Prashant Poladia, PMP, CUA

Google kills off seven more products including Wave

2011-11-24T14:56:00.001+05:30

Google has announced that it is dropping seven more products in an effort to simplify its range of services.

The out-of-season "spring clean" brings an end to services including Google Wave, Knol and Google Gears.
It is the third time that the US firm has announced a cull of several of its products at the same time after they had failed to take off.

Experts said the strategy might put off users from signing up to new services.
Google announced the move in its official blog.

"We're in the process of shutting a number of products which haven't had the impact we'd hoped for, integrating others as features into our broader product efforts, and ending several which have shown us a different path forward," said Urs Holzle, Google's vice president of operations.

"Overall, our aim is to build a simpler, more intuitive, truly beautiful Google user experience," he added.

[Source]

Cleared PMP on 23rd May 2011

2011-11-05T19:49:00.000+05:30

I was happy to clear PMP (Project Management Professional) Certification from PMI (Project Management Institute) on 23rd May 2011.

It was overall a fascinating journey while Preparing for PMP exam. It took almost 8-9 months. I will be writing more on what study process I followed under the guidance of Pradeep Dhanaraj. He is more of Mentor and close friend to me than a office colleague.

PMP Study process or the approach which we took will be published very soon.

Minimum Viable Product

2011-11-05T19:20:00.003+05:30

Just saw one of the youTube videos of Marty Cagar on Product Management. This time his topic was on Minimum Viable Product. Based on his opinion it is smallest possible product that really meets 3 criteria:

VALUABLE - Users will choose to buy/use it...
USABLE - Assuming they want to use it, they should figure out HOW to use it...
FEASIBLE - If it meets above 2 criteria we/company should build and use it when it is needed...

Generally the evidence of Minimum Viable Product is collected using prototypes (user prototypes & live data prototypes) and user testing (face to face or split testing).

Water Usage Calculator

2011-09-09T16:52:00.002+05:30

http://thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/536.htm

While surfing came across this useful website on how to save water and to check water usage.

-Prash

5 ways to Listen Better

2011-09-01T17:01:00.000+05:30

Agile Roles

2011-08-19T00:49:00.001+05:30

Product Owner is responsible for "What" part of it.
Team is responsible for "How" part of it.
Scrum Master or Project Manager is responsible for "Process".

Usability Presentation

2011-08-12T17:19:00.004+05:30

It was pleasant experience to take a session on Usability in my office. Almost after 2 years I connected my roots to UX world and it refreshed me a lot. In the session I touched upon various principles of Usability by giving real life examples so that my colleagues understands them correctly. I also discussed about bad usability examples by showing few images of Local Trains Restroom, burner etc.

To clear the understanding of Conceptual Model and how it can be applied to interface designing, I gave an exercise to the audience for adding a contact to others mobile phone of different mobile company.

After sharing couple of examples on how Usability can be applied to real life objects around us, asked everyone to note down 1 or 2 items that they think in our quadrant should be more usable or not usable at all. Everyone came up with various items that impacted their day to day activities in office due to bad usability product.

Overall, it was a nice experience to brush upon Usability Principles. I am hoping to take such very often.

PMBOK and Agile

2011-08-09T15:33:00.013+05:30

After getting PMP certified in May 2011, recently, I conducted a session in my company on an Overview of Agile and Scrum. This allowed me to explore Agile further and further, which took me to the point where I started getting a feeling and hearing that PMBOK is Waterfall Methodology based process and Agile is not part of it.

I started googling and also viewed YouTube videos to my doubts. Finally, I found different supportive videos and pages which proved that it was my misconception, my myth. PMBOK is guide, it is standards for Project Management. PMBOK teaches of WHAT do in Project management and Agile's different methodology teaches you HOW to implement that in Software Development by using suitable methodology like Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), Crystal, Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Feature-Driven Development (FDD), Lean Software Development. PMBOK is a guide and Agile's methodology tells you how to do. PMBOK does not echo waterfall.

Agile is a philosophy. Agile is a way of Thinking and not just doing.

Chillar Party - Movie Review - 4/5

2011-08-09T00:47:00.003+05:30

Movie Chillar Party... Rocks!!! 4/5
I like the way kids have acted. Specially "Jaangya" boy.

It reminded me the way we used to give nick names to our friends. Few of the special nick names were "Helen", "Champaa", "Papad", "Chadda", "Lolla", "Hanger", "Pandu", "Chamdi", "Hawa", "Mummy", "Mulla"... :)... we still call each other by those names :)

Other highlight of the movie was Kid Rhymes in Tapori Style...
Jack and Jill... gaye Sumdi mein Hill..
To fetch a pail of Water....
Jack tha Akela... and Jill thi Akeli...
Life mein Lochaa.. thereafter...

Do watch this movie!!!

Emotional Intelligence and Projects

2011-08-02T14:24:00.001+05:30

Reading Emotional Intelligence and Projects by Nicholas Clarke. This book attracted my attention and I am curious to know what is it about. It's review will be coming soon from me.

Books and me: Book Review: The Palace of Illusions

2011-08-01T12:02:00.000+05:30

Following article was written by one of my colleague Sudheer Penubarthy. I am impressed with his skills of narrating his experience after reading a book.

Books and me: Book Review: The Palace of Illusions: "Here we go another book of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, though I saw the author of the book after picking the book up because, to be truthful..."

Scrum Terminology

2011-07-25T14:44:00.003+05:30

Following article on Scrum is very well defined. I think this would be useful for few out there...

Scrum Terminology

is made up of three roles, four ceremonies, and three artifacts.

Three roles

Product owner: responsible for the business value of the project
ScrumMaster: ensures that the team is functional and productive
Team: self-organizes to get the work done

Four ceremonies

Sprint planning: the team meets with the product owner to choose a set of work to deliver during a sprint
Daily scrum: the team meets each day to share struggles and progress
Sprint reviews: the team demonstrates to the product owner what it has completed during the sprint
Sprint retrospectives: the team looks for ways to improve the product and the process.

Three artifacts

Product backlog: prioritized list of desired project outcomes/features
Sprint backlog: set of work from the product backlog that the team agrees to complete in a sprint, broken into tasks
Burndown chart: at-a-glance look at the work remaining (can have two charts: one for the sprint and one for the overall project)

[Source]

What is Velocity in Agile Environment?

2011-07-21T14:28:00.002+05:30

Velocity is the rate at which Sprint teams delivers business value at consistent rate. Velocity is calculated by adding story points of the user stories which are successfully accepted by business in a sprint.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

2011-07-15T16:07:00.002+05:30

Recently I took a session in my company on SaaS and Cloud Computing.
Here I am sharing few information about it.

Definition of SaaS
It is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally (typically in the (Internet) cloud) and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.

Advantages for Customers

No Capital Expenditure
No Software Installation Cost
No Maintenance Cost
No Upgrades Headache

All above is done by SaaS Providers

Disadvantages of SaaS

Security and confidentiality
Choose ISO 27001-certified, or equivalently trustworthy partnering data center
Risk of data loss
Dependence on high speed internet
Low predictability of cost
Not all applications have SaaS versions yet
In many cases SaaS versions may not be as powerful as non-SaaS ones

When to use Saas

intercompany projects are initiated
Partners and customers need to be connected within a project
new software is being tested in pilot projects
you expect to use new software, unencumbered, straight out of the box
Your organization lacks an internal IT department

When Not to use Saas

In-house professional IT support
highly confidential data
large number of ongoing projects with many participants
Continuous customization required

It holds little potential for a project-oriented company with its own IT.

Subscribe Work Breakdown Structure: Purpose, Process and Pitfalls

2011-05-31T12:38:00.002+05:30

Just read following article and I found it useful to understand WBS clearly.

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/work-breakdown-structure-purpose-process-pitfalls.html

Test

2011-05-30T20:27:00.001+05:30

Scope Creep

2011-05-30T15:31:00.003+05:30

By definition of PMBOK:
Adding features and functionality (project scope) without addressing the effects on time, costs, and resources, or without customer approval.

Case Study: New Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA.
60 percent: The amount workload increased as a result of scope creep.
US$450 million: The increase in the budget as a result of scope creep.

Product Scope Vs Project Scope

2011-04-24T21:23:00.003+05:30

Project Scope:
All the work which goes into to produce the product/result is called Project Scope. It is measured against the project management plan.

Product Scope:
All work which changes product requirements is called Product Scope.
It is measured against product requirement

Product management vs. Project management

2010-03-29T17:23:00.002+05:30

Project managers are responsible for the successful delivery of a project — a one-time endeavor with a goal, scope, deadline, budget, and other constraints. A project manager will work to align resources, manage issues and risks, and basically coordinate all of the various elements necessary to complete the project. As they relate to products, projects can be undertaken to build a product, to add new features to a product, or create new versions or extensions of a product. When the project is complete, the project manager will usually move move to a new project, which may be related to a different product.

Product managers are responsible for the overall and ongoing success of a product. Once the project to build the product is complete and the project manager has moved on, the product manager remains to manage the product through the entire lifecycle. Other projects related to the product may be initiated, with the product manager being the one constant stream throughout, defining the project goals and guiding the team to accomplish the business objectives that have been defined.

There are some important points to keep in mind related to project management and product management:

■ Just like every product needs a product manager, every project needs a project manager.
■ Just because product managers think they can manage their own projects does not mean they should.
■ The skills, talents, and traits involved in project management are very different from those involved in product management.
■ Just like it is hard to find one single person who can fill the product management role and the product marketing role, it is hard to find one person who can be successful at both the product management and the project management role.
■ Project management is not a stepping stone to product management, nor vice versa.
■ Good project managers are just as valuable as good product managers.
■ Finding a good project manager to manage your projects will help you be an even better product manager.
■ The less time product managers spend on project management, the more time they will be able to spend on product management.
■ To avoid conflicts between product management and project management, product managers, project managers, and project teams should all agree on shared goals and objectives as much as possible.

[Source]

New Wikipedia Redesign is Coming Soon

2010-03-26T12:25:00.004+05:30

Wikipedia is close to rolling out a new design that it hopes will make the “user-edited” encyclopedia easier to use and navigate, and thus potentially appeal to new users more than the slightly clunky-looking current site. A note from the User Experience team at the Wikimedia blog says the new design — code-named “Vector” — will be launched on April 5 for all users who visit Wikimedia Commons, the media repository for the encyclopedia. If that goes well, the redesign will then be rolled out to all users of the English version of Wikipedia and then to versions of the site in other languages.

Source

Harr Color Kuch Kaheta hai...

2010-03-21T00:28:00.001+05:30

Red: Passion, Love, Anger
Orange: Energy, Happiness, Vitality
Yellow: Happiness, Hope
Green: New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature
Blue: Calm, Responsible, Sadness
Purple: Creativity, Royalty, Wealth
Black: Mystery, Elegance, Evil
Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality
White: Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue
Brown: Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability
Tan or Beige: Conservative, Piety, Dull
Cream or Ivory: Calm, Elegant, Purity

Source

Internet bus to criss cross eight towns in Kerala

2009-12-10T12:13:00.001+05:30

Google’s “Internet Bus” will crisscross Kerala covering eight towns in the next 25 days providing online experience to the people of the state.

The bus - a custom desgined mobile vehicle, which started from Tamil Nadu in February this year, has already travelled over 10,000 km across four states in the last 10 months, Dr Prasad Ram, Head R&D Google India, told reporters here. It would travel through Kochi, Alapuzha, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Thalassery, he said.

“The bus journey has touched the lives of over 400,000 Indians across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, helping them understand how they can use internet to do everyday things more easily,” he said.

The internet bus would focus on four themes - Information, Communication, Entertainment and Education and showcase informative content in both English and Malayalam to provide users an understanding of how internet can be used, he said.

Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology

2009-11-28T11:21:00.001+05:30

Chrome OS can start a PC in less than 7 seconds

2009-11-20T14:25:00.002+05:30

New Google software will start up a computer as fast as a television, according to Google, as it showed off its Chrome operating system designed for computers.
Source

Events related to ‘Design in India’ in the month of November 2009

2009-11-01T01:00:00.002+05:30

November 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Happening:‘An Arc of Infinity’ – making of the world's longest 'Graffiti Scroll'Nov 1, 2009 at IDC, IIT Bombay http://www.inaplanetofourown.net/
International Conference, Workshops, Exhibition:'In a Planet of Our Own' - A Vision of Sustainability from across six continentsNov 3 - 7, 2009 at IDC, IIT Bombay http://www.inaplanetofourown.net/
TED Conference:‘Ted India – the future beckonsNov 4 - 7, 2009 at Mysore http://conferences.ted.com/TEDIndia/
Roundtable on trends at NIFT, DelhiINSIGHT INDIA 2009 organised by Onio Design and Style-Vision with supporting institution NIFT, Delhi6 – 7 November 2009, New Delhihttp://www.oniodesign.com/roundtable
Conference
The NASSCOM Animation & Gaming India 20096 – 7 November 2009, Hyderabad http://www.nasscom.org/nasscom/templates/flagshipEvents.aspx?id=57264
Related Conference: at Delhi ‘India Economic Summit 2009'
Theme: India's Next Generation of Growth8-10 November, in Delhi at Taj Palace Hotel http://www.weforum.org/en/events/IndiaEconomicSummit2009
Workshop in Ahmedabad:‘Design Ergonomics’November 11-13, 2009 at NID, Ahmedabad http://www.nid.edu/nidworkshop/workshop_user.aspx
International Trade fair at New Delhi ‘India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2009’14th – 27th November, 2009 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi http://www.iitfonweb.com/
Conference in Aligarh:‘Ergonomics for Improved Productivity’ 21-22 November 2009 at Z H College of Engineering & Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarhhttp://sites.google.com/a/zhcet.ac.in/eip2009/Home

If you know of other events related to design in India, do email:contact[at]designinindia.net orcontact[at]in-de-as.org 'Design, Peace and Cheers'
The above event list taken from HCIIDC forum.