented itself. No fortune teller could have predicted this. T20 World-Cup winners, Series win against Pakistan, Many first-times (first test win in Perth and first ODI win in SCG) all speak for themselves.
And if they could win one more on Tuesday, this team surely would become invincible. This would add a pinch of salt to injury and would make Symonds and Hayden keep quiet for a long time to come. I am sure Dhoni would be preparing for his speech on awards ceremony which should be satirical in pay-back mode.
This series might be the last one for Australia to win ODIs comfortably (Only if they can this time). It’s because Cricket Australia is suddenly facing dearth of quality players. Gilly, Tait and Hoggy retired because of their own personal reasons. India at the moment has the strongest bench in the cricket world. How could one imagine Suresh Riana, Zaheer, Karthik, R P Singh, Sehwag and many more not present in the playing XI and still India is winning? And we even have many players performing big at Ranji Level. BCCI has made the right move by launching IPL.
One news channel has this sports analyst who rightly said, “Suddenly Indian team is at home under the captaincy of Dhoni”.
You might be wondering why I am writing all this. It’s Monday morning and so…..
Have a nice week….
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Somebody pls solve this mystery…..
Suddenly the days in 2008 have started to look very long. The 9 hours between 10 AM and 7 PM suddenly look like 90 hours. Not much work and not exciting any more. Some of my colleagues call it pre-appraisal feelings but I seriously feel this has got nothing to do with that. I tried many things to come out of this vacuum. My IPod is my major stress buster. And many-a-times even rediff homepage provides some relief. Somebody pls tell rediff guys to post more and more interesting news and somebody please put some sense into my N/W administrator. All the sites are blocked and the great saying, “Computer without net connection is a piece of junk” is getting into my head. Suddenly eBay, guruji, auto and many more such sites are blocked. Wait a minute! Why are the job sites accessible? Is this some signal or a professional way of spying on employees? Anyways let’s get back to the point of discussion. What is this lull and why has it crept in? What’s the solution for this?....
Anyways there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I have decided to pursue some certifications such as CAPM and GB and these should provide me the necessary relief with some future returns. May be in a day or two I will kick off the plans to start ground work for these certifications.
In between all this, I am seriously enjoying the Cricket series in Australia. Focus has somehow shifted to sledging from winning matches. I seriously think this sledging might turn the tables ON for ODIs in this new age of 20-20. I am planning to thank BCCI guys a lot for scheduling so many Indian matches this year which will help our stay in offices a little less boring.
By the way our Railway minister has turned out to be brand ambassador for Indian politicians (Perception Based). I think this is the first year in which I have followed the budget and credit should be given to the mystery which I mentioned earlier and rediff.
Finally one thing I really enjoy doing for killing time and having fun is “Research on Cars and Bikes”. 10 months back I did the same thing very extensively and bought Karizma and it’s simply amazing. Somebody pls take consultation services from me regarding bikes in India. Bcoz I will be cut-off from this segment very soon. The reason being my new research and this time it’s on cars and it was pretty simple this time. It was simple because my wife does the wishing part and I will have to abide by it by not deviating much from her choice. And the choice is Chevrolet Aveo 1.4 Limited Edition.
And finally the most boring of all, “Jodha Akbar” which was more of a forced watch for me. Seriously it was an over-stretched chewing gum. I suggest Asutosh should break it down into parts, do some cosmetic modifications, again stretch it by 10 times and release it on telly as a weekly serial. I am sure it will be a big hit bcoz of entry of Hrithik and Aishwarya into the world of telly.
Anyways there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I have decided to pursue some certifications such as CAPM and GB and these should provide me the necessary relief with some future returns. May be in a day or two I will kick off the plans to start ground work for these certifications.
In between all this, I am seriously enjoying the Cricket series in Australia. Focus has somehow shifted to sledging from winning matches. I seriously think this sledging might turn the tables ON for ODIs in this new age of 20-20. I am planning to thank BCCI guys a lot for scheduling so many Indian matches this year which will help our stay in offices a little less boring.
By the way our Railway minister has turned out to be brand ambassador for Indian politicians (Perception Based). I think this is the first year in which I have followed the budget and credit should be given to the mystery which I mentioned earlier and rediff.
Finally one thing I really enjoy doing for killing time and having fun is “Research on Cars and Bikes”. 10 months back I did the same thing very extensively and bought Karizma and it’s simply amazing. Somebody pls take consultation services from me regarding bikes in India. Bcoz I will be cut-off from this segment very soon. The reason being my new research and this time it’s on cars and it was pretty simple this time. It was simple because my wife does the wishing part and I will have to abide by it by not deviating much from her choice. And the choice is Chevrolet Aveo 1.4 Limited Edition.
And finally the most boring of all, “Jodha Akbar” which was more of a forced watch for me. Seriously it was an over-stretched chewing gum. I suggest Asutosh should break it down into parts, do some cosmetic modifications, again stretch it by 10 times and release it on telly as a weekly serial. I am sure it will be a big hit bcoz of entry of Hrithik and Aishwarya into the world of telly.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Thinking of Role-Play
I was thinking of different role-plays and the following one seems to be a perfect one considering the gravity of the situation.
A little boy went into a store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. The store owner observed and listened to the conversation.The boy asked, "Ma'am, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?"
The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn.""I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." replied the boy.
The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.The little boy was even more perseverant and said, "I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach, Florida."
Again the woman answered in the negative.With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.The store owner, who was listening to this conversation, walked over to the boy and said, "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performance on the job I already have. I am the one who is working for the lady I was talking to!"
This should work with me but.....
A little boy went into a store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. The store owner observed and listened to the conversation.The boy asked, "Ma'am, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?"
The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn.""I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." replied the boy.
The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.The little boy was even more perseverant and said, "I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach, Florida."
Again the woman answered in the negative.With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.The store owner, who was listening to this conversation, walked over to the boy and said, "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performance on the job I already have. I am the one who is working for the lady I was talking to!"
This should work with me but.....
Thursday, January 31, 2008
League of famous bad men
Classic photo which brings all the bad men in one visual treat.....
Searching for the same in typical bollywood style......
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Cars, Cars and Cars…..
Wondering, what it means!!!!
By the time Nano hits the Indian Roads, every middle class Indian will evaluate the pros and cons of buying a car. And majority of them might as well go ahead and make the final decision in favor of buying the car.
But what does this mean and what repercussions does this have on our country?
This makes me remember an answer given by a famous critic to the very famous question, “Why does India lack Infrastructure?”
The answer was spontaneous and witty, “Because it never felt the need”. He supported this by quoting examples from many countries which felt the need long back and invested heavily in setting up the infrastructure. Obviously India is also realizing the need now and it is visible in many areas.
Ratan Tata gave middle class Indian a reason to feel happy. But at the same time he also gave an urgent need for other automobile giants to “re-think, re-invent and re-strategize”.
Above all this lays one major contribution by Ratan Tata to our country.
Tata Nano should be an eye-opener for our government to speed up the growth in infrastructure sector. Otherwise, we may have cars to ride, but we may not have the roads.
Will the government wake up and realize the pending danger of suffocation on Indian roads.
And if it does, Hats off Tata! You have done it again.
By the time Nano hits the Indian Roads, every middle class Indian will evaluate the pros and cons of buying a car. And majority of them might as well go ahead and make the final decision in favor of buying the car.
But what does this mean and what repercussions does this have on our country?
This makes me remember an answer given by a famous critic to the very famous question, “Why does India lack Infrastructure?”
The answer was spontaneous and witty, “Because it never felt the need”. He supported this by quoting examples from many countries which felt the need long back and invested heavily in setting up the infrastructure. Obviously India is also realizing the need now and it is visible in many areas.
Ratan Tata gave middle class Indian a reason to feel happy. But at the same time he also gave an urgent need for other automobile giants to “re-think, re-invent and re-strategize”.
Above all this lays one major contribution by Ratan Tata to our country.
Tata Nano should be an eye-opener for our government to speed up the growth in infrastructure sector. Otherwise, we may have cars to ride, but we may not have the roads.
Will the government wake up and realize the pending danger of suffocation on Indian roads.
And if it does, Hats off Tata! You have done it again.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Globalization and Offshoring of R & D
A recent Hindustan Times headline proclaimed how "India centre engineers played key role, filed 40 patents for Vista"
The article said: While Bill Gates and his global team celebrated the launch of Microsoft Corp's much awaited Vista operating system in the Times Square and elsewhere in the world, the city of Charminar had its own reasons to exult. Some 330 engineers in Microsoft's India Development Centre at Hyderabad engineered some of the most important features of the software — and filed 40 patents to prove that. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer had during his visit to India in November taken time off to party with the engineers based in the Hi-Tec City complex. Five years ago, when Windows had launched Windows XP with 40 people involved from Hyderabad, it was a case of developing individual technologies in parts (for e.g. Internet Explorer) in India and integrating them with the global team from Redmond.
Well, articles like this just reinforce the point that large organizations are globalizing research and development, leveraging skills and talent cutting across ‘time and space’ boundaries.
Its no more, "Think globally, act locally".
Its only, "Think globally, act globally".
“In a flat world, the national boundaries become less significant, and the winners are those who capitalize on capabilities available globally.”
The article said: While Bill Gates and his global team celebrated the launch of Microsoft Corp's much awaited Vista operating system in the Times Square and elsewhere in the world, the city of Charminar had its own reasons to exult. Some 330 engineers in Microsoft's India Development Centre at Hyderabad engineered some of the most important features of the software — and filed 40 patents to prove that. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer had during his visit to India in November taken time off to party with the engineers based in the Hi-Tec City complex. Five years ago, when Windows had launched Windows XP with 40 people involved from Hyderabad, it was a case of developing individual technologies in parts (for e.g. Internet Explorer) in India and integrating them with the global team from Redmond.
Well, articles like this just reinforce the point that large organizations are globalizing research and development, leveraging skills and talent cutting across ‘time and space’ boundaries.
Its no more, "Think globally, act locally".
Its only, "Think globally, act globally".
“In a flat world, the national boundaries become less significant, and the winners are those who capitalize on capabilities available globally.”
Monday, January 7, 2008
Advertising-Its all fun....
- Advertisement In A Long Island Shop: Guitar, for sale....... Cheap...........no strings attached .
- Ad.. In Hospital Waiting Room: Smoking Helps You Lose Weight ... One Lung At A Time!
Seen on a bulletin board: Success Is Relative. More The Success, More The Relatives. - When I Read About The Evils Of Drinking...I Gave Up Reading.
- My Grandfather Is Eighty And Still Doesn't Need Glasses... He Drinks Straight Out Of The Bottle.
- You Know Your kids Have Grown Up When: Your Daughter Begins To Put On Lipstick.. Or Your Son Starts To Wipe It Off .
- Sign In A Bar: "Those Of You Who Are Drinking To Forget, Please Pay In Advance."
- Sign In Driving School: If Your Wife Wants To Learn To Drive, Don't Stand In Her Way.
- Behind Every Great Man, There Is A Surprised Woman.
- The Reason Men Lie Is Because Women Ask So Many Questions .
- Getting Caught Is The Mother Of Invention.
- Laugh And The World Laughs With You, Snore And You sleep Alone.
- The Surest Sign That Intelligent Life Exists Elsewhere In The Universe Is The Fact That It Has Never Tried To Contact Us.
- Sign At A Barber's Saloon In Detroit: We Need Your Heads To Run Our Business.
- A Traffic Slogan: Don't Let Your Kids Drive If They are Not Old Enough Or Else They Will Never Be.
- Sign In A Restaurant: All Drinking Water In This Establishment Has Been Personally Passed By The Manager.
- Sign On A Famous Beauty Parlor Window: Don't Whistle At The Girls Going Out From Here. She May Be Your Grandmother !
Call these punchlines!!! They will sure get more attention than a big celebrity can...thats what everybody does, "Cost Cutting"...Isnt it?....
American's expectations- Japanese Perfection
This one captures the attitude of Japanese towards quality.....
They're still laughing about this at IBM:
Apparently the computer giant decided to have some parts manufactured in Japan as a trial project. In the specifications, they set out that they will accept three defective parts per 10,000.
When the delivery came in there was an accompanying letter. "We, Japanese people, had a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts per 10,000 have been separately manufactured and have been included in the consignment. Hope this pleases you."
By the way i have started to work on Six-Sigma project.
They're still laughing about this at IBM:
Apparently the computer giant decided to have some parts manufactured in Japan as a trial project. In the specifications, they set out that they will accept three defective parts per 10,000.
When the delivery came in there was an accompanying letter. "We, Japanese people, had a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts per 10,000 have been separately manufactured and have been included in the consignment. Hope this pleases you."
By the way i have started to work on Six-Sigma project.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
PMP Certification
With my knowledge in Project Management i tried to capture the PMP certification process.
Getting PMP certification is not a simple process. But with an exam strategy it would not be that impossible. You also need to have certain educational standards and Project Management experience. A major misconception is that Project Management experience means people think that they need to be Project Manager all along. But Project contributor experience is also valid for the certification. PMI doesn’t look for Manager title, but the real Project contribution experience is sufficient. That means a Senior Developer or Business analyst who contributed to projects are eligible for PMP certification.
Lets look into basic requirements:
35 contact hours of formal Project Management education
If you have High School Diploma:7500 hours of Project Contribution experience
If you have Bachelor’s Degree:4500 hours of Project Contribution experience
Then Steps that you need to finish to appear for the exam:
Register yourself at http://www.pmi.org
Then fill-in online application
Once PMI reviews your application and approves it, you will have 1 year to write the exam
From PMI.org you can apply for the exam. Pay the fee on pmi.org web site. Then they will send you confirmation number.
Links will take you to Prometric.com web site. Using the confirmation number you can schedule your test at a center near to you.
Appear at the Prometric center and finish the exam in 4 hours.
About the exam
PMP exam will be based on PMBOK guide 3rd edition. So need not to say 2nd version is no longer valid. Please don’t follow 2nd version books at all. There is hell lot of terminology change in 3rd edition
It will be 4 hour exam and will have 200 questions in it. Out those you will be marked only for 175. The trick part is that you will not know which are those unwanted 25 questions.
Tips to fill-in your application
PMI categorized all project management processes in to 5 groups. Those are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring, and Closing.
When you submit your application you need to categorize your experience in to these 5 process groups.
Typically we have 2000 working hours in a year. Aproximately 500 hours in a quarter. You have spread those hours across the 5 process groups.
For example in software industry if you are a developer or lead most of the time you spend on Implementation. So Executing will occupy majority of your project. If you are a Business analyst most of the time you spend on Initiating and Planning. If you are Coordinator or Project Manager you will spend mostly on Monitoring.
You have to think about your projects and calculate hours you spend across these process groups. If you calculate those figures on working sheet, then you can fill your application with ease.
In software industry Projects roughly have 10%, 30%, 20%, 30%, 10% of division across 5 process groups. This is just rough division.
Getting PMP certification is not a simple process. But with an exam strategy it would not be that impossible. You also need to have certain educational standards and Project Management experience. A major misconception is that Project Management experience means people think that they need to be Project Manager all along. But Project contributor experience is also valid for the certification. PMI doesn’t look for Manager title, but the real Project contribution experience is sufficient. That means a Senior Developer or Business analyst who contributed to projects are eligible for PMP certification.
Lets look into basic requirements:
35 contact hours of formal Project Management education
If you have High School Diploma:7500 hours of Project Contribution experience
If you have Bachelor’s Degree:4500 hours of Project Contribution experience
Then Steps that you need to finish to appear for the exam:
Register yourself at http://www.pmi.org
Then fill-in online application
Once PMI reviews your application and approves it, you will have 1 year to write the exam
From PMI.org you can apply for the exam. Pay the fee on pmi.org web site. Then they will send you confirmation number.
Links will take you to Prometric.com web site. Using the confirmation number you can schedule your test at a center near to you.
Appear at the Prometric center and finish the exam in 4 hours.
About the exam
PMP exam will be based on PMBOK guide 3rd edition. So need not to say 2nd version is no longer valid. Please don’t follow 2nd version books at all. There is hell lot of terminology change in 3rd edition
It will be 4 hour exam and will have 200 questions in it. Out those you will be marked only for 175. The trick part is that you will not know which are those unwanted 25 questions.
Tips to fill-in your application
PMI categorized all project management processes in to 5 groups. Those are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring, and Closing.
When you submit your application you need to categorize your experience in to these 5 process groups.
Typically we have 2000 working hours in a year. Aproximately 500 hours in a quarter. You have spread those hours across the 5 process groups.
For example in software industry if you are a developer or lead most of the time you spend on Implementation. So Executing will occupy majority of your project. If you are a Business analyst most of the time you spend on Initiating and Planning. If you are Coordinator or Project Manager you will spend mostly on Monitoring.
You have to think about your projects and calculate hours you spend across these process groups. If you calculate those figures on working sheet, then you can fill your application with ease.
In software industry Projects roughly have 10%, 30%, 20%, 30%, 10% of division across 5 process groups. This is just rough division.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Limitations of Project Management Software
No one can doubt that project management software is a great tool to help PMs save a significant amount of time. As every other software, applications like MS Project or Primavera are just tools. They do not execute the entire job for the PMs. It is unacceptable to expect a computer to manage the project, it just manages the vast amount of data that large projects require to store. Any PM software has three major limitations.
1. Incapable of establishing project objectives
2. Does not define define project tasks or dependencies
3. Does not determine and manage project constraints
4. Does not perform the risk analysis
As the significance of having a proper statement of work (SOW) becomes more and more apparent, project management software should consciously take a secondary role in a project system since their power can only be exploited when the project is defined correctly.
So PM tools can only help you do the work efficiently and effectively but will not do the work for you. Learn to use them but dont expect them to replicate the "Project Manager".
1. Incapable of establishing project objectives
2. Does not define define project tasks or dependencies
3. Does not determine and manage project constraints
4. Does not perform the risk analysis
As the significance of having a proper statement of work (SOW) becomes more and more apparent, project management software should consciously take a secondary role in a project system since their power can only be exploited when the project is defined correctly.
So PM tools can only help you do the work efficiently and effectively but will not do the work for you. Learn to use them but dont expect them to replicate the "Project Manager".
Does the PM have to be a technical expert?
10 years ago, most organizations felt their project managers had to be the most expert member of the project team. The PMs were the technical gurus and the theory was they would have influence to direct the team due to their technical mastery. This didn't work too well when the team was bigger than 2-3 or when they involved people from non-technical areas who thought the guru was a geek.
This thinking provided a nice career path for subject matter experts but far too often the technical experts wanted to do the technical work of the project. This was just fine on very small projects with one to three people. However, as the size of the project team increased the technical guru had to move into the people management business and deal with other functional areas. Very often the gurus were not too good at cross-functional stuff and did not want to manage people in the first place.
Today, many organizations have suffered through the mis-management and failed projects led by technical gurus. They recognize that project management is a separate set of skills and that a project manager can control a team made up of people who are more technically expert in their disciplines than the PM.
So I'm a strong advocate of having PMs who are expert in managing projects and don't feel they need to know more than everybody on the project team.
In simple words a balance should be achieved between technical and managerial skills to become an effective "Project Manager". What do you think has made Saurav Ganguly the most successful captain? Any answers!!!
This thinking provided a nice career path for subject matter experts but far too often the technical experts wanted to do the technical work of the project. This was just fine on very small projects with one to three people. However, as the size of the project team increased the technical guru had to move into the people management business and deal with other functional areas. Very often the gurus were not too good at cross-functional stuff and did not want to manage people in the first place.
Today, many organizations have suffered through the mis-management and failed projects led by technical gurus. They recognize that project management is a separate set of skills and that a project manager can control a team made up of people who are more technically expert in their disciplines than the PM.
So I'm a strong advocate of having PMs who are expert in managing projects and don't feel they need to know more than everybody on the project team.
In simple words a balance should be achieved between technical and managerial skills to become an effective "Project Manager". What do you think has made Saurav Ganguly the most successful captain? Any answers!!!
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