India - A Trillion dollar economy

As the dollar plumetted, I am sure lot of the economists were going "told you so"..As has been well known the strong dollar was not sustainable given the huge US deficits..but quietly behind the scenes a lesser known fact dawned. India has now become the 12th nation in the world to join the Trillion dollar economy club at least at these dollar levels..I had noticed that it was skirting at 900 bil levels for some time but never thot the D Day would come so soon..

Oh well...It has...Another sleeping giant has gotten up...

Really busy...

Have not been blogging as much as I would like to...Couple of reasons..Getting a project that was originally on a death march pretty much on track and keepin up with the latest in MSFT Tech.

PM has been kinda interesting off late as well...Patterns, Methodologies...I think I like those..

Will blog in detail about some of those soon..

PMP Certification and Technical Interview Quest

As mentioned in an earlier blog, looks like PM has come to be the most important title/role these days..With that in mind, I am taking some PMP Training classes and intend completing the certification by EOM April. Hopefully should work out fine.

Meanwhile I am also trying to create a small database of MSFT Technologies interview questions that will be helpful to everyone..

PMP Training

Hi,
Now Project Management seems to be the flavor of the day everywhere I see. Our company seems to be enroute to creating a pool of PMs who can help other depts manage their projects and processes. I will b out attending the PMP training at Hilton Computers Apr 2 - 6. Having done certain aspects of PM in CMMi I think it should not be that difficult. Lets see..

Orcas

Having played around VSTS for some time now(Beta 2, Tech refresh and the live one), I would love to see what MSFT has in store for the Orcas version. Apparently chief among their concentration areas are:

• Delivers innovative new programming language features, such as those found with in the .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ)
• Enables designers and developers to work together more effectively than ever
• Enable Web developers to quickly build applications with the broadest possible reach and a rich, browser based client experience
  

I really hope MSFT can live upto its promise.

Case Study with MSFT

Apparently, we (SCI) was the first company that MSFT knows of, that got CMMi certified using the VSTS tool and the accompanying methodology. Interesting!
We have been invited to write a case study based on this...Should be interesting!

Project Server 2007 and MOPS 2007 POC

Our company is in the midst of doing 2 POCs for these products. Any comments on the gotchas of these softwares would be welcome.

Back from India...

I came back 2 days back and straight in the grind. Couple of interesting developments that happened in India...will write more about them soon.

Vibha

Since the time I had seen Vibha active again about 2 weeks ago...I have been wanting to participate in this org..Nice NGO...Check it out...

Sharepoint features

Here is an interesting article about new Sharepoint features:

http://www.sharepointblogs.com/dustin/articles/5235.aspx

So many new technologies!!!

With the advent of 2007 there is goin to be a plethora of applications that will flood the market that need good study.
Chief among them being
Sharepoint 2007
WWF 3.0
VSTS new version
Project Server 2007
Office 2007

Straight onto Real world

Now that the dept has achieved the Process Quality Goal, I went straight back to some pending work that I had like Working a very critical project that had several issues, getting team ready fpr PS2007 and newer version of VSTS (CMMi framework) as well as some other softwares that are getting ready to release.

Getting interested on reading about requirements gathering since thats one area we still need to work on...so long!

Hurrah! CMM Level 2

Hurrah!! After a lot of hardwork from the entire team, CMM Level 2 was achieved by our department. Microsoft's latest VSTS tool had a lot to do with the initial fillip and then we rolledup our sleeves and did the needful as well.

Hope we can continue the momentum..Now onto something new and exciting!

D-Day

Finally after going through some grueling sessions, we are at the last day/interview of our CMM level 2 process. It has been a challenging process and although I knew of our team's ability to handle pressure well..I was impressed with the calmness that our team members displayed as they handled the volley of questions hurled at them by the external appraiser..

Hope all goes well today.

About del.icio.us

I liked the idea about del.icio.us...This had been something that I was looking for in the past year or so...Bookmarks on the web is a great idea.

I have created mine at http://del.icio.us/advait_k

Getting closer to appraisal...

As we get jitters about getting so close to the CMMi Level 2 appraisal, there are some good news as well. Microsoft was inquisitive to know today how we used their methodology template to get Level 2 certification. I have a conference call with 4 people from the Pattern and Practices department and it should be interesting to have an article/ White paper about how SCI IT achieved level 2 using VSTS.

Been a while...

Its been a while since I last posted. The Company CMMi initiative is going really full steam and we hope to meet the Dec 4 deadline for CMMi interviews. T'will b interesting to see how we do to say the least.
Meanwhile I have grown some fancy to newer technologies like :
Office 12
Project Server 2007
WSS 3.O
Windows Workflow Foundation Services
.NET 3.O
Found an interesting blog about Software Return on Investment
http://blogs.msdn.com/arpans/archive/2006/11/11/return-on-investment-on-software.aspx

Upload Images and photos

CMMi Progress

We have made good amount of progress towards CMM Certification. The biggest obstacle in this process has been the lack of resources as well as getting the Configuration practice officially up. We have been doing a lot of things CM wise but putting it down on paper has been a tough job. Policy,Processes and plans have been updated. Now PMs just need to follow them correctly. Out of the 7 KPAs(Key Process Areas) I think we have nailed down REQM,PP,PMC,QA and CM nicely. The MA and SAM process areas are turning to be a challenge given the time that our team can dedicate towards these areas.
Lets see how we progress...

Certification

Amid all the issues that we faced during CMMi Certification I think it might b really worth putting all these pts together and post it so that it will help others who want to take this route..

CMMi

Our company is in the process of undergoing a CMMi certification for Software development life cycle. If anybody has gone through the pains or wants to know about the same, contact me at advaitk@gmail.com

SAP Modules

Following are some interesting SAP links from a Business Analysis perspective:

SAP BW

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_sem60/helpdata/en/e3/e60138fede083de10000009b38f8cf/frameset.htm


SAP SEM

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_sem60/helpdata/en/3a/c670373bbf0303e10000009b38f842/frameset.htm


SAP NetWeaver

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/start.htm

DSL Tools

I have been looking at the new DSL tools that MS has come out with. The blog at

http://blogs.msdn.com/pedrosilva/archive/2005/11/08/490640.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/alan_cameron_wills/

http://blogs.msdn.com/jochens/

http://blogs.msdn.com/stevecook/

http://blogs.msdn.com/stuart_kent/

http://blogs.msdn.com/georgem/

is interesting

New Architectural Link

Nice piece of work by a team of Architects:
http://realworldsa.dotnetdevelopersjournal.com/

Best Practices for the Team

http://www.microsoft.com/architecture/library.aspx?pid=solve.secure&id=www.msdn.microsoft.com/architecture/application/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnnetsec/html/threatcounter.asp

Some useful Architectural links

http://www.sdmagazine.com/
http://www.ftponline.com/channels/arch/
http://www.intelligententerprise.com/
http://www.service-architecture.com/
http://www.knowledgestorm.com
http://www.fawcette.com/
http://www.bredemeyer.com/
http://www.martinfowler.com/eaaCatalog/

Best Practices for Team Build

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=422304&seqNum=4

Some free training

http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2005/11/06/489592.aspx

Back from India

I just got back from India yday and got down straight to work on the latest VSTS
version. Looks like we are in for some luck now that the latest version of TS is more stable
and forgiving than Beta 3 refresh..

Microsoft Certified Architect Program

I have been reading some..about the MS Certified Arch program and found some useful links.
http://www.microsoft.com/architecture/default.aspx?pid=journal

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/architect/

Microsoft CRM

Recently, a dept in our company has expressed interest in MS CRM. I found some links that might help us look at some of the cool features of this tool.

Microsoft CRM Demos


Microsoft CRM Customer Service Demo


Microsoft CRM Overview Demo


Microsoft CRM Sales Demo


Microsoft CRM White Papers


CRM ROI Blueprint 2004 - How Customer-Focused Strategies and Solutions Drive Productivity, Profitability and Growth (154 KB)

Very useful Build Links

Ajay Sudan, a product manager for Team System, recently assembled the following resources for Team Foundation Build:
Team Foundation Team Blog - Team Foundation Build Overview
Product Documentation - Managing Builds with Team Foundation Build
Product Documentation - Team Foundation Build Walkthroughs
Product Documentation - Performing Nightly Builds with Team Foundation Server
MSDN Forums - Teambuild: Customizing the e-mail sent when a build completes
TeamSystemRocks.com Video - Automating Nightly Builds with Team Build
TeamSystemRocks.com Video - Customizing the Build Process with Team Build
Product Documentation - Team Foundation Server Beta 3 Known Issues
And Nagaraju Palla, a technical lead at the India Development Center, added links to these related blogs:
http://blogs.msdn.com/nagarajp
http://blogs.msdn.com/anutthara
http://blogs.msdn.com/manishagarwal
http://blogs.msdn.com/hemantk
http://blogs.msdn.com/Uday

Architectural links

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnvs05/html/introappdesigner1.asp?frame=true

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnvs05/html/datacenterdesigner1.asp?frame=true

Team Foundation Build

As Team Build becomes important, I had started looking for good reads on the latest Team Foundation Build system. Here's some info:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms242867
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms171479(en-US,VS.80).aspx

Office Add-Ins

I read about Office Add-ins when I was reading about VSTS but was not able to get my hands on a reliable source. I found that finally

http://blogs.msdn.com/team_foundation/archive/2005/01/21/358536.aspx

New Terms from MSFT

Lots of new terms coming outta MSFT these days.. Atlas, AJAX, Orcas, Longhorn, Avalon, Indigo, WinFX ...Here are some interesting links

Roadmap - http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/productinfo/roadmap.aspx

Planning for Orcas - http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=24709

Avalon - http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/building/presentation/default.aspx

Indigo - http://msdn.microsoft.com/webservices/indigo/default.aspx

Team System Features

As a technical Architect, I am looking for resources that help me best educate all types of users in my company's SDLC about the new features of VSTS. I have found a lot of interesting stuff on MSDN and the rest I gather from other blogs. I don't find one place where there is a complete list of features, classified by user type so that I know I have covered all my points...Huh!

Internal workings for IIS

Today I found an excellent post on how a request is handled by IIS
http://www.west-wind.com/presentations/howaspnetworks/howaspnetworks.asp

Some demos for presentation..

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=0D7624D0-F81D-41B5-B297-616FA32F60A0&displaylang=en

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=B14A5274-DDFD-4333-94CC-17E63138C25A&displaylang=en

Found VSTS Template customisation link

I finally found what I was looking for. The VSTS Metholody customization toollit. I don't know whether I was giving the wrong search criteria or its just difficult to find this..Anyways here's the link
http://weblogs.asp.net/dmckinstry/archive/2005/03/10/392424.aspx

Shrini 's Blog on Software Testing

I found a very interesting site for Software testing at ..Shrini 's Blog on Software Testing

First Blog

After a lot of hesitation, I am finally entering the blogging world. I have found blogging to be very beneficial hence the leap. Here I go!.
I started off with searching for some MS.NET sites since I work as a Tech Architect in this technology. I found some really innovative blogs of people who are working on this technology. So I have added links to their sites here..