The third eye - I see all

Integrating Tally.Net with Asp.net 3.5 - Part 1

2009-04-07T10:59:00.003+05:30

We have been working on a project for integrating our web based products with Tally 9 and Tally.Net ERP. Only a little help is available either in Tally site or in the web. All I could find is two companies developing an component for pushing and pulling data in Tally. Direct to Tally and RTSLink , both components are working fine in the initial experiments, we need to explore more for confirmation.

Hollitech started scrumming

2008-11-21T10:43:00.004+05:30

Hollitech started scrumming. For our new generation retail application we adopted Scrum as the methodology. The concept was welcomed by the project team and accepted by the company directors.
Today we had the first stand up meeting, the response was very good, team looks motivated.

Pachoo's Story: Discovering The True Purpose In Life!

2008-08-08T18:09:00.003+05:30

My Ex-colleague Ms. Sumitra Ramachandran has got her first book published.

Her eye for literature was often appreciated even when she was working for Alamy.
The book is available for purchase at:
http://www.dogearsetc.com/mainpage.jsp?type=2&id=36533.

The synopsis of the book says, simple story on how knowing your true purpose in life, changes the way you live! It's for all those who love a good story.

Lively - The VR Chat from Google

2008-07-22T09:39:00.002+05:30

Google has released its own virtual world: Lively. Lively is available through a browser plugin for Firefox and Internet Explorer. It is Windows only for now. Lively does not feature one coherent world like Second Life but splits worlds up into different rooms. Lively was originally developed as a 20% project by Niniane Wang.

Lively runs completely in the browser and you use your Google account to log in and create your own avatars. Within the world, you can interact with other users. You can also watch YouTube clips on virtual TVs and share your own photos.

Users can choose from a number of preset animations for their characters, ranging from shaking hands with others, to applauding, crying, etc. By double clicking on certain items in the virtual world.

Progressive Enhancement and Graceful degradation

2008-06-13T13:38:00.005+05:30

For any developer the browsers are considered as the most hostile development environment. Different browsers behave in different ways; there are text only browsers which will not render your MIME types like images and videos. There are browsers which will render only a specific sub set of HTML and JavaScript and so on.

When you develop a public web site or a web based application; developing a compatible application is very important. More often compatibility is equated to support.

According to Yahoo; the support is not providing the same user experience to all, but it is to support the tool the end user has. It is to present content the end user can understand.

The providers cannot ignore the users which are using an inferior tool to read the provided information. For example; no TV broadcasting agency can say they will support only color TV transmissions; they should make sure that the programs they broadcast will be received by the Black & White TV users as well.

The two concepts highlighted by Yahoo for the above context are; Progressive EnhancementGraceful degradation.

Progressive Enhancement - This concepts puts the Content at the center and allows the user to receive more.

Graceful degradation - This prioritize Presentation and and permits less widely used browsers to receive less, and give less to the user.

And there are 5 rules to Progressive Enhancement they are,

1. enrich Content with through , explicit markup.
2. Test core functionality with HTML only.
3. Enhance layout by externally linked CSS.
4. Enhance behavior by externally linked Javascript.
5. Respect end user browser preferences.

A related article is available in Yahoo UI Library on Graded Browser Support (GBS).

PMO Podcast

2008-05-05T10:25:00.003+05:30

I have been blogging about my favorite podcast in my last few feeds ; the PM podcast. Today I have a new finding 'The PMO podcast'. The PMO podcast is in there for quite a long time. It helps the professional to learn, understand and explore the possibilities on a PMO set up and the challenges therein. I found this podcast from the International Community for Project Managers (ICPM)

Scheduling Professional credential from PMI

2008-04-28T10:32:00.003+05:30

PMI is introducing a new credential for the project management practicing professionals. The new credential is PMI-SP ( Scheduling Professional). This is the first credential to validate your experience as a serious scheduling professional. If you have been juggling with CPM . PERT and forward and backward passes; this is a good opportunity.
The PMI also announced a 50% cash back for the first 100 candidates register for the examination. The pre-requisites for the PMI-SP is similar to PMP and the examination fee is $ 670 for a non-member and $520 for a member.
The details are available from PMI-SP web site

Image courtesy PMI

Project Management lessons from Britney Spears

2008-04-21T10:03:00.003+05:30

You must be wondering what Ms. Charming naughty gritty Britney Spears can do in Project management. Believe me!! There are a lot to learn from her for a seasoned PM. Now listen to Fichtner's Project Management pod cast.

The Episode no 92 - Listen

Live Space Mandira

2008-04-10T17:03:00.002+05:30

The virtual techdays hostess gorgeous Mandiara has a live space and it was being the spot of a mashup contest.

If you want to see the latest of web2.0 that Microsoft offers visit Mandira Bedi

Microsoft Virtual Techdays rocking !!! don't miss

2008-04-09T12:28:00.003+05:30

Microsoft india and MSDN jointly hosting Virtual Techdays on 9th and 10th of April. Don't miss the sessions on Microsoft windows 2008 server, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. There are lots of prizes to be won by joining quiz online between the sessions.

Microsoft virtual techdays

Remebering me again!!!

2008-04-04T10:21:00.001+05:30

DSCN2111
Originally uploaded by vipinkailas

Be the model for an artist is not an easy achievement. This one is from my archive in Flickr. And I was also testing Flickr's direct blogger posting service.

Data Models - Free resourc to learn

2008-04-03T12:48:00.005+05:30

Barry williams database design expert gives more than 500 kick-start free data models in his team web site Database Answers.

10 of his database designs are already featured in SQL Server express Starter databases.

Matsys technical forum blog

2008-03-25T13:51:00.000+05:30

My current company, the offshore development center of PT Hollitech; Matsys infotech Pvt Ltd has a technical forum. They started a blog yesterday. The blog can be accessed from http://tech-xplore.blogspot.com/

Contracts - Project outsourcing pricing models

2007-10-11T11:22:00.000+05:30

In software outsourcing projects, the type of contract is always based on the type of client, scope of the project and sometimes the chosen technology domain. Two widely used pricing models in outsourcing are; Fixed Price contract and Time & Material (T &M ) Contract

Fixed Priced Projects: We can follow a Fixed Price Model for projects that are specifically defined in terms of their requirements, schedules and project path. This model is preferred by clients who have a clear project scope available with them at the onset of the project, along with detailed software requirements specifications (SRS).

Under this pricing approach, we work with our clients to define their expected deliverable outcomes to determine a mutually agreed fixed price.

T & M projects: The Time and Materials ( T&M) price model is preferred when the scope of requirements can not be specified at the beginning of the project. This model is suitable for projects which are in their initial stage of development, and specifications have not yet been clearly defined.

The client pays an hourly development fee; which is a fee agreed mutually at the time of agreement. The hourly fee payable varies depending upon the complexity of the task, and the desired experience and qualification of the personnel involved in the development.

Why Men Don't Listen And Women Can't Read Maps !

2007-09-07T12:23:00.001+05:30

Don't get surprised by the title of this post. This is the name of the book I read very recently and I am recommending to you ( is a must if you are married). The complete title of the book is - "Why Men Don't Listen And Women Can't Read Maps": Why we're different and What to do about it" !

What you guessed is right... it is written by a couple ! Allan Pease and Barbara Pease. They explains why we want to watch TV when she wants to talk and why she is complaining 'he is not listening'.

To quote Amazon

" men and women live in the same world, but they experience it as if they came from two different worlds. Boys like things, girls like people. Every boy wants to be in a gang, and wants a gun; every girl has her best friend, with whom she shares her secrets. Men want status and power, women want love. It's amazing, he concludes, that they can ever live together"

And big thanks to my sister for presenting this to me !

Booch Talks on Software !

2007-07-31T10:26:00.000+05:30

Yahoo User Interface (YUI) theater has a number of good video presentations. This particular one attracted me.

This is a talk from the father of UML Grady Booch on "The Promise, The Limits, The Beauty of Software"

Grady Booch is an IBM Fellow and one of the co-creators of UML. In this talk, he discusses the complex matrix of decisions and processes, both intentional and unintentional, that lead to the software designs and architectures upon which we increasingly rely in everyday life. This is a version of a talk originally given to the British Computer Society in honor of Alan Turing.

Change ! Change ! Change!

2007-07-31T10:24:00.000+05:30

According to Winston Churchill "There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction". Now I am changing my company and relocating to a new place.

The details will be added soon !

Power plays in project management

2007-06-07T12:52:00.000+05:30

We are aware of the triple constraints of Scope, Time and Cost and how it can influence the course of a project.

But still there are many other factors which can affect the project. For example, politics; office politics. From one perspective, the office politics is influencing people and getting things done. But I am talking about the flip side of this, where the influence is for not getting things done for the project, but for individual benefits. It is the behavior and motivation of the people that makes the office politics worse.

This kind of office politics and ego can jeopardize any on track project and destroy the morale of the project team.

The project manager is responsible for solving the politics inside a project team, he can use the support of the issues management processes to get these issues resolved. But things get worse if the influence is from outside the project team, and from a position of power.

Here, what one can do is, getting his work done on time; get the buy-in from the stakeholders. These will provide you the support needed for your existence in the organization, or the best way is without fighting, leave the organization. But, I strongly believe the project managers are born to fight !

Free Management training

2007-05-29T09:36:00.000+05:30

Opus Communications is providing free management training online. They call it as 'Training people like to take'. They also have custom training for corporates.

I very found of their "coaching for performance" training, simple; yet effective. If you are interested visit them at Opus Communications

Success? Failure!

2007-05-22T11:58:00.000+05:30

Deciding whether a project is a success or failure is a tricky business. Because, this goes inline with the definition of project stakeholders quote PMBOK ' who is positively or negatively affected by the outcome of the project'. Delivering the project under budget, on schedule covering the agreed scope will be the success criteria for a project manager. The project achieving the business objective will be the success to the project sponsor.

But for project team member, the success will be the completion of the task assigned to him or the incentive he will receive after completing the task well ahead.

If you are working for an external client, from the senior management perspective, the success will be building a working relationship and getting more contracts.

Now, let us see the other side, for another group of stakeholders, your competitors, for them the failure of your project will mean success to them. You fail to market a product; you lost a deal with a Fortune 500 client.

OK, what is the best way to do now? ‘Define project success criteria’. Defining success in your project will help you to understand stakeholder expectations. Moreover this will help to avoid multiple interpretations of the projects results.

Scrum and daily scrum meetings

2007-05-07T10:36:00.000+05:30

After my investigations on the methodologies, one particular one attracted me due to its compatibility with my organizational culture - SCURM.

The word ‘scrum’ is taken from the game of rugby where the word means, team members come together in a compact formation to move the ball down the field. The same principles of teamwork of scrum can be used for great success in our project meetings.

So this post I want to talk about the daily scrum meetings. The short, daily scrum meeting is to keep the teams on track and to help the team members get their work done. Often managers are invited to the scrum meetings but they listen rather than speak.

Rules for Scrum meetings.

Choose a scrum leader to enforce the rules during the sprint

Hold scrums every day in the same location and at the same time - preferably first thing in the morning
Each scrum should last only 15 to 30 minutes
Ask all participants the same three questions: What did you do since the last scrum? What are you going to do between now and the next scrum? Is anything in the way of you doing your work?
Address issues other than the three questions outside the scrum – this includes suggestions for a team member who's hit a roadblock
Managers are not allowed to speak
If a manager or colleague assigns unplanned work to a team member that will throw the team's schedule off track, the scrum leader has the power to excuse the person of the additional work. The work must either be fit into the next sprint or be assigned to someone who's not on the team.
Your team must have a concrete deliverable for management after the sprint
Start the process again after each sprint

Meeting Management

2007-05-04T10:56:00.000+05:30

PMI says, 90% of a project manager's time is spend for communication. Meetings are an integral part of project communications. Are you worried about improving your meeting management skills?

A few tips are listed below:

Make every meeting matter - or don't meet at all. Because time is important and if the communication is only one-way no need to meet at all. A status report or an email will be enough.

Meetings are not good for 1. Updates 2. Getting slackers on track 3. Getting everyone in your page 4. Whipping up enthusiasm.

Define goals and distribute an agenda.

Job for Meeting attendees. Good way to engage co-workers who otherwise stare out of the window or start snoring ! to name a few. E.g. Meeting Time keeper, Note taker

Own your meeting. Good meeting shows your leadership skills, so make sure that you want to make the discussion timely, useful and relevant.

Make it a meeting of the minds. Make sure every one is heard and get the constructive input you need from everyone present.

Close with a plan of action. Everyone should leave knowing what's expected out of them and when.

I found this useful information from the BNet article on 'How to run effective meetings'

MS Project Certification

2007-04-30T11:31:00.000+05:30

Microsoft rolled out MS Project certification ( IT Professional Exam 70-632) . The areas covered in the exam are,

Configuring Tools and Options (13 percent)
Setting Up a Project (10 percent)
Estimating, Scheduling, and Budgeting Tasks (29 percent)
Resourcing Project Plans (24 percent)
Updating and Reporting on Project Performance (24 percent)

The exam is for Microsoft Project 2007 Standard or Professional desktop versions.

More details can be found at Preparation guide for exam 70-632

Getting PMP PDUs

2007-04-24T10:45:00.000+05:30

Are you a PMP? Looking to add PDUs to you account?

Listen to Project Management Podcast's episode on getting PDUs.

Off shore Agile development

2007-04-19T11:47:00.000+05:30

Todays post is on Agile for off shore projects. As all know employing agile for a global team is not alwys easy, colocation is one of the home grounds for Agile.

Antony Heath in his article "Managing Agile Projects off shore" lists the below operational aspects for managing your agile off shore projects ( with respect to Scrum).

Choose a Scrum Champion
Reduce Dependencies of Scrum Teams
Promote Team Building
Schedule Regular Interaction
Conduct Daily Scrum Meetings
Emphasise Information Sharing among Teams
Split the Project Planning Exercise into Two Sessions
Manage Builds and Configurations
Minimize Sprint Backlog
Adhere to Standards

Agile Methodology

2007-04-16T13:05:00.000+05:30

Agile project management is building working software where people can get hands on very quickly rather than spending time on initial documentation / specifications.

Agile focuses on rapid iteration, with as much as customer inputs along the ways as possible.The Waterfall develop in layers where are Agile develops end-to-end functional slices.

The agile is considered as an adaptive methodology where changes are always welcomed and adapting quickly to the changing realities.
Waterfall is a predictive methodology, planning the future in detail. These projects have difficulty in changing direction. – They are inside a change control board where only the most valuable changes are considered

For predictive the success is measured - a project's on-time and on-cost is considered to be a success.

But in agile the question is business value - did the customer get software that's more valuable to them. Working software is the principal measure of progress.

Agile Home Ground

Low criticality
Sr Developers - trust among the team
Requirements changes very often
Small number of developers

The commonly used agile methodologies are,

XP
Scrum
Crystal
DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Methodology)
RAD
Lean development
Feature Driven Development

Waterfall methodology

2007-04-13T11:13:00.000+05:30

As I told you yesterday, now I am working on the methodology stuff and investigating which one is right for my company.

I prepared a note on the classic, predictive, rigid waterfall methodology and it is given below. This is based on my point of view on the methodology and may vary from yours!

Waterfall methodology is like a production line. Here, strict controls are placed on the deviations from the plan; to ensure what is produced is what was designed. The positive side of this approach is, it is supremely logical; think before you build, follow a plan, and keep everything organized as possible.

And the flipside is, this approach requires all good ideas come at the beginning of the SDLC where they can be incorporated into the plan/design – almost impossible!

This approach hinders innovation, project managers often try to categories the new ideas as scope creep and believe their job is to save the project from changes !
Since this is a resitance process it results in low quality mediocre products. The product will be only as good as the initial idea, not the best.

Home ground for waterfall / plan driven development methodology is

High criticality of the work

Jr developers as the project team

Low requirements change

Large no of developers and co-location is not easy

Culture that demands order

പ്രോജെക്റ്റ്‌ മെതൊഡൊള്‍ജി (Project Methodology)

2007-04-12T09:58:00.000+05:30

കമ്പനിക്കൊരു മെതൊഡൊളോജി വെണം. ആത്‌ അജെയില്‍(Agile) വെണൊ അതൊ വാട്ടര്‍ഫാല്‍(Waterfall) മതിയോ അതുമല്ലെകില്‍ ഒരു കൊമ്പിനെഷന്‍ (Combination) വെണമൊ എന്നതാണു ചിന്ത. ഈനി കുറചു കാലം വര്‍തമാനം അതാകാം

ജഗജീത്‌ സിംഗ്‌ ഗസലുകള്‍

2007-04-11T10:52:00.000+05:30

മനസ്‌ പ്രക്ഷുബ്ദ്‌ മാകുമ്പൊള്‍, ഈപ്പൊള്‍ സുഖം തൊന്നുന്നത്‌ ജഗജീത്‌ സിംഗിന്റെ ഗസലുകള്‍ കേള്‍ക്കുപൊഴാണു. Thanks to www.musicindiaonline.com

വേളിപാട്‌

2007-04-10T14:43:00.000+05:30

ഈ കഴിഞ്ഞ ആഴ്ച നസീര്‍ "എന്താ എപ്പൊള്‍ എഴുത്ത്‌ നിര്‍തിയൊ' എന്നു ചൊദിചപ്പൊഴാണു അന്താ ഒരു ബ്ലൊഗ്‌ തുദങ്ങിയല്‍ - എന്നു തൊന്നിയതു. ഈ എഡിറ്റര്‍ ഒക്കെ ഉണ്ടായാലും... ഈതു ചെറ്രി യ പണി ത്ന്നെ

ഉച്ചപ്പൊതി

2007-04-10T13:47:00.000+05:30

കമ്പനിയില്‍ പുതിയ കഫട്ടെരിയ വന്നതില്‍ പിന്നെ വീട്ടില്‍ നിന്നായി ഉച്ച ഭക്ഷനം. ഭക്ഷനം കഴിച്ച്‌ പാത്രം കഴുകാനാനു പ്രയാസം. അതിനാല്‍ വാമഭാഗതിന്റെ ഉതതരവുണ്ടയി..... കമ്പനിയില്‍ നിന്നെതി പാത്രം കഴുകിയാല്‍ മതി

വേനല്‍ മഴ

2007-04-09T13:54:00.000+05:30

വെനല്‍ ചൂദിനെ തനുപ്പിക്കാന്‍ മഴ എത്തി. എന്തൊരു ചൂദ്‌ എന്നു പരഞ്ഞവര്‍ ഈനി മഴകരനം ഒന്നും നദക്കുന്നില്ല എന്നു പരയും. ഈ കഴിഞ്ഞ ആഴ്ച തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത്‌ 38 സെല്‍ഷ്യസ്‌ ആന്ന് താപനില രേഖപ്പെട്ടുത്തിയത്‌.