Caste system in software development

Indian society was practising caste system wherein human beings were classified into Brahmins (typically priests & teachers) who are custodians of knowledge , Kshatriyas (typically royal families) who are protectors, Vaisyas (business class) who hold money and Shudras who serve the rest .... and then there is outcasts as well who do not belong to any of this ...
This is almost gone though its traces remain still in isolated pockets .... it was a system which maintained some kind of balance but what is worst about it is that it straightjackets human
World has a way of repeating itself .... in the software industry, which is run & practised by the educated, still practices a kind of caste system while one job is considered inferior to another .... management is great and many of the managers I know has long lost touch with the current technologies .... architecting is great but how can that happen without testing .... then testing is considered to be inferior ... of course, situation is gradually changing

Myths, Jargons and software engineering

Yet repeatability, reusability and predictability are illusive goals sought to be achieved by many software development houses for decades now ..... new fads replaces old ones, new methodologies replace old ones, new standards replace old ones and new tools replace old one .... each time with significant improvements, admittedly .... problem is often not with the new stuff coming in but rather the hype associated with it .... invariably, it fails to live upto expectations of business houses at large; especially small & medium houses which are focussed on delivering rather than moving on the bleeding edge of technologies ....
They do not have neither time nor money to spend blue sky researches ....... after all, aren't engineering houses meant to run their businesses based on already researched, proven solutions? .... is not research more close to science .... may be, science of engineering or technology .... still research is scientific activity .... why should a small business house spend time on research with many unknowns?
In many of my assignments related to architecting, I find practioners struggling to calibrate a standard or derive their own across many projects .... variables across these projects are many to allow any reasonable calibration .... the kind of technology they work with (client/servner, J2EE, .Net etc), the development team concerned (their skills, experience vary significantly even within an organization), process followed (especially considering that it evolves the individuals, teams and the organization learns) ....
How much is the rework happening? how much of earlier work is being reused? no mattter, whether it was intended to be reused in the first place or not .... what is the work involved in learning and tweaking as required? what is the impact of such changes? how much familiar the team is with the technology? process followed?
I am aware that these questions are answered in the methodologies? but how much of it is actually practised? .... the point is the moment we talk about a methodology, what follows is a ritualistic adoption .... somewhere down the line, focus shifts to either following the process (or at least, pretending to .... and thereby creating a lot of overhead) or dumping the so called process
The point is, if we have to take engineering to software industry ..... many of what is claimed as engineering has no engineering in it; it is more of a research work... it is hightime that it comes out of intellectual, academic echelons .... beyond the hypes and jargons ... which is what I am striving for in my consulting assignments

Down the memory lane

I have been in software development for last 20 years involved with various activities like programming, training, consulting, team building, career development, etc

I started my career as a programmer in 1984. In those days, programming or software development as a profession was not common in this part of the world. When a commoner enquires about my professions, the closest thing that they could relate is to is Television and the only technical person they come across is a mechanic ... closest analogy for me those days was TV software like News, Soap Operas etc.

We were using computers Cyber 170/730 and NEC 1000/20D for programming, languages were FORTRAN & COBOL and software development was for internal use for data processing & report generation.

IBM PCs with MS-DOS started replacing mainframes in our work environments also by late 80s. Consequently, moved to using & developing PC based softwares. By early & mid 90s, we were into the bandwagon of networking, internet, hypertext, web, OO, Java & multimedia.

With the revolution in computing around the corner, consequent growth in complexity was obvious and it was clear that the ad hoc approach to software development would not suffice. By early 90s, I had started evangelising & practising software engineering practices and, by mid-90s, training & consulting as well.

Through Dot-Com days and past Dot-Com burst, I continue to practise, evangelise, and train & consult on software engineering practices. Key to success so far has been due to emphathetic listening & close working with the customer, planned working & close monitoring and working with the right people & building good relationships

Learning in nostalgic moments

Thanks to the wired world, I could establish contact with one of my old colleague & friend .... who maintains a blog in the same place ..... www.mathewkoshy.blogspot.com .... with the same template .... coincidence or may be, something more than that .....

We were chatting on MSN Messenger, we discussed many things ... many of which actually opened my mind .... it is too early to even scribble out here as the thoughts on those lines are still evolving ....

I remember him as a person with strong convictions .... I am glad he is pursuing his goals with his convictions yet moderating himself to be accomodated in the world at large .... I foresee his vision of blending of knowledge & software engineering imminent.

I wish him all the success

Homage to a Legend

Most of us, if not all, are proud of the work we do ... many things we have done in the past .... the differences we make in the lives of our own, our near & dear, world at large ... in our own small ways (wonder, if any one can truly be happy & content at hurting others)

Yet, we find ourselves caught in the active & endless pursuit of happiness .... Is that not within us? ... Easy to preach but difficult to practise.... Being content with whatever is as good or bad as being complacent ... This is what scriptures, whatever religion or philosophy, talk about .... but does not motivate any action?

We find people working with conviction .... no matter what happens .... conviction in the knowledge, conviction in what we believe in, conviction in what preach .... practise whether the world adores or not .... yet care for the world around ... help the world around in their own small ways .... They are the people who are respected .... They are the people who are remembered ..... yet they do not do whatever they do for the purpose of being respected or remembered .... well, there are bogus ones as well ... but then they get exposed in the long run or they live in a perpertual fear of being exposed

What made me write all this is the news of sudden (because I had no clue of her life/illness) demise of M S Subbulakshmi, well-known carnatic musician of our times .... She was truly a legend ..... Though I do not know her in person .... Somehow, some image is engraved deep in my heard with whatever folklore I have heard of about her ..... It makes my heart feel heavy .... Have we lost something?

But then, what is reassuring is that a world has a way of repeating itself .... proving the basic values one stands by .... own own convictions and living as per those convictions ... yet causing harm to none .... being good wherever one can .... even when goodness is perceived as a weakness ..... She may not have faced all these and if she has or now, I shall never come to know .... nor am I interested ....

All I seek to reassure myself is that there is still a place in the world for human values .... and based on my conviction on those values, the respect for the fellow human lives being a key one at that, I dedicate myself to those values, as a homage to the parted soul .... no matter whatever scientific developments happen, no matter how threadbare we study human emotions & thoughts, no matter dissect human ethics & values, no matter how we seek to constrain humans through "well-defined" processes in the name of scientific management ....

I am not saying that goals are orthogonal ... often they are not .... but yet if I need to take a single dimensional view, I would be with human values

Human Errors

1. (Over-)Engineering
2. Oversight
3. Knowledge/bias
4. (Over-)Exertion/Burnout
5. Automation
6. Organizational process

Anticipation

1. Often, feelings like happiness, fear, sadness and anger are a result of anticipation than an immediate experience eg. Being happy when travelling back home after a long trip or being sad while leaving for travel ... Being sad when we find someone, whom we are close with, under tough conditions (say, hospital)
2. Some feelings are immediate like laugh (genuine), shock etc
3. Have we lost the capability react?

Why are we making simple things sound complex?

Modeling is part of our daily life wherein we choose pictures to explain when difficult with words .... And we stop with the right level of detail ... Common rule, specified & widely accepted, is UML
Iterative approach just boils down to identifying & addressing potential showstoppers early on

Trip to Sabarimala

Trip to Sabarimala is an experience in itself ... We find devotees with blind faith, casual ones, skeptical minds ... There are those who speak of glory of yesteryears ... There are those who speak of dirt & bad practises ... There are those who blame Govt. ...
For me, it is a journey to reach God .... Both in his worldly form & spiritual form

Demons in bedtime stories

As a child, I used to hear & read about stories of Gods & Demons ... With all the powers that demons had, all most as much as Gods, they end up failing miserably at the end .... I used to wonder why they never learn ... Generations after generations
In my life all these years, I have learned that these are not just groups of people but rather essential characteristic of individual ... When we take stubborn stance, arrogant demenaour, driven by ego, refuse to learn .... We are displaying demonic nature ... Having precluded learning of fundamental, we keep repeating the very same mistake again & again, generations after generations ... Gods & Demons are within us ... And fight is within us

UML, Modeling and software development

Wonder why we keep hyping the basic, things in software development .....

When some one asks us the route, we explain in plain English (or any other language) and sometime, when it is difficult to explain thus, we describe by means of pictures ..... Capturing essentails for the purpose of visualising and communicating is the essence of modeling .... when it is in visual in terms of diagrams, it is visual modeling and ... we entire community agrees on a standard, it becomes a common language ..... That's all UML is .... Why so much hype about it? Why is it considered complex?

Technology for whom?

Technology evangelising, training and consulting is part of my work profile for long .... particularly on software engineering .... That amounts to addressing the creators of the technology considering that more and more of software development work is now outsourced to India

Yet, I find that innovations, best practices and technologies are more preached than practised .... Modeling has been around for long ... yet, it is often just a means of documentation for many .... Test automation has been around for long .... but the percentage of test automation tools in the shelf (no matter, which vendor) are alarming .... Quoted figure is around 50% but actual in my experience is much more than that ... especially, if you consider the effective utilization .... As far as standards (ISO, CMM, CMMI, ...) & methodologies (Agile, Use case analysis, ...) oncerned, it often boils down to ritualistic adherance than deriving business value ..... Are we not confusing the end and the means .... What value all these (technology, methodology, standards, etc) has, unless it makes daily life simpler, business better & easier?

While vast majority of the world is grappling with basics of modeling, now we have started talking about model driven architecture ..... In many software development houses, model (if available) is used as documentation and not as a means of visualization or design aid ..... In many of the softwares, architectures happen ... not made ....

I am not against the forward thrust ..... But, it is time for consolidation .... It is high time to increase the spread .... without focus on real business value .... It is time to adopt new methodologies, standards, technologies and tools which adequate level of sceptism and caution

My First Trip To Sabarimala Through The Traditional Route

Conditioned by scientific analysis I am used to, often, I tend to seek out for God. Seeing in a physical form as it happens in movies and TV serials is not possible for lesser mortals like me, there are times when I felt his distinct presence around me. The feeling makes me feel secure and, yet, aware of my limits. My first trip to Sabarimala through the traditional route through the forest via Erumeli, Azhutha and Karimala was one such experience. I could almost feel Him around and could communicate with Him yet he was beyond my senses to be seen, touched, felt or heard.

Since 1991, I was blessed to go to Sabarimala almost every year. Every time, I used to go with my friends or my relatives. I was staying at that time in Delhi and had no clue that, generally, January is the time most of the devotees go via the traditional route. I had promised that I would go to Sabarimala that December and had come down from Delhi for that purpose. As luck would have it, I could not find anyone whom I could accompany. Some of my well-wishers cautioned me that going alone is not safe and, possibly, you could make it next time by preparing well-in-advance. Nonetheless, I had decided to submit myself fully to Ayyappa and go ahead.

I reached Erumeli early morning by about 3 o’ clock, had my bath in the river and decided to wait. By about 5 o’ clock, I could see groups of devotees rearing to go ….. All of them do not go via the traditional route… I was wondering what to do … I closed my eyes and prayed to Swamy to guide me…. As I opened my eyes, I could see one lone swamy almost getting ready to go ….. I approached him and explained that I am new on the traditional route. His response was encouraging that he was also alone and on the same route and that I could accompany him.


Climbing Azhutha was extremely painful that I could hardly walk …. He was going ahead as if walking on the plains … He told me to think of Swamy and not the pain on my legs …. It was tough but I could somehow climb Azhutha …. Next, Karimala was equally tough, if not worse …. I was afraid as I could almost feel the wild animals around
and it was only two of us for most of the time…… I had heard about stories about the forest and I was scared as well… especially of leeches which are in plenty there especially if it rains ….. By evening about 5.30 in the evening, I was on the banks of Pamba river. During the whole, I had consumed all liquids that I could get hands on while the swamy with me was going without any of it, but for the morning breakfast……..

Having reached Pamba by this time, I was happy and felt that I can be on my own … Pamba is where the devotees coming by bus and car join and having gone to Sabarimala many times earlier, the route further up was familiar to me….. By now, swelling developed in my legs and I was aware of the pain in my legs and felt exhausted totally ….. On my way up, I told swamy that he could go ahead, I shall come slowly at my pace and I will meet him up there ….. That day I could not have Darsan …. What is worse …. I reached the gate at 11 o’clock in the night and I could see the temple closing before my eyes without me having Darsan that day!

Needless to say, that I have not met that swamy ever since … Despite all my scientific inclinations, I would like to believe that the swamy was none other than the God himself …. Who was with me all along as my friend and my guide …. But when my own materialistic self took over, he eased himself out …. He was with me all along but he made his point that things do not happen at my discretion; it happens the way that he wishes

Introduction

I am a philosopher by nature, voracious reader by interest and habit, and software engineering consultant by profession. All my observations, experiences and learnings has been in some of my paper notebooks or in laptop computers or (at worst) in some corners of my mind.

Some of my colleagues and friends told me that it would be helpful to them, and possibly many others, if I could come out in some form. Hence, my decision to start this.

I invite all like-minded people for active interaction .....
To know more about myself, you could visit www.saayujyam.com

Thanks & Regards,



Vinod