5 things to do, to change your life

Be warned, it is not shortcut! Found reading the following (which I was reading off Facebook) very true and can't find the original owner to link it with, but, I am putting the content here just to really remind myself we cannot waste any time. If it is 2 or 3 hours of productive time in a very tired evening, I'll have to utilize that to make myself better. Funnily enough the use of word cultivation and yes, it is so true. And keeping the momentum and motivation is important as well. Without further delay, here is the long interesting passage that will inspire you....

You finish work at 6 pm, go to bed at 12 midnight. Within these six hours, how do you spend them? Watching TV? In fact, the activities you do between 6 am and 12 midnight, the importance of it is beyond your imagination.

Too many people believe that, your career is determined by the 8 hours of hard work and effort you put at work, and your future and career progression depend on the boss and the company. But the reality is that for most people, the company is leveraging your effort to make big money and you could be on your own, depending on the work you do and the value you provide. “Cultivation”, is our personal responsibility. If you found yourself not progressing in life, you cannot blame and put the responsibility on your company for not spoon feeding you.

1. What you do every night is important
2. Read more, anything will do!
3. Do some projects
4. Actively build your connections (contact smart friends, and learn their opinions, get information and knowledge that are difficult to obtain, help the company look for more potential partners, or income generating opportunities)
5. The CHANGE of your LIFE starts TONIGHT

My major in college was marketing, but I expect to become a designer. So I practiced day and night, picking up some freelance work to improve my design skills. It took me a long time. When I became a boss, I no longer need to involve myself in design work, So I went back to the Marketing field.

Every day, when my children are sleeping, I began learning to gain more knowledge, this again took me a long time, But I begin to realize my returns. If I rely on my working hours to gain skills, then I will never have become a creative director and a product manager, or like today, teaching MBA students on Marketing. What I rely on, is myself giving myself “lessons”. And the most successful people I knew, walked the same path as I am.

I have a friend who is a History graduate, but he is interested in technical sales, In the day, he does telemarketing, at night he learns how to code, Finally, he became the vice president of sales in a startup company. Now, he’s a CTO. 

I have another friend, he received a degree in political science. But he’s very interested in entrepreneurship. he learnt a lot of knowledge on how to start up a company, eventually, he founded a company and sold it, Now he has reaped the rewards.

 For them, what they do between 6 pm till 12 midnight, is what determined their future. Clearly, we need to balance life and work. If you have a wife and children, every night, you have to stay with them. Even if you are single, you also need a reasonable allocation of time to go to the gym, to meet with friends, or be alone to meditate and so on.

Of course, watching movies, playing games is good. But there are things you do not need to do. For example, watching the new season of a Netflix drama, 14 hours per week watching television (This is the average amount of time watching television). The time spent playing the game Candy Crush.Or spending time stalking your high school alumni on Facebook, it does not seem to be good. So what should you do?

 My college mentor was born in Alabama, A poor African family. He was admitted to West Point Military Academy, and he became the first person in the family to go college. Before going to Harvard for his MBA, he’s a trained officer. When I met him, he has already developed his career in the city of Colorado Springs. I asked him, what’s his biggest success? He replied, because he kept the habit of reading, and he never stopped. He believed that if you want to get what you want in life, knowledge is the key. He often asked his interviewees what book are they reading now, the excellent ones can give an answer immediately. Reading can give you a good headstart, this is often what your peers cannot obtain. Compared to others, you are more likely to know other industries strategies and tactics, and that may be helpful to your company.

 You can transfer your knowledge within the organization, create new possibilities for your company. Moreover, your conversation topics will become more interesting. Anthony Robbins said: “If you spend one hour a day to learn about a topic, a year later, in this regard, the knowledge you gain will be more than 99.999% of the world’s people.”Even if you have 30 minutes every night, each week you can easily read a book. You may not be an expert, but I promise, you’ll know more than what your peers know.

You can apply the knowledge learnt to real work scenario, this is only an ideal state. If your company did not give you this opportunity, create opportunities for yourself. You can do some volunteer projects. They can bring you fame. Working with a team, you’ll understand how things work. In the practical application of the industry, and how it ultimately affect actual customers. You’ll learn how to perform the task and meet deadlines, and get feedbacks on what you are doing, and benefit from it.

 When you are not strong enough, these experience may not have any value to you. But you are still a novice. these experiences are far more valuable than the miserable pay you are getting. If you can really convince others of your pockets of fruits of labour, Then go try it. But do not let these private jobs affect your work.

In your career path, a strong network of connections will make everything accelerate. If you have not set up your own personal connections, you’ll need to divide a portion of your time to do this. A strong network of relationships, can enable you: Go get to know your work colleague or boss….. If you are an entrepreneur, your network connections will be your early customers, your staffs are a source of capital rather than go home, or going to a bar, you should find some inner circles. There are many small groups which are highly relevant to your career. You should try to integrate into these circles. Every week, you can drink coffee together with new friends, go drinking or have breakfast.

 You can also look into everyone’s career developments on LinkedIn. And establish a network with mentors in those professional industries. They may be your next job employer, who knows? Your connections will be your most powerful asset in the workplace. Since you have time to watch “The Voice of China”, you have time to build a social network.

 6 pm to 12 am, you go home, though physically and mentally tired, you are free to do anything and do not have to take orders from others. During this time, you can switch off like switching off your computer at your workplace, switch off your brain. But you can also do something, make you smarter, stronger, have a wider network of people. From the start tonight, take an hour a day to do these things, I guarantee that after a year, your career, and life will change.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Learning from the Expert, but Execute like crazy

Today I got a chance to listen to a master presenter, whom, very humbly claimed that he is not an expert, but he is there because he has done it so many times that he eventually pulls it off every time. I am touched by his humble opinion of himself and of course, his ability to execute the presentation very well, though the subject are not that exciting. And of course where he is, he also shared what is his current issues.

That lead me to thinking as general and some of the bad habits that I constantly fall into whenever I am about to do something
1. Stop giving reasons why I can't and the hundreds of classes I have not attended. Get on with it, execute and learn on the go!
2. Stop looking for Secrets to...., Ultimate Guide to...., Master Ninja Ways to..... While all this are great learning (I think), don't let it stand between myself and execution. Too many times I have invested my time looking for that one magical (book or Internet article) that will change the world forever. While deep down inside I might have known it may not have existed, but the excitement of spending (wasting) hours just looking for it has really taken a lot of my time away. Just go ahead, seek the expert, ask all the questions, get ready and start execution.
3. Things need to be done, and that is the reason people purchase our services and goods. Nothing come about if nothing is done. Keep that in mind. Often, in entrepreneurship, it is not about the one great idea that no one has thought about that would succeed, but it is the ability to execute like crazy over any idea that would bring succeed.

Take Away: Be the ferocious executor, of the plan. Expert advise is welcomed but not at the expense of wasting time. At the end of the day, what counts is what we have produced, not the search for Ultimate or Secrets. Leave those to free time.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Appreciation

Appreciation helps you to be happy when you misplaced it till tomorrow, to learn when you fail, to have humility when you succeed, to look up when you are down, to be sympathetic towards others and to get to know yourself, better.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

To be great is to be misunderstood

Ralph Waldo Emerson is commenting on how many great men followed their own intuition in spite of criticism or misunderstanding from society. He says, "Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh." To that he adds "To be great is to be misunderstood."
In context, Emerson also says that great men are not always consistent. In fact, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines". Thus, if one is not always consistent, one may be misunderstood. But, since many great men have not be understood by society, then you are you have great company when people don't understand you. What is important, according to Emerson, is that one not violate his or her own nature. You must be true to yourself, even if it mean saying one thing one day and saying something else the next day. That way we show that we trust ourselves and not others to dictate our beliefs.

I must be careful to apply this, as in not to believe in the wrong ways and think that I am on the right path.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM)

I attended a session by Professor Ramayah. It was a weekend (yes, Saturday and Sunday, 9am - 5pm). I would usually not want to spend my weekend in this way, but, it seems that it is the only time the classes are held.

It was good and informative, considering that I am just a starter. I would say that I understood only about 25 to 30 percent (as I do not have any previous knowledge about it), but his notes and pointers should provide me enough guidance to gain a better understanding on my own. Meaning that I go back and do my own revision. I also purchased a book "A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM)" by Joseph Hair et. al. Good thing is that the book is easy to read and I wouldn't fall asleep after the first page. I did though after the first chapter, but I will continue chapter 2 tomorrow :)

So, now I am bursting with all this information and eager to use this method to study my conceptual framework. I know it will take some time and I know that I need concrete evidence and logic for me to arrive at the conclusion of using this method, nevertheless, it is revitalizing.

Hopefully also by attending this classes, I can connect more with other knowledge seeker who is on the same path as myself.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Your Staff at Work

From worklife.org

The Lord said to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail” – so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand.  (Exodus 4: 2-4)

This extraordinary story is an example of how Our Lord will use anything to turn our attention towards Him. God wanted Moses to get completely in line with His plans for the people of Israel. That required Moses to:

• Understand once and for all that God calls the shots;
• Put his role and gifting into God’s hands for God to use;
• Use his role and gifting with confidence because they belonged to God.

Moses’ staff was standard equipment for a shepherd, which was his work before God gave him a new assignment. The action of throwing it on the ground was obedience. Running from the unexpected and unwelcome snake was plain common sense. But picking up the horrible creature? – That was obedience and courage, followed surely by huge relief as it became the familiar staff again.

Over time, and with experiences like this one, God trained Moses to take authority in God’s name. As Moses learned through practice and obedience, he became the man God wanted him to become. The staff-serpent would be used several times to work vast miracles as God broke the power of Egyptian rule over Israel.

In our work situations, the staff can symbolize the roles and gifts we have. Throwing the staff down symbolizes our surrender of those roles and gifts to Christ as part of our daily walk with Him. Picking up the serpent, and its change back to the staff, symbolize the reality that once we give our roles and gifts to Christ, He puts His stamp on them and has freedom to reshape them as He chooses. The staff looked the same afterwards, but it wasn’t the same. From then on, God used it even though Moses carried it.

What is your staff at work? You have one. Where is it along the sequence of staff-serpent-staff? Where is your heart of workplace obedience to Christ along the same sequence?

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Pick of the week: Story on CHANGE

Interesting bulletin I received from Heera that I decided to put here both for myself and friends...

This month I want to narrate a great story on change.  There was a monastery in a faraway land where thirty monks lived. Every morning without fail at 5 am, they would all gather at the great hall of the monastery and pray and meditate. One day as they were praying, a cat started to play in front of them and this affected their concentration. The chief monk then told the youngest monk, Zun Zi to tie the cat to a pole and give it a saucer of milk, so that it would not interrupt their prayer session. This was done and the monks carried on their prayer in peace.
           
The next day, the cat appeared again and the chief monk again told Zun Zi to repeat what he had done the previous day. The third day, the cat appeared again and soon this act of tying the cat to a pole and giving it milk every morning became a ritual. One day, after almost three years of this ritual, the cat died. The monks carried on their prayer the next day but somehow felt something was missing as they had not carried out their usual ‘cat ritual’. At the end of their prayer, the chief monk told Zun Zi to go get another cat from the village below so that they could continue this ‘cat ritual’. And thus the practice continued. This went on and on until the chief monk himself died. Soon Zun Zi became the chief monk, and in the process seven cats had died. One day, Zun Zi himself died, which meant that there was no one alive who knew the origins of this ‘cat ritual’. The ritual however was still carried out.

One day, after their prayers and as they were having tea, one of the younger monks asked the senior most monk, “Sir, why do we tie the cat to the pole and give it a saucer of milk before our daily morning prayer and meditation session?”  The senior most monk surprised by the question replied, “I really do not know. All I know is that ever since I came to this monastery we have been doing this and I am sure our past generations must have had very good reasons to do it. So let us not question them, let us just carry on with this very important ritual”.

Isn’t the above story a very true reflection of what happens in many organizations i.e. there are many systems and processes which are obsolete or out-dated and yet they still carry it out because ‘it has always been done this way’. I have personally seen this in many organizations and the excuse has always been, “I didn’t create this system, it was already here when I joined.” My view is that no system or process in any organization is ‘cast in stone’ i.e. all of them can and must be changed when necessary. It is the job of any incumbent manager, head of department or CEO to change whatever is redundant, obsolete or out-dated. This could be from people, to products, to systems and processes, to documentation.

I think however that many managers are usually very comfortable with the status quo and therefore do not make any concerted attempt to change to the detriment of the organization. They normally use inheritance of the system as an excuse. My belief is that every system and process in any organization must be examined on a regular basis and changed if it is not in line with organizational strategies. Only with this can an organization develop and be relevant in the present very competitive business environment!

Thank you so much for reading this newsletter and I do hope I have added a little to your change management knowledge! Have a great month of July and do take care.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Big Data that actually works

Extracted from http://successfulworkplace.com/2012/10/23/nielsen-is-so-much-more-than-television/

I had the pleasure of seeing a presentation by The Nielsen Company (NLSN) as part of TIBCO’s sponsorship of the 2012 Gartner Symposium ITxpo in Orlando, Florida. Ken Rabolt, Chief Data Architect to the CTO of Nielsen presented on Nielsen’s move from independent IT systems spanning 110 countries to a consolidated market research platform that supports a single view of all customers and their research across all geographies. That’s a huge sentence and a huge undertaking.

If you’ve never experienced that kind of effort, it is an amazing feat that can kill the business if it isn’t done carefully and deliberately. But Nielsen knew that we live in a very globalized world that still has plenty of local character. Nielsen’s information systems need to reflect both of those facts.

The Nielsen Company

When I think of Nielsen, I automatically think of Nielsen Ratings, the well-known measure of radio and television popularity and demographics from my childhood. Today’s Nielsen Company is a much broader, much more data analytics-focused market research company. While they still manage research into what consumers watch (but now across television, online and mobile screens), they have a thriving business in analyzing what consumers buy. More on that in a moment.

In the ‘what-they-watch’ business, rather than collecting data just from individual samples (‘Nielsen Families’), they are now collecting the raw data directly from, for example, set top boxes used to deliver digital entertainment. As this type of data becomes more available, Nielsen is handling increasingly large amounts of data coming very, very quickly.

On the consumer markets side, Nielsen measures retail transactional data and consumer behavior across the consumer packaged goods industry. This reflects an enormous amount of data as well, and even more diverse data, and is only rising in volume and velocity as more retailers move toward real-time point of sale systems.

Globalized research

The globalization of many consumer packaged goods companies means that Nielsen has an enormous role in ‘harmonizing’ data that is increasingly more varied, ge0-specific and granular. Raw data can reflect misleading trends if it isn’t interpreted against seasonality, culture, weather and a host of other factors. It is part science and part dark art.

Most globalized companies, Nielsen’s customers, operate ‘war rooms’ where critical decision are made based on Nielsen’s harmonized input. Nestlé, P&G, Unilever many other companies need to ‘follow’ products across not just geographies, but also their many branding and advertising channels like television, in-store and social. Data integration is the key to make everything work and Nielsen’s systems are at the forefront of the integration that makes Big Data ‘work’ and not just interesting discoveries.

Not surprisingly, Nielsen’s systems are stretched and stressed by the changes taking place in mobile and social technology. They are constantly driving toward higher and higher levels of data integration, analytics, and reporting. The more data they take from their research, the more opportunities arise to integrate that information into more granular segmentation of consumers by lifestyle, geography and other factors.

Answers on Demand

Nielsen operates at the center of a virtuous data cycle that puts them in the lead amoung the many companies racing to be Big Data powerhouses. They provide Answers on Demand, the platform name and an appropriate description of what they do. It is a data integration dream come true that few companies can boast.

Their focus on data integration allows Nielsen’s systems to be front-ended (the input data, whether local, regional or international) and back-ended (where customer take the output, the Nielsen product) in standardized ways that allow for any source and any destination, but still make sense internally for systems operation and maintenance. Inside Nielsen, processes, workflows and analytics are streamlined and efficient, even while local algorithms are applied for each customer and their geographies, segments, etc.

Nielsen’s platform is the cutting edge of Big Data, a term they don’t even use, and goes well beyond the hype of Hadoop and simple batch processing of large data sets. Nielsen sits at the epicenter of what drives the economy from the customer and product perspectives. They’re an excellent example of where technology is headed and case study in the benefits of putting enormous focus on data integration ahead of the shiny objects that are hyped but only part of the story.

Below is the Nielsen logical architectural.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Book Review on Going Agile: Project Management Practices

Nowadays, the buzz word is 'agile'. We often hear about it and it seems to be overused at times. This book (Going Agile), breaks up what we need to know about agile nicely into 3 parts.

The first part is all about Agile, where it comes from with a little bit of background on it and then tells us how it has grown over time and you will be exposed to all other jargon that has got to do with agile.

The second part links agile to the current project management practice and discuss how it is used through experience as well as best practices known to the author as well as sharing from case study by other practitioner. This is an important area for seasoned project manager trying to make sense of agility. The author works well in trying to gel agility into project management practice.

The last part is helps the reader on how to adopt agile into their organization. This is also a valuable area especially for project managers trying to be more agile due to pressure to be more flexible, more people oriented as well as organization wanting to explore agility.

The book covers a lot of terms used in the agile world and I am sure that you will find it informative and helpful.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Workplace Motivation & Learning

One of the more interesting YouTube finding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

One more interesting trend is that, it seems that child learning has also adopted the adult learning method. It is interesting to see how effective it is. The reason I am exploring is to see what is best for my son's mental development. Any of you have sent their children to an effective learning method, do share with me.

See hill is hill, see hill is NOT hill


~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Research Gaps

Found here..

If you are working on original research, you will want to identify a need for your research somewhere close to the beginning of your paper. Why? Because you will want to show the reader that you are not duplicating existing research. In other words: this paper is worth reading! This is best done by surveying the current research and then identifying a gap that you are going to fill.
A common sequence for introductions in an academic journal article is-
1. Establish the field: Identify the broad problem and state its importance
2. Summarize previous research: State what is significant in what has already been written.
3. Create a research space: Describe the gap you propose to fill in the existing research literature. This then creates an opportunity for you to make a contribution to the research in the area.
4. Introduce your research project: Establish your research thesis or questions.
(The above headings derive from a scheme proposed by Swales, 1981, quoted in Bruce, 1995).
EXAMPLE In the following example notice how the writer pays a complement to existing work ('There have been a number of valuable studies of self-employment...') and then identifies the gap ('However, none of these studies provides...')
Research Gap identified: A study of the changes over the last decade.

There have been a number of valuable studies of self-employment using cross-section data (Rees and Shah, 1986; Blanchflower and Oswald, 1993; Taylor, 1996), all of which present evidence on a number of employment and personal characteristics on the sector. However, none of these studies provides a picture of the changes over the last decade or forecasts the trends in self-employment as the recession of 1990 took hold.

EXAMPLEResearch Gap identified: The effects of pit closure on women's lives.

While there has been some research on the general impact of female unemployment (Coyle,1984; Popay,1985), little has been written about the effects of pit closure on women's lives.

EXAMPLEResearch Gap identified: A research-based model for the evaluation of self-access language learning centres.

Evaluating a self-access language learning centreIn education in general, evaluation has played a vital role for more than one hundred years (Madaus et al, 1983). In English Language Teaching also, evaluation has been a major concern for over twenty years (Strevens, 1976; Stern, 1983; Lynch, 1996). In contrast, it is only recently (Star, 1994; Gardner & Miller, 1999) that attention has been paid to the evaluation of learning outcomes in self-access centres. However, if we are to argue that such centres provide an effective and efficient alternative to other existing modes of language learning, it remains a matter of serious concern that there is no research-based model designed for their evaluation.  This paper will suggest four key issues which need to be addressed when considering the development of such an evaluation model...

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Problem Statement

Using Audience Awareness to Contextualize Your Research Goals

A persuasive problem statement consists of three parts: 1) the ideal, 2) the reality, and 3) the consequences for the reader of the feasibility report. Well constructed problem statements will convince your audience that the problem is real and worth  having you investigate. Your strategy is one of contrast: by situating the the ideal scenario next to the situation as it exists, you can not only persuade the reader that a problem exists, but then go on to emphasize the consequences of ignoring or addressing the problem.

Remember, your problem statement is the backbone of the proposal and the feasibility report.  By giving careful consideration to how you construct it now (for the proposal), you can use it when doing your research and writing for the proposal as well as the progress and the feasibility report.

STATEMENT 1  (DESCRIPTION OF THE IDEAL SCENARIO)

Describe the goals, desired state, or the values that your audience considers important and that are relevant to the problem.

(BUT)

Connect statements 1 and 2 using a term such as "but," "however,"

"Unfortunately," or "in spite of";

STATEMENT 2 (THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION)

Describe a condition that prevents the goal, state, or value discussed in statement

1 from being achieved or realized at the present time.

STATEMENT 3 (THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE AUDIENCE)

Using specific details, show how the situation in statement 2 contains little promise of improvement unless something is done.  Then emphasize the benefits of research by projecting the consequences of possible solutions as well.

RESEARCH (YOUR PROPOSED RESEARCH TO INVESTIGATE THE POSSIBILITY OF MAKING THE REALITY MORE LIKE THE IDEAL.)

Describe the areas of inquiry you will use that could lead to solutions to the problem--- how will you research the problem? What sources of information, types of research (primary or secondary),or tools will you use to help you find solutions and make recommendations to resolve the clash?

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Visual Studio 2010 Best Practices by Peter Ritchie (Book Review)

Visual Studio 2010 Best Practices by Peter Ritchie is an interesting book for both beginners and professionals using Visual Studio. Right now, as I am writing the review Visual Studio 2012 would have been launched. Visual Studio has grown to become an application life cycle management tool that it not only covers software development environment and compiler, but it now has also integrated components such as program/task management, code repository, test framework that allows the creation of environment as well as a set of test tools.

So, other than software developers, there will be a lot of software professionals drawn into understanding Visual Studio better. The book can be read through or dive directly into a chapter that is of interest. The first chapter deals with Best Practices, which the author defines what it is and definitely not a once size fit all solution but a series of solution given the context or situation we are in. The author reminds us again that there is no best solution, but with a quick guide for us where to start in the context or situation that we are currently in. In my opinion, this is important as we sometimes expect that the author is tempted to jump straight into the nuts and bolts of Visual Studio without having understand the overarching principle behind it.

In the second chapter, it deals with source code control. Typically, to use the source code control effectively, you would need a consultant to come in and analyse your needs. The author provided a glimpse of different context of which you can tweak or configure Visual Studio to best work for you. Once tweak to your need, it can be a powerful tool to make software development less hassle, effective and source code controlled properly without too much additional efforts. It could speed up development and avoid potential release mix up as well.

The author then shares c# knowledge in Chapter 3 and then low level architecture good practices that is often forgotten in Chapter 4. In the midst of design and coding, it will be hard to catch up on low level architectural practices and very often, in the midst of coding and problem solving, this good practices are forgotten. We'll get some insight from Peter Ritchie in this area. Chapter 5 deals with deployment options, typically the area of installation package that we are accustomed with. This is a big area and Peter concentrates on the commonly used ones available in Visual Studio.

Chapter 6 concentrates on automated testing capability of Visual Studio. Some of the concepts discussed are Test Driven Development (TDD) / Behaviour Driven Design (BDD). I have spent a lot of time in software testing and I found some sound advice on the usage of automated tool to quickly assist development and to share the burden of ensuring bug free system. For example Test Driven Development takes a lot of discipline and time, but done correctly, it greatly improves the product quality. This would be essential especially for projects that has fast release and critical role.

Chapter 7 is an interesting one, as Peter again, based on his experience helps us to optimize Visual Studio and how to make it a better tool for the development team. Maybe it is my choice of books, but I don't see topics on this area a lot, so it helps. It starts from as basic as the recommended computer specifications to creation of project, again looking into the context to best help us to visualize what is best for our situation. Since software developer is going to look at it 8 hours a day, how it is visualize and customization so that it is as developer friendly as they like it.

In Chapter 8 we look at one of the most common headache of software developer, threading. Peter would again, explain what practice best suit your context of situation. This chapter detail some practices for parallelization of code that includes principle, threads, thread synchronization, asynchronous operations, division of labour, task parallel library, Visual Studio 2012 asynchronous programming and reactive extensions.

Chapter 9 helps the reader to appreciate the complexity of distributed system, that is, application that runs from multiple system. This is an important component for big system and enterprise system. Finally, Chapter 10, a chapter dedicated to building web based system, which is important because almost every system is moving towards the cloud and run from the browser. The last two chapters alone of course are big area and could be converted into a volume on its own.

For those who wants to look beyond what is covered in the book, the author also helps by recommending other books in the summary section just in case what was covered isn't adequate. Overall, I feel that this book prepares the reader to be a consultant going into a Visual Studio development team and how to improve the product quality, cost and time, not too much on the nuts and bolts of the setting and configuration. However, this is not a quick fix or typical book that recommends you the best solution. If that is what you are looking for, you may be disappointed. I rate this book 4 out of 5.


~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Handling exhibition booth

I got my first taste of standing in front of an exhibition booth and promoting for one day, recently. It was fun but definitely tiring. I have learned from this one day experience and I am about to put it down in writing before I forget any of this valuable experience that I have had the chance to experience.

1. Drink a lot of fluid
By the end of the day, I was really tired and exhausted. I dreaded drinking too much because I do not want to be walking in and out of the wash room  However, by the end of the day, I felt dehydrated, tired and really don't feel like even eating. I suspect that breath can smell as well, if dehydrated. Given that if I have to do this again, I would really bring myself a big water tumbler just to ensure that I can have fluid all day long.

2. Understand the material and be prepared
I was rehearsing in my mind several key items that I am going to share with people who visits my booth. Truth to be told, rehearsing in my mind is not the same as rehearsing out loud. I find myself tonque-tied for the first several attempts. I am not sure I understand myself too well during the first few conversations. I am going to do a bit more rehearsal of the material and several intro-line to the exhibition objective, and then open the floor to questions. It is not about repeating the same story to everyone who visits, but it is really to ensure that everyone gets the same story when they visit, and of course they are more then welcome with questions after the sales pitch :)

3. Look at the mirror
This is not something I like to do. I don't feel the need to look myself in the mirror because I always have the impression that what we know matters. But really, after going out often on social events and functions, I do need to confirm that I am well shaved, nothing sticking out of my nose, black patches on my teeth, tie not properly kept or dirty patches on my coat. Yes, what we know matters but, if our first impression is not there, the conversation wouldn't even happen in the first place. And nowadays, people look for imperfections, and the mind could well start with distrust like the following, "How could I trust this guy and what he said if he cannot even take care of himself properly".

4. Smile
The innovation and the creativity of the 21st century is not about the abundance of knowledge, but the way that we could connect the dots from our experience and look into implementing it in our everyday challenge. Every facet of our everyday activity boils down to having good communication, teamwork, collaboration, openness, acceptance etc. Smile, and we may have the better opportunity in connecting to people that visits the booth. The eye contact goes hand in hand with a gentle and sincere smile.

5. Listen
I learned not to blab the entire script I have without looking at the facial expression of the person I am talking to. Do take time to get feedback and response from the person we are communicating with. Blabbing the entire script of what we want to say isn't the objective, having the person understand what our message is, takes precedence.

There you have it, my 5 things I will ensure that I will be doing if I have the chance to stand in front of an exhibition booth again. Have a magnificent week ahead.


~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Feel, Felt, Found Strategy

Recently heard of this 3F Strategy to overcome rejection

I can certainly understand how you feel.
I have friends who felt the same way as well.
Then they found that using this (whatever), things has become better...

Sounds like a simple and brilliant strategy :)

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

CMMI vs ITIL

CMMI and ITIL are two distinctly different maturity models. The fundamental difference between CMMI vs ITIL is that while CMMI focuses on software process maturity, ITIL is broader in scope and focus on all areas of infrastructure, including software and hardware.

Origins

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)’s Software Engineering Institute developed the first Capability Maturity Model (CMM) in 1990, and followed it up with the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) that integrated multiple CMMs.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) developed the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) in 1986 to provide guidance for service management. These set of guidelines has since then emerged as the international de facto standard framework of best practices for IT service management and infrastructure. ITIL originated as a collection of books, each covering a specific practice within the IT service management.

Scope

CMMI is a proprietary maturity model that consists of the best practices applied in the development of software, derived from the industry. CMMI segregates the best practice knowledge into five levels: initial, managed, defined, predictable, and optimizing, based on the expertise of the organization in applying such best practices. Each level progresses to higher standards and addresses the development and maintenance of products and services through the product life cycle from conception through delivery and maintenance.

ITIL is a set of comprehensive and coherent codes of best practices, and ITIL scope extend to controlling and managing all aspects of IT related operations.

Comparing CMMI vs ITIL, ITIL does not rank or grade the organization based on the extent or level of its compliance. ITIL instead offers three popular certification levels for practitioners: foundation, practitioner and service manager, based on the extent of competency of the individual in ITIL. ITIL is a non-proprietary tool that encourages the private sector to develop services and products such as training, consultancy, and tools to support ITIL.

Application

The basic difference between CMMI vs ITIL lies in application. While CMMI is focused toward software development, maintenance, and product integration, ITIL is broader in scope and provides a framework for IT service management and operations including a hardware life cycle.

CMMI is geared specifically to software development organizations and focuses on continuous improvement, whereas ITIL addresses IT operations issues such as security, change and configuration management, capacity planning, troubleshooting, and service desk functions.

While the application of CMMI helps the organization gain competency and expertise in software or product development, ITIL applications help align the entire IT process and resources of the organization to business processes.

Structure

CMMI is a prescriptive approach that orders process areas along a maturity model with maturity levels. A CMMI model is not a process but a description of effective process characteristics.

Unlike CMMI, ITIL is not prescriptive and orders the processes in sets. CMMI for instance, recommends requirement analysis but does not specify how to do a requirement analysis. ITIL on the other hand, provides solutions on how to undertake the requirement analysis.

Similarities

Both CMMI and ITIL are process maturity frameworks that follow a similar and structured approach. Both emphasize development of processes to improve product development and customer satisfaction and support the coordination of multi-disciplinary activities related to a project.

Although both CMMI and ITIL are similar in structure, the amount of duplication is, however, small and there is no contradiction between the two models, making it possible to apply both CMMI / ITIL models simultaneously in an organization. CMMI is the de facto quality standard for software development, integration, deployment, and maintenance processes in organizations and ITIL is the first choice of organizations for standards related to operations and the infrastructure side of IT.

Implementation of CMMI / ITIL also aids organizations in reducing the cost of quality, improve turnaround times, and arrive at a precise estimate of efforts required that helps in costing products.

References

    * Digite.com. CMMI to ITIL: An obvious graduation?
    * FoxIT. Introduction to The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
    * Serge Thorn. ITIL and CMMI synergies

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Men's Guide in Selecting Wife

Treasure found in the Internet, credits to the owner.



~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

How to take on the World!! A Collection of Wisdom and Guides

At times when I feel burned out and asked the question like, why is this happening to me, why ONLY me, does this happen to other people, why it doesn't happen in their lives, why God is so unfair, why, why, why. All this questions enclosed myself in a situation of self doubt, self limiting and self defeating rant to myself (at least in my own head), and discourage me until I lose my way.

Well I was thinking this has to stop, especially now that I am playing many roles, not just as a friend, a colleague, more importantly a father, a husband, a son, a leader etc. It not only dis-empower me but also the people around me and the people who look up to me when they are in situations. I am quite sure I am mature enough not to do a scene in public, but those thought in my mind will eventually be sensed by those around me.

True enough, some people do ask if anything was wrong with me, especially closer friends. Well I try to tell them what the problem is but I cannot pin point the problem. That leads me to begin to think, what is wrong in my head... Well there is no real problem actually, but the combination of repeating the same things day in and out as well as negative thoughts being repeated in my head causes me to not see the richness of life which I already enjoy on a daily basis. It is time I wake up and take on the world, as the title of this post says it.

Here are a few lines I'm sure I will take a look every morning from now on to ensure that the negative thoughts will not distract me off my awesome life.
1. God made me special and awesome :) Stop comparing my life with others. They're probably not as awesome. (By no means I am putting anyone down, it is just something to appease my competitive spirit inside so that I feel better than others, haha, no friends or family are hurt in the process)
2. Misfits will do what misfits do best - Not try to fit in with the rest of the world. This one is from a friend, I read it and liked it immediately.
3. I decided that my life IS extraordinary. Therefore I have extraordinary problems as well, don't look at others and say 'why it happens to me'. My reaction to problems in life will be extraordinary. Bring it on!!
4. Problems are my best opportunities.
5. For anything to happen, I have to take action, not anyone else.

Well that is at least how I motivate myself. I hope you guys have your own ways as well. Have an awesome life, friends.

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Perhaps

Quiet yet restless,
Wandering yet thoughtful,
Tired yet Unwilling to rest,
Staring blankly at 3am.

Sleep? Perhaps to be awaken by the feeling of drowning in the sea...
Rest? Perhaps the worries floods my mind...
Nothing to do? Plenty, yet, the feeling of I don't feel like doing it...
Purpose? Many roles and responsibilities, yet unfulfilled...

Why then, when I am suppose to be thriving on this that I felt the weight too heavy on my shoulder?
Perhaps I need a holiday, perhaps I need rest
Perhaps I should be looking outward for the answer,
Perhaps I should look to God for an answer,
Perhaps I should look inward and ask my unknown self.

Perhaps I don't know myself well enough until now,
That I may have made decisions that my 'self' don't agree to.

What do you want, 'self'?
Perhaps I should continue telling my 'self' and tell him to obey
Perhaps I should try asking my 'self' and ask him what he wants?
Perhaps conversation with close friends and family may be able to help me?
Perhaps a quiet conversation with my 'self' would be interesting...

Where do I find my 'self'?
Perhaps, the Bible...
Perhaps, with all the Gurus and Teachers of motivation...
Perhaps, in meditation and isolation...
Perhaps, in giving and helping others, I may help myself...
Perhaps, in self indulgence, I may appease myself...

Perhaps...
This is how human feels, just that it is not talked about
Perhaps...
I am mentally disturbed and require medical attention
Perhaps...
That I am thinking too much, and I should just chill off and go back to life
Perhaps...
This is a call for journey of self discovery, that I need to embark in the one thing,
That will spark me to life again, the one thing that may be the purpose of my life.

Perhaps...


~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.

Ethan (2 years 2 months)

What a 2 years old toddler is capable of? He made sure that he tires me enough so that I am not able to try to stay up and watch football at night, and he made sure that I am so tired I couldn't even touch my PC and do some work at home.

By now, he has developed a strong set of teeth, always wanting to munch on something, be it raisin, bread, fruits and of course like every other toddler, he loves sweet stuff, so I have to be very careful what I feed him. We enjoy going to the park as well, walking around, looking around and I notice he loves to observe what other kids are doing, and he later goes and try it out on his own. Not that it is a bad thing, but sometimes it gets real tough trying to tell him not to do what other kids does, especially they are doing, well, dangerous or naughty stuff.

Enjoying himself in the shopping mall

At this stage, he developed a habit of asking questions. He really applied the "5 why" better than the professionals does at work. You know what is 5 why? Well you ask why, you get an answer, and you ask why again based on the answer, and you continue doing that for 5 times to go get to the root cause of issues or problems. So, here he goes asking why for everything under the sun, and I sometimes struggle to give him a simplistic yet logical and truthful answer for him to think about further. I somehow realize from the look of his face, that he is able to think and comprehend a lot more than I can imagine, so I wouldn't want to tell him a lie just to get off my back.

Whatever and however tired, however frustrated, I am going to try to enjoy myself watching him grow up. It is not easy at all but, what is easy in this life that is worth anything to us? Something that worth a lot to us usually requires an equal amount of effort as well. Happy Father's Day to me and all the father out there with toddlers. Thank you Dad.

Full of Expression...

Cheeky smile

~~~ Life is an adventure where we search for the meaning of the outcome.