Skilled Facilitator

Roger Schwarz describes group facilitation as a process in which a person whose selection is acceptable to all members of the group, is substantively neutral, and has no substantive decision making authority diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions, to increase the group’s effectiveness.

I wanted to understand how this works and started looking out for more details and some practical scenarios where I can apply this and understand if this really works. The result were surprising and it all made sense. I am going to share my experience at a Scrum Alliance sponsored event in Bangalore on 20th Feb. Details @ http://playscrum.com/bangalore-meet-2016/  

Preyesh Malde - a genius I had the privilege to work with!

 

It is not everyday in my professional life that I come across people that I want to keep with me forever. This man had something about him that I always admired. I was never sure what that was but I knew there was something special.

He is one of those kind who does not let you enter his good books, but once you are in, it is nearly impossible to get out of it. I feel that I did make it through. I know I am going to break a lot of hearts when I say this but he did mention on his last day in office with us that "of all the people, he enjoyed working with me the most."

I met him about a year and half ago when I was in London to learn from him. I still have the first diagram that he drew on the white board to explain the overall architecture of a product. I also remember that I out in a lot of effort in documenting whatever I learn from him. The first document that I wrote was in a Q & A where a person is asking questions and an expert is answering them. I never could gather the courage to tell him that when I was writing that document I had his picture in mind and also quoted some of his statements. That remains my most loved and treasured document in my current professional sprint.

Everytime I was in London, he would make sure things were planned to perfection, every evening we were drunk (well almost). He introduced me to the best coffee I have ever had in my entire life (Taylor Street Barista). The sound of the words 'skinny cappuccino please!' is still fresh in my memory. We had a few Old Fashioned in my first visit to London @ Sushi Samba and we loved it. He then made sure he had a new venue ready for us to visit and drink that loved drink of ours whenever I was in London.

Well all of this was outside the office hours. I am in no way hinting that we only enjoyed, we worked together and we did deliver a lot of quality stuff. We shared a great chemistry. Although he was the one who used to guide me through most of the work, he was never shy to take any comments from me and include them. In his leaving card I wrote to him saying that he is the one person to whom I attribute all my technical success of the project. One of the colleagues who read my note on the card also mentioned that "you have attributed all your success to him, there would have been others as well." The answer is yes there are others as well, but technically he is the one person that I have learnt the most.

This picture is all that I have for memories. I would have spent about 6 months in London working with him (while he was working for the same organization) but I never even thought that there could be a day when he would leave the company and go else I would have clicked one picture with him. I am sure this is one the tasks that I want to do on priority next time I am in London. I am sure we will meet whenever I am in London. 

I would like to conclude by thanking you mate for all your help support and love throughout the journey. I wish we get a chance to work again in the future. Till then I have a lot of code that we have written together to live with. It has been a pleasure working with you Mr. Preyesh Malde. 

Open/Closed Principle

As most of us know, Open/Closed Principle is a design principle while working with Object Oriented Programming. The wikipedia definition reads:

In object oriented programing, the open/closed principle states "software entities (classes, modules, functions, etc.) should be open for extension, but closed for modification” that is, such an entity can allow its behaviour to be extended without modifying its source code. This is especially valuable in a production environment, where changes to source code may necessitate code reviews, unit tests, and other such procedures to qualify it for use in a product: code obeying the principle doesn't change when it is extended, and therefore needs no such effort.

This is a design principle that we generally follow in our day to day development cycle. Recently I have been doing a lot of code reviews and I have been working with the teams to ensure some good practices are being followed within the teams. To my surprise, there have been cases where I see the Open/Closed principle has been applied but the definition of open and closed have been reversed. I have seen implementations that are closed for extension but open for modifications. What this basically means is that the designs are flawed and there is a lot of re-work required to sort out the mess. 

It is funny how life lets you chose your own interpretation of things !!!    

Agile Estimation - PlayScrum Delhi [25th July 2015]

What is Meetup

It is a social community of people who meet face to face to share their experience and learn from the experience of others. It is an informal way of interacting with people and learning from each others experience.

What is PlayScrum Delhi

It is group of Scrum/Agile enthusiasts within Delhi NCR who want to collaborate with others in the same region sharing the same interests. Details available here.

Who decides what we will discuss

The people who attend the meet-up collectively decide what area or topic we want to discuss. Agile Estimation was agreed to be the topic for the meet-up on 25th July 2015.

Agile Estimation - as it happened

Introduction

We started with a round table introduction of the people attending the workshop. It helps build an understanding of the breadth of the participants.

Estimation Game

To set the context of what was coming later on in the workshop and also to make sure everyone is involved, we started with an estimation game. People were grouped into small teams and then they were given some fruits and they had to come up with an estimate of how much effort will be required to eat that particular fruit.

The purpose of this game was to:

• prove that estimates are not scientific and they are limited to the local teams and not generic.
• the interpretation of '8' could be different for different teams.
• show why it is easy to use a benchmarked unit as against hours/time.
• to underline the fact that estimation is sizing the problem and not the solution.   

Why Estimation

We discussed why is estimation important and what are the different techniques that people are using to estimates. The purpose was to communicate that any of the approach could be used and there is nothing that scrum prescribes. The teams are free to use what ever technique that serves there purpose. Some common techniques were using Functional Points, Story Points etc.

Story Points

This is one of the ways of estimation used in agile projects. It has come from XP. It is an indicators of the Uncertainty, Complexity and the Amount of Work that requires to be done for a feature/story/task to be complete.

They help drive Cross Functional Behaviors within scrum teams as the size of the problem will remain the same from a DEV, QA, BA or any other perspective. It is also a relative measurement unit.

We took the analogy of building a room to explain the concept. To build a room you would need a 600 sq ft area, 3 windows, 2 doors etc. Now the size of problem to build this room will remain same. How it is built would defer. We concluded that estimation is for the WHAT and not HOW.

Story Point Matrix

This is a way of organizing your historically estimated data which can be used as a benchmark in the future estimations. Essentially this would a map of the possible story points with some example of stories against them.

Examples:

2 - preparing a cup of black tea

3 - preparing a cup of white tea

5 - preparing a glass of cold coffee.

Velocity

It is the amount of work that the team has been doing within a sprint. If you are estimating based on SP then the Velocity would be the No of SP delivered within the sprint. This is useful while planning your iteration as it helps you come up with a base number of SP that your team has historically delivered and hence helps you plan for future.

Exercise 

To clearly understand the concepts we discussed a problem. The problem was:

• There is a company with 3000 employees
• There are only 7 people in the IT support
• People are complaining that there IT related problems are not being solved and that is hampering their productivity.
• The problem gets escalated to the CEO
• The CEO calls a meeting and asks the team to come up with a solution to fix the problem within 24hrs. He emphasized that he needs a solution that goes live in 24 hrs and not a plan.

We then divided ourselves into groups and tried to solve the problem. The aim of this exercise was to prove the fact that the size of the problem was same for all the teams, the solutions were different. 

No Estimates

There could be different ways of estimating. People have started talking about not estimating at all. Some other ways of planning your iteration is to limit the number of stories in you sprint. This would mean that all the stories are relatively sized. The teams split the story if they feel it is growing bigger, this eliminates the need of a separate estimation session.

Conclusion

This is just interpretation of what we discussed during the workshop. I might have missed some points. If you feel there is a change that i should make, leave a comment about it and i will incorporate it.

Pre-paid Auto @ Ghaziabad Railway Station

For the last few months a pre-paid auto booth had opened up at the Ghaziabad railway station and everyone was happy about the fact that the transport was readily available and it was regulated with fixed rates and prompt service. I have been travelling a lot in the last few months and was enjoying the facilities and was very happy about it until today.

 

This morning when I reached the Ghaziabad railway station, I walked up straight to the pre-paid booth to book my auto. While I was walking towards the booth, I was a bit surprised that the booth was deserted. I have always seen long queues of the passengers as well as the auto drivers. I walked up-to the booth and asked the person sitting there to give me a taxi. He said that there is no taxi available at this time. I could see at-least 10 of them parked just alongside. I pointed towards them and he said that they are not willing to go. You can talk directly to them and hire them. I was a bit surprised at this but nevertheless I walked up-to one of them.

 

I asked the driver how much would he charge me. He hurriedly replied 120. The general fare was 100 plus some extra for the luggage that you were carrying. I just had a backpack so it would be 105 or 110 at best. But I thought it is ok and I did not want to stand there fighting for 10 rupees in the cold morning. I agreed to go with him.

 

As I reached his auto I could see some one was already seated, I asked about the person sitting, he said that I have to share the auto with him. I declined the offer and said that I want to book an entire auto and not share with anyone. Hearing this he just walked away. Stunned, I move to another one and he agreed for 200 rupees and said that this is the new rate. Hearing this I was sure why they are not going the pre-paid way. If you are charging double of what the rate is, why would you go with the pre-paid rates. I said that the rate was 100, he said fare has been hiked and this is the correct fare. He even said that I can check the rates at the pre-paid counter. I walked back to the pre-paid counter to check the price and the price he said for my home was still 100. After a long 15 - 20 minute in the cold morning I could get one auto that agreed to charge 150.

 

Such is the story of the transport here in Ghaziabad. If I book a taxi from my place to the railway station, it costs me 250 for non AC and 300 for an AC indica/indigo. The problem is that these taxis are not available at the station hence I am left with no other option than to surrender to the un-realistic demands of the auto drivers. All of this signifies the lack of control that the government and the concerned departments have over the transportation in and around NCR. So they are correct in saying that once you are out of Delhi you better get ready to pay hefty amounts as conveyance else walk.  

The art of making tea !

I have not been very fond of drinking tea, in-fact it has just been a few years since I have started drinking tea. But there have been so many instances now when I had the urge to have tea that I could now understand why do people feel so much addicted to tea.

 

As I said, I only started drinking tea few years back, it was more of a act to accompany people that were with me to kick off things for me and gradually I started enjoying it. I would like to walk back and narrate a few of my most memorable tea breaks. These are in no specific order.

 

• The first instance that I remember was my flat at dwarka where the 4 of us, Yogesh, Yashpal, Deepak and myself used to have tea at about 3:00 in the morning (mostly Saturday's) after the 11:00pm - 2:00am movies. The taste of that tea is still afresh in my mouth and I can still feel its warmth. Although most of the time it used to be me who had to prepare tea but I still loved it and I must say it was worth the effort.
• The other instance right from the top of my head is the early (lazy) morning tea around 10:00 with Pranjali and Shruti at my place in Ghaziabad. This is generally a Saturday or at times a Sunday morning. This is important as this tea break was a break from sleep. We woke up, had tea and then go back to sleep. A lavish and very lazy but effective way of spending a weekend.
• Next one that I can remember is the tea breaks at FirstRain with team-mates who were more like family to me. The likes of Yogita, Ajay, Ankush, Yogesh, Deepak, Chilu and lots more. That tea break was the only break where tea was just for the name of it, we actually ate more. I still remember lots of fun and leg pulling that we used to do while on the break.
• Most recently I have started having tea breaks which end up becoming long breaks with colleagues and chatting about features and futures. I at times feel that now my tea breaks in office are more of brainstorming session rather than a break from work. It gives me the feel that I have now matured as a professional. Still those tea breaks have proved useful and my friends Lalit and others would agree.

 

I was reminded of the advantages of drinking tea by a friend when I questioned his urge to have tea every couple of hours and he has made me go down the memory lane and remember the magical moments that I have had drinking tea. Whether I know the art of making tea or not (most people believe that I do and love the tea that I prepare) I am sure it has coloured my life with colours that were not known to me. Having said all of this I wish I never have to choose between Tea and Coffee.

Sharon chali Haridwar

Allow me to introduce you to Sharon before I narrate her story.  She is a young girl, who wants to be happy and enjoy her life but always finds herself in a situation where she does not know what to do and what not to. She is happily confused, ever smiling, cooking up hypothetical situations and then planning for them. Overall she is a great girl and a treat to be with.

 

So this time Sharon has a family picnic planned to Haridwar. When I say family it includes her parents, elder sister and her grandmother along with few other families of her father's friend. She always wants to go around places and enjoy herself. But this time she is confused. She wants to go but she does not know if she really wants to go. Her elder sister is not going now and she is left with her cousins, whom she is not very fond off, and her parents. So a trip that she thought would be a great one has suddenly turned into a trap for her. So she decides to give herself a chance by allowing fate decide if she goes or not. Hence she:

• points out 2 fingers to me, and says one she goes and the other she doesn't and asks me to choose one. I pick the one that says she goes and then she says you should have picked the other one.
•  asks me to toss a coin, head she goes and tail she doesn't. It came down as heads, hence I cheated.
• she says it is her trip so only she gets to toss the coin. You know what came, didn't you? 

30 minutes earlier she was convinced that she is going and now she is delightfully confused. She calls up every possible person so that she does not have to go. She calls up one friend in a hope that she can come along, but that does not work out. She calls another friend and she declines as well. Now she  is sure she does not want to go. Well wait, she says but she should go as she is very tired and bored with the daily routine and she needs a break. Another 15 minutes down the line she tells me that most probably she is not going.

Irrespective of the outcome of the situation what I am most concerned about is the uncertainty that we have in our lives. I have been guilty of getting into situations that I do not see a way out. But there are a few things that you just have to do on instinct and there is no logical backing behind that. I am not sure whether Sharon would go or not but what I am sure is that she gives us a perfect example of how our mind follows our heart. I am impressed by the fact that situation is very normal and almost all of us have been in situations such as these but there is no definite answer as to what to do when you are in such a situation. I just follow my heart in such situations, I have been guilty of taking some wrong decisions and also feel proud about the others. But one thing is for sure that I never regret any decision that I took following my heart.  

So if you are Sharon, or you feel that you have been through a similar type of situation my advice is to follow what your heart tells you. I generally like to leave my audience with open questions, so I will leave you to decide whether Sharon should go or not.

Fast and Furious 6

If you have reached this blog searching for a review to the movie so that you can decide whether you should watch the movie or not. I would say that you are wasting your time, read no further , go and watch the movie. It was a movie that had all the familiar faces playing together once again. It was awesome how they emphasize on them being like a family. 

 

If you thought that you have already seen 5 versions of this movie so what else would they have in store for the 6th time, the movie just proves all of that wrong as it comes up with sequences that have not been filmed earlier and which most of us did not even expect. They have military tanks running on the roads crushing cars, they have a set of cars who bring down a big plane and also have a sequence where Toretto drives his car out from the cockpit.

 

If you have not been fortunate enough to watch the earlier versions of this series and you may feel that you might not be able to understand the strings and hence the movie so trust me that is not the case. Even when the movie makes references to version 4 and 5 in the series, you are still able to map things and understand what is going on. The movie has action sequences that are bound to drive you crazy. 

 

 

We have seen that generally the movies that come in sequences run out of steam as they move on but F&F is the only sequence that has improved every time with the later version. Even though most of the stunts that they have shown may not look feasible or practical but still they make you fall in love with this movie.  The star cast of film and the characters that play seem to compliment each other perfectly. I am personally a big fan to Vin Diesel and who could forget Dwayne (The Rock). These two were against each other in the fifth sequence of the movie and this time they are on the same side so you can imagine the fun and destruction that they might have caused. There is sequence in the climax of the movie, when these two giants get together to kill a monster like criminal and you could imagine a wwe tag team move. 

 

I would rate this movie as 9/10 and for me it is a much watch for anyone irrespective if you watched the earlier sequences. I can assure that if you watch this movie, you will go back and make sure you add all the other sequences to your collection or watch list. I will not let out any of the secrets of the film and will let you watch it for yourself and enjoy. I just want to conclude by saying that there is definitely going to another sequence to this movie and that will be starring Jason Statham. I am hopeful now that the next one would be even better.

 



 

Mother's Day - really ?

You may call me rude, ignorant, misbehaved or whatever but I have not wished my mother today for the so called mother's day. I did talk to her over the phone, as I usually do, but it was all normal and nothing to do with the fact that the world is celebrating mother's day. I was even questioned by few of my friends, If I have wished my mother today?

 

I simply fail to understand why we  have started paying so much importance to days such as these, have people before this not loved their mothers? Or mothers could not feel the love and respect of their children without them wishing her formally or publicly? I do not need an occasion to appreciate the love of my mother or any of the family member for that matter, for me every day is a special day and every day I live I owe it to my parents.

 

I am not against celebrating any specific day or against the concept of having special days for our family, I am just against the 'follow the herd' policy that we seem to be working on off late. I say this because I have just learned that, after Christmas, Americans spend more money on Mother's Day than on any other holiday in the year. Do we even know from where the concept of mother's day came, do we know why it was celebrated and the reasons for it. Are we doing it just because others are doing it, do we actually need to celebrate days such as these. I know friends who called their mother's bang on the stroke of midnight to wish her a happy mothers day. I mean, like seriously, are you kidding me. Calling up your mother at midnight to wish her mothers day, that is a little too much for me and I must admit I would never do that.

 

Well having said all of that I still believe that it should be ones own decision if one wants to celebrate the day or not and I am not asking anyone of you to change, I was just a bit surprised to see all the social media flooded with all the mothers day stuff and I thought is it really that big an occasion or are we just doing a bit of show off.

 

P.S. I love my mother as much as anyone of you and she is the most important person in my life.

Acting and Theatre - miss you everyday

"You that choose not by the view, Chance as fair and choose as true. Since this fortune falls to you, Be content and seek no new. If you be well pleased with this And hold your fortune for your bliss,
Turn you where your lady is And claim her with a loving kiss" .... the famous lines from Merchant of Venice were the last lines that I had delivered on a stage and it has been almost a decade and no more acting and theatre for me. I still remember that day, those lines, the entire audience, the judges and some of my colleagues (who were making me laugh). I was very confident that I would make it through the auditions and get selected but as always life had other plans and I was rejected because my accent was not up to the mark.

 

When I walked back home from the auditions, I was very sure that I would come back with lots of practice and re-appear for the auditions and get selected for some other play. But I never knew that would end up being the last stage performance in years for me. To be honest, I have not really been serious about it in the recent years else I might have tried it once again. I still miss it and hope that life would give me one opportunity at one of my passions in life. As they say it is never too late.

 

I met somebody few days back and we were casually talking and somehow the subject moved to something that I used to do in my life that I miss even today. I kept quiet for a while, walked down the memory lane, smiled and replied 'Acting'. Since that day it has been all over me and I seem to miss all that even more. It has been all over me since that day and I just want to go back in time and enjoy and experience all that just for one more time. Memories are all I have and some very good ones indeed. I never wanted to make a career in them but still I wanted to be in touch with theatre, art, stage shows, radio programs, and even those stupid roles that I did when in school.

 

When I was in London, I made sure I visited Shakespeare Globe theatre and thought and even imagined myself on the stage performing on one of his plays. This in itself proves that my passion for acting has not yet died it is just that the professional life and the work pressure that has taken center stage and everything else has just taken a back seat. I wish someday I will still be on the stage.