Digest about software

Effective meetings are good for you and your career

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 06:47:00 +0200

Running effective meetings is a skill that takes knowledge and practice to develop. Running an effective meeting is more than sending out a notice that your team is to meet at a particular time and place. Effective meetings need structure and order. Without these elements they can go on forever and not accomplish a thing. With a solid objective in mind, a tight agenda, and a commitment to involving the meeting participants in the planning, preparation, and execution of the meeting, you are well on your way to chairing great meetings. Given the frustration most people feel when their time is wasted, gaining a reputation for running efficient and successful meetings is good for you and your career.

There are several basic types of meeting, and each one is distinguished by a different purpose.

In a problem-solving meeting, participants first define a problem and then craft solutions for solving it. Participants in this type of meeting must be able to recognize the problem and also have the energy and expertise to correct it. Problem solving
. In a decision-making meeting, the group selects a solution to implement. To be successful, the group must agree on the decision-making process: will decisions be made by consensus, by majority vote, or will only certain individuals have input?Decision making
Information giving and receiving. Other types of meetings are held for the purposes of communicating, reporting, and feedback. A status meeting for a project is designed to keep everyone on the team informed of the most recent developments.

To ensure you cover only what needs to be covered and you stick to relevant activities, you need to create an agenda. The agenda is what you will refer to in order to keep the meeting running on target and on time. To prepare an agenda, consider the following factors:

Priorities – what absolutely must be covered?
Results – what do need to accomplish at the meeting?
Participants – who needs to attend the meeting for it to be successful?
Sequence – in what order will you cover the topics?
Timing – how much time will spend on each topic?
Date and Time – when will the meeting take place?
Place – where will the meeting take place?

Once you have an agenda prepared, you need to circulate it to the participants and get their feedback and input. Running a meeting is not a dictatorial role: You have to be participative right from the start. Perhaps there is something important that a team member has to add. Maybe you have allotted too much, or too little, time for a particular item. There may even be some points you've included that have been settled already and can be taken off the list for discussion.

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Solution on how to have effective meetings:

Have a good based agenda.
Send required reading 3 days beforehand.
Start on time.
As people to stand up or remove chairs from meeting room.
No laptops for visitors, only presenter and note taker should get one.
Focus, note off topic comments.
Send notes and action items ASAP.

Obviously, meetings can be held for more than one purpose. Staff meetings, for example, often serve both to provide updated information and to solve specific problems. But whether there is one purpose or several, it is the purpose that determines when to call a meeting. In general, call a meeting when you:

Need the entire group to provide information or advice.
Want the team to participate in making a decision or solving a problem.
Want to share information, a success, or a concern with the whole group, or make everyone aware of a particular situation.
Are dealing with a problem that needs input from members of different groups with varying perspectives or agendas.
Find that responsibility for a problem, issue, or area needs to be clarified.
Learn that the group feels a strong need to meet.
Make sure the meeting is necessary.
Involve the right people.
Prepare for the discussion and the decisions to be made.
Start with the easy items. Early success often promotes future success.
Hold the more difficult items until later. But make sure to leave enough time to address them.
Communicate clearly. Clearly articulate decisions, action items, and next steps to wrap-up each section of the meeting.
Provide a status update. Tell your participants where they're going; tell them where they are; and tell them where they've been.
Make a commitment to end on time.

Common Mistakes:

If you notice that the group is repeating points already made, you can: Keep track of ideas on a flip chart or white board. Be sure to confirm your understanding of the ideas presented. When someone begins to repeat an already listed idea, point to the chart or board and ask something like, "Have we got that point here? Is there something new you want to add?"

Silence can indicate a range of experiences including thoughtfulness, confusion, and boredom. If the group falls silent, you can: Let it be silent for a minute. Check out what’s happening by asking people are thinking. Ask people if they would like you to clarify something. Ask them if you are unaware of a key point or issue or if you have caused some confusion. Wait before giving them a suggestion. Don't fill in the silence too quickly. Make sure your behavior is not the problem. Break into smaller groups to encourage more participation.

When conflict arises, you can: Focus on the substance of ideas or opinions—not on the contributor's personal style or status in the organization. Encourage members to keep their comments positive and constructive and to try to see all sides of a contentious issue. Keep members from evaluating ideas too quickly. For example, when members seem to be touchy about each other's suggestions, one thing you can say is, "Now there's an idea. Let's not evaluate it just yet. Just let me write it down and add others later." Use probing questions to steer members away from entrenched positions and to help uncover the underlying issues.

Reference:

http://www.22minutemeeting.info/22MinuteMeetingPoster.pdf

Running Effective Meetings

Summary:

Do your homework before a meeting: Collect relevant documents and data. Talk to the participants about their opinions and objectives. Encourage participants to do their homework and let them know your interest in their ideas. Brief your manager and other senior managers or executives who won't be at the meeting but have an interest in its outcome. Circulate the agenda and pertinent background information. After the meeting is over, take some time to debrief, and determine what went well and what could have been done better. Evaluate the meeting's effectiveness based on how well you met the objective. This will help you continue to improve your process of running effective meetings. How to end meeting?

Restate or summarize what has been accomplished, any key points or decisions, and explain how they will be communicated to stakeholders.
Consider keeping a shared record (e-mail or written) of action items and/or conversations to help clarify agreements.
Schedule another meeting, if appropriate.
Ask the group to help evaluate the meeting and get ideas for what to do better at the next meeting.
Thank everyone for participating.

Visual Studio 2012

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:03:00 +0200

With Visual Studio 11, the 11 was the code name of the next release of Visual Studio. Today Microsoft believe this is the right time to disclose the official name – Visual Studio 2012. As part of RC Visual Studio team made numerous improvements to Visual Studio, including performance improvements across the board, updates to the UI based on customer feedback, and enhancements to existing features. Release Candidate of Visual Studio 2012, Team Foundation Server 2012, and .NET Framework 4.5 are ready.

Perfomance: There were improvements in XAML (compiler, loading documents, and the design surface), debugging, editing large C++ files, Test Lab etc. Users expect more and more from an IDE these days, and the cost of developing one from scratch is prohibitive unless you have very deep pockets. Also improved the typing and editing part of the “edit-compile-debug” loop, due in large part to the UserVoice suggestion to make typing and scrolling more responsive.

Eclipse vs VS2012: There are always things in one development environment that aren't in another, but at the end of the day it comes down to two things. 1) What one you prefer to use. 2) What one you can afford. Eclipse is free which is a very big feature for a lot of people. You have them both installed so why don't you try one for a little bit, and then try the other for a little bit and make up your own mind. I can tell you what people will tell you is better. If they use VS they will tell you VS is better, and if they use Eclipse they'll tell you that Eclipse is better.

If you are doing Java development, you are going to pick Eclipse, and for .NET development you are going to pick Visual Studio. But both IDEs are extensible, and have communities providing extensions for other languages, so if you are using another language it might not be so clear cut. Visual Studio is obviously only going to run on Windows so if you want to develop on other platforms Eclipse is now the winner.

Logo: The logo features our longstanding infinity symbol, refreshed to embody Metro style design principle. The new logo also represents the simplified and streamlined IDE experience delivering with Visual Studio 2012. The new Visual Studio logo features our longstanding infinity symbol, refreshed to embody Metro style design principles. These principles also reflect our goal to simplify and streamline the Visual Studio IDE and VS2012 wanted to make sure this was evident in our logo and in the Visual Studio brand.

Architectural Tools: Improvements in the release candidate include: The ability to create graphs for native projects (including drag and drop from solution explorer). All the architectural tools have additional context menus and we now offer the ability drill into links in the dependency graphs.

IDE: The IDE improvements in RC focus on responses to customer feedback, polishing features, and performance improvements. Solution Explorer toolbar was overflowing, so Visual Studio team removed commands that already have other placements in the IDE (e.g. context menus, key bindings, menus) and don’t affect the solution view or project hierarchy. In solution explorer you can restrict Solution explorer to show just the files you're currently working with. The new filtering options include Pending Changes and Open Files.

ASP.NET 4.5: ASP.NET Web Forms has been updated to fully support the new async “await” keyword.

Page events and control events can now be marked as “async” and utilize the new async support added in .NET 4.5”.

MVC 4: projects now include Entity Framework 5 which has full support for “migrations” allowing developers to keep their code and databases in sync as changes are made. MVC4 Empty template truly empty, and renamed the original empty template to now be called the “Basic” template. This changes also improved the performance of the New Project creation time.

References

http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/11/en-us/downloads

Visual Studio 2012 RC Product Website

Summary

As with the beta, Visual Studio 2012 RC ships with a “Go Live” license. This means that you can use the product to build apps that run in production. For more information on the “Go Live” terms and how to get support if you need it, please visit the Visual Studio 2012 RC website. As usual, we’re looking forward to hearing from you about your experience with the release. Please feel free to contact us through the following channels. Ask a question on the Visual Studio or Windows forums. File a bug on the Visual Studio, (or with the Visual Studio Feedback Tool). Submit a suggestion about VS2012 on User Voice.

Effective software product post mortem

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:38:00 +0200

Post Mortem is the feedback meeting at the end of a project, or the written report of that meeting. Whoever ends up writing the post-mortem report will conclude that the proper course of action to prevent similar failures is to do whatever it is the author thinks everybody ought to be doing anyway. Sometimes you may think you've completed a software project, but you aren't truly finished until you've conducted a project postmortem. Most shops are far too busy rushing ahead to the next project to spend any time thinking about how they could improve and refine their software development process. And then they wonder why their new project suffers from all the same problems as their previous project.

The name comes from the medical term which some people feel gives the practice a negative connotation. But the practice is common in the Computer Games Industry where a project is considered "dead" once the game has been approved for publication. A Post Mortem report should be held as soon as possible after the close of the project so that important issues don't get forgotten. It is also possible to hold interim postmortems (PreMortem) which can help your current project as well as your next. To make long story short post mortem is a little discussion after a project or important part of project. The team discusses what was done well and what was screwed. Before discussion one person gets feedback from all team members to bring a food for thought. Outcomes are used in future projects.

A postmortem should occur within 1-2 weeks of project completion. However, smaller postmortems can be conducted following completion of any major milestone during the project cycle. If you conduct the postmortem too soon, people may not be done wrapping up loose ends.

The purpose of a postmortem is to “learn from past experience.” Another purpose is to carefully analyze a project once it has ended and identify what went well and what went poorly so you can do better on subsequent projects. Another purpose of a postmortem is to give closure to a project. The closure issue is important for team members who are breaking away and moving to different projects, or to wrap up a particularly long or tough project cycle (sense of completion). The goal of a postmortem is to draw meaningful conclusions to help you learn from your past successes and failures. Despite its grim-sounding name, a postmortem can be an extremely productive method of improving your development practices.

Also, all managers should leave the workshop for at least some of the time. Neutral third party is good. A trusted senior developer will sometimes do. The main challenge is to start people talking. Because this is largely an exercise in being critical it's hard to get it started, but once started, it develops its own momentum.

Good questions to ask in next postmortem meeting:

What was the best thing about the project?
What was the worst thing about the project?
If you could have changed one thing, what would it have been?
How well did our tool chain work?
Which of the documents that we did added value? Which didn't?
Do we have project which met all objectives or not?
What went badly? Do we have disappointed users?
What went well? Do we have happy customer?
Do we have successful project or not?
What should be done differently?

A problem with a failed software development project post-mortem is that there is usually no clear reason for failure--things apparently just didn't work out. Without clear causes, people tend to analyze the failure according to their individual ideas of how the project "should" have gone. The waterfall proponent will say that no enough attention was paid to analysis and design up front. The QA manager will say that there was not enough documentation. Quite often we all know that Bob screwed up something in the project badly, but Bob is the senior person and has been known to take it out on the peons. So the peons learn to keep their mouths shut (i.e., they are now being dishonest to avoid pain). As we’ve been learned by experience above process rarely brings a clear message. He failed. She misunderstood the task. They forgot to agree something. And even in those rare examples that kind of knowledge is most likely useless. Yes, this time PM sucked. So what? Are you happy now? We better go back to find the solution, then.

Example of postmortem meeting process:

Duration: The postmortem should be anywhere from 2 hours to one entire day.
Room: The room should contain a round or oval shaped table so that everybody is ‘equal’. Reserve the room at least one week in advance.
Preparation: Send out the agenda (this checklist/framework) at least one week prior to the date of the postmortem meeting to allow participants preparation time.
Ask for ideas from all participants.
Deadline: Request that participants email in their issues (the good, bad, and ugly aspects of project) at least two days before the meeting. This ensures the agenda creator has ample time to write-up the agenda.
Focus: Stick to matters related to process. Stick to the issues and not attribute blame. If a topic goes on and on for over 7-10 minutes, then stop it and proceed onward.
Time Limits: Keep each topic limited to about five minutes.
Facilitator: There should be a neutral person facilitating the postmortem to ensure that participants stay on focused, do not argue, etc.
Recorder: Somebody should be selected as the note-taker for the postmortem meeting. The entire purpose behind the postmortem meeting is learn how to improve the processes. As such, the facilitator is often an excellent candidate for recording the group’s discussion. It is recommended that the recorder use a large flip-chart on which to take notes. This will focus discussion on a topic by topic basis, rather than individual vs. individual.
Writer: Somebody should be selected to compile the notes, and write up a Recommendation Report summarizing the key points derived from the postmortem meeting. Email out this report within one week following the meeting.

The CM manager will say that there was too much change. The XP guy will say that too much analysis was done, that too much documentation was produced, and that there should have been more frequent iterations. The architect will complain that the designs weren't implemented as specified. The developers will say that they were overworked. The managers will say that the developers didn't focus enough on the most important tasks. The marketing people will say that the development team didn't pay enough attention to their suggestions. To summarize, make your post-mortem successful by carefully preparing in advance, analyzing the project systematically, producing actionable findings, and actively sharing the results.

I've just seen that having separate meetings with the devs, the business owners, the testers, the project manager(s), etc. reveals dramatically more candid tellings of the story of the project than the typical approach of getting everyone together. On several of my last projects, I would love to have seen a neutral person go through those meetings and compile a report, "independent counsel" style. I suspect that the result would be FAR more informative and would work better for fixing the problems.

Example of issues and problems on the project:

No updates in documentation. Even basic software workflow is not covered completely with all steps.
Bad collaboration between different time zones.
No replies for some emails with issues for a long tie. No updates on paper or emails.
Strange explanations of why issue exist in system, for example: try to click in some other control, try to wait 6 seconds, we should clear cache etc.
Requirement changes on the fly, in the call or meetings, but not in emails to all team members or specification.
Bad process of work. Development -> Testing -> Fixes -> Regression -> Development.
No collaboration between testers and developers (meetings with all team members is not counting).
Gold plating features - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_plating_(software_engineering)
Developers are not testing they code. Even happy path was not tested completely for most of the features.
Lack of resources.

Post-mortem meetings are seemingly more important in these days of rapid process change brought about by new methods such as Agile and Rapid development. Post-mortem meetings also present a dilemma. They are clearly necessary so that an organization may identify what they are doing right, as well as what needs improvement. The challenge is to conduct them in such a fashion that they do not negatively impact team dynamics and morale. Post-mortem meetings need to be viewed not as a necessary evil, but as a positive growth experience for the organization and the individuals involved.

I generally respect most things out of the Pragmatic Programmers, and this one's no exception. If you reflect on your project more often, and the team has more of a stake in the way they operate, then the project has a better chance of success. See how to mine the experience of your software development team continually throughout the life of the project. The tools and recipes in this book will help you uncover and solve hidden (and not-so-hidden) problems with your technology, your methodology, and those difficult “people issues” on your team. But traditionally, retrospectives (also known as “post-mortems”) are only held at the end of the project—too late to help. You need agile retrospectives that are iterative and incremental. You need to accurately find and fix problems to help the team today.

Post mortem or retrospective best practice examples:

Design and run effective retrospectives (post mortem).
Learn how to find and fix problems before they occur.
Find and reinforce team strengths on each iteration.
Address people issues as well as technological as early as possible.
Use tools and recipes proven in the real world.

References

http://chandlerproject.org/

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?PostMortem

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/11/the-project-postmortem.html

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12814/software-tool-for-doing-project-postmortem

http://blog.brodzinski.com/2008/03/post-mortem-basics.html

http://pragprog.com/book/dlret/agile-retrospectives

Summary

Where I do have a problem is with the concept that you should wait until after the project - that way you lose half the value. Much better to have Mid Project Reviews. Definitely when a project is finished. But when you run a project which lasts three quarters you won’t remember all the issues you had to resolve during first phases after all. Then it’s quite a good idea to run post mortems after each important milestone. The difference between average programmers and excellent developers is not a matter of knowing the latest language or buzzword-laden technique. Rather, it can boil down to something as simple as not making the same mistakes over and over again. Fortunately, there's a powerful tool that any developer can use to help learn from the past: the project postmortem. Don't make the mistake of omitting the project postmortem from your project. If you don't conduct project postmortems, then how can you possibly know what you're doing right-- and more importantly, how to avoid making the same exact mistakes on your next project? Working for yourself is very rewarding in many ways, including sometimes even financially.

Effective communication is harder than it should be in your workplace

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:06:00 +0200

There’s just something about communications that’s harder than it should be. Of all the skills we develop as leaders and professionals, communicating are one that we’ve been practicing since birth. And yet it often gets in our way, causes stress, and leaves us at a loss. I found extremely useful advices from Guy Farmer blog. We too frequently miscommunicate, obfuscate the point, cause an unintended reaction, or avoid a messy discussion altogether.

As kids, we played the game of telephone and thought it was funny to hear how the original message changed as it was passed along from one person to another. In business, no one laughs when communication fails, and projects and teams fall apart as a result. Direct and clear communication is the key to success.

It’s much easier to understand what other people are saying when you’re not talking, thinking of the next thing you’re going to say or how you’re going to defend yourself. It’s very difficult to accurately grasp what other people are saying if you’re talking at the same time they are.

Most common mistakes ever

We make assumptions. This is a big mistake that we are all guilty of at times. We assume we know the way someone else thinks or feels, and therefore, we don’t bother to fully explain or to ask questions to find out their opinion. We end up jumping to conclusions that can result in miscommunication, hurt feelings, and distrust. I have witnessed this contribute to lost sales and relationships.

We don’t listen. Listening is paramount for good communication. If we are talking just to hear ourselves talk, that’s a monologue not a conversation. Active listening requires a focused effort to hear what the other person is saying and perhaps what they are not saying.

We rely on email, chat or tweets when face to face communication is appropriate. There are some conversations that must be held face to face. Sending an email or tweet to someone in hopes that they will understand your message and intent is not productive and can often lead to misunderstanding.

Presenting without complete understanding. Many employees report that their managers and executives present information and ideas that are either extraneous or irrelevant, because they don’t really understand their circumstances.

We don’t think before we respond. How many times have we said something we later regretted because it was an emotional response and we did not give ourselves the time to calm down? Quick emotional reactions are usually a mistake especially in the business environment. The purpose of the communication gets lost and what we end up remembering are the emotional consequences.

Effective communication is an amazing tool that can help us create wonderful workplaces where people actually get along and work together more smoothly. Imagine getting more done by saying less and connecting with people in ways that make everyone happier. Effective communication helps us not only relate better to each other, it also helps us do more with less effort.

Effective Communication Tips

Practice excellent conflict resolution skills. Brainstorm with the other person to get some ideas on how to deal with the issue at hand and agree on a solution that works for both of you.

Set up an atmosphere for communicating. Everyone gets to say what they want, nobody is punished, everyone is safe to say what they want with no fear of retribution.

Listen First, Speak Second. Every presentation, every conversation, and virtually every other interpersonal communication should begin with questions that enhance the speakers understanding of the other person (or group). Admittedly, this rarely happens. Most speakers and presenters are so focused on THEIR message that they forget the real priority is the other person.

Listen actively (and listen again). It’s amazing what you learn when you are not talking.

Keep it simple. Say what you mean, say it briefly and constructively.

References:

http://guyfarmer.com/blog/2011/02/20/effective-communication-tips-for-leaders/

http://guyfarmer.com/blog/2011/04/05/effective-communication-5-key-ideas-for-leaders/

http://www.guyfarmer.com/effectivecommunication

http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/2011/02/10-common-communication-mistakes/

http://www.telephonetrainer.com/Free%20Articles%20and%20Resources/FastFacts%20-%20Telephone%20Skills%20Training%20-%207%20Common%20Communication%20Errors.pdf

http://www.guyfarmer.com

Summary:

Our employees (and other professionals) evaluate us much in the same way our clients do. How we communicate says a lot to the outside world about the way we do things. Your first exposure to these ideas may seem a little overwhelming at first, but you’ll find that if you focus on them one at a time, letting yourself improve your communication efforts gradually, you’ll eventually develop an exceptional ability to communicate in a clear, concise and relevant manner you can be proud of.

Near Field Communication and Mobile Tagging

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:15:00 +0200

People’s phones are an essential part of their daily life, connecting them to their entire world of friends and information. Using recognition technologies to make virtually anything clickable lets you quickly take advantage of today’s phone-centric lifestyle and help you direct customers to the most relevant information about your brand. The Microsoft Tag marketing solution gives you and your customers the easy way to use a rich suite of recognition technologies, from QR Codes to the current Tag barcodes and beyond to the next generation in mobile, Near Field Communication (NFC). Depending on your choice, you can create a simple campaign delivering a line of text or a phone number, or go further and help people use your mobile site, see a video, download an app, get contact info, and much more. You don't have to worry about them typing in your URL or finding you online – using Tag instantly puts the relevant info at their fingertips.

QR codes and Microsoft Tags are optical technology. NFC lets a device receive data from a chip embedded in a nearby poster, for example, using close-range radio signals (from Mobile Tagging).

Microsoft Tag is providing support for the two commonly used 2D barcode formats (Tag and QR Codes) and for Near Field Communications (NFC) capabilities of Mobile Tagging. With this extension, brands have the freedom to choose the format most appropriate for their campaigns and give consumers the ease of one reader to use.

The Microsoft Tag team is continuously updating the list of supported devices, so if your device isn’t listed now, it may be in the future.

Heat Maps give you actionable info for refining your message, audience targeting, and campaign spending. Think of it as free market research that helps you plan media buys. You could run a movie promotion in national magazines before the film opens, then focus your opening-weekend advertising on the geographies that generated the most scans. Without geographical info, you’re making buys based on what you think will work.

With Tag and Heat Maps, you can make buys based on what you know will work. It’s hard to imagine a free marketing tool with greater savings power. The bigger and darker the circle, the hotter the Tag barcode, QR Code, or NFC touchpoint. Say you’re selling sunglasses and spending heaviest in sunny Las Vegas. A glance at the Heat Map shows you’re getting more action in Seattle. Turns out Seattleites so rarely need sunglasses that it’s easier to buy new ones than find the ones they bought last year. Time to go bigger in Seattle and possibly rethink Vegas.

You can create any of Tag's recognition technologies in about a minute – simply click a few links, choose a few options, decide if you want to use a Tag barcode, QR Code or NFC, then download your Tag image or URL. Take a few more minutes, and design a one-of-a-kind custom Tag.

Create, display, and scan Tags – all for free. You read right: There’s no fee to create or scan Tags, or to view basic reports. This means that, as long as we run the Tag service, you will be able to: People scan your Tag barcode, QR Code, or NFC touchpoint on their smartphones using the freeTag app and instantly view the experience you've created.

References:

twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/microsofttag

website: http://tag.microsoft.com/my-tags/home.aspx

apps and devices: http://tag.microsoft.com/resources/supported-devices.aspx

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/microsofttag

linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Mobile-Tagging-2241182?itemaction=mclk&anetid=2241182&impid=&pgkey=anet_search_results&actpref=anetsrch_name&trk=anetsrch_name&goback=.gdr_1306947458116_1

Service and Tag Creation API Agreement: http://tag.microsoft.com/tag-terms-of-use.aspx

Tag API: http://tag.microsoft.com/ws/tou.htm

Summary

Go beyond just telling how you hand-pick your ‘cukes and berries – give directions to the closest shop carrying your artisanal pickles and jams. You can also capture a unique Device ID of each mobile phone engaging with your content. That way, you can go a step further and serve up a different experience with each tap: Give a buy-one-get-one-free coupon with the first tap and a recipe for wild mountain blackberry thumbprint cookies with the next tap.

Microsoft Tag offers several APIs to make the management of your campaigns easier. If you are running a campaign that requires a large number of Tags to be used, the Tag Creation API allows you to batch create and manage your Tags from your desktop, laptop, server, or mobile device. And, the Tag Scan Data API (Mobile Tagging) is used to export your Tag scanning data, allowing you to import it into other campaign management tools to have a comprehensive view of your results.

Success in today’s IT environment

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 07:38:00 +0200

Success in today’s IT environment requires you to view your career as a business endeavor. I have been working as a Software Developer in different companies for over 5,5 years and Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET) at Microsoft more than 8 months. I have learned a lot with the Microsoft and I am getting more comfortable with process, job and more confident with abilities in new projects every day. I like writing code and spend a good chunk of my time writing automated tests in fast changing environment on new technologies. Also I like to develop tools to help with work and to help the rest of my teams to create high quality software. I also love analyzing problems and coming up with brand new solutions, but most important that I am trying to ensure that investing time and energy in the right areas.

That is why I made hard decision to change my current project to Microsoft Bing. My new team is not search engine, but this is something new to Microsoft and division called Local Deals and Commerce. I have been working for last 7 month in Architecture and Performance Engineering Team I want to thank them all. Not only because I have learned a lot professionally, I also had the honor to work with many talented, passionate people and most important that they were real family. That is why it was hard decision to make. I just found new team with more development opportunities, very interesting and new project.

Sometimes you just trying to go with the stream and you are very comfortable in things that you are doing, but that is not best case for me. I am trying to do my best in each project and team, that is why I help to finish our Administration Manager v1 project release and make production release smooth as possible as I can and find as many bugs with automation BVT and manual before release. My congratulations to APE and CAP team with this release, well done team!!!

My first working day in new team is today and that is really exciting for me, not only because BING one of the primary projects for Microsoft and only because I am working in new V1 projects, with test team that we are hiring people from scratch, but because I am working with new, interesting tasks and I am passionate in work that I am doing.

I just trying to clarify for reader that all projects are interesting until some point, but if you have many options to work on different projects simultaneously with new technologies, frameworks and people – that point is moving forward with you and that is what I want. I will be in touch with my previous team and friends from Customer Assistant Portal in CSS ECO. Bing (Local Deals & Commerce) is my new home and part of my life. I will be proud and glad when everybody around the world uses our software.

My new team called UAC - User-Centric Advertising and it is part of Local Deals and Commerce division. "The DealExchange is the most comprehensive platform for sourcing, distributing and monetizing local deals," said Chandu Thota, co-founder of The Deal Map. "Working with a technology leader like Microsoft bolsters our leadership position and highlights a period of explosive growth for The Dealmap. "We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Microsoft in ways that will deliver value to consumers and continue to rapidly grow our business." Instead of building another program, we're harnessing deals from major providers and retailers, including Groupon, LivingSocial, Nordstrom, Target and many others, to help you cut through the clutter and find the best deals in one central location.

Now you have a place to browse, find and purchase. Because we’ve done the work, all you have to do is go to bing.com/deals. Bing Deals Beta with loyalty program in 12 cities across the US in order to bring a new relationship-focused element to deals. Deals will no longer be a one-time engagement, but rather, the Microsoft Punchcard program will integrate a loyalty program tied to the deal that gets better with more engagement.

Businesses will have the opportunity of staying connected with their customers and offer programs that reward their customers for repeat business. Businesses will also have the opportunity to offer “accelerated deals” whereby the deal can become more valuable once the number of customers purchasing the deal crosses a defined threshold.

Furthermore, bing Deals will enable giving back to the community by enabling local merchants to offer deals in partnership with local schools with a percentage of the proceeds going towards schools’ fund-raising efforts - continuing a long history of local businesses supporting local community initiatives.

Bing Deals is a great way to find and connect with the local businesses in your community. You can discover deals posted by restaurants, spas, hair salons etc. in a number of ways. On top of all of that, there are some updates to the Bing Business Portal, which will let businesses better manage their presence, the company says. These include tools to offer detailed info about your business and other marketing tools.

A nice feature is that you can look at Deals nearby from the mobile version. While I can get to Bing Deals from m.bing.com (iPhone/Android), I’m not seeing it on the desktop version of the search engine yet. "With one click, you’ll see the top daily deals featuring the very best offers in your metro area," says Bing. "And by top deals we’re talking generally 30%-50% off! These are deals you definitely don’t want to miss so we made a special tab so checking is easy."

References

Bing Daily Deals: www.bing.com/daily-deals

http://www.bing.com/community/site_blogs/b/search/archive/2011/03/03/bing-launches-deals.aspx

Video: Bing Launches Deals

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/bing-launches-deals/1iibc5owt

Summary

When you are creating a remarkable career in software development in most cases, remarkable careers don’t come by chance. They require thought, intention, action, and a willingness to change course when you’ve made mistakes. Most of us have been stumbling around letting our careers take us where they may. It’s time to take control. The choices you make about which technologies to focus on and which business domains to master have at least as much impact on your success as your technical knowledge itself—don’t let those choices be accidental.

Problem solving - the Right Stuff

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:36:00 +0200

Problem-solving is not a science, but part art and part skill. I read this phrase and list of common practices for algorithm design in S.S. Skiena, The Algorithm Design Manual book. Skiena explains that this is one of the skills most worth developing. I've read other data-structures and algorithms books, and I've never found one like this one. Algorithm Design Manual - is very deep book and it is easy to understand

For example Skiena says: "Its unconventional approach is refreshing and keeps you interested. I find myself coming back to it frequently, and always learning something new. The key to algorithm design (or any other problem-solving task) is to proceed by asking yourself questions to guide your thought process. What if we do this? What if we do that? Should you get stuck on the problem, the best thing to do is move onto the next question. In any group brainstorming session, the most useful person in the room is the one who keeps asking, “Why can’t we do it this way?” not the person who later tells them why, because she will eventually stumble on an approach that can’t be shot down."

Written by a well-known, IEEE Computer Science teaching-award winner, this new edition is an essential learning tool for students needing a solid grounding in algorithms, as well as a uniquely comprehensive text/reference for professionals. The book is an algorithm-implementation treasure trove, and putting all of these implementations in one place was no small feat. The list of implementations and extensive bibliography make the book an invaluable resource for everyone.

This newly expanded and updated second edition continues to take the "mystery" out of designing algorithms, and analyzing their efficacy and efficiency. Expanding on the first edition, the book now serves as the primary textbook of choice for algorithm design courses while maintaining its status as the premier practical reference guide to algorithms for programmers, researchers, and students.

The reader-friendly Algorithm Design Manual provides straightforward access to combinatorial algorithms technology, stressing design over analysis. The first part, Techniques, provides accessible instruction on methods for designing and analyzing computer algorithms. The second part, Resources, is intended for browsing and reference, and comprises the catalog of algorithmic resources, implementations and an extensive bibliography.

Do I really understand the problem?

(a) What exactly does the input consist of?

(b) What exactly are the desired results or output?

(d) How important is it to my application that I always find the optimal answer? Can I settle for something close to the optimal answer?

(e) How large is a typical instance of my problem? Will I be working on 10 items? 1,000 items? 1,000,000 items?

(f) How important is speed in my application? Must the problem be solved within one second? One minute? One hour? One day?

(g) How much time and effort can I invest in implementation? Will I be limited to simple algorithms that can be coded up in a day, or do I have the freedom to experiment with a couple of approaches and see which is best?

(h) Am I trying to solve a numerical problem? A graph algorithm problem? A geometric problem? A string problem? A set problem? Which formulation seems easiest?

What is known about the problem? Is there an implementation available that I can use?

Can I find a simple algorithm or heuristic for my problem?

(a) Will brute force solve my problem correctly by searching through all subsets or arrangements and picking the best one?

i. If so, why am I sure that this algorithm always gives the correct answer?

ii. How do I measure the quality of a solution once I construct it?

iii. Does this simple, slow solution run in polynomial or exponential time? Is my problem small enough that this brute-force solution will suffice?

iv. Am I certain that my problem is sufficiently well defined to actually have a correct solution?

(b) Can I solve my problem by repeatedly trying some simple rule, like picking the biggest item first? The smallest item first? A random item first?

i. If so, on what types of inputs does this heuristic work well? Do these correspond to the data that might arise in my application?

ii. On what types of inputs does this heuristic work badly? If no such examples can be found, can I show that it always works well?

iii. How fast does my heuristic come up with an answer? Does it have a simple implementation?

Are there special cases of the problem that I know how to solve?

(a) Can I solve the problem efficiently when I ignore some of the input parameters?

(b) Does the problem become easier to solve when I set some of the input parameters to trivial values, such as 0 or 1?

(d) Why can’t this special-case algorithm be generalized to a wider class of inputs?

(e) Is my problem a special case of a more general problem in the catalog?

Which of the standard algorithm design paradigms are most relevant to my problem?

(a) Is there a set of items that can be sorted by size or some key? Does this

sorted order make it easier to find the answer?

(b) Is there a way to split the problem in two smaller problems, perhaps by doing a binary search? How about partitioning the elements into big and small, or left and right? Does this suggest a divide-and-conquer algorithm?

(c) Do the input objects or desired solution have a natural left-to-right order, such as characters in a string, elements of a permutation, or leaves of a tree? Can I use dynamic programming to exploit this order?

(d) Are there certain operations being done repeatedly, such as searching, or finding the largest/smallest element? Can I use a data structure to speed up these queries? What about a dictionary/hash table or a heap/priority queue?

(e) Can I use random sampling to select which object to pick next? What about constructing many random configurations and picking the best one? Can I use some kind of directed randomness like simulated annealing to zoom in on the best solution?

(f) Can I formulate my problem as a linear program? How about an integer program?

(g) Does my problem seem something like satisfiability, the traveling salesman problem, or some other NP-complete problem? Might the problem be NP-complete and thus not have an efficient algorithm? Is it in the problem list in the back of Garey and Johnson? Am I still stumped?

References

Skiena Press

http://www.algorist.com/

Source code of the book solutions

Buy Algorithm Manual book on amazon

Algorithm lecture presentations: Skiena TheAlgorithmDesignManual.zip (4.70 mb)

Video lectures

Summary

Though less academic than "Introduction To Algorithms" (by Charles E. Leiserson (Author), Ronald L. Rivest (Author), Clifford Stein), this ain't the book to pickup to learn about coding algorithms for a quick study on problem solving practices.

New features in Windows 8

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:57:00 +0200

Windows 8 is the next version of Microsoft Windows, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs, servers and media center PCs. “Building Windows 8” official blog is starting to drop out a bunch of information about the next version of Windows including.

Windows 8 brings together all the power and flexibility you have in your PC today with the ability to immerse yourself in a Metro style experience. You don’t have to compromise! You carry one device that does everything you want and need. You can connect that device to peripherals you want to use. You can use devices designed to dock to large screen displays and other peripherals. You can use convertible devices that can be both immersive tablets and flexible laptops.

Windows 8 has a new developer platform according to Microsoft Vice President Julie Larson-Green, who called it "our new developer platform, which is. based on HTML5 and JavaScript." The new applications run in full-screen, but two of them can be displayed side-by-side using "Snap". Examples of new applications that were demoed include a Twitter client, a weather application, a stock-tracking application, an RSS news feeder, and a virtual piano. The new interface is primarily designed for 16:9 screen resolutions, with 1366×768 and larger screens able to display two Windows 8 applications. 1024×768 screens can display one Windows 8 application in full-screen, and 1024×600 screens can only use the traditional Windows desktop.

[youtube:p92QfWOw88I]

These strengths fit well with our three goals – the ribbon would allow us to create an optimized file manager where commands would have reliable, logical locations in a streamlined experience. Updated Windows Explorer 8 looks like this:

Microsoft has spent a fair amount of time recently talking about its overhauls to Windows Explorer for the next iteration of Windows. The new Windows Explorer will improve its file management basics such as copy, move, rename, and delete functions, which make up 50 percent of Explorer's usage in Windows 7.

Opening up an Explorer window to look at your computer's connected drives will give you options to format, optimize, and clean up your hard drive, eject an external thumb drive, or activate Windows' Autoplay feature. Windows 8's Explorer will also include XP's 'Up' button that allows you to move backwards through your file directories. New tab Disk Tools looks like this:

The main feature that was shown is the extensively redesigned user interface, optimized for touch as well as use with mice and keyboards. A new "Start screen", similar to the one in Windows Phone 7, includes live application tiles. It replaces the Start menu, being triggered by the Start button or Windows key, and is also the first screen shown on startup. The user can go to the regular desktop by choosing the "Desktop" tile or a traditional desktop-based application.

Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft will design its operating system to work not only with Intel's x86 chip architecture, but also with ARM processors. ARM chips are very popular in the mobile device market and should help Microsoft's partners put Windows 8 on a range of so-called post-PC devices such as tablets.

To log in to Windows 8 requires just a swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Applications will be launched from a series of tiles. Included in the the start-up menu tiles is a direct link to a Microsoft Store, which suggests Microsoft will have its own version of an online application store, similar to the Mac App Store.

While Internet Explorer 10 has been redesigned to take advantage of a touch interface for tablets using Windows 8, the Office suite of productivity applications did not get any makeover for the occasion. Both of these are what an app store will bring to Windows. They will give users of not just Windows 8, but Windows 7 and Vista as well, quick and easy access to a trusted location where malware is filtered out and where the right software can be found, downloaded and installed. For consumers this is a huge plus and for software houses, especially smaller software houses, this will be a huge bonus for them in trying to get the word out that their software even exists.

It’s not all good news though and much of the success of the new Windows app store will depend on how Microsoft choose to manage it. The standard app store model was created by Apple, who are frequently criticised for creaming a whopping 30% off the top of a sale. This criticism has stopped them from doing so however and neither has it stopped Microsoft from doing the same with the Windows Phone store. It’s just accepted now that this practice, no matter how irritating and seemingly greedy it may be, is the accepted way of doing things and the price we have to pay.

Speaking of Apps, some Microsoft partners are already hard at work designing touch-based apps for Windows 8 tablets. ZDNet uncovered a purported early design for a USA Today Windows 8 app that has a very Metro UI look and feel to it. WinRT/Metro style applications differ from the traditional “Windows” look by eliminating the Windows “chrome” such as frames, window borders, control corners, etc. in favor a full screen, immersive experience. Metro style applications are intended to leverage asynchronous features in the UI controls and languages to provide a very “fast and fluid” interface.

Windows 8 development platform. When considering the impact of Windows 8 on future software development, the following broad strategies should be evaluated:

Continue to use existing technologies, and run the application in the desktop environment.
Create a WinRT/Metro style smart client application that takes full advantage of the new WinRT and Windows 8 features.
Create a browser-based web application that relies on no plug-ins, so it can run in the browser in both the WinRT and desktop environments.

The first two options are the most likely options if your current applications are smart client applications that use WPF, Silverlight, or Windows Forms. Existing technologies map to the Windows 8 development platform in following diagram:

If you decide that the WinRT and Metro style application model is a platform you may wish to support in the future, your best strategic move is to start developing today using Silverlight. Alternately, you can use WPF with extreme care to emulate the Silverlight development model. In any case, existing developer skills in XAML, C#, VB, .NET, and Silverlight carry forward to WinRT development. The same is true for HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript developer skills.

References:

Microsoft is expected to reveal more details about Windows 8 during the company's BUILD conference that starts September 13 in Anaheim, CA.

Summary:

That's all for now, I will keep an eye on Microsoft's blogs for more Windows 8 news.

Top 100 ways to motivate yourself

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:59:00 +0200

The lack of motivation can to a cancer that can build apathy, pessimism, cynicism, and can stifle energy stunting a company's growth and just like cancer if not treated can destroy the organization. Managers have the reasonability to examine every single individual and also the places they need to have improvement, apply motivational theories in their behavior modification plan. Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus.

[youtube:u6XAPnuFjJc]

I found book of Steve Chandler. Steve is a sales trainer and a keynote and convention speaker who lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona. He has brought his workshops and seminars to over 400 different companies including Motorola, Texas Instruments, IBM and Intel. His previous bestselling motivational books include 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, Reinventing Yourself, 50 Ways to Create Great Relationships, and 17 Lies that are Holding You Back and the Truth That Will Set You Free.

Check most improtant ways to motivate yourself:

1. Get on your deathbed

2. Stay hungry

3. Tell yourself a true lie

4. Keep your eyes on the prize

5. Learn to sweat in peace

6. Simplify your life

7. Look for the lost gold

8. Push all your own buttons

9. Build a track record

10. Welcome the unexpected

11. Find your master key

12. Put your library on wheels

13. Definitely plan your work

14. Bounce your thoughts

15. Light your lazy dynamite

16. Choose the happy few

17. Learn to play a role

18. Don't just do something...sit there

19. Use your brain chemicals

20. Leave high school forever

21. Learn to lose your cool

22. Kill your television

23. Break out of your soul cage

24. Run your own plays

25. Find your inner Einstein

26. Run toward your fear

27. Create the way you relate

28. Try interactive listening

29. Embrace your willpower

30. Perform your little rituals

31. Find a place to come from

32. Be your own disciple

33. Turn into a word processor

34. Program your biocomputer

35. Open your present

36. Be a good detective

37. Make a relation-shift

38. Learn to come from behind

39. Come to your own rescue

40. Find your soul purpose

41. Get up on the right side

42. Let your whole brain play

43. Get your stars out

44. Just make everything up

45. Put on your game face

46. Discover active relaxation

47. Make today a masterpiece

48. Enjoy all your problems

49. Remind your mind

50. Get down and get small

51. Advertise to yourself

52. Think outside the box

53. Keep thinking, keep thinking

54. Put on a good debate

55. Make trouble work for you

56. Storm your own brain

57. Keep changing your voice

58. Embrace the new frontier

59. Upgrade your old habits

60. Paint your masterpiece today

61. Swim laps underwater

62. Bring on a good coach

63. Try to sell your home

64. Get your soul to talk

65. Promise the moon

66. Make somebody's day

67. Play the circle game

68. Get up a game

69. Turn your mother down

70. Face the sun

71. Travel deep inside

72. Go to war

73. Use the 5% solution

74. Do something badly

75. Learn visioneering

76. Lighten things up

77. Serve and grow rich

78. Make a list of your life

79. Set a specific power goal

80. Change yourself first

81. Pin your life down

82. Take no for a question

83. Take the road to somewhere

84. Go on a news fast

85. Replace worry with action

86. Run with the thinkers

87. Put more enjoyment in

88. Keep walking

89. Read more mysteries

90. Think your way up

91. Exploit your weakness

92. Try becoming the problem

93. Enlarge your objective

94. Give yourself flying lessons

95. Hold your vision accountable

96. Build your power base

97. Connect truth to beauty

98. Read yourself a story

99. Laugh for no reason

100. Walk with love and death

I especially like 4. Keep your eyes on the prize: There was an interesting motivational talk on this subject given by former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson to his football players before the 1993 Super Bowl: "I told them that if I laid a two-by-four across the room, everybody there would walk across it and not fall, because our focus would be that we were going to walk that two-by-four, But if I put that same two-by-four 10 stories high between two buildings only a few would make it, because the focus would be on falling. Focus is everything. The team that is more focused today is the team that will win this game."

Johnson told his team not to be distracted by the crowd, the media, or the possibility of losing, but to focus on each play of the game itself just as if it were a good practice session. The Cowboys won the game 52-17. There's a point to that story that goes way beyond football. Most of us tend to lose our focus in life because we're perpetually worried about so many negative possibilities. Rather than focusing on the two-by-four, we worry about all the ramifications of falling. Rather than focusing on our goals, we are distracted by our worries and fears.

But when you focus on what you want, it will come into your life. When you focus on being a happy and motivated person, that is who you will be.

References

100 Ways to Motivate Yourself

17 Lies that are Holding You Back and the Truth That Will Set You Free

Summary

Aristotle also knew how to create a self through movement. He once said this: "Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it; men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp. In the same way, by doing just acts we come to be just: By doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled; and by doing brave acts, we become brave." What do you think about this ways of motivation?

ILSpy versus .NET Reflector

mailtoagafonov@gmail.com — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 06:27:00 +0200

ILSpy - open source.NET assembly browser, decompiler and software utility for Microsoft .NET combining class browsing, static analysis and decompilation. Tool for code internal assemblies code analyze or reflector tool for our applications to improve the performance or to know the internals of the assembly we have created. I was using Red Gate .NET Reflector earlier for same as it was free and with frequent updates. Now Red Gate has made that tool paid (about 35$) version so I found alternative tools from that I can see IL and C# code easily for free. Why we need to pay money if we can develop open source product like ILSpy? That decompiler tool almost giving same functionalities like .NET Reflector.

The new ILSpy GUI is written in WPF and reuses a few SharpDevelop components - the tree view is SharpTreeView, written by Ivan Shumilin for the SharpDevelop WPF Designer outline view.

IL Spy Features list¶

Assembly browsing
IL Disassembly
Decompilation to C#.
Supports lambdas and 'yield return'
Shows XML documentation
Saving of resources
Search for types/methods/properties (substring)
Hyperlink-based type/method/property navigation
Base/Derived types navigation
Navigation history
BAML to XAML decompiler
Save Assembly as C# Project
Find usage of field/method
Extensible via plugins (MEF)

ILSpy doesn’t have the same plugin system and some of the reflected code looks still has a lot of IL looking code in it (goto statements, etc.), but for such a new tool, it works tremendously!!! For example in next screenshot we can see how yield operator was parsed.

Event it’s provide IL and C# mode also so you can see what’s going on internally on top its having button like this:

My friend Denis Markelov developed cool plugin for IL Spy for free ILSpy Visualizer. All found issues, new feature requests or desired changes to the existing features you can share either through a project's GitHub page, or via an e-maildenis@denismarkelov.com.

To use a plugin, download the build and put assembly into the folder where ILSpy.exe is located. After that context menu for assemblies in the ILSpy tree will contain new item - Browse Assembly. Currently it contains one component, called Assembly Browser. Its intention is to show type hierarchies in a convenient for the viewer way. Screenshots below will give you an idea of plugin's capabilities.

References:

ILSpy Plugins

Wiki ILSpy

ILSpy Visualizer - plugin for better assemblies vizualization.

Summary:

I may not use .NET Reflector every day but I use it enough to miss it. Probably enough to pay for it, but I won’t be supporting RedGate! Of course free is better. As you can see ILSpy easily reflects .NET code giving you an excellent decompilation of the source files. If you are interested in contributing join ILSpy in #sharpdevelop (on freenode). Happy programming...