Doubts over US Elections

Recently concluded Presidential elections in United States, have raised some doubts. Request some American voter to clarify pl:

1. Was there agents' booth at every street corner, which distributed voter slip to the voters at their doorstep?
2. Was a line painted on the road before 100 meters of the polling booth?
3. While scores were waiting to caste their vote, was any prominent politician given preference to walk into the booth and vote ahead of others?
4. Were autos transporting voters from their house to the polling booths?
5. More importantly, were any voters dropped back at their house after casting the vote?
6. Were autos & taxis zipping fast as the closing time of election approached?
7. How many were turned back, as their names were not found in the voters list with the booth?
8. Was any voter shocked to know that his vote has already been caste?
9. Was an indelible black ink was used to mark the person voted?
10. Were any illegal voters arrested?
11. How many booths were captured?
12. At how many booths, reelections have been ordered?
13. Were schools, Colleges & offices closed for the day?
14. Was there any violence near the counting venue?
15. Were any sops given to the voters such as gold ornaments inside Laddus?
16. Were the symbols of the candidates - Donkey & Elephant- paraded for the voters to get familiarized?
17. Were there any challenge votes?
18. Has the result been contested by the vanquished?
19. Has the vanquished asked for an enquiry into the poll suspecting malpractices?
20. Was there any advertisement/appeals in TV urging people to vote as it is their right?

 Just for the sake of clarification to compare with other big democracies !!

Software Testing - Time to shrug off that slumber ?

Sometime back I was invited to a Chennai city college to deliver a lecture on Software testing to an audience of senior students and faculty of computer science department. During the course of the session I was surprised to realize that not many in the group were aware of 'Software Testing', as a concept, barring some studies on the topic as part of their curriculum. Later few weeks back, when I again faced a similar audience at a college in deeper Tamilnadu I learnt that they have also not heard much about it. Earlier my own nephew who has been working in an IT major was putting up a long face and was about to break down narrating as to how  he has been 'unceremoniously' shifted to a Testing project after having worked so long in development , which he was obviously enjoying. The above in a nutshell summarize the awareness or the lack of it about software testing among people who matter.

Initially it was rather shocking to realize how a potential area such as software testing could be considered so low and how some could afford to be even ignorant about its relevance and importance. Some reading and searching revealed that the problem does not lie with a single entity but at a larger level.  

On joining an organization, various emerging technologies and platforms attract the young freshers and the crowd gets sucked like a fly to an oil sheet. Only the leftovers, which have little choice, are allocated to testing. Thus, this part of the life cycle has somehow acquired a dubious distinction of "last Choice".  In the 1970s anyone joining a bank branch will first be allocated to the dispatch section and people used to feel low about it. The testing situation is akin to it though bankers later realized that dispatch is the most important point of entry and exit where one can learn and be updated about all communications of the branch!

No job is mean and particularly if the software majors are investing and allocating huge revenue for Testing Services as exclusive business units, should one not think about the importance of such an opportunity? Where are we missing the bus, how to dispel the misnomer and attract the best of talents to this elite practice?

The Industry, Training institutes and the Academia have major roles to play here. 

Taking the last first, at the academic level, testing as a concept is yet to be recognized as its potential as job earner has not been realized and thus the whole concept sadly fail to catch the eye of the syllabus makers. Testing is just being touched upon only in a couple of chapters at the college level. Here too, the focus seems to have been only from the perspective of clearing the exams and getting an engineering degree and not from the vocational perspective.

Even century old Universities have curriculum which carries only questions worth 16 marks. Students can easily browse through these chapters from some popular books and if they choose to , can even conveniently opt to omit the same if they are confident of other options!  This myopic approach is bound to cost our students dear in terms of job options. Also, if this negligence is the result of an ill conceived notion that a developer need not be aware of the nuances of testing, then we are in for serious trouble. Certainly this is not the way to prepare the students for an industry which as per NASSCOM is expected to earn India around $ 15 billion @ by 2020 (http://m.businesstoday.in/story/are-software-testing-firms-worth-joining/1/184788.html)

At the Industry level, IT companies, as part of Initiation & later at induction levels, should have exclusive sessions on promoting this practice by underlying the benefits such as multiple domain exposure in quick time, better travel opportunities , to name a few.  No doubt, some are already into it but then clearly there seems to be more room for improvement considering the hesitation among the entrants to the testing practice. HR could also be directed to look deeper into the feedback through the exit interviews and provide crucial stats on attrition due to dissatisfaction on testing assignments. Organizations must also review periodically their policies and liberalize the awards and incentives doled out to those who acquire certifications and exhibit additional efforts to specialize in Testing. These initiatives are to be so humongous that they should create healthy competition and provoke entrants to opt testing ahead of others. When such practices erupt, the real impact and importance will be felt across the aspirants.

The Training Institutes which provide considerable number of trained Test engineers to the Industry always starved of testers have a good opportunity to prove their worth and have a greater role to play. They have the whole field before them, but only few have grabbed it so far.

Compared to the other two, the training institutes' choices are more complex but then so are their opportunities. On the one hand they need to sharpen their course content to attract the talent and lure them to the testing arena. On the other hand, they also should focus on how to make their candidates surge ahead of others and make them stand out as 'winning candidates'.

Their course coverage no doubt includes the basic concepts and requirements for one to start his/her testing career. But, when one competes against lakhs, it is necessary to have some differentiators which will provide the candidates the cutting edge to surge and dip their noses across the finish line. In the absence of such differentiators, the list of 'also rans' will continue to accumulate.

Training institutes should think differently and associate more with the Industry to learn about their practices, to be aware of major expectations from and challenges of testing and should modify their training methods accordingly. It is no more sufficient to produce simple testers but if they could provide resources that have an insight into such key challenges and visions to meet them - only such institutions are likely to stand out and be sought after both by the trainees and the industry.  There is also a good scope to design curriculum according to the trainee's line of specialization in the college, so that freshers get more easily attracted towards it. For this, more interactions with the industry and their key resources that create testing opportunities is a must.

That the government is insisting on even public sector units who develop their software in-house to subject themselves to a third party audit and certifications is a welcome indication on awareness and acceptance. So far even some of the IT giants were treating testing as a part of their development team but with the client expectations of an Independent testing team clearance, all organizations bent on quality outputs have started employing such teams as quality gate keepers to bring in better customer satisfaction. Such focus on testing only promises to increase the need for more testers and the above arms should do well to equip them as otherwise, there is every possibility of our friends across the border with enormous resource potential making their foray into this area too!  It's time to shake off the slumber to remain in the race.

What are nationalised banks waiting for ?

Ever since I came to know of them in the 1970s, banks have come a long way. What started off as a safe keeper of your money and the consequent book keeping activities have grown out of everyone's hands and minds to assume a humongous status in the industry. It has not only provided employment to the lakhs who directly work with them, but has also catered to the creation and sustenance of other allied industries such as information technology and communications. At such a rapid growth, one cannot but help a thought - whether its primary objective of safe keeping and lending have become secondary!

On the other hand, are the main pillars of this industry viz., the staff and the customers - happy and satisfied with the journey so far? The banks have come to stay and they shall survive only if these two pillars are strong and intact. Any corrosion or even a trace of fissure on these pillars will have a debilitating impact on this financial edifice.

With the constant increase of client base and an eye on accuracy and security, the government did well to introduce computers, which usurped more than a lion's share of the human work. Allaying the fear and suspicion of the trade unions, a section of which were vehemently opposing the entry of computers into this hitherto human resources dominated industry, the advent of computers only increased the job opportunities at banks. It also enhanced pay packet to the existing personnel and lesser strain for the staff with a promised 'improved efficiency' to the customers. I recall reading recently a tongue-in-cheek comment that "banking industry is the only one of its kind, which got paid more to reduce their work load through computers".

The staff on the one hand continues to be unhappy despite big chunks of sops and largesse. Being in the industry for quiet long, my contacts there are still vibrant enough to pass on such a disturbing message. My association with some of the social networking groups also substantiate this as is evident from the pleadings of the existing staff to quit the nationalized banks at the earliest to join other opportunities! Their grouse - late sitting, defunct software packages, low pay, and lack of growth opportunities … the list goes on.

What one used to do all through the day- posting, extracting, totaling & tallying - the computers have taken over.  When some of the staff goes on leave, others used to shudder particularly during month ends and days after consecutive holidays. But, this has considerably been reduced consequent to the takeover of computers. Of course, a section of the higher echelon has taken the brunt of consequences of computerization but for everyone to say that the work has increased despite computers is amusing.

On the other hand, customers- the real targeted beneficiaries are also fuming, as even their basic requirements are not fully met. There are still banks which ask the customer to come some other day for anything from chequebook to statements to even renewal of fixed deposits. Certainly, I see some attitudinal issues have cropped up and its time the banks conduct motivational training periodically and more regularly. 

What  are normal basic expectations of a customer? Very basic things such as withdrawal and deposit of cash, realisation of local cheques and fixed deposits with periodical interests. With the advent of ATMs, prudent and some educated customers have learnt to avoid branch visits for cash withdrawal and also started using internet banking extensively for other transfers. I was able to successfully keep a distance from my salary account bank for 7 years, thanks to these. But again, not all can be expected to be computer savvy and they still need the basic customer service.

Nationalized Banks in India have become adept in introducing hi-tech banking, rather in a half baked manner. When I requested for a cheque book through online and went after a week to enquire about  it, the official coolly said no one looks at online requests! This is directly in contrast to my salary account private bank which couriered the cheque book within 48 hours of an online request free of cost- do we now get to know why there was no need to visit them for 7 years??

When my friend went to close some of his major fixed deposits, the nationalized bank official did not even care to retain the deposit but had the cheek to ask him to check the savings account after 2 PM. This is because if there are too many deposit closures it will be taken later!! This is atrocious to say the least. Pray tell me why should I, as a customer, care about your availability of staff or work load when the money involved is mine and you are bound to serve in accordance with the rules as per the contract entered at the initiation  of my association with the Bank?

When I queried about the difference in the maturity value of the deposit and actual credited, the official had the cheek to say that by mistake income tax has been deducted and after realizing the mistake and re crediting the same some days have lapsed and hence the difference ! When I insisted that I should not be made to pay for the bank's gaffes, the official wanted a letter requesting to set it right. This again is a cheap and ugly way to mentally tax a customer. The bank has violated the contract and when I insisted on my money, a separate requisition is demanded!!

My mentioning earlier about the 'half baked' computerization at some nationalized banks must have raised some eyebrows. When Internet Banking was subjected to some technical jobs where transactions are not expected to be carried out, the message displayed is technical which a customer shall not understand. Why don't they learn from other reputed and more transacted banks as to how this is done seamlessly without hindering the customer? When an email is sent to the officials, it is not acknowledged or acted upon, as no one sees the email! To escalate the indifference, if the issue is taken up with the top management, as directed by the bank's website, it is shocking that even they do not care to respond. Such a callous indifference of the staff in some nationalized banks. When the Chairman or the Executive Director does not care for the customers, God save the Bank !

When all the facilities and technological support are provided to the nationalized banks, it was only with a noble intention of serving the customers better and trying to match the same of their private bank counterparts which are always few notches above. But, it is shocking that after enjoying the facilities, pocketing some more bucks for reducing the work and also constantly increasing the work force, the main pillars are more disgruntled than ever. Why and for what are the Banks waiting to crack the whip? Private banks are improving their services in leaps and bounds and the exodus of customers has already begun. At this rate, a shakeup from both the authorities and customers will do well to shake the nationalized banks out of their slumber, which has doubled that of Rip Van Winkle!

Testing - new waters

Recently I ventured into an unknown area to test my vocabulary and answer the call to provide a statement not exceeding 11 words to match a given picture, called by the monthly "Infinithoughts". To my surprise one of my 5 responses has been selected as the winning slogan and I have been gifted with a book "Most and More". Happy to share the same with you all, through this post:

Picture:

My winning words:

Ladders

It is heartening to note that year after year more and more people are becoming vocal on their climb to glory and recall their source for the same. Man in his quest for glory and achievement runs a marathon ever since he steps into the school and the lucky ones pause at some point in his career to look back. Not surprisingly, next to one's parents, invariably people recall with gratitude many of their teachers in their schools and colleges as the cause for their positions. Some even extend themselves to identify their own gurus even in their office, the true secret behind their success.

I am no exception and on this day I would like to recollect some of the teachers that come to my mind immediately when I think of my learning years. My earliest memories of my school was Montessori school , which was two houses away from mine in Mylapore. My earliest memory of my teacher is Shymala teacher, Prema teacher and the school HM Kalyani Kutty madam. Honestly, I do not remember what subjects they taught,  but they were more considered as close relatives. I then moved over to Sri Karpagavalli Balica Bala Patasala, a school situated deep within a slum right in the midst of Mylapore. But in standards of 4 and 5, I had the best of mathematics foundation from Shri Krishnaswamy Iyengar.

The formative years of 6th to SSLC, were at P.S High School and I was the first from my family to study in English medium ! How can one summarize the learning under  Meenakshi Sundaram sir, P A Ranganathan sir, Ramabadrachariar Sir, K.N.Jayarama Iyer - an expert in Algebra and Geometry, Manickarathnam Sir- he had the foresight even 40 years ago to warn us " It is a competitive world", PT and Craft teachers.... to name some.

At the A.M. Jain College, where I did my pre university course, the names of Balu sir, Sankara Subramanian, N.Srinivasan sir  and SRS were said with a lion's roar and their classes are always filled to capacity. I can never forget the teaching charm of my Physics professor Sri Krishnamoorthy and the ever smiling Prof Srinivasan , who taught Chemistry. Sanskrit professor Ramadoss Sir was not only good in that language but his English was also equally powerful and attractive.

D.G. Vaishnav College exposed me to many doyens and the vocabulary of Sanskrit Professor Thiruvengadathan is still reverberating within me.  I can still recall his reply when someone commented that his handwriting is better than his colleague- He said "His head inside is better than my hands' exterior".  English professors M/s Vasudevan, P.V.Subramaniam and Srinivsasn really laid the foundation for the passion of that language in me. I remember the enacting of the scene from Thomas Hardy's novel by Prof Vasudevan and the words of 'normally clad in full suit' Prof Subramaniam. The teachings of the likes of M/s Veera raghavan, Sundaram, Seshasayee, Shenoy, Ramasubramaniam, Rajagopalan and Rajappa could never be forgotten. Each one had their own way of imparting education that struck to our mind like a casting on a stone.

I was also fortunate to study under the mathematical giants of M/s Vittal, K.V.Parthasarathy, Raja Sethupathy and HOD Subramanian when I did my Masters from Vivekanandha College. Hats off to these who strengthened my mathematical knowledge and created the interested in teaching , which I did undertake  some years later.

The best teacher I had in my life was my late brother  Professor Muthuveeramani, who started teaching me from my 8th standard, was instrumental in my getting a hundred in my PU and couple of Hundreds in my Bachelors too! His passion for the subject and teaching was contagious and no wonder he had so many students clinging on to him even years after their graduating from the College.

On this Teachers Day, I salute, offer pranams and pay my respects to these teachers, who helped me shape my career.

Having the cake and ........

A controversy is raging across the newspapers and television channels and anchors are burning midnight oil to interpret, misinterpret the rules and provoke the participants. It's all about allowing a student who does not fulfill certain requirements to appear for an exam. If it had been an ordinary student nobody would have cared for a second look, but the student here happens to be the latest cricketing hero - Unmukt Chand, Captain of the Victorious Under19 World Cup Indian Cricket team.

In pursuit of that coveted cup, Unmukt has not been regular to his classes at the prestigious St. Stephens College, Delhi. College, quoting rules is refusing to allow him to appear for the First year exam

A section of the people are up in arms that Unmukt was doing a yeomen service for the country and that he should be supported with extra classes to cope up and write the exams. Some section always hysterical about the game went further that the delinquent skipper must be declared passed even without writing the exams!

College principal, clearly buckling under pressure walked out of a TV talk show not before stating that the College is acting within its rules and that only the Vice Chancellor can make an exception to this!

Kirti Azad, one of the heroes of the 1983 triumphant world cup team says that he was also a student and was well supported by the College when he had only 8% of attendance against the expected 33% to clear the exams and questioned as to why it is not being done now!

Keeping aside the hysteria around the game and the hyperactive responses, let the College assess the situation- the candidate was admitted under sports quota anticipating that his strength in the game would bring more laurels to the college. While the college wanted a share in the laurels are they blind to the realities of the game and its expectations? They must be well aware of his constraints and so it is upto them to support the student instead of throwing the book at him. Come on St. Stephens - you cannot have the cake and eat it too. Kirti Azad made a valid point that in 1983, he was representing 7 leagues and that there was no way he could have attended the college. The then management fortunately realized this and supported him in his cause and for the nation. The present college would also do well to remove the dark glasses and have a better vision. I am sure that the college would ultimately buckle, as the public furore supported by the Minister of Sports would be too much for them to handle.

But, let us be clear that Unmukt and his likes should only be supported to appear for the exams and in no way should be given a pass without an exam. This is precisely the situation which the old maids of the College fear about, losing to Cricket the values of education!

All said and done, it must have taken a lot of courage for the St. Stephens to put down their feet and quote the rules. Here, win or lose is not the point; atleast they have the mind to shout against the eroding values of education, however feeble the voice may be.

Crooks becoming richer & fools becoming poorer?

Few weeks back there were furor in the media and the wires were burning with the news of frauds through Emus. Among the many charges made, a section of the irate losers also mentioned that they had invested in this dubious scheme only because some of the popular film actors came on the Ads and vouched for the returns. I was wondering and even expressed in some other place about the ownership   of the actors in such Ads against whose words only some of the innocent people invest.  

On the same lines, when the popular singer SPB was making a strong pitch for investments in a housing scheme, I was wondering whether he is fully aware of the consequences of the blemish to his otherwise clean image, when things do not go on the expected lines.

In another recent instance, my wife was looking at an Ad in today's TOI and pointed to an advt regarding Internet based work from home jobs (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/AdPrimView.asp?BaseHref=TOICH/2012/08/28/6/Img/Ad0061609.png) . 

When we browsed the website, http://www.allindianetgroup.com/, things appeared so genuine and convincing that would have prompted anyone to proceed further. But, having seen many such ads whose aim was to cull out fat upfront money in the name of Registration fee, the cautious part in me prompted to dig further deep. When searched for feedback & opinions through Google, I came to know from many postings that it is a bogus company aimed at extracting initial amounts.

But what caught my attention was a feeble cry of anguish from a victim as to why popular newspapers should encourage such advertisements which ultimately fool the public and was wondering whether the newspapers have any social responsibility in publishing such Ads (http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/all-india-net-group-fraud-job-c716475.html )

This has rekindled my initial thoughts/doubts on the accountability in such promotions as to what is the responsibility of such newspapers? They may not be conniving explicitly with the advertisers of such dubious products but are the newspapers not obliged to do some background research before they publish these claims, purely to safeguard the interest of their readers? Or are they empowered to publish whatever material is being given for Ads?

On the part of individuals such as film artistes, singers and other reputed/ popular persons in the eyes of the public, though most of them participate in such advertisements more for commercial gains, what is their moral responsibility in protecting the interest of their fans, who go by their word?

Also when the Government is keen on curbing malicious news impacting the security of the country by putting an embargo on social networking websites, is it not for the authorities to pull such erring companies and caution the newspapers about the release of such advertisements? When the complaints are available in dozens on the internet, are the Police not obliged to put a watch on such advertisements? Over to the authorities and Cyber law experts to mull over.

It is time some legal minds look into the matter and clarify to the gullible public about heeding to the words of the "reputed" personalities and their stake, if the proposed project goes bust. It should also help the popular personalities to think twice before participating in such advertisements.

Bottom line is, so far as public are innocent and naïve, there are always new people with newer ideas to take them for a ride.