Wow, just completed Oracle 10g Administration1 certification exam. Secured 87%.
Now I am an Oracle Certified Associate.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
App Center Test (ACT) & Web App Stress (WAS)
Yesterday I was playing around with the Application Center Test (ACT) bundled with initial versions of VS.NET. While I found that all the GETs to my web applications were processed fine all the POSTS were failing. POSTs were throwing error 500 from the web server.
I guess it is an issue with the Viewstate. So I googled around and found an article on msdn that had a manual code fix tio handle viewstate in ACT.
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms979202.aspx
Now even with the code fix, the POSTS were failing. On analysing I found that the GET request was returning so more content that the Response.Body was removing all the characters after a certain length. Hence the viewstate was not captured for the POST.
I just left it there and picked up Web application Stress (WAS)
WAS works perfectly but the only issue is that I am unable to add performance counters for niether the local machine nor the remote machine. I do have admin access to all these machines. Hence I need to manually handle the perf counters through the Perf mon tool.
Any thoughts on this.
I guess it is an issue with the Viewstate. So I googled around and found an article on msdn that had a manual code fix tio handle viewstate in ACT.
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms979202.aspx
Now even with the code fix, the POSTS were failing. On analysing I found that the GET request was returning so more content that the Response.Body was removing all the characters after a certain length. Hence the viewstate was not captured for the POST.
I just left it there and picked up Web application Stress (WAS)
WAS works perfectly but the only issue is that I am unable to add performance counters for niether the local machine nor the remote machine. I do have admin access to all these machines. Hence I need to manually handle the perf counters through the Perf mon tool.
Any thoughts on this.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
My Educational Projects
IC741 OP-AMP Simulator
-------------------------
The basic initiative behind the development of this project was to provide a rock solid framework towards how the IC-741 operational amplifier works. Is basic objective is to simulate the operation of the op-amp in various commonly used configurations.
This sort of application further emphasizes on the applications of the op-amp in diverse areas. These include signal processing (both analog and digital), signal mixing, clamping and clipping.
Further it also throws light on the various runtime parameters, which affect the behavior of the op-amp. A few of these parameters are the feedback resistor, amplitude, frequency of the input signal and other passive electronic components.
Features
Supports multiple op-amp configurations
Inverting Amplifier
Non-inverting Amplifier
Differentiator
Integrator
Logarithmic Amplifier
Summing Amplifier
Differential Amplifier
Unity Follower
Allows configuring variables such as type of input (AC or DC), frequencies of input waveforms, amplitudes of input waveforms, values of input and feedback resistors.
Also allows specifying the format of input wave such as sine, cosine, tan, DC etc
Runtime display of intermediate current and voltages of OP-AMP.
Generation of continuous input and output waveforms.
Allows varying the gain of the amplifier for all input waveforms.
Tools & Technologies
JDK 1.2.2, Swing, AWT, Java Enabled Browser
Dazzle Sphere (OpenGL 3D Game)
--------------------------------
The Story
Everybody is familiar with the towers of Hanoi puzzle. This is a self-made idea on the lines of towers of Hanoi with increased realism in a 3D environment.
It's a hell out there. There are lot of opposing choices and beliefs. This has led to state of instability. Everything seems to go out of control. All seem to be in their own domain. Someday someone gonna set things right.
Would u be the one?
Pockets with mixed colors trouble the unstable 3D sphere. Get the colors separated into individual pockets in minimum time and prove your worth.
Goal of the game
The goals of Dazzle sphere are divided into a series of objectives. During the game a new objective is provided. The ultimate goal would be to clear all the levels as they approach with the minimum amount of time.
Game Structure
Dazzle Sphere contains 7 levels, each of which has to be completed in order to proceed to the next level. Remember that once you leave a level you cannot return unless you reload a saved game from that level. Therefore it is important to occasionally save your intermediate results and restore it later.
Main Menu
Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate and press the enter key to select.
Each menu function brings up a list of secondary menu items.
New Game : Starts a new game
Save Game : Saves the current position of the game
Load Game : Loads a saved game
Options : Adjust screen settings
Help : Displays a brief help regarding the game.
Quit : Exits the game
Tools & Technologies
Recommended Hardware
Pentium II 400Mhz / AMD k62 or higher
64MB RAM
Sound Card
OpenGL compliant 3D accelerator graphics card (Min. 32MB Video RAM)
Recommended Software
Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP, OpenGL libraries (opengl32.lib, glu32.lib, glaux.lib, glut32.lib)
Development
Microsoft VC++ 6.0, OpenGL library headers
WinNT NetWorker
----------------
Features
Simultaneous multi-user chat with options for rooms, user blocking, saving chat sessions etc.
Does not require a dedicated server like other chat software.
Options to create chat rooms with users.
Support for multi-user remote file transfer operations using a explorer type of interface with additional aid to cut, copy, paste, rename options.
Offers an integrated browser for surfing.
Remote automation features such as execution of remote programs, remote locking, remote shutdown, remote restart, logoff and remote peripheral access.
Also provides an environment to perform parallel processing of a CPU intensive process by distributing the complex operation to multiple systems and finally integrating the separate results to obtain the final solution.
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Windows Sockets 2.0, SQL Server 7.0
OASIS (Online Archival Serach Information System)
--------------------------------------------------
OASIS is an online application basically serving a variety of users of the publishing industry. These include the editors, the reporters, the journalists and finally the readers.
The administrators are also a class of users who have designed to take overall in-charge of the publishing organization. He belongs to the top-level management and has access rights to all the features of the application.
The search option collects the requirements of the query from the user using well-designed interfaces for the purpose of translation into a query that can be processed by the search engine or the information retrieval system. The user can supply his requirements by means of keywords, Boolean operators or phrases as the case may be.
The key goal of OASIS is to retrieve information that might by useful and relevant to the user. Hence the main focus of our application does not merely lie on the retrieval of data but information hence help the user to decide upon his solutions in a much faster and efficient manner.
The relevance of the results separates any IR system from one another. The notion of relevance is the center of information retrieval. In order to achieve this kind of accuracy for judging the relevance of an item over, several options are provided to the user such as the number of hits for an article, the average rating of the article, the class of the article, the frequency of access, the number of occurrences of the keyword in the article etc.
It is a one-stop site for all the newspaper articles. It offers flexible and efficient querying options with custom designed searches.
Features
Allows different logins for admins, reporter and general.
Allows adding new general users using the signup page.
Allows options for retrieving forgot passwords.
FrontPage loaded with daily news briefs.
Article search options with support for Boolean expression.
Advanced article search options
Support for search within article based on number of text appearances.
Support for date period based search.
Search based on article rating.
Search based on the number of article hits.
Search based on the reporter.
Search based on the newspaper in which the article has appeared.
Also support for mixed query search.
Additional support for image searches.
Search results displayed in page wise summary format.
Feature to display the detailed view of the article containing the image, article title, summary, date of reporting, reporter name, the newspaper, the related set of articles, important sections of the article.
Option to limit the number of search results.
Reporting feature to display the user search pattern, frequently searched keywords and the number of matches found.
Crystal reports Pie, 3D Chart view of the above reports for better understanding.
Report to display the list of reporters and their respective articles along with the rating gained by each article by the general readers.
Option to isolate the maximum active category and analyze its pattern over a period of time.
Report to view the list of users and the number of searches done by each of them.
Report to view the list of all articles and the number of hits generated by each.
Option to generate identity card for reporters.
Page to display a hierarchical view of the categories of the articles on the site which offers a clear understanding of the parent and child categories with option to list all articles under any category.
Online help on every page.
Tools & Technologies
MS SQL Server 7, MS Visual Interdev 6.0, MS Visual Basic 6.0
JavaScript, VBScript, ASP (Active Server Pages), IIS
Seagate Crystal Reports 7
Sound-n-Video Gallery Application
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sound-n-Video is an application to automate the operations in a musical rental library.
Features
Provides option for the user to login and depending on the type of user certain features of the application are disabled.
Provides several security features such as option to lock the system to prevent unauthorized access, determine login date and time etc.
Logs the database changes to a local file to determine the user operations.
Allows artist operations.
Allows operations on items (Musical Cassetes, CDs, Video Cassetes, VCDs)
Allows for issuing items and handles the bill generation in case of fine during return of items.
Allows the reservation of items for a particular day.
Allows previewing the items in the store by providing an onscreen display (winamp style) of the video or the musical item.
Allows customized user generated query execution with easy navigational interface.
Report to view the current quantity on hand for each item in the store.
Tools & Technologies
Oracle 8.0, MS Visual Basic 6.0, Crystal Reports 7
VisEdit (Multi-File Text Editor)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS based file text editor developed in C++.
Features
Menu based user interface with keyboard shortcuts.
Supports all types of ASCII files.
Option to handle multiple files simultaneously
Option to scroll both horizontally and vertically to a large extent.
Option for cut, copy, paste of selected text.
Option to print the file contents.
Option to find a string and replace it.
Option to adjust the screen element colors, which include the background color, text color, selection color, menu color, tab size etc.
Designed and developed using object oriented concepts (OOPS).
Help feature to aid easy operation
Development
Turbo C++ Compiler
Gateways 2000,2001 Software
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gateways is an all-India MCA festival conducted by Christ College. The events for the festival include Coding, Web Designing, Quiz, Product Marketing, Dumb Charades and a host of other IT related events.
In addition to the automation of individual events such as quiz, coding, web designing the entire process of keeping track of the college registrations, scores, event participants, event result reports were streamlined with an automation software spanning a set of computers networked.
Features
Great user appealing interfaces with easy navigational features, cool intros, animations and a host of other multimedia capabilities.
Handles individual college registrations
Handles participants of an event
Availability of updated scores immediately
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Macromedia Flash 5, Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Jasc Animation Shop, Microsoft Access 97
LDR based Burglar Alarm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The burglar alarm was designed using a light dependent resistor (LDR), which triggers a typical IC555 timer chip. When the LDR is exposed to light (specifically a torch light from a burglar) the resistance of the resistor changes and pushes the circuit configuration into a state, which drives the speaker with an alarm.
-------------------------
The basic initiative behind the development of this project was to provide a rock solid framework towards how the IC-741 operational amplifier works. Is basic objective is to simulate the operation of the op-amp in various commonly used configurations.
This sort of application further emphasizes on the applications of the op-amp in diverse areas. These include signal processing (both analog and digital), signal mixing, clamping and clipping.
Further it also throws light on the various runtime parameters, which affect the behavior of the op-amp. A few of these parameters are the feedback resistor, amplitude, frequency of the input signal and other passive electronic components.
Features
Supports multiple op-amp configurations
Inverting Amplifier
Non-inverting Amplifier
Differentiator
Integrator
Logarithmic Amplifier
Summing Amplifier
Differential Amplifier
Unity Follower
Allows configuring variables such as type of input (AC or DC), frequencies of input waveforms, amplitudes of input waveforms, values of input and feedback resistors.
Also allows specifying the format of input wave such as sine, cosine, tan, DC etc
Runtime display of intermediate current and voltages of OP-AMP.
Generation of continuous input and output waveforms.
Allows varying the gain of the amplifier for all input waveforms.
Tools & Technologies
JDK 1.2.2, Swing, AWT, Java Enabled Browser
Dazzle Sphere (OpenGL 3D Game)
--------------------------------
The Story
Everybody is familiar with the towers of Hanoi puzzle. This is a self-made idea on the lines of towers of Hanoi with increased realism in a 3D environment.
It's a hell out there. There are lot of opposing choices and beliefs. This has led to state of instability. Everything seems to go out of control. All seem to be in their own domain. Someday someone gonna set things right.
Would u be the one?
Pockets with mixed colors trouble the unstable 3D sphere. Get the colors separated into individual pockets in minimum time and prove your worth.
Goal of the game
The goals of Dazzle sphere are divided into a series of objectives. During the game a new objective is provided. The ultimate goal would be to clear all the levels as they approach with the minimum amount of time.
Game Structure
Dazzle Sphere contains 7 levels, each of which has to be completed in order to proceed to the next level. Remember that once you leave a level you cannot return unless you reload a saved game from that level. Therefore it is important to occasionally save your intermediate results and restore it later.
Main Menu
Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate and press the enter key to select.
Each menu function brings up a list of secondary menu items.
New Game : Starts a new game
Save Game : Saves the current position of the game
Load Game : Loads a saved game
Options : Adjust screen settings
Help : Displays a brief help regarding the game.
Quit : Exits the game
Tools & Technologies
Recommended Hardware
Pentium II 400Mhz / AMD k62 or higher
64MB RAM
Sound Card
OpenGL compliant 3D accelerator graphics card (Min. 32MB Video RAM)
Recommended Software
Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP, OpenGL libraries (opengl32.lib, glu32.lib, glaux.lib, glut32.lib)
Development
Microsoft VC++ 6.0, OpenGL library headers
WinNT NetWorker
----------------
Features
Simultaneous multi-user chat with options for rooms, user blocking, saving chat sessions etc.
Does not require a dedicated server like other chat software.
Options to create chat rooms with users.
Support for multi-user remote file transfer operations using a explorer type of interface with additional aid to cut, copy, paste, rename options.
Offers an integrated browser for surfing.
Remote automation features such as execution of remote programs, remote locking, remote shutdown, remote restart, logoff and remote peripheral access.
Also provides an environment to perform parallel processing of a CPU intensive process by distributing the complex operation to multiple systems and finally integrating the separate results to obtain the final solution.
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Windows Sockets 2.0, SQL Server 7.0
OASIS (Online Archival Serach Information System)
--------------------------------------------------
OASIS is an online application basically serving a variety of users of the publishing industry. These include the editors, the reporters, the journalists and finally the readers.
The administrators are also a class of users who have designed to take overall in-charge of the publishing organization. He belongs to the top-level management and has access rights to all the features of the application.
The search option collects the requirements of the query from the user using well-designed interfaces for the purpose of translation into a query that can be processed by the search engine or the information retrieval system. The user can supply his requirements by means of keywords, Boolean operators or phrases as the case may be.
The key goal of OASIS is to retrieve information that might by useful and relevant to the user. Hence the main focus of our application does not merely lie on the retrieval of data but information hence help the user to decide upon his solutions in a much faster and efficient manner.
The relevance of the results separates any IR system from one another. The notion of relevance is the center of information retrieval. In order to achieve this kind of accuracy for judging the relevance of an item over, several options are provided to the user such as the number of hits for an article, the average rating of the article, the class of the article, the frequency of access, the number of occurrences of the keyword in the article etc.
It is a one-stop site for all the newspaper articles. It offers flexible and efficient querying options with custom designed searches.
Features
Allows different logins for admins, reporter and general.
Allows adding new general users using the signup page.
Allows options for retrieving forgot passwords.
FrontPage loaded with daily news briefs.
Article search options with support for Boolean expression.
Advanced article search options
Support for search within article based on number of text appearances.
Support for date period based search.
Search based on article rating.
Search based on the number of article hits.
Search based on the reporter.
Search based on the newspaper in which the article has appeared.
Also support for mixed query search.
Additional support for image searches.
Search results displayed in page wise summary format.
Feature to display the detailed view of the article containing the image, article title, summary, date of reporting, reporter name, the newspaper, the related set of articles, important sections of the article.
Option to limit the number of search results.
Reporting feature to display the user search pattern, frequently searched keywords and the number of matches found.
Crystal reports Pie, 3D Chart view of the above reports for better understanding.
Report to display the list of reporters and their respective articles along with the rating gained by each article by the general readers.
Option to isolate the maximum active category and analyze its pattern over a period of time.
Report to view the list of users and the number of searches done by each of them.
Report to view the list of all articles and the number of hits generated by each.
Option to generate identity card for reporters.
Page to display a hierarchical view of the categories of the articles on the site which offers a clear understanding of the parent and child categories with option to list all articles under any category.
Online help on every page.
Tools & Technologies
MS SQL Server 7, MS Visual Interdev 6.0, MS Visual Basic 6.0
JavaScript, VBScript, ASP (Active Server Pages), IIS
Seagate Crystal Reports 7
Sound-n-Video Gallery Application
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sound-n-Video is an application to automate the operations in a musical rental library.
Features
Provides option for the user to login and depending on the type of user certain features of the application are disabled.
Provides several security features such as option to lock the system to prevent unauthorized access, determine login date and time etc.
Logs the database changes to a local file to determine the user operations.
Allows artist operations.
Allows operations on items (Musical Cassetes, CDs, Video Cassetes, VCDs)
Allows for issuing items and handles the bill generation in case of fine during return of items.
Allows the reservation of items for a particular day.
Allows previewing the items in the store by providing an onscreen display (winamp style) of the video or the musical item.
Allows customized user generated query execution with easy navigational interface.
Report to view the current quantity on hand for each item in the store.
Tools & Technologies
Oracle 8.0, MS Visual Basic 6.0, Crystal Reports 7
VisEdit (Multi-File Text Editor)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOS based file text editor developed in C++.
Features
Menu based user interface with keyboard shortcuts.
Supports all types of ASCII files.
Option to handle multiple files simultaneously
Option to scroll both horizontally and vertically to a large extent.
Option for cut, copy, paste of selected text.
Option to print the file contents.
Option to find a string and replace it.
Option to adjust the screen element colors, which include the background color, text color, selection color, menu color, tab size etc.
Designed and developed using object oriented concepts (OOPS).
Help feature to aid easy operation
Development
Turbo C++ Compiler
Gateways 2000,2001 Software
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gateways is an all-India MCA festival conducted by Christ College. The events for the festival include Coding, Web Designing, Quiz, Product Marketing, Dumb Charades and a host of other IT related events.
In addition to the automation of individual events such as quiz, coding, web designing the entire process of keeping track of the college registrations, scores, event participants, event result reports were streamlined with an automation software spanning a set of computers networked.
Features
Great user appealing interfaces with easy navigational features, cool intros, animations and a host of other multimedia capabilities.
Handles individual college registrations
Handles participants of an event
Availability of updated scores immediately
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Macromedia Flash 5, Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Jasc Animation Shop, Microsoft Access 97
LDR based Burglar Alarm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The burglar alarm was designed using a light dependent resistor (LDR), which triggers a typical IC555 timer chip. When the LDR is exposed to light (specifically a torch light from a burglar) the resistance of the resistor changes and pushes the circuit configuration into a state, which drives the speaker with an alarm.
My Certifications
Microsoft Certified Application Developer for Microsoft .NET (Year 2005)
• Microsoft Certified Professional in developing Web Applications using VS.NET & C#.
• Microsoft Certified Professional in developing XML Web Services & Server Components using VS.NET and C#.
• Microsoft Certified Professional in Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Enterprise Edition.
• Microsoft Certified Professional in Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer for Microsoft .NET (Year 2005)
• Microsoft Certified Professional in Analyzing Requirements and Defining Microsoft .NET Solution Architectures
https://mcp.microsoft.com/authenticate/validatemcp.aspx
Transcript ID (670218) and the Access Code (vishalthomas)
• Microsoft Certified Professional in developing Web Applications using VS.NET & C#.
• Microsoft Certified Professional in developing XML Web Services & Server Components using VS.NET and C#.
• Microsoft Certified Professional in Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Enterprise Edition.
• Microsoft Certified Professional in Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
Microsoft Certified Solution Developer for Microsoft .NET (Year 2005)
• Microsoft Certified Professional in Analyzing Requirements and Defining Microsoft .NET Solution Architectures
https://mcp.microsoft.com/authenticate/validatemcp.aspx
Transcript ID (670218) and the Access Code (vishalthomas)
My Tech Projects
1. Project FIJI [Jan-‘06 to Present]
Description:
Project FIJI is the next generation SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) based implementation of the Intel Inside Online Network Application using the SAP Netweaver Framework. It is currently in the exploration phase.
Role : Module Leader
Tools : SAP Exterprise Portal, SAP XChange Infrastructure, Java Web DynPro, SAP Business Warehouse
Technologies : SAP Netweaver Stack, Enterprise Portal, XChange Infrastructure, Web Dynpro, .NET 2.0
2. Intel Multi-Core Proof of Concept [Jan-‘06 to Present]
Description:
Intel Multi-Core POC is a series of applications designed to prove the performance and scalable capabilities of Intel Multi-Core platform. This serves as a proof point for new technology adoption for all IT companies worldwide.
Tools : VS.NET 2003/2005, C#, ASP.NET, Multi-threading Concepts, Intel Software Development Tools
3. Intel Application Mobility Framework [Jan-‘06 to Mar-‘06]
Description:
IAMF is an Intel initiative to ensure easy adoption of mobile technologies to customers and employees by identifying and developing a crucial pluggable mobile framework platform.
Tools : VS.NET 2003/2005, C#, ASP.NET
Technologies : .NET Compact Framework 1.0/2.0, Windows Pocket PC, Windows SmartPhone
4. SAP Netweaver - Contingency WorkForce (CWF) [Jan-‘06 to Apr-‘06]
Description:
CWF is a pilot program to enable exposing the contingency WorkForce application through WebDynPro front end.
Tools : Netweaver Developer Studio, WebDynPro, SAP Enterprise Portal 6.0, SAP XI 3.0, SAP ECC 5.0, WAS, BSP
5. Intel Online Claiming [Apr-‘05 to Dec-‘05]
http://www3.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/index.htm
Description:
IOC is an online application used to allow external customers such as channels, retailers and distributors to submit claims into the IION system for their advertisements that promoted the Intel Brand. My role in the project was to transition the knowledge of the development team in St.Petersburg, Russia thereby enhance and support the application.
Role : Team Leader
Tools : VS.NET 2003, C#, ASP.NET, ODP.NET, Javascript, Oracle9i, VSS, WSS
Technologies : .NET, Web Services, Microsoft/Intel Application Blocks, Microsoft Application Framework
6. Intel Inside Online Network [Mar-‘04 to Mar-‘05]
http://intelinside.intel.com/index.htm
Description:
IION is a complex software solution that supports the Intel Inside Program (IIP). IIP is a program designed to help companies (Dell, Compaq, Ad Agencies, etc.) create advertisements that promote Intel Brand. IIP also reimburses part of the expense provided the Ads conform to Intel’s Branding requirements.
My Modules include - Integration of legacy application with EDW (Enterprise DataWarehouse running Teradata), Excel Rich Client through SOAP Toolkit, Integrating the app with WatchFire (External Branding Compliance Solution)
Tools : C#, ASP.NET, Visual Basic 6.0, ASP, Oracle 9i, PL/SQL, TOAD, Micro Strategy, Teradata 7.1, XML, Web Services SOAP Toolkit, XSL, Javascript, VSS, Source Offsite, Windows 2000/XP
Technologies : COM+ , .NET
7. Initiatives@Intel [Mar-‘04 to Present]
7.1 SAP Enterprise Portal & WSS Integration
Description:
Tools: SAP Enterprise Portal, Sharepoint Portal Services
7.2 Microsoft Yukon (SQL Server 2005) Technology Adoption Program
Description: The program is a combined effort between Intel and Microsoft to evaluate the benefits of SQL Server 2005 across various test scenarios and suggest best known methods for migration, usage and deployment to new projects. I have been a beta tester for Yukon and have reported several bugs and improvements on the product.
Tools: SQL Server 2005 Beta (Yukon), VS.NET 2005 Beta1 (Whidbey), XML, Test Director, Windows Server 2003
7.3 Greater Asia Region Innovation Initiative
Description: The main objective of this program is to drive the innovations, inventions and patents for the Greater Asia Region at Intel. I have filed over ten Invention Disclosures on the topics such as, Application Hibernation, Music Compression, Application State Restore and System architectures. I also have several approved innovations. Also reviewed other’s innovations to identify technology or process innovation. I have conducted core technical sessions on several next generation software technologies.
7.4 eXP Initiative (Enterprise Extreme Programming)
Description: The main objective of this program is to engage with projects in the Greater Asia Region and enable them to adopt XP into their program life cycle. In addition to this my role was to train the engineering team members on XP methodologies and guide them till project release.
8 Automation Tools
Description: Developed an application that hooks into Outlook events to SMS new mails, meeting requests for the day etc. It also allows saving deleted outlook items from all folders.
Tools: C#, VS.NET 2003, Outlook 2003 Object Model
Description : Developed a generic Web based Oracle stored procedure testing tool to execute any Oracle stored procedure or function over the web. It supports both table type and Ref cursor parameters. It has been considered as a reuse tool at Intel.
Tools: C#, ASP.NET, VS.NET 2003, Oracle 9i, ADO.NET
Caritor Inc. (Formerly IT Solutions (India) Private Ltd.) [Feb-‘03 to Mar-‘04]
9. CCHRI [Nov-‘03 to Mar-‘04]
http://www.unisys.com/public_sector/clients/featured__case__studies/pennsylvania__state__police.htm
Description:
Computerized Criminal History Record Information (CCHRI) system, is a complex system designed for Pennsylvania State Police (Harrisburg, PA.) to disseminate criminal-history data to organizations and individuals quickly and efficiently.
Client: Unisys Corp, USA
Tools: C#, WinForms, ADO.NET, XML Web Services, VS.NET 2003, Biztalk Server 2003, SQL Server 2000, Rational Rose 2002, VSS, Windows 2000/XP/2003
Technologies: Web Services
10. Remittance & LockBox App. [Mar-’03 to Nov-‘03]
http://www.unisys.com/products/payment__systems/solutions/remittance_a_lockbox.htm
Description:
Application to process payment transactions with the aid of a NDP (Network Document Processor), capture item data for account posting and control encoding, endorsing, imaging, microfilming and sorting of documents. The work also involved reverse engineering certain existing complex applications using the Rational Unified Process.
Client: Unisys Corp, USA
Tools: Visual C++ 6.0, Visual Basic 6.0, MS-Access 97/2000, SQL Server 7/2000, Crystal Reports 7/9, ImageMan, Mitek Quickstrokes, Numega Devpartner, Rational Rose 2002, VSS, Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003
Technologies: RUP, UML, COM, IPC, Image Processing
11. SoftCAR Customizer [Sep-‘03 to Oct-‘03]
http://www.unisys.com/financial/news_a_events/all__news/05068280.htm
Description:
The application is used to customize the recognition engines for a SoftCAR application, that are required to read certain parts of the image (cheque/stub) and identify the scan line, account number, amount information (CAR – Courtesy Amount Read) etc.
Client: Unisys Corp, USA
Tools: C#, Visual Studio.NET, ImageMan COM Dlls, XML, VSS, Windows 2000
Technologies: Image Processing, .NET
12. Automation Tools [Sep-‘03 to Oct-‘03]
Description:
A set of utility tools to serve the following processes,
• Determine the number of RGB colors in a given Monochrome, 8-bit, 24-bit bitmap developed in VC++ 6.0.
• Source code analyzer for VC++ and VB Modules to classify language statements.
Tools: VC++, MFC, Windows 2000
Technologies: Image Processing, Compiler Design
Aditi Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India. [July-’02 to Dec-‘02]
13. Aditi Eurystheus [July-‘02 to Dec-‘02]
Description :
Involved in the requirements determination, design, development and testing of a COM based web application developed to automate the process of conducting recruitment tests for candidates at Aditi Technologies. It handles candidate authentication, configuring question bank, random question paper generation and result processing.
Tools and Technologies: Visual Basic 6.0, SQL Server 2000, Visual Interdev 6, ASP 3, VBScript, JavaScript, DHTML, XML, CSS, COM, IIS
Description:
Project FIJI is the next generation SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) based implementation of the Intel Inside Online Network Application using the SAP Netweaver Framework. It is currently in the exploration phase.
Role : Module Leader
Tools : SAP Exterprise Portal, SAP XChange Infrastructure, Java Web DynPro, SAP Business Warehouse
Technologies : SAP Netweaver Stack, Enterprise Portal, XChange Infrastructure, Web Dynpro, .NET 2.0
2. Intel Multi-Core Proof of Concept [Jan-‘06 to Present]
Description:
Intel Multi-Core POC is a series of applications designed to prove the performance and scalable capabilities of Intel Multi-Core platform. This serves as a proof point for new technology adoption for all IT companies worldwide.
Tools : VS.NET 2003/2005, C#, ASP.NET, Multi-threading Concepts, Intel Software Development Tools
3. Intel Application Mobility Framework [Jan-‘06 to Mar-‘06]
Description:
IAMF is an Intel initiative to ensure easy adoption of mobile technologies to customers and employees by identifying and developing a crucial pluggable mobile framework platform.
Tools : VS.NET 2003/2005, C#, ASP.NET
Technologies : .NET Compact Framework 1.0/2.0, Windows Pocket PC, Windows SmartPhone
4. SAP Netweaver - Contingency WorkForce (CWF) [Jan-‘06 to Apr-‘06]
Description:
CWF is a pilot program to enable exposing the contingency WorkForce application through WebDynPro front end.
Tools : Netweaver Developer Studio, WebDynPro, SAP Enterprise Portal 6.0, SAP XI 3.0, SAP ECC 5.0, WAS, BSP
5. Intel Online Claiming [Apr-‘05 to Dec-‘05]
http://www3.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/index.htm
Description:
IOC is an online application used to allow external customers such as channels, retailers and distributors to submit claims into the IION system for their advertisements that promoted the Intel Brand. My role in the project was to transition the knowledge of the development team in St.Petersburg, Russia thereby enhance and support the application.
Role : Team Leader
Tools : VS.NET 2003, C#, ASP.NET, ODP.NET, Javascript, Oracle9i, VSS, WSS
Technologies : .NET, Web Services, Microsoft/Intel Application Blocks, Microsoft Application Framework
6. Intel Inside Online Network [Mar-‘04 to Mar-‘05]
http://intelinside.intel.com/index.htm
Description:
IION is a complex software solution that supports the Intel Inside Program (IIP). IIP is a program designed to help companies (Dell, Compaq, Ad Agencies, etc.) create advertisements that promote Intel Brand. IIP also reimburses part of the expense provided the Ads conform to Intel’s Branding requirements.
My Modules include - Integration of legacy application with EDW (Enterprise DataWarehouse running Teradata), Excel Rich Client through SOAP Toolkit, Integrating the app with WatchFire (External Branding Compliance Solution)
Tools : C#, ASP.NET, Visual Basic 6.0, ASP, Oracle 9i, PL/SQL, TOAD, Micro Strategy, Teradata 7.1, XML, Web Services SOAP Toolkit, XSL, Javascript, VSS, Source Offsite, Windows 2000/XP
Technologies : COM+ , .NET
7. Initiatives@Intel [Mar-‘04 to Present]
7.1 SAP Enterprise Portal & WSS Integration
Description:
Tools: SAP Enterprise Portal, Sharepoint Portal Services
7.2 Microsoft Yukon (SQL Server 2005) Technology Adoption Program
Description: The program is a combined effort between Intel and Microsoft to evaluate the benefits of SQL Server 2005 across various test scenarios and suggest best known methods for migration, usage and deployment to new projects. I have been a beta tester for Yukon and have reported several bugs and improvements on the product.
Tools: SQL Server 2005 Beta (Yukon), VS.NET 2005 Beta1 (Whidbey), XML, Test Director, Windows Server 2003
7.3 Greater Asia Region Innovation Initiative
Description: The main objective of this program is to drive the innovations, inventions and patents for the Greater Asia Region at Intel. I have filed over ten Invention Disclosures on the topics such as, Application Hibernation, Music Compression, Application State Restore and System architectures. I also have several approved innovations. Also reviewed other’s innovations to identify technology or process innovation. I have conducted core technical sessions on several next generation software technologies.
7.4 eXP Initiative (Enterprise Extreme Programming)
Description: The main objective of this program is to engage with projects in the Greater Asia Region and enable them to adopt XP into their program life cycle. In addition to this my role was to train the engineering team members on XP methodologies and guide them till project release.
8 Automation Tools
Description: Developed an application that hooks into Outlook events to SMS new mails, meeting requests for the day etc. It also allows saving deleted outlook items from all folders.
Tools: C#, VS.NET 2003, Outlook 2003 Object Model
Description : Developed a generic Web based Oracle stored procedure testing tool to execute any Oracle stored procedure or function over the web. It supports both table type and Ref cursor parameters. It has been considered as a reuse tool at Intel.
Tools: C#, ASP.NET, VS.NET 2003, Oracle 9i, ADO.NET
Caritor Inc. (Formerly IT Solutions (India) Private Ltd.) [Feb-‘03 to Mar-‘04]
9. CCHRI [Nov-‘03 to Mar-‘04]
http://www.unisys.com/public_sector/clients/featured__case__studies/pennsylvania__state__police.htm
Description:
Computerized Criminal History Record Information (CCHRI) system, is a complex system designed for Pennsylvania State Police (Harrisburg, PA.) to disseminate criminal-history data to organizations and individuals quickly and efficiently.
Client: Unisys Corp, USA
Tools: C#, WinForms, ADO.NET, XML Web Services, VS.NET 2003, Biztalk Server 2003, SQL Server 2000, Rational Rose 2002, VSS, Windows 2000/XP/2003
Technologies: Web Services
10. Remittance & LockBox App. [Mar-’03 to Nov-‘03]
http://www.unisys.com/products/payment__systems/solutions/remittance_a_lockbox.htm
Description:
Application to process payment transactions with the aid of a NDP (Network Document Processor), capture item data for account posting and control encoding, endorsing, imaging, microfilming and sorting of documents. The work also involved reverse engineering certain existing complex applications using the Rational Unified Process.
Client: Unisys Corp, USA
Tools: Visual C++ 6.0, Visual Basic 6.0, MS-Access 97/2000, SQL Server 7/2000, Crystal Reports 7/9, ImageMan, Mitek Quickstrokes, Numega Devpartner, Rational Rose 2002, VSS, Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003
Technologies: RUP, UML, COM, IPC, Image Processing
11. SoftCAR Customizer [Sep-‘03 to Oct-‘03]
http://www.unisys.com/financial/news_a_events/all__news/05068280.htm
Description:
The application is used to customize the recognition engines for a SoftCAR application, that are required to read certain parts of the image (cheque/stub) and identify the scan line, account number, amount information (CAR – Courtesy Amount Read) etc.
Client: Unisys Corp, USA
Tools: C#, Visual Studio.NET, ImageMan COM Dlls, XML, VSS, Windows 2000
Technologies: Image Processing, .NET
12. Automation Tools [Sep-‘03 to Oct-‘03]
Description:
A set of utility tools to serve the following processes,
• Determine the number of RGB colors in a given Monochrome, 8-bit, 24-bit bitmap developed in VC++ 6.0.
• Source code analyzer for VC++ and VB Modules to classify language statements.
Tools: VC++, MFC, Windows 2000
Technologies: Image Processing, Compiler Design
Aditi Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India. [July-’02 to Dec-‘02]
13. Aditi Eurystheus [July-‘02 to Dec-‘02]
Description :
Involved in the requirements determination, design, development and testing of a COM based web application developed to automate the process of conducting recruitment tests for candidates at Aditi Technologies. It handles candidate authentication, configuring question bank, random question paper generation and result processing.
Tools and Technologies: Visual Basic 6.0, SQL Server 2000, Visual Interdev 6, ASP 3, VBScript, JavaScript, DHTML, XML, CSS, COM, IIS
Friday, November 10, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Department Closure
Today we had our dept closure. The event was held at Palm Meadows, Bangalore
It is indeed a place well developed. There are several expatriates moving across to Bangalore and they would find this place comparable to the ones in other parts of the world. No wonder
Bangalore real estate prices have sky rocketed.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Balayya Links
Oh yes, I did not want to loose this. Have a good laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB5JzLy2e3c&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZJDTszmN_Y&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_tpbN4GgWY&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMJ_y936XoU&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFVUJBfsXc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB5JzLy2e3c&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZJDTszmN_Y&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_tpbN4GgWY&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMJ_y936XoU&search=balayya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFVUJBfsXc
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Maxtor HDD & iPod Dominos
Got some old worthless Hard disk drives or iPods worth $60000 and need to play around with it. Try this,
Maxtor Dominos
iPod Dominos
Maxtor Dominos
iPod Dominos
Saturday, September 30, 2006
VT's Zone
Best of Steve Job's Quotes,
One of my favorites,
"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."
-- Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998
One of my favorites,
"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."
-- Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998
Ford Fiesta Impressive
I could not believe when one of my friends quoted that the Ford Fiesta turned out a Mileage of 21KM/l diesel in city limits and a whopping 31 KM/l (diesel) on Highway.
Then I thought of googling for it and guess what I found,
Ford Fiesta
Ford Fiesta Models
It seems that some advanced engineering has gone into creating this baby.
Ford would have probably styled it a little better.
How abt the power? Got to go for a test drive..
Friday, September 29, 2006
Integrated Authentication across Multiple Hops
I thought that an authenticated user could be impersonated for further calls from the web server to an app server. But only later I realized that this cannot be done when I was corrected by my team mate. This seems to be such a wanted feature.
We do have a tedious workaround.
http://blogs.msdn.com/s4cd/archive/2006/08/24/718656.aspx
Is MS listening?
We do have a tedious workaround.
http://blogs.msdn.com/s4cd/archive/2006/08/24/718656.aspx
Is MS listening?
Voice Recog in Microwave Oven
Oh yeah!, This is want I wanted. Talk about staying away from the kitchen and get the cooking done.
Check this
Does it even shop for the food and place them into the oven?
and some device to feed me the cooked food while I watch Nat Geo...
Anyone working on this. I am waiting............
Check this
Does it even shop for the food and place them into the oven?
and some device to feed me the cooked food while I watch Nat Geo...
Anyone working on this. I am waiting............
Heights of Spam
Spammers are now also getting into the blogosphere. Not sure if they were already there earlier.
They are responding to blog entries with their junk content. Just check this one,
They are responding to blog entries with their junk content. Just check this one,
Dataone WiFi
I am ocasionally loosing my WiFi signal with my Dataone Wireless router. I am placed very closed to the external antennae.
Then later I realized that my wired connection was also facing the same problem. Hadn't faced it earlier with my 512Kbps plan (5GB monthly transfer) plan.
Now I have a UL 900 plus plan (256Kbps). The speed is a bottleneck for all the video sites like youtube, cnet, zdnet etc. Must be because BSNL is still trying to cope up with the huge installed customer base.
Need to explore on some web accelerators and verify if they actually work...
I am waiting for the 1st bill. Let's hope, I don't get any surprises:)
Then later I realized that my wired connection was also facing the same problem. Hadn't faced it earlier with my 512Kbps plan (5GB monthly transfer) plan.
Now I have a UL 900 plus plan (256Kbps). The speed is a bottleneck for all the video sites like youtube, cnet, zdnet etc. Must be because BSNL is still trying to cope up with the huge installed customer base.
Need to explore on some web accelerators and verify if they actually work...
I am waiting for the 1st bill. Let's hope, I don't get any surprises:)
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Core 2 Quadro
Intel is showing record benchmarks with its new Quad core Kentsfield processor.
Supecomputing performance for your desktops.
Now bring on the voice recognition, graphics and gaming...
Read its initial review at Core 2 Quadro
Supecomputing performance for your desktops.
Now bring on the voice recognition, graphics and gaming...
Read its initial review at Core 2 Quadro
My Synth
Has anyone tried to compose your rythms on the Yamaha PSR1000. I have been trying to do so with my baby.
Waiting to explore more of its features.
Drop me a note if you have some cool midi and styles for this. I am particularly looking at indian styles with Tabla, Dholak etc.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Intel IDF
Intel is back in the game with some great technology and products.
Snaps from Paul's Keynote at IDF 2006 (SFO),
http://ricardosblog.com/blog/2006/09/paul_otellini_idf_keynote_in_p.html
Snaps from Paul's Keynote at IDF 2006 (SFO),
http://ricardosblog.com/blog/2006/09/paul_otellini_idf_keynote_in_p.html
VT's Zone
Anyone else feels MS should enable Active-Syncing with Smartphone over WiFi?
I think it was included in one of the early releases of Active Sync but was later dropped due to security consideration within an enterprise.
This would have been a great feature. :)
I think it was included in one of the early releases of Active Sync but was later dropped due to security consideration within an enterprise.
This would have been a great feature. :)
Me@St.Petersburg, Russia (2005)
Splendid piece of artistry and culture.
Petergof is located on the southern shore of the Finnish Gulf 29 kilometers away from St.Petersburg. Petergof is an immensely luxurious and beautifully preserved Imperial estate. It combines several ornate palaces, a number of beautifully landscaped parks and a dazzling array of magnificent statues and fountains, lending it the epithet "The Russian Versailles". Petergof is a historical and architectonic monument of the 18th - 19th centuries.
http://www.travel.spb.ru/theguide/petergof.html
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Windows Powershell
Great tool for system admins.
Windows PowerShell is a new task-based command line shell and intuitive scripting language for system administration that provides comprehensive control and automation for Windows administrators.
The key features of Windows PowerShell include:
•One hundred and twenty nine standard utilities (called "cmdlets") for completing common system administration tasks such as working with the registry, services, processes, Windows Management Instrumentation, event logs, etc..
•Intuitive, task-based scripting language and support for existing scripts and command line tools..
•Designed for consistency so all tools and system data stores follow a common syntax, common naming conventions and information can be easily shared/piped between tools.
•Simplified command-based navigation of the operating system (including drives, startup files, and registry).
•Powerful object manipulation capabilities (objects can be directly manipulated or pipelined to other tools or databases).
•Designed for extensibility so that independent software vendors and enterprise developers can easily build custom tools and utilities to administer their software.
Windows PowerShell is a new task-based command line shell and intuitive scripting language for system administration that provides comprehensive control and automation for Windows administrators.
The key features of Windows PowerShell include:
•One hundred and twenty nine standard utilities (called "cmdlets") for completing common system administration tasks such as working with the registry, services, processes, Windows Management Instrumentation, event logs, etc..
•Intuitive, task-based scripting language and support for existing scripts and command line tools..
•Designed for consistency so all tools and system data stores follow a common syntax, common naming conventions and information can be easily shared/piped between tools.
•Simplified command-based navigation of the operating system (including drives, startup files, and registry).
•Powerful object manipulation capabilities (objects can be directly manipulated or pipelined to other tools or databases).
•Designed for extensibility so that independent software vendors and enterprise developers can easily build custom tools and utilities to administer their software.
VT's Zone
Screenshot of first ever web browser (Berners-Lee’s original)http://info.cern.ch/NextBrowser.html
Friday, August 18, 2006
Wireless Tips
Wireless Tips
offers some good tips to extend the range and the strength of your wireless network.
offers some good tips to extend the range and the strength of your wireless network.
My Unlocked T-Mobile SDA
I found a cool app BTAudio that allows you to redirect any audio out of the SDA smartphone to the Bluetooth headset.
Generally the Bluetooth headset can be used only to make and receive calls, but now I am able to listen to mp3s remotely.
Also there is an app that allows one to control your TV through the IR on the smartphone. But the IR signal strength is weak hence it’s not very practical.
Possibilities are endless.
There is also an app (http://www.navizon.com/) that allows one to triangulate one’s position optionally without GPS.
Still exploring the device. Let me know if you find any cool ideas or apps.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
My US Trip
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
How to Groom and Grow Your SAP NetWeaver Team
How to Groom and Grow Your SAP NetWeaver Team
by William Pelster and William Grasham, Deloitte Consulting
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin
The SAP NetWeaver platform encompasses a lot of different technologies, and project teams that work with this platform have to draw upon many different skill sets. ABAP and IMG configuration don’t reign supreme in a world propelled by Web services, Java, and integration brokers. At a minimum, harnessing SAP NetWeaver requires expertise with a variety of technologies, including object-oriented ABAP, Java, interfacing with IBM WebSphere and Microsoft .NET, mobile, knowledge management, collaboration, iView design, SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer, master data management, and business-process integration and mapping.
At first, you may not need to bring all these skills to bear on a project. But give it time. You will. Some companies will groom and grow this talent internally. Some will acquire talent and bring it in house. Most, we suspect, will exercise a combination of both. In this article, we focus on cultivating talent internally.
[9] Tips for Cultivating Your Talent Pool
1. Know the differences between legacy SAP skills and those required for SAP NetWeaver-based projects. They are markedly different, and no training or skills-development plan will be successful without a firm command of these differences. SAP NetWeaver demands a different approach in its use and implementation, one that differs greatly from the way in which project teams have operated in the past. SAP NetWeaver requires new skills and a fresh way of thinking when it comes to working with the system, integrating the components within it, and building interfaces to and from it. Project teams must understand these new requirements and plan accordingly. Of critical importance is the shift from programming solutions to leveraging Web services and various integration options. This change frees the business from traditional technology constraints so that it can focus on business processes — the mechanisms by which real value is created.
2. Provide additional training for project team members. There are no shortcuts. Be prepared to make sizable investments in training classes. SAP is a logical choice for this type of instruction.
3. Assign a change manager to oversee the quality of the people who will serve on SAP NetWeaver projects and in whom you will invest training time and dollars. Have this individual systematically identify the effects that SAP NetWeaver preparedness will have organization-wide. For instance, if you envision a reduction in the number of ABAP programmers, you need to be asking: • Where would the staff go? • How would they transition to new jobs? • How would they get training in the new project skills? • What message did the executive sponsor want to send to the company as a whole about the change process?
4. Know that the skill set transition is a challenge that extends beyond the project team, creating a ripple effect throughout many parts of the company.
5. Create a comprehensive skills requirement matrix for internal recruiting. In the sample matrix we’ve included, we’ve outlined the grade-level range of the position, the SAP and non-SAP technical and functional skills required, and associated duties and responsibilities.
6. Create a detailed training-program roadmap in addition to the skills requirement matrix. The roadmap should specify what types of training an individual would need to complete to become qualified for a given role.
7. Leverage the skills requirement matrix when recruiting for these positions internally through company job boards, job fairs, project-sponsored speaking engagements at company meetings, and so on. This type of systematic approach to team-building differs drastically from the way in which most companies build project teams. Many times, project staffing is done informally, which often leads to mismatched skills and expectations. Team members are chosen based on their availability, not necessarily upon the skills required. Project management sometimes does not support formal training, but instead expects IT professionals to learn solely on the job from consultants or contractors. Obviously, this type of attitude can slow the startup phase of a project considerably. In any SAP NetWeaver project, the bottom line is a simple one: Project team members need adequate training prior to project launch to be successful.
8. Contract with SAP and other training providers to provide the new skills training. With the help of SAP and other technology-training vendors, you can construct a comprehensive training program to develop the necessary skills identified in your skills requirement matrix.If you can customize existing course offerings or break them into smaller pieces that better fit your company’s needs, you’ll get highly concentrated training, instead of the broader, “off-the-shelf” courses typically offered. Concentrated, or targeted, training enables those with solid foundational skills to quickly build upon them.
9. Closely monitor the type of person you allow to attend training, along with the individual’s progress, to ensure that you are getting solid returns on your training budget.
Don’t Shortchange the Process
You need more than just a training curriculum when you’re dealing with a transformational event like this one. Appointing a change manager is a pivotal action that organizations don’t always take. It can enable you to stay ahead of change, rather than just react to it, demonstrating early that the project is in control and well managed.
Creating a detailed skills requirement matrix allows the project team to effectively recruit the right talent for the project. A skills requirement matrix makes the expectations of the project team transparent to everyone, and it provides a means of obtaining the necessary new skills. It also creates a growth path for staff members, who may have been let go from other companies, to reinvent themselves. The skills requirement matrix produces goodwill within the organization and can ultimately lead to an appropriately skilled and highly motivated project team.
While the focus of this article has been on cultivating in-house talent, let us close with one cautionary note for the times when you look outside your corporate borders to bring in fresh talent. Be wary of advice from individuals who have implemented an SAP system before but are unaware of SAP NetWeaver’s approach. SAP NetWeaver requires a new Web services perspective. Therefore, previous project team descriptions don’t apply, and organizations need to search, perhaps in some unusual places, for new sources of talent. For instance, existing middleware, B2B, and EDI resources may provide a good source of potential SAP NetWeaver XI integration skills. You need to get people who understand mapping concepts such as xpath.
Project Roles — Old versus New
SAP Role
Previous Approach
SAP NetWeaver Effect
Development
Develops technical specifications for the system, as well as forms, reports, interfaces, conversions, and enhancements.
Technical specifications are less detailed because little programming is required. The number of developers is reduced because SAP NetWeaver handles the interfaces with less effort.
Basis
Conducts Basis activities, which include: performance tuning, transport management, data archiving, system administration and monitoring, troubleshooting, problem analysis, and client strategy.
Some additional Basis resources may be required, as well as an enhanced understanding of the SAP NetWeaver environment. Basis specialization is necessary in the following instances: SAP NetWeaver Application Server (SAP NetWeaver AS) 6.4, SAP NetWeaver Portal (formerly called SAP Enterprise Portal), SAP NetWeaver Exchange Infrastructure (SAP NetWeaver XI), SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI), SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management (SAP NetWeaver MDM), and SAP NetWeaver Mobile.
Security
Designs the security structure for the SAP application and establishes authorizations and profiles that support business requirements.
Security skills need to be enhanced to understand and apply SAP NetWeaver’s methods of dealing with single sign-on (SSO) and to create new profiles that are relevant to the new components.
Infrastructure/ architecture
Delivers a technical infrastructure that supports the reliability, continuity, high availability, and recoverability of the IT environment.
Need to understand how reliability, continuity, availability, and recoverability are achieved in SAP NetWeaver, a highly federated landscape.
Master data management
In the past, SAP assumed that it was the sole source of truth.
The SAP NetWeaver MDM component can harmonize, link, and manage master data not only from SAP but also from disparate systems.
Functional business advisor
Configures the system based on the required business processes.
Configures the system. Also, needs to understand from a system perspective which functionality resides in which instance and how these systems integrate with one another. This integration knowledge is critical to configuring and debugging SAP in a federated landscape.
SAP NetWeaver Portal
Much of the same functionality was accomplished through the Internet Transaction Server (ITS).
SAP NetWeaver Portal can run on Windows or Unix. Portal developers need to understand Java, Web Dynpro, SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer, and graphics design.
Skills Requirement Matrix
Role: Process lead
Reports to: Process supervisor (grade M40 through M45)
The process lead will be responsible for managing the team work plan and coordinating all day-to-day work activities across all phases of the project, including project preparation, business blueprint, realization, final preparation, and go-live and support. The process lead will have business knowledge within warehouse management. In this position, he or she will be required to report progress on goals, identify key risks, develop mitigation strategies, provide direct support for other process teams or work threads, and complete other duties as needed or assigned.
Activities and duties performed:
Mobilize team, develop and manage a detailed work plan
Own the development and implementation of the “to be” business processes, SAP configuration
Own the development of functional specifications
Own and maintain system print
Create and maintain transport requests
Assess the degree of SAP fit and determine the level of process commonality between systems
Coordinate process team functional specifications
Plan and execute unit, string, and integration testing
Develop recommendations, options, and pros/cons of potential changes to scope and functionality of implementation
Act as a communication focal point for design and process improvement opportunities in a given area and facilitate business process reviews
Ensure timely issue identification, resolution, and appropriate escalation
Participate in status review meetings with Project Management and provide timely feedback to team
Monitor, quality review, and approve team deliverables
Provide a single point of contact with other teams
Assist in facilitating change-management interventions and activities within process area, as assigned
Key deliverables:
Team work plan
Team weekly status progress reports
Scope change request forms
Participation and leadership in program management process
Unit, string, and integration test plans
Cutover and production support procedures with tools to track metrics and plans
Delivery of fully functional and configured SAP system
Skill requirements:
Specialized level 1, 2, and 3 SAP training
Integration across SAP systems and components
Proven ability to build, lead, and manage a team
In-depth working knowledge within given process area
Broad knowledge across multiple aspects of the business (e.g., organizational structure, key players, current business processes, and supporting systems and services)
Experience with project planning, management, methodologies, and tools (e.g., SAP Solution Manager)
Ability to manage multiple and competing priorities
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with ability to communicate at all levels within the organization
William Pelster is a principal in Deloitte’s Human Capital practice with more than 17 years experience leading complex business-transformation projects enabled by technology. He is experienced with SAP’s next generation of products, as well as the requirements of project governance, project team training, and the people dimension of projects, including user adoption, change, communication, and training. Pelster is a published author and noted speaker.
William Grasham is a principal in Deloitte’s Technology Integration practice with 18 years of SAP experience leading complex business-transformation projects across many industries. In particular, he has experience with SAP’s next generation of products and is the Americas SAP NetWeaver leader for Deloitte. Grasham is also a published author and noted speaker.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
In SAP XI Training - TBIT40
Getting my hands dirty with SAP XI Fundamentals TBIT40 for the next 5 days. Hope its worth the effort.
Web DynPro Links
Starting of Web Dynpro, be sure to check out,
Web Dynpro Tutorials and Sample Applications
Has some good FAQs you would stumble upon during development.
Web Dynpro Tutorials and Sample Applications
Has some good FAQs you would stumble upon during development.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Copy Autocomplete name list to another computer
Found a cool utility that will copy the Outlook Autocomplete name list to another computer
Check it out at,
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011394511033.aspx
Check it out at,
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011394511033.aspx
On Vacation
Jan9 to 13, 2006 took timeoff to part in my cousin's marriage in Kerala (South India) also called God's Own Country.
The drive was just too much. Covered a distance of above 650 Kms each direction from Bangalore.
On the way I happen to visit Malampuzha Dam. Posted are some snaps,
There are couple of sites (boating, garden, rope tour, museum etc) to visit but since I wanted to cut on my travel time, just stuck to some boating. The charge is nominal (Rs. 300 for family approx. 5-6 people), For this you get a personal motor boat for yourself with a driver. You decide on the route and you get the entire 360deg view of the scenery.
There is also a cheaper option. Rs 30/person for a packed boat.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
Check out
Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
boasts of a new class of device from Nokia.
Also the platform is open and built on Linux.
Additional Extensions - Home Automations, Universal Remotes, WiFi
Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
boasts of a new class of device from Nokia.
Also the platform is open and built on Linux.
Additional Extensions - Home Automations, Universal Remotes, WiFi
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