My rules for mistakes are very simple:
1/ You cannot repeat any.
2/ You have to make one everyday, at the least - intentionally.
3/ Never regret making mistakes. Regret repeating them or Miss them badly - everyday.
:)
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Black Swan
The notion of a Black Swan is a low probability event with highly unfavorable impact. It is a common example of the "long tailed" probability distribution found in many domains.
Agile planning
The notion of "big planning up front," is of course a red herring in any credible Agile based project management plan. Rolling Waves, Planning Packages, incremental and iterative processes are all parts of the manual. Those who want full confidence on Day 1, should consider change their staff to those who can commit to it.
Can some give a 100% confidence (Agile) plan on Day 1? If the plan is more than a month long. Plan is supposed to evolve over a period of time, through regular revisions. Agile advocates the philosophy of forecasting deliverables on the basis of moving velocity, not using velocity to get commitments for deliverables. Agile suggests we revise/alter commitments around the deliverables as we progress on execution. It also does NOT expect upfront complete design (all details) – High Level design, if possible, is good enough. Play it by the ear.
Can some give a 100% confidence (Agile) plan on Day 1? If the plan is more than a month long. Plan is supposed to evolve over a period of time, through regular revisions. Agile advocates the philosophy of forecasting deliverables on the basis of moving velocity, not using velocity to get commitments for deliverables. Agile suggests we revise/alter commitments around the deliverables as we progress on execution. It also does NOT expect upfront complete design (all details) – High Level design, if possible, is good enough. Play it by the ear.
Agile & Collective ownership
Agile as a methodology advocates collective ownership of tasks. It prefers team work over individual performance or heroism. The Manifest talks about individuals & interactions over processes and plans. It sounds so cool - people centric thinking ...
Then come questions to mind - A lot of them ...
If the ownership is collective, does it mean everyone is Accountable and everyone Responsible too?
Whom do we sacrifice as a scape-goat if something goes wrong with Agile. If everything is going
Well, who do you say is the best of them all. With Rewarding being a mandate how do we recognize contributions without discriminating on irrelevant aspects of the achievement?
Should leadership be rewarded or criticized as an individualistic behavior?
With the team having a common notion, are we leaving room for creative suggestions by new team members?
What are the possibilities of these suggestions, at least being considered, if not tried out.
With inter-changable skills and almost equal performance/ through-put are we heading towards mediocre teams?
Will the Hercules of the team be treated equal to others?
Would we be playing to the strength of each individual or trying to normalise capabilities across the group?
If it is a team effort, should only the Scrum Master have all the answers to these questions, or should the entire team be confused about it?
Let me know if you have answers to it ...
Then come questions to mind - A lot of them ...
If the ownership is collective, does it mean everyone is Accountable and everyone Responsible too?
Whom do we sacrifice as a scape-goat if something goes wrong with Agile. If everything is going
Well, who do you say is the best of them all. With Rewarding being a mandate how do we recognize contributions without discriminating on irrelevant aspects of the achievement?
Should leadership be rewarded or criticized as an individualistic behavior?
With the team having a common notion, are we leaving room for creative suggestions by new team members?
What are the possibilities of these suggestions, at least being considered, if not tried out.
With inter-changable skills and almost equal performance/ through-put are we heading towards mediocre teams?
Will the Hercules of the team be treated equal to others?
Would we be playing to the strength of each individual or trying to normalise capabilities across the group?
If it is a team effort, should only the Scrum Master have all the answers to these questions, or should the entire team be confused about it?
Let me know if you have answers to it ...
Scrum of Scrums
Scrum of Scrums –
Do we ask the same questions as in a Scrum Meeting? If not, why call it a Scrum.
Should we have the same format of stand-up meeting with brief summary of status & Blockers?
Also why do we end up making it like a project status meeting?
Do we ask the same questions as in a Scrum Meeting? If not, why call it a Scrum.
Should we have the same format of stand-up meeting with brief summary of status & Blockers?
Also why do we end up making it like a project status meeting?
Think about it
Statistics suggest Probability of injury is more with a not-so sharp knife compared to a sharp knife ...
Statistics suggest Probability of slow moving cars getting hit is higher than fast moving cars ...
Statistics suggest Probability of slow moving cars getting hit is higher than fast moving cars ...
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Change
God will keep on bringing the same issues again and again, until we pass the test - because God is more interested in changing us than changing circumstances.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Astrology
Astrology is a highly debatable topic, especially people's belief in it. Most people do not have a digital answer to the question about their belief in astrology. We all believe in it to varying degrees, given our upbringing, the faiths of our loved ones and most importantly our experiences.
I have studied a little bit of Hindu astrology (Jyotish). I may not be a fortune teller but have started understanding that there are different kinds of people, to a large extent each of us complying to the typecasts defined by our sun-signs, moon-signs and Nakshatras. Some years back, I had a friend, with whom I was in conflict. Just to change my approach in the relation, I thought of taking some guidance from astrology. Looking at the relation between our moon signs, I came to know that my friend would suffer a lot because of me. To help, I felt it wise to move away, from that friend.
Unfortunately instead of sharing this with my friend, I just silently moved away, assuming this was for everyone's good - the best solution for all.
Over a period of time, I came to know that this friend went through a very hard time & recently this learning dawned on to me.
1/ My friend's fate was not to change by my actions. Everyone owns their own destiny. The most appropriate word to describe the same, seemed like the Sanskrit word - 'Prarabdh'.
2/ Probably the suffering of my friend was because I moved away, rather than I being around.
3/ Always take astrological advice with a pinch of salt.
4/ Last, but not the least. We cannot do good to our loved ones by moving away from them. We need to stay around & help them succeed.
I have studied a little bit of Hindu astrology (Jyotish). I may not be a fortune teller but have started understanding that there are different kinds of people, to a large extent each of us complying to the typecasts defined by our sun-signs, moon-signs and Nakshatras. Some years back, I had a friend, with whom I was in conflict. Just to change my approach in the relation, I thought of taking some guidance from astrology. Looking at the relation between our moon signs, I came to know that my friend would suffer a lot because of me. To help, I felt it wise to move away, from that friend.
Unfortunately instead of sharing this with my friend, I just silently moved away, assuming this was for everyone's good - the best solution for all.
Over a period of time, I came to know that this friend went through a very hard time & recently this learning dawned on to me.
1/ My friend's fate was not to change by my actions. Everyone owns their own destiny. The most appropriate word to describe the same, seemed like the Sanskrit word - 'Prarabdh'.
2/ Probably the suffering of my friend was because I moved away, rather than I being around.
3/ Always take astrological advice with a pinch of salt.
4/ Last, but not the least. We cannot do good to our loved ones by moving away from them. We need to stay around & help them succeed.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Back Home Sweet Home ...
Despite a short trip, it feels good to be back home ...
Getting over the jet lag and back to my life -
from Snow falls back to Scorching heat,
from Planning Meetings back to Execution,
from Wind gusts back to Caressing breezes,
from Fahrenheit back to Celsius,
from Suitcases back to Wardrobes,
from V8 & bread back to varan-bhaat,
from Cold Sandwiches back to Hot Vada-pav,
from 'Sparkling water, no ice' back to (normal plain) water,
from Chai Latte back to Amrutatulya,
from MA back to MH,
from GMT-5:00 back to GMT+5:30,
from +1-781 back to +91-20,
from I-95 back to S.B.Road,
from Weather Reports back to Breaking News,
& last but not the least,
from Paper back to Water ;)
- the same old me ...
The only thing constant has been family, friends and colleagues ...
:D
Getting over the jet lag and back to my life -
from Snow falls back to Scorching heat,
from Planning Meetings back to Execution,
from Wind gusts back to Caressing breezes,
from Fahrenheit back to Celsius,
from Suitcases back to Wardrobes,
from V8 & bread back to varan-bhaat,
from Cold Sandwiches back to Hot Vada-pav,
from 'Sparkling water, no ice' back to (normal plain) water,
from Chai Latte back to Amrutatulya,
from MA back to MH,
from GMT-5:00 back to GMT+5:30,
from +1-781 back to +91-20,
from I-95 back to S.B.Road,
from Weather Reports back to Breaking News,
& last but not the least,
from Paper back to Water ;)
- the same old me ...
The only thing constant has been family, friends and colleagues ...
:D
Rail Budget 2011
Despite all the trains, how far will West Bengal reach?
What matters more about Progress - Infrastructure or Inclination?
The communist thought of having every thing free (for the people), comes at a cost (of the people) which should be realized (by the people).
What matters more about Progress - Infrastructure or Inclination?
The communist thought of having every thing free (for the people), comes at a cost (of the people) which should be realized (by the people).
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thought of the Day
"People convinced against their will, are of the of the same opinion still ..." - Some wise man.
This is what I have learnt/unlearnt over a period of time - Reality is the perception of the majority ...". Even if you perceive the facts, that is just the truth. Reality is different from the truth. It is a dimension of the truth at a given point in time.
This is what I have learnt/unlearnt over a period of time - Reality is the perception of the majority ...". Even if you perceive the facts, that is just the truth. Reality is different from the truth. It is a dimension of the truth at a given point in time.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Thought of the Day
A desperate man who runs out of patience and seeks help, on getting it
from the right person, ends up being 'Used' ...
from the wrong person, ends up being 'Exploited' ...
from the right person, ends up being 'Used' ...
from the wrong person, ends up being 'Exploited' ...
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Ideal Titles/Designations
Some days back, an HR friend of mine and I were having a discussion about limited titles in a product company as against a Service Company. A specific line he said, caught my attention - "It is very difficult to come up with titles that are befitting the person. We should not have titles for the heck of it.". Although I wondered what stops a Product based company from adapting to the range of titles used by a Service company, I decide to think out of the box - I will not refine the question but accept its constraints. I started thinking if we all had titles describing what we did instead of what we were supposed to do, it could solve the problem. This is pretty much focused on the Value add by each, where some of them may
Development Managers could be titled - Manager Programming, Manager Software Development, Manager - Product Development.
QA Managers could be titled - Manager Test Execution, Manager Test Planning & Execution, Manager Quality Control & Manager Quality Assurance or Manager Code Testing, Manager Software Testing.
Program Managers could be titled - Manager Facilitation, Watch-Dog Manager, Status Reporter.
Architects could be titled - Requirements Enhancer, Ace Programmer, etc. Anyways they dont do very many things to be able to differentiate between them.
Developers could be titled - Bug-fixer, Fire-fighter, Programmer, Software Developer, Product Developer, Developer-OMG.
QA Engineers could be titled - Tester (Manual & Automation), Defect-freaker, Quality Controller, Product Quality & QA-OMG.
Let me know if you have some interesting titles in mind ...
I wonder what would be a more fitting title for me? ;-)
Development Managers could be titled - Manager Programming, Manager Software Development, Manager - Product Development.
QA Managers could be titled - Manager Test Execution, Manager Test Planning & Execution, Manager Quality Control & Manager Quality Assurance or Manager Code Testing, Manager Software Testing.
Program Managers could be titled - Manager Facilitation, Watch-Dog Manager, Status Reporter.
Architects could be titled - Requirements Enhancer, Ace Programmer, etc. Anyways they dont do very many things to be able to differentiate between them.
Developers could be titled - Bug-fixer, Fire-fighter, Programmer, Software Developer, Product Developer, Developer-OMG.
QA Engineers could be titled - Tester (Manual & Automation), Defect-freaker, Quality Controller, Product Quality & QA-OMG.
Let me know if you have some interesting titles in mind ...
I wonder what would be a more fitting title for me? ;-)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Aashayein - Nagesh Kukunoor's tells another story
It reminds me of 2 lines from a (g)old Hindi Song
"खुद के लिए, जिए तो क्या जिए
ऐ दिल तू जी ज़माने के लिए"
A Life lived well is one that fulfills the wishes, especially of others - Most importantly when no hope is left for itself ...
No matter how big a paradox, The Ultimate Truth of Life is Death.
If Truth prevails at the End, Death is the biggest Truth of life - Only Death prevails, no matter how long a Life is ...
Death is not a suffering, Life is - especially, in the waiting room of death. Death is merely an end to it.
Great job, Nagesh. Eternal story, simple telling ... Keep telling ... please.
"खुद के लिए, जिए तो क्या जिए
ऐ दिल तू जी ज़माने के लिए"
A Life lived well is one that fulfills the wishes, especially of others - Most importantly when no hope is left for itself ...
No matter how big a paradox, The Ultimate Truth of Life is Death.
If Truth prevails at the End, Death is the biggest Truth of life - Only Death prevails, no matter how long a Life is ...
Death is not a suffering, Life is - especially, in the waiting room of death. Death is merely an end to it.
Great job, Nagesh. Eternal story, simple telling ... Keep telling ... please.
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