Macau

Earlier today I landed in Hong-Kong to meet Reia. Reia had planned a trip for us to go to Macau for a day trip. After checking-in at the hotel, we headed out to the Marina where we would take a ferry to Macau. Although Hong Kong is part of China, its treated as a separate country and going to Macau requires emigration at Hong Kong and immigration checks at Macau. Exactly as you would when you travel from one country to another. Fortunately, China does not require a visa for visiting and accepts the Hong Kong entry permit as a visa.

Macau was beautiful. Modern, yet ancient. We walked around for several hours and it was an amazing experience. I'll let you see for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiny Changes Matter

A few days ago, a client checked with us about a rather complex project. We knew the technology, and while I was reasonably confident that we would be able to do it, I also wondered about it. And so I asked our Tech Guru about it. Claudian is this cool, calm, composed person, who's almost always smiling.

He looked at me like I was asking a stupid question. And responded with, "Of course we can. Don't you remember we did the original work that got us a patent with a team that was half as competent as our current team and we knew even less than half of what we now know."

And I thought back and tried to figure out what it was that allowed us to get complex tasks done, by a rookie team, while we ourselves weren't much better than the rookies. It stuck me that what we kept doing was "tiny bits". Our goals were always very small and seemed achievable and the team too was comfortable with such tiny goals. And as these small tasks built, before we knew it, the complex solution was ready and working.

And so when I came across a talk by B J Fogg, I could relate to it. More importantly I realized that while we had used some of those techniques in our development, I had not made good use of them in my personal life.

Forget big change, start with a tiny habit: BJ Fogg

The concept of using an existing habit as a trigger is so simple, yet powerful. And I've already started using it. I've always wanted to interact more on the social media, and yet did not. One thing that I did use a lot was my phone, to check mails, messages and WhatsApp messages. I plan to look at either Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, SnapChat or Facebook, every time I pick the phone to check my messages.

So if you see me a little more active on the social media, you know why.

Agile Development - The Art of Doing More in Less

Recently during a client presentation, we were asked what development methodology would we be using. And I replied, "Agile". The client further probed, "Why". And I explained the benefits of the methodology in terms of the software development cycle.

While the client accepted the response, and we did get the project, I wasn't very happy with my response. While it was factually correct, I did not think I did a good job in explaining the methodology in a simple and easy to understand manner.

And so when I came across this talk by the creator of the process, it was fascinating. And explained the system in a manner that I couldn't.

The art of doing twice as much in half the time | Jeff Sutherland
Jeff Sutherland is one of the world's leading experts of organizational management. He'll explain how to be agile, not just in software development but in every business to disrupt the field. A former US Air Force "Top Gun," Jeff Sutherland is the co-creator of the SCRUM process. This methodology, developed in 1993 and formalized in 1995 with Ken Schwaber, has since been adopted by the vast majority of software development companies around the world.

Jeff is a leading expert on how the framework has evolved to meet the needs of today's business. Realizing its benefits are not limited to software development, he has adapted this strategy to several other industries including: finance, healthcare and telecom. His processes are now widely used for managing challenging projects and hyperproductive development teams.

As the CEO of Scrum Inc. and the Senior Advisor and Agile Coach to OpenView Venture Partners, Jeff shares best practices with organisations around the globe.

And finally, I cannot but help smile whenever I see this image, which is funny yet more often than not an accurate reflection of the software industry.

Lion

Last week I saw the movie Lion. It was an extremely touching movie based on the real life story of Saroo Brierley.

What shocked me was the statistics of missing children that showed up at the end of the film. And the numbers are shocking and sad.

 

Several organizations are doing great work, both in terms of communication as well as attempting to stem the problem.

Missing Children issue in India By Salaam Zindagi India

The government too is taking initiatives to tackle the issues head on.

India Launches Website to Help Find Missing Kids

And organizations like Childline India Foundation are doing heroic work in impossible circumstances.

http://www.childlineindia.org.in/

Its time we gave a little thought to the issue and do our bit to help find and "... reintegrate every missing child."