Sunday 20 July 2014

Why Palestinians need your Support?!!

Ok, so I am not a Palestinian or a muslim, but that doesn't stop me from being  human or a global citizen and that is why I write this piece. Would I expect the same kind of support from the international community if fate and so-called international super powers had given my nation a raw deal? The answer is a "yes". 


The disturbing fact is that most international commentators and journalists don't talk about history of the conflict and the fact that the Palestinians were the inhabitants of the land which is now called Israel and were removed from their lands forcefully and with little or no compensation and now have to live in inhuman conditions. They also don't make any reference to the role played by the US in "UN-levelling" the playing field, and the fact that this entire mess is the handiwork of the UK. The Britishers (in their right minds) thought that the best way to bring justice to one set of people was to enforce injustice on another set, something that was doomed to fail from the outset.

The fact is also that rockets are being fired by Hamas into the Israeli territory and that is wrong. Period. The only lasting solution to this or any other conflict can be a peaceful one, where all the concerned parties sit on the negotiation table. However, meaningful negotiations are not possible when the 2 parties that are participating are not "equals". 

Palestinians have no military might and absolutely no support from the UN or any other country. The Palestinians have made multiple representations on the atrocities that have been inflicted upon them, but all have been vetoed by Israel's supporters. On the other hand we have a military heavyweight like Israel that is fully supported by the US, UK and other countries. The other countries have supported Israel through their silence and to safeguard their selfish interests. 


Still not convinced? Then let's try an analogy that's closer to us, would we call any retaliatory action from Tibetans (using covert guerilla tactics) on China as "terrorism"?
What if China decided to take over Arunachal Pradesh and the only way for India to defend itself against China's might was to launch covert guerrilla strikes? Who would you blame in these conditions? If your answer is that you blame India/Tibet, then I guess there is nothing more to say...

In Conclusion: It doesn't matter if we support Israel or Palestine, what's important is that as global citizens we build the right perspective on such important issues and the historic facts, and not go by everything that the international media feeds us as "current affairs". 

The embedded video presents some historic insight into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. If that one is too long for you then maybe this shorter version will help get some perspective.

Monday 23 June 2014

EXTREME ANALYSIS - Pairing for Business Analysts



Extreme Analysis in action
Pair programming has been used by software developers in most progressive software companies to help churn out quality products and to ensure that context is shared across the teams. For the uninitiated, traditional pair programming (in short) is a practice where 2 programmers work on developing a piece of software functionality in tandem. 
This practice helps improve code quality since you have 2 sets of eyes and brains trying to solve the problem and as one person writes the code, the other continuously reviews it, thereby eliminating the need to have separate code review sessions. Also, if the pair has worked efficiently then any mistakes in design have been caught upfront, thereby eliminating any waste caused by defects which would have been discovered at a later stage. This concept has mostly been applied to the working of software developers and other roles have not quite adapted it, as yet.

Why is this important? - Business Analysts (in general) are used to working in an individual capacity since most team's have a single BA, and a lot of analysts find it hard to work with other analysts in an amicable manner. My guess is that since there is a dearth of opportunities to work with other's, the skills to work with others does not get the opportunity to blossom.


“Business Analysts, User Experience (UX) Analysts, Project Managers, and (to  a lesser degree) Quality Analysts are used to working alone, and may need to work out how to deal with situations where they too need to collaborate among the community, and deliver.”

My primary role is of a Business Analyst, and I had wanted to share my experiences on the projects that I executed at ThoughtWorks, where I was able to pair with the other BAs with some level of success. This piece is my attempt to not only share some of those lessons and experiences, but hopefully also generate some healthy debate/discussions.


The Basics


Before we go into any specifics of how to pair as Business Analysts we need to first get some basics right. 


Any successful working relationship needs to have these elements at the core, the absence of these will render any attempt at pairing to be futile.

  • Commitment to work from the individuals in question
  • Mutual Respect
  • Equal sharing of tasks and responsibilities
  • Leverage on each others strengths and work around the rough edges.
  • Willingness to take feedback from each other and work towards improvement
  • Helping each other through personal time-offs by temporarily taking ownership of tasks
  • Ability to share a laugh and work through stressful situations
  • Personal Hygiene, since the expectation is for both to sit in reasonably close proximity to each other, personal hygiene will be an important factor. :-P


Pairing Practices


When we look at Business analysis in an agile project the following tasks would generally have to be undertaken on a day-to-day basis. I hope to tie the practices we used and make my case for "EXTREME ANALYSIS".

Daily Sign-ups - The day generally starts with a stand-up where the entire team participates and thereafter programmers, quality analyst and Business analysts sign-up for their tasks. Its important that the BAs get together and list down the tasks that they intend to pick during the course of the day and sign-up for them based on an equal distribution.
This activity is important since there can be multiple things (other than story detailing) that need to be addressed during the day like responding to emails sent by the customer, escalating blockers, reviewing analysed stories etc. And these tasks need to be identified and responded to as a team.
Tools/Practices: When the BAs are co-located then it makes sense to sit next to each other and list the tasks on a notebook or stickies and striking them off as they get done. However, when the BAs are working in different timezones (or geographies) then apart from a 15-30 min daily catch-up the sign-ups can be managed via a lightweight task list manager like Trello. Its web-based, free to use, and simple as hell.

Story Detailing - This is the most significant task that BAs undertake and pairing here can help to set a mutually agreed direction that the BA detailing the story can take. 
Tools/Practices: The tool being used here is the most effective one i.e. conversations. The BA who has taken the ownership of a feature will explain in brief the approach that he/she plans to take and solicit inputs from the other BAs. This ensures that context is shared and also helps build a better story right upfront (fail fast).

Story Review (Internal) - In Extreme Programming, programmers use peer review to ensure that the coding practices are being followed. Keeping in mind the same principles, Business Analysts should get their stories reviewed by another set of eyes just to make sure that all the bases are covered.
Tools/Practices: Ensuring that all stories (especially the complex ones) are peer reviewed by atleast one Business Analyst to capture any obvious omissions/errors.

Story Review (with Customer) - Stories need to be signed-off by customers before they can be picked up by programmers and these meetings can be managed better if you work as a team. If the BAs have followed the earlier steps they will take a uniform message and present a unified voice to the customer.  
Tools/Practices: Having feature kick-offs, where as a team you present the outline of the requirement and get inputs from the customer.

Iteration Planning - The stories that need to be picked in the forthcoming iterations need to be planned and communicated to the customer. Its important that this activity takes into account the dependencies and priorities that are associated with the stories and features.
Tools/Practices: Rotate the responsibility of creating the iteration plan among the BAs and then review the plan that has been set forth as a team. Again this helps get inputs from a larger group and in the absence of one of the BAs the others can take over the Iteration planning meeting with the team and/or customer.

Difficult conversations - When we talk about scope and prioritization with customers there is always the possibility of conversations turning hostile, especially if the team is set-up in the onsite-offshore model. Added to this is the fact that customers can be very direct, demanding and (sometimes) just plain uncooperative. All this could lead to frustrating conversations which can test the BA's patience, communication, and negotiation skills.
Tools/Practices: If one of the BA's is feeling particularly frustrated and bogged down by the conversations and not able to respond in a calm and composed manner, which is a perfectly natural feeling to have in such tense situations (Maybe it's just not their day). The other BA should have the ability to sense this and attempt to bring the calmness and logic back into the conversations. This obviously means that the BA who is not able to respond in a calm manner should back-off and let the other BA lead the discussion this time around. Good teamwork requires people to understand the personality (and mood) of their colleagues and support them adequately.



Monday 2 June 2014

Women Empowerment: Moving Beyond Lip Service

Almost all progressive new age organisations and their leaders would publicly support higher participation from women in their workplace, some even boasting how women have occupied senior management positions in their company. 

Generally this boils down to a 3 month paid leave on maternity, additional security during late night drops, and a few "women groups/forums". Although all this is welcome and much needed, there still is a need to up the ante when it comes to actual Women Empowerment.

In my view ThoughtWorks has tried to change the game through the following initiatives and as we try to continuously improve and innovate I am sure there will be more such attempts in the future.

Target 50% women hires during campus placements - ThoughtWorks has set itself a target of fulfilling 50% of their annual campus hires with women. This is done without compromising quality and without ignoring an equally capable male candidate. How? By targeting women only colleges and holding focused recruitment drives.
There is no doubt that this is challenging and a tough ask from all involved, especially if you consider the dwindling number of women in software. But the intent (to enable 50% of the population) is there and the team has worked really hard to attain this goal.

In-office day care - A very significant number of women are forced to give up their careers to support and raise their children. Mostly this is due to lack of a support system (nuclear families), lack of good quality and reliable day care options, or the overwhelming feeling of guilt about leaving your child in their most vulnerable and cute phase. In my opinion it is this guilt which either comes from the family or is self-inflicted, that leads to most women choosing to stay at home.
In an attempt to enable its employees (men or women) and quell the guilt, ThoughtWorks Bangalore office offers in office day care facilities to employees. I'll let the expert let you know more about this (click the link).
Although other offices don't have a dedicated day care facility (as yet) they have always allowed parents to bring in their young ones along with a nanny if they are very young. The offices also have a small children room to help parents. Personally I am rooting for a day care facility to be set-up in my home office of Gurgaon as well, so that I can spend more time with my daughter (guilt free!). 


Tuesday 27 May 2014

An Open Letter to Fellow AAPtards

Dear fellow AAPtards (incl. Shazia, Capt. Gopinath etc.),

So we tried our best and we gave the current political setup a run for its money, however we didn't get the desired results. Did we expect BJP and Congress to just roll over and die, especially with so much at stake? We all knew that this was going to be a fight for the long haul and we could only hope to make inroads through continuous efforts and sacrifices. Think of this via another example, Coke and Pepsi are the dominant players in the Cola market, they have the money, resources and people's loyalty. Do you think you can introduce a new (arguably better) product as an alternative and hope to rule the market in a couple of years? Well, we all know the logical answer to that.

We also have recognised that there are a plethora of lessons that need to be learnt and strategies altered without sacrificing our core values. But most of you are wondering if this movement remains valid and does it hold any significance anymore. I firmly believe that it does and here's my take on it:

Viable alternative - Although the number of seats that we won across the country in our first effort does not justify this, but after the stellar performance in the Delhi polls the BJP and Congress realised that they need to bring their A-game if they want to remain relevant, and they fought really hard (especially BJP). Delhi taught them a lesson that they can't take people for granted, and obviously AAP could have done a better job of communicating their exit, but still the impact was telling. As the Congress and RaGa (hopefully) become irrelevant, it's important that we maintain the threat and force the market leaders to continue improving, being transparent, being connected to the people on the ground, and make systemic changes.

Focus on our core agenda - AAP as a political alternative came into existence to CLEAN UP POLITICS. This should continue to be our focus and all our messaging should be targeted around this. Will the BJP (having a clear majority) bring police reforms, judicial reforms, a strong lokpal structure, electoral reforms, political parties under RTI, concepts of swaraj etc? Only time will tell, and if they don't then we are back in the mix and if they do then AAP doesn't need to exist and that should be the happiest day for all of us.

The Road Ahead
A Mohalla Sabha - Let's bring power to the people.
There is no doubt that with the BJP bringing their A-game we need to revamp our strategy and target our energies on making a significant impact during the upcoming legislative elections in Haryana, Delhi, and Maharashtra. Again there is no guarantee that we will make significant inroads in all/any of the state assemblies, but if we truly believe that our message is true and our path is right, then we MUST CONTINUE irrespective of the setbacks.

Your Sincerely,

Jagbir (a.k.a. AAPtard)


P.S. - Are you are upset with me using the word 'AAPtard', which has been primarily used to demean people in some way? Well don't be, I use this word because for me it means that as an individual I am brain locked in the principles that will lead to a corruption free India, where we can hold our leaders accountable and build a system that serves all classes of citizens (rich or poor).

Sunday 6 April 2014

VOLUNTEERING FOR A DREAM I BELIEVE IN!!

After having shed all my inhibitions and getting enrolled as an "on-the-ground" volunteer for the Aam Aadmi Party I thought I'll share my experiences of the first couple of days.

Spreading the word


Image courtesy:
https://twitter.com/Parasmaniji/status/307896433892274178
As soon as I reach the office I am tasked to a team that will try and reach out to the people on the road by distributing "I want Swaraj" topis (caps), badges, and putting posters on auto-rickshaws. Its not the glorified job that one would imagine, but in my view its the best place to be since that's when you can truly gauge the support of the people and the "AAP Wave". Majority of the people on the road are extremely enthusiastic in their support and as passionate as we are, I say this because, auto drivers come around voluntarily to get the posters fixed on their rickshaws (without a penny being paid or being asked - a little hard to believe), people on the road stopping by and asking how can they volunteer and lend support. 
I am not sure about the "Intellectuals" but the common people on the roads connect with the party's message on honesty and clean governance and are extending their full support. This sort of response generates the energy that makes one forget natures elements of rain, heat, cold and work tirelessly towards spreading the message.

There are roughly 70000 auto-rickshaws in Delhi and my team working in the East Delhi constituency have covered over 300 of these vehicles and we would have distributed more than 3000 caps in the last 2 days. There are many other teams working round-the-clock in the region, trying to spread the word. 

With the campaigning efforts in Delhi coming to a close the next set of responsibilities include assuming the role of a polling agent and facilitating the spreading of the message on the D-Day. I am game.... and if you are too then sign up TODAY.

Is baar NoMo....di Sarkaar (This time we don't want Modi)

There is no doubt that there is a sprinkling of support for Modi and a couple of folks have come up to me and repeated "Is baar Modi Sarkaar" (We want Modi). My short but courteous reply to them is "No sir! you mean, Is baar phir Ambani Sarkaar!".

AAP ki "topi"


Image Courtesy: http://www.veooz.com/
Ok, so the "I want Swaraj" topi may not be the coolest accessory that you may have worn, but it was never meant to be. It represents a message that joins us all together across classes, across religions, and cuts across our personal biases (demons) and no amount of money can buy you that piece of clothing. 

In Conclusion

The idea of this piece is not to proclaim my achievements, the message is simple, if you truly believe in an idea then give it all you can, because "NO ONE CAN STOP AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME".

Tuesday 1 April 2014

A visit to the Aam Aadmi Party's office

I have always been a passive and reluctant onlooker in most scenarios, seldom willing to inconvenience myself, especially if I didn't see any material benefit arising from taking any initiative or maybe in some cases I was afraid of he perception that others may develop of me. This thought process has evolved over the last few years thanks mostly to the principles I have learnt at ThoughtWorks, and in this particular case my influencer has been Navendu Shirali (my batchmate from Goa Institute of Management).
For the last 3 odd years I watched the Anna movement and Aam Aadmi Party from the sidelines hoping to be part of these movements but reluctant to get down to brass tacks. Most of my support or involvement was by the easiest way possible i.e. sharing statuses on social platforms and making some insignificant donations. However, after a lot of introspection I finally took the initiative and walked into their Pandav Nagar office to sign up and help them in any way I can.



What I experienced?

The office is in a nondescript location probably on rent or loan from a volunteer. As you walk to the first floor the first thing that you will notice is that the stairwell has clear signs requesting visitors/residents not to spit on the corners put up by the party.
The office itself is bustling with energy and volunteers were either getting logistics ready for a house to house visit, huddled in a cubicle to plan the next Jansabha or roadshow, or coordinating booth management activities for the D-day.
The walls were lined with chart papers and white boards consisting of information on work assignments, allocations and action items, the energy in the room was palpable and made me feel as if I was missing out on something and I need to be a part of this ....right now! The crowd was mixed (in terms of age) and consisted mostly of educated middle class folks like myself. The interactions among the group seemed very professional and cordial, very similar to the environment that you and me experience in our corporate lives.

What I signed up for?

I met Mr. Gyankumar Pandey (a mild mannered and cordial individual) who asked me some basic information about my work and constituency and then briefly explained the tasks where I could help with in the coming days. So I volunteered to help over the coming weekend and on the day of voting in Delhi. I also expressed my interest in helping AAP with putting in place practices which help in continuous learning and improvement and help building a strong and long lasting organizational culture. This brought Shalini into the picture, she drives the organizational development initiative at AAP and informed me that the party did hold a lessons learnt exercise across its offices in Delhi after the assembly polls, and would be looking to do the same post the Lok Sabha election. She looked forward to my involvement during that time and listed my contact details in a Google spreadsheet.

In conclusion:

I came out of the office even more reassured and pumped then when I entered it. 
I generally hear a lot of people say that AAP should do this or Arvind Kejriwal should have (not) done that or that they believed in the movement at the start but no longer believe in it..... All I have to say is that history gives us a few opportunities to make things right and when that time comes, don't be like me, the person who sat in a corner reluctant and afraid just happy taking the easy way out. Stand up, get involved, take the initiative and work towards making that change as AAP has done and BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE.