The world economy has not even recovered fully from the excesses of Wall Street in the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and these fellows are all set to seek out the next opportunity in financial speculation. A report today in mint describes one such exotic instrument already being explored on Wall Street. A paragraph from the article explains it simply, and clearly this time the stakes seem higher and the risks wilder.

The bankers plan to buy “life settlements”, life insurance policies that ill and elderly people sell for cash—$400,000 (around Rs1.95 crore) for a $1 million policy, say, depending on the life expectancy of the insured person. Then they plan to “securitize” these policies, in Wall Street jargon, by packaging hundreds or thousands together into bonds. They will then resell those bonds to investors, like big pension funds, who will receive the payouts when people with the insurance die.

The earlier the policyholder dies, the bigger the return—though if people live longer than expected, investors could get poor returns or even lose money. (http://www.livemint.com/2009/09/06215505/New-exotic-investments-emergin.html)

A sick way (no pun intended!) to make money. If anything, this has all the elements of a blockbuster bubble and the crash thereafter. Now it remains to be seen whether the governments around the world have learnt anything from the last crisis. What made the story more humorous was that this story was printed along side another hopeful story – one about the global economy starting to expand.

Oh well, boys will be boys, Wall Street will be Wall Street and MBAs will be rascals.

Month 1
Proj Mngr: We have completed unit testing of most of the reports. The data loading for some of the months is left because of delays in providing the same by the user.
Client: How do you define ‘most’? ‘Some’ has no meaning for me. Please be more specific in your status reports.
Proj Mngr: Ok, I’ll take care of that next time.

Month 2
Proj Mngr: We have completed UAT of 90% of reports. Loading of data for months of Jul and Aug 09 (2 months out of 24) is pending.
Client: Let’s not get fooled by numbers.
Proj Mngr: …..

Now what’s a rookie project manager gotta do in this situation? How do should the project manager explain the status to the client without “getting fooled by numbers” and at the same time “being more specific”? Any smart ideas?

Disclaimer: This post is hypothetical, and has no relation to any event, object or person alive, dead or in a zombie state.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought
and action–
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

– Rabindranath Tagore

Happy Independence Day

“The only way to maintain a long term competitive advantage is to change faster than your competitor.”

“Operations are activities which are repeatable and do not have a specific start date and end date. Projects are, on the other hand, one time initiatives which are unique, and have a specific start date and end date.”

The link between these two statements?

Projects drive change. Projects bring something new to the organization.

An organization which is strong in selecting the right projects and executing them tightly will have a sustainable competitive advantage over those which do not have this capability.

This makes project managers in the organization very important as a stakeholder in the overall strategy of the organization.

Ergo, all project managers should be worshipped as Gods, or at least given raises.

I had planned to write a post about how India suddenly becomes patriotic during the Independence Day ever year. On the eve of Independence Day, I see everyone buying little flags, badges and what not which are worn proudly for a day or two. And then the same are seen thrown on roads, footpaths and gutters. I’ve always wondered why there is a sudden surge of patriotism in the blood on these days and for the rest of the year, we couldn’t care less in which year India became a Republic.

But this post on Independence Day and the corresponding volatility in patriotism has been overshadowed by a far urgent threat this year. The swine flu has taken over the consciousness of the Mumbaikars this time around. The virus which reportedly surfaced in Pune has spread to Mumbai and other areas in India slowly. The symptoms of the flu are similar to that of a normal cold – running nose, sore throat, watery eyes, along with a unique symptom of this strain – the tendency of the afflicted to oink randomly much to the surprise of onlookers.

CEO – So all in all, with this strategy we’re looking for a growth in profit margin of atleast 15%, which is quite healthy in the current circumstances.

CFO – Oink….!

CEO – Say what?
And as is the norm nowadays, with repeated hammering by the media, Mumbai has come under the grip of the flu. Today’s trip to office was a darkly humourous sight. I saw people “protecting” themselves using masks, handkerchiefs and what not. Suddenly the Mumbaikar has become hygienic (and paranoid). During normal days, a person would say, “Aah, this is but a pithy cold. Nothing can stop me from going to work and doing my bit for my company.” But now, the slightest sniffle will send us scampering to Kasturba Hospital.

Now I’m not saying that there is anything wrong in this. Prevention is better than cure. But what is more of a concern is that in a few days (weeks?), when the swine flu panic subsides, these same masks will be thrown on the roads, and footpaths and gutters. The same people won’t hesitate any more again to spit around carelessly.

That is one question which repeatedly hammers my mind. Why aren’t the measures for prevention taken only when most required? And often too when its too late? Why does our psyche unfailingly follows this pattern ad infinitum or dekhenge jab ayega tab?

Disclaimer- If anyone decides to take heed of this post oozing of sarcasm, do it at your own risk. Don’t blame it on me. If you feel you have the symptoms of the swine flu especially an itch to oink , please visit the nearest hospital authorized to take your samples. Don’t be a hero like me.

Life 24×7 here has posed a very important question. Why is it that most all IT projects in the end lead to a situation that people have to stay back more than the stipulated office hours and work 6-7 days a week to get the project done? And in the end the quality of the project is nowhere close to the one which was anticipated in the beginning.

There could be many reasons which could lead to this. Let’s analyze the major ones :-

1) Is it tough work? Building a solution for online reservation of tickets for an airlines may seem impossible or at least insurmountable at first. But enough books have been written about the different life cycle methodologies. Indian IT companies have enough collective experience among them to formalize the whole development into stages. Simply, breaking down a huge task into smaller tasks gets it done. Software development is no different. Build units, combine them into modules, combine them into sub-systems and ultimately you’ll be able to build a complete working system. In no ways is building a reservation system for airlines more difficult than building the plane itself.

2) Are workers particularly incompetent? If the workers were incompetent in any way, India would not be able to establish itself as a preferred destination for IT enabled services and business process outsourcing. One doesn’t need to be physically strong (except for spending these long hours on site) to succeed in the software industry. All that is needed is mental competence and I’m sure India has a decent enough intelligence curve for people employed in the software sector (and otherwise).

3) Are the initial estimates themselves unachievable? This is one of my favourites. In the increasing competition among Indian IT companies, there is a pressing need to win more bids and clients. In that process, business development people tend to overpromise at times. Timelines are shortened, resources are de-allocated and requirements are increased to satisfy the client. No one asks whether at the end of this, the timelines would be feasible. The overpromise leads to the delivery team not being able to fulfill all the initial expectations set by the client or the management of the IT company. Projects get late, initial estimates are revised, which themselves turn out to be impossible, and the iterations continue. What remains in the end are delays, skirmishes, broken promises, lost business etc.

The most common solution for dealing with a late project? Put more people into it. But as is pointed out in the classic software engineering text, “The mythical man month,” putting more people in a project does not necessarily make it quicker. If anything it could lead to the project getting delayed further.

A better solution to deal with a late project? The book “People ware” expressly forbids management to set estimates for activities not performed by them. The books says only the people who are in charge of a particular activity – be it development, or design should estimate that activity. This would lead to more realistic timelines, and consequently better working hours for the industry. I suspect the top management of IT India Inc already knows this. But who would be brave enough to estimate a project to take 4 months when its competitors can promise the same in 2? Never mind that due to innumerable delays, the 2 month project stretches to 12.

Delays and long working hours is something the IT industry will have to live with until it gets the courage to collectively improve the conditions for its employees. Until then, 9am-11pm would be the normal working hours for the Indian IT industry.

Quite ironic that this post was written on a Sunday afternoon from office.

Caller: Hi Sir, can I take five minutes of your valuable time?
Me: Yes

Caller: Sir, I’m calling to inform you of a very attractive credit card scheme which xxxx Bank is offering just for you.
Me: I’m not interested.

Caller: Sir, at least please listen to the details. It is a very attractive scheme.
Me: For the bank?

Caller: No sir, of course for you.
Me: Then why is your bank willing to give me this scheme?

Caller: Sir, because you are a valued customer.
Me: Ok, tell me the details.

Caller: Sir, we have this new scheme where we offer you a Gold Credit Card with no annual fees.
Me: Hmm hmm

Caller: The interest rate is very low also sir
Me: But I already have a credit card which fulfills all my requirements.

Caller: Sir, which bank’s card are you currently using?
Me: The Reserve Bank of India

Caller: [Pause]…. Umm, ok sir but this Gold card has many attractive features
Me: Like what?

Caller: Sir, no annual fees, low interest rates, large payment period…
Me: Reserve Bank provides me all of this

Caller: We will also give you a free gift sir.
Me: What is that?

Caller: A chance to participate in a lucky draw for a Honda City car
Me: Hmmm…

Caller: Sir, are you interested? We have hundreds of satisfied customers who have taken this credit card
Me: Reserve Bank has a billion satisfied customers.

Caller: Yes sir, but this Gold card has many advantages
Me: STFU

<Beeeeeeeep>

This post will contain all my experiences with the infamous Mumbai rains. Already had one of a kind experience in the July 2005 showers. Let’s see what 2009 will bring.

Day One (25 Jun 09) - Left an umbrella in the auto rickshaw. May God provide shelter to a umbrella-less person.

Day Two (26 Jun 09) - The back up umbrella I have fails to keep me dry in the rain last Friday. Got drenched from head to toe in my walk from Jogeshwari to the WE highway. Incidentally, this umbrella was bought from Gurunath stores in IIT Madras. Evidently, umbrellas manufactured in Chennai cannot protect you in the Mumbai rain.

Day Three (29 Jun 09) - A new umbrella bought for 200 bucks. In the second use, the bottom handle of the umbrella goes flying into the air. Stuck with a half-broken umbrella. It seems the Rain Gods are determined to keep me wet through this monsoon.

Day Four (30 Jun 09) – A relatively dry day. Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) takes up centrestage. Finally opened in 2009 (as opposed to a planned date in 2004) at a cost of around Rs 1600 crore (at around 5 times its original budget). And to think my boss cribs about my project running a month late. But I’m not complaining (about the BWSL). Mumbai needed a monument like this since a long time. Now the only thing to see is how the police manage to protect this structure.

A tale of two cars

Two ads for two different cars have caught my attention in recent times. One is for the classic Maruti Suzuki and the other is for a new entrant Honda Jazz. These two completely different ads shows how important it is to keep the message to the audience simple.

Here’s the Maruti ad first. The brilliance of this ad lies in its simplicity. Notice that this ad doesn’t show any car at all. Instead the images and emotions used in these ad are more reminiscent of previous ads for chocolates or diapers. It shows a mom putting mehndi on her hands while she asks her relatives to take care of her baby. No matter what the relatives do, the baby keeps on crying. Until the mother takes the child in her own hands. The tagline shown after this is simply amazing. You cannot help but smile at the simplicity yet the power in that message. The message is simple, if you love your car, you’ll take good care of it.

On the other hand, take this ad of Jazz. It shows a man putting a cactus in the backseat of the car and driving around town to pick up his girlfriend. All other cars seem to burst in bubbles around this new car. When the man does pick up her girlfriend, she sees the cactus and gets shocked. Then it shows a hand plucking a flower from somewhere on the cactus. Both of them get into the car and drive off happy. On top of that, the tagline used by the ad, “Why so serious?” a totally unoriginal line. Moreover it doesn’t even fit with the whole ad. Didn’t expect this from the same (car) company that produced this masterpiece of an ad.

P.S. Read this article later on AFaqs. The creative head tries to clarify the ad, but makes it all the more muddled.

Three conflicting messages versus one simple one. That’s the power of a simple ad.