IT Projects: Billing and resourcing hassles

This post is from my Helium article on Billing and Resourcing hassles in IT Projects.

Sometimes,I used to wonder as to why Projects in IT companies face a situation where two employees are doing the work equivalent to that of four for the company's client.This was the case even when that company had many people on "Bench".The term "Bench" is used for those employees who are employed by the company, yet not working for any Client or "Account".

Why is it so . Here is what I found out after discussing with some of my colleagues and some seniors :

1) The company says to the client : we would have 4 people billing for this Project A , 5 for Project B , 10 for Project C . 2) The client approves this . 3) A situation arises wherein some extra work comes in for Project A . However,Project C has 10 people,yet not that much work . Logically,one can just pick some people from Project C and put them on Project A .

However,they would first need to be trained by the existing people on Project A and then assigned to tasks . In order to accomplish this ,a full cycle of "Knowledge Transfer " exercise needs to be done. Naturally,the Company would want extra payment from the client for such an exercise as it requires technological as well as manpower costs.

However,the clients are normally hesitant to do so because of cost and budget constraints . The ongoing economic recession has added to the stress of the various clients-especially those in Real Estate,Banking,Finance and Insurance sectors. So,they refuse to provide extra funding to the company which is doing their work .

The end result is something which is not good for anyone,yet worst for the Employees . Now, those 4 employees working on Project A have to put in extra efforts,extra hours and their health too can suffer.

This might impact : 1) Quality of the work: a big loss for the client and the company, in terms of productivity loss. 2) Some extra leaves by Employees at the end of the Project: bad for the company. 3) Worse quality of life: Very very bad for the employees.

What could be the way out? I believe that the Company must be a bit flexible and should plan for resources and billing accordingly .The Company may keep some people trained on various Software Tools,Applications and Processes. These resources from a common pool may be inducted into Project work when required.

With Recession,this has been more difficult. Companies are not willing to invest in their Bench or Reserve Pool development. Still,the initial costs would be offset to a great extent by the benefits of the additional competency,skills and benefits that the common resource pool would bring in .

This way the billing Model in IT Projects would be enhanced to maximize Company's profits and growth.Also,this would take care of the billing and resourcing burden in long run as a result of a better policy for doing so .

Living in a big city:Why be egoistic ?

Living in a big city has many advantages.We can buy good cars, can have good homes.We have a plenty of clothes ,electronics items and what not .We do have some things which are problematic like traffic, noise and many a times crime. Still, people do like to live there.Many even feel egoistic about it.I would like to term this as "Big City Ego" ! What is it? This is a word I did not read from anywhere, even though such a term might be existing.This is the feeling that many of my fellow urbanites have of feeling superior because they happen to live in; or born in a big city. They even make others feel inferior or worse, try to humiliate them.

I was born in New Delhi, bought up, educated and for major part of my career, worked here.Yet; it does not make me feel something extra special. It does not give me "license" to make others feel inferior or brag about myself.

Yet; there are some friends as well as relatives of mine who take extreme pride in being born or living in Delhi (specifically Delhi, not the NCR region).They feel that others are inferior to them . Now, this feeling is nothing specific to Delhites .I recall seeing a Hindi Movie "Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai" in which a College student of a Mumbai College, where the film's hero Abhishek Bacchan had gone to study, was ragging Abhishek Bacchan and asked him a question : From which "Village" are you?

Abhishek Bacchan replies : "I am not from a Village, but from city Varanasi ." (or was it Allahabad city? I don't exactly recall ).

To this, the other person said : "Every place outside Mumbai is a village ! ".

This kind of an attitude might also be prevalent in countries other than India.In any case, such an attitude is condemnable.

Just because you are born, living or doing a job in a place with more facilities, money, job oppportunities and luxuries of life does not give you license to deplore others; or to mock them.

It is by god's will that things happened in our lives in way that made us live here.So, we must be humble and treat people living in smaller cities as well as Villages with respect and friendliness.
Aren't we all equal before god ?
What do you think ?

Deepavali Dates - A pattern ?

Hi , I am writing a new blog post after quite some time. In between, I was writing on a few other sites. So, Here I am with a new post. I posted this on another site: Mypage5. Do tell me if you like this one :

I have a strong liking for seeing patterns in things,or with numbers.No,I am not a genius mathematician;even though my maths had been average to good in different mathematical topics.One pattern which I have been observing is with respect to the dates on which Hindu religion's major festival :"Deepavali" - the festival of lights (also called as 'Diwali" ) has been over past 9 years -starting from the year 2000. Now,this might be due to some well known astrological or astronomical cycle,which I am unaware of ;yet most of you know about.Still,I would like to share this with all of you :

1) In the years 2000,2003,2006 and 2009 , Deepavali was on or before 25 October. This year it has been the earliest as far as I recall-on 17th October !! .
2)Years 2001,2004 and 2007 (and probably the next year 2010),Deepavali was around 10th November (I think dates were like 11 November or 13 November) i.e a bit late .
3)Years 2002,2005 and 2008 ,the Deepavali was in between these two extremes .In 2005 and 2008 ,it was around 28 october,wheras it was a bit late in 2002-around 5 November.

Year 2002's pattern was a bit different. Otherwise,I observed that every 3 years,these dates follow a similar pattern. I.e the pattern in years 2000,2003,2006 and 2009 are the same and so is the case with 2001,2004 and 2007 and for 2002,2005 and 2008 .
So,my guess;without looking at any Religion calendar (or Vikrami calendar) is that next year 2010,the Deepavali would be around 10 November. May be I would be proved wrong;or may be you would disbelieve me. However,I have not consulted anyone on this and all these are my independent observations.
Any comments ?

Challenges before Asian countries in the year 2009

Well; this is an Article I published on Helium - an Online forum for publishing your articles . This deals with the challenges the Asian countries face in this year 2009 . Here we go : Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area (or 29.9% of its land area) . It is also home to 60 % of World's population (approx 4 Billion) . Now, how would one define Asia ? If you are from UK you might call someone from South Asia - India,Bangladesh,Pakistan,Sri Lanka , Nepal or Bhutan as Asian . People in USA generally call Japanese ,Chinese and Korean as Asians . The people from middle-east or West Asia with Saudi Arabia,Kuwait,Israel ,Jordan etc are normally considered as separate in terms of their different History and Political scenario . The Central Asia covering former Soviet Unions such as Kazakhsthan , Turkmenistan etc are geographically in Asia .Yet ;these are considered closer to Europe due to integration of erstwile Soviet Union. One may perceive that issues , developments as well as challenges before an Asian country such as China would have little link with other countries except for its neighbours . However;in an increasing global world things are different .Foremost would be the economic linkages . With USA in the midst of a severe economic downturn (in fact a recession) , China is suffering with lower exports and massive job losses. This has grave implications for investments in other Asian countries ranging from Pakistan to Western Asian countries . Chinese government ,though has risen to the occasion with a big Financial Stimulus of $586 Billion . Hopefully;this would help not only China but also the countries in which it is a big investor as well as importer of goods .

=> East Asian Countries
Japan and South Korea have problems similar to those of China and USA . Japan is perhaps worse off in terms of economic downturn . The Japanese bank has acted with measures which would hopefully yield good dividends .

=> Challenges of Terrorism and War dangers The countries of India and Pakistan are going through a very turbulent phase in their relationship . There was a danger of war between the two countries after the 26th November attack on Major Buildings in Mumbai,India . Things seemed to have cooled a bit due to diplomatic efforts by India , USA as well as UK . However ;terror strikes are one of the biggest threat to all the South Asian countries ;including Sri Lanka which is still seeing fighting between Army and LTTE . India and Pakistan having Nuclear Weapons increases the risks all the more. Any wrong move on the part of any of these could have far reaching consequences. The Israel - Palestine Issue and the recent Gaza Strip Offensive by Israel is proving to be a major painful issue . It would need a strong Political will by both Palestinian and Israeli Governments . Hopefully,USA under Barrack Obama would aid in a peaceful resolution . Terrorism is also impacting China which has seen Armed struggle in one of its North-West provinces as well as Indonesia .

=> Economic Slump
Economies across Asia are facing major slump . Property prices are getting down from Tokyo to Dubia and Shanghai to Mumbai . Spendings on Automobiles , New Houses as well as Consumer Durables is down . However ;this is also an opportunity for Asian countries to increase trade in Agriculture , Processed Foods and other things among themselves to compensate for decresing demand in Western countries . Moreover;Governments of India ,China , UAE etc have been introducing measures to stimulate economic growth and spending in these days of economic gloom and reduced consumer confidence .

=> Impact of Environmental Changes
Gloabal Warming ,Environmental Pollution and resulting environmental changes affect many of Asian countries . India and Bangladesh had big floods in recent years . China had to adopt special Even-odd Days Traffic measures before Beijing Olympics to reduce the problem of Smog and Traffic Pollution . Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Iraq also face problems due to lack of Maintenance . Construction of major dams in China too have attracted their fair share of controversy .

=> Unresolved problems from the past
A number of people in Asian countries ;especially India , Bangladesh as well as small pockets in other countries still do not have adequate meals .Health facilities are severely lacking . Acess to potable water still remains a dream .

=> Summary
True ,Asia has made giant leaps over the last 60 years .India and China are 2 major growing countries - both in economic and Political Terms .Still;Asia has a long way to go . A Major thrust to Intra-Region Co-operation could be a major stimulus to combat the issues facing Asian countries .

=>Some statistics and facts were taken from 1) http://www.iht.com/articles/20 08/11/09/business/yuan.php 2) Wikipedia article on Asia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A sia 3) ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38 928

Evolution and Creationism - My Viewpoint

Whenever someone mentions something related to Evolution ; or whether God created all Animals , Humans ;or whether it is all a play of evolutionary Process; I become very much engrossed. It is a topic in which I have a unique interest .

At a personal level,I favour the Theory of Evolution . True , the theory that God created everything does has its valid points . It also has many people supporting it .

Points that make the God's creation Theory (as such this is not the name of the Theory , but I call it like this ) :

1)Evolutionists say that Man evolved from Apes who in turm evolved from some Amphibian creatures ,who in tuirn were evolving from Reptiles or Fish and so on . yet ; who created the most basic Life Form ? It must have been God .

2)Who decided when Big Bang has to happen or why Earth only had to be habitable long enough ? True , Mars also has some signs of Life Supporting conditions , but no Life has been detected as such .

3)Why Man only developed brains big enough to control so much of Earth ? Why Not Chimpanzee, Gorillas etc ?

True , these points and more seem to be valid .

However;now I would write something on Theory of Evolution . Now, what I am going to write is my understanding of Evolutionary Process . There might be a few things I might miss .

Still; I would be able to cover sufficient number of things :

1)Studies have shown a number of similarity between Humans spread across continents , Their genetic make suggests that we all evolved from a common ancestor who descended from Apes.

2)Evolutionary traits develop over Thousands of Years . Our evolution from Ape like creatures to Man involved shedding of some organs ,structural changes in our Arms , Legs , size and shape of brain and muscles . Similar evolutionary patterns have been studied in Horses - who developed from Tiny creatures to the big ones we see today .

3)There had been some Human as well as other Animal species who got eliminated or become extinct as they could not survive factors beyond their control - such as sudden climate changes , massive Floods or Droughts or hostilities from enemies .

4)Studies have also proved that evolution also produces new species which have common traits from their parents as well as individual traits of their own . An example is the Domestic Fowl (or Hen and Rooster) of today's times which evolved from l Red and Grey Jungle Fowl . The Domestic Fowl has characteristics from both its ancestors as well as its own independent characteristics .

To summarize, I do not oppose anyone who is opposed to the Theory of Evolution . However; I believe that the Theory of Evolution has a stronger validity vis-a-vis the theory that God created everything .

And last but not least , May God bless all of us : To Grow , increase our knowledge and gain more and more material and spiritual wealth .

Caste, Religion or Nation

When I was in my School during 80's and 90's ;I used to hear a lot about "Unity in Diversity" , "Patriotism" etc . In schools, we were taught that Nation is above all - Caste,Religion, Region etc . The real life is a lot different . I agree that one should not be jingoistic and have too "Ideal" Patriotic feelings . Yet ; I see that people are bent upon playing down one another and hate so much If they interact with people of other Religion,caste , Region etc . There should be a better tolerance of each other . After all , we are all Humans and also we are Indians .

Jai Hind !

Back on Blogger !

Well; I am back on Blogger . I had to be off for some time because of my Mother's untimely demise in late May . Afterwards,there have been added responsibilities for me in my Family as well as other complexities in life . All these kept me off . Also,I have been on a Critical Project in my Job and was involved quite heavily in that . There are a few days of reduced activity and this gets me back to Blogging . More in my next Blog .

Regards Peeush Trikha
New Delhi / Noida
14-10-2008 12:40 PM

Short and Long Term Planning

Today ; I was thinking of planning something . The thought came to my mind : Should I plan it for a very Long time : 5 or 10 Years + ? Or should I think it only in terms of this year and next . All of us who believe in planning face this question now and then . So I would get a bit into Pros and Cons of both options :

Long term Option

Pros :

1) Helps us in taking Tough decisions that influence our overall spending Habits , Personality Traits .

2)Helps us plan better for Rainy days and keeping a buffer stock of Finances as well as Resources.

Cons :

1)Long Term Planning might make us in the habit of thinking too much. Also,we may tend to focus too much on future rather than on present .

2)What If conditions surrounding our decisions change beyond recognition . Say;we plan something assuming that Personal Computers would be around for 10 more years at least ;and some new thing comes up that eliminates PCs altogether !!

Short Term Planning :

Pros :

1)We worry less and take faster decisions . 2)Decisions can be better acclimatised to any rapidly changing scenarios . 3)Deciding conditions can be measured and understood by us faster.

Cons :

1)Short Term planning might make us to avoid taking hard options which might be beneficial in long run .

2)We might opt for too many knee-jerk solutions which might even harm us in longer term .

Which to use when is of course our choice. My say : Use as per the situation and your own line of thought .

My Nainital Journey

On the night of 30th January ;I set out along with my wife on Honeymoon to the Nainital ;Hill Station of Uttarakhand, a North Indian state . It was quite cold in Delhi and expected to be colder in Nainital. Why I choose it then ? Probably ; I would have choosen some warmer place . But I like going to Hills and even stayed for some time in a few places in Himachal Pradesh . I am specially fond of the Signs marking how much a particular place is above Mean Sea level - say 1500 Metres above Sea level or 2200 Metres above Sea Level and so on . We boarded a Train to Kathgodam which is kind of gateway to many of the Kumaon and other Hill Stations . Even when we got out at Kathgodam,it was quite chilly . The interesting part was the presence of some Europeans (or may be Americans ) in the 2nd class A/C Compartment of the Train . I even commented to one telling him: "Quite an International presence ! " . Whether he liked my one-liner or not is another thing .Ha ha We then hired a Cabbie to Nainital . He talked a lot about commercialisation of Nainital and was quite too much interested in our Programme . When we reached Nainital it was 8:35 Morning of 31st January .

31 Jan 08
The Chevron Fairheavens Hotel Temperature display showed 5 Degree Celsius at 8:40 in the Morning . We felt chilled to our bones. It was cold in Delhi too but this was much chillier. But we had enough woollens . The plus was that it felt much more fresher and less polluted. we had our rest and early Lunch that day . There were some problems as the snow of last Night had frozen water pipes and there was electricity problem. Still;the Hotel staff tried their best to make us comfortable . In the evening we had a walk down the Hill at the Mall Road . Not much to do as we were quite tired .

Day 2 :1 Feb 2008 It was still very cold .We had our breakfast and then set out to have a Tour of Taals (The lakes ) . Each lake with its story . We got a good guide who took us in an Alto Cab . The guide shared a lot of information with us . His knowledge of the area and its customs was quite superb . There was Garuda Taal-shaped like the Indian Mythological bird Garuda . Then the 7 Lakes Tour- Sattal - We had Boat ride for 3 Lakes. It was quite an experience. Another was Naukuchiyataal . It was the deepest one . But did not have Tourists (You see : We were there during Off-Season ) . So it was a very short stay . Next we stopped at a Temple en-route : Hanumangarhi . It had a very big statue of Lord Hanuman . Next was Bhimtal -It is the biggest of all -even bigger than Nainital . There is a Temple also around . As the evening was approaching ; the View of the Taal was quite superb. On the way ; we also bought Jams and Fruit Drinks from a Local Farm; the products of which are very good as per our Guide.

Day 3: Feb 2 2008 : It was quite cold during these days in Nainital . And we being from plains faced sub-zero conditions a bit too tough to handle . We were not in a mood to travel much on third day . However,we roamed around the Local Market and had a bit of shopping to do .

Day 4 : Feb 3 ,2008 : What a brilliant day . In early morning ; there were quite a number of weekend travellers and there was snowfall outside !! We were so overjoyed at our first in a lifetime experience of Snowfall. The Snow was so light ;like Small Cotton Pieces . But it melted to water once it felt on ground or on clothes. I tried a lot to capture it in my camera but I could get just some faint backdrop of Snow . There was a bit heavier snow after some time but not enough for Camera shoot. We had our breakfast and Lunch at Hotel. Then,in the evening;we headed for a Local Tour . First were some Natural Caves named as "Leopard caves" , "Monkey Caves" etc. Do not worry ; these were just names and no real things !! (Else they would have killed us ) We enjoyed those caves. At times; we had even to crawl beneath the cave . Next ; we went to a Road at quite some height (Near China Peak ) . There was so much snow around !! We played with snow balls and had a no of Pics . It was so exciting . The other things on the journey were not too impressive apart from a few spots from where we could have massive views of Nainital . By the time we returned we were quite tired but excited nevertheless. We also had a look at the Local Tibetan Market .

Below : Some Snow View Pictures

Day 5 : Feb 4,2008 We were still not over our last day's "Snowfall Exploits" . So , we were ringing up our parents and told them about our previous day exploits . We went to Lake,Local market and also the Local Naina Devi Temple . May be due to the influence of Snowfall; weather opened up and it was much warmer as compared to last few days .

Last Day : Day 6 : Feb 5 , 2008 We had a planned tour of Ranikhet the previous day .However ,we had to cancel that due to us getting too late on 4th . So we packed our bags ; and had the Ranikhet tour . We covered a number of temples, an Amusement Park ( a small one;not a High Techno Stuff) , there was a place from where we could see distant peaks ;including Nanda Devi Peak . The highlight was the Golf Course ; one of the highest in Asia . The minus was the highly shortened grass that looked almost Yellowish and not Lush green that we were expecting . We then travelled to Kathgodam from where we had our train to New Delhi . Not a sizzling or Mind-blowing Tour of Nainital ;still something to relish for times to come . More soon

That Poor Folk

14 Feb 2008 New Delhi / Noida : While waiting for my private Cab Colleagues at ISBT Delhi today ; I saw this Man -around 25 years of Age . He was sleeping with a blanket on one of the Pillars supporting 1 of the Flyovers (probably a Construction worker.) I could see a sense of grief in his eyes. He woke up and I could see he was walking barefoot . How difficult is for such people - with just a blanket under an open sky in such a Cold Weather. At least this Man had a Blanket . Many poor people do not have even this . You would think that I could give a few blankets or do some charity work . But such a thing would only be localised . Can't there be a big revolution in our country to provide all such people with Houses / Shelters as well as more means to live ? May be I am getting idealist but then what I saw today provoked me into thoughts on this . More in my Next Blog Entry .

The "Cold " and "Hot" of Winters !

So I am back . And guess what - another "Offbeat" Discussion - The "Cold" and "Hot" of Winters. The Cold is ok ; what is "Hot" ?? A genuine question indeed. But then , If the weather changes with a Day temperature rise of 5-6 Degrees and you start feeling irritable in woollens ;then this is it . And to trouble more , it starts getting so cold after 5-6 P.M . So imagine a guy with just a shirt on in the afternoon stuck somewhere and getting caught in the Evening Chill !! Is it the Effect of Climate change ? Well; not really ; but the Temperature differences were not so high If one sees 7 to 8 years back . By the way , Wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and a Happy New year 2008. And lots of Love and Care to a very special one !

Matters of Faith - "Being Religious"

The other day someone was telling me that how people ;especially younger people do no longer frequent Temples or other places of worship and are "Less religious" . Then , there are the occasions when the Smart Priests ;many of them are now quite well adapted at using CellPhone to promote their work direct people to do some kind of Fasting or Prayers for the Planets-Venus, Mars,Saturn or the Stars : Sun , Moon etc .There they make a good amount too.Of course,it is their profession .Now,I too respect faith & not an Atheist .But I have a few questions : 1)Does one have to be a regular visitor to Temples/Mosques/Churches/Gurudwaras or the Religious places of other religions too often to prove that they are religious ?
2)If someone indulges in malpractices,corruption or even White Collar Crime and donates a large amount to Religious Institutions or conducts Big Pujas etc . , are they more religious than others ? Do think about it and If you like this one or like to add something do respond.
"Om Namah Shivay "

The Game is "National" Again .

Wow !! Brilliant !! What a Movie is this !! After watching the latest bollywood flick "Chak De India" , anyone must have uttered such words . The movie has been directed brilliantly,the script was well planned and overall execution by almost all the characters was perfect. It was so refreshing to see Shahrukh Khan to act in a totally natural manner. The female leads were also good ;especially the captain . Even "Wagle" was good .(I keep on forgetting his real name -just remembering his name from one of the TV Soaps) . The most convincing part was that the way female leads are shown playing hockey was very authentic .It seems they have "really" put in a lot of effort in doing their act (s). The effect that this movie has on media, public and nonetheless on Indian Men and Women Hockey has been phenomenal . The way Men's hockey Team beat South Korea twice and 7-2 the second time was simply superb. The movie has been marked for a case study in one of the MBA Schools in Punjab and also in one of the courses in Madhya Pradesh. Even Pakistan Men's hockey team has found the film to be inspirational. India's new president has also watched this movie and praised it . What more I can say : I can just say that it has made the Game of Hockey as Truly "National" again ;and not just on paper !!

Addiction of New Age

Yesterday was another "Normal" Day in the Office .What it means : nearly 7 hours or even more in front of my Office System : coding,Document Studying,Checking and replying to Official Mails . In the evening I had a conference call with people in USA .So instead of 7 to 8 Hours in thefront of Computer Systems,my exposure time increased by1 Hour . There was a bit delay in the call and by chance I opened a Site . I minimized the Site Link during the call. Ideally,I would have just logged off after the call end.But unknowingly, I opened the Site and spend another 15 Minutes there. It is now becoming a kind of habit with me to be on Net just that little bit extra here and there. Is this addiction .Yes , in some way but it is also not like the stories of students or even elders who spent a lot of time - even 40 + hours at a stretch playing games or surfing on the Net . Then, there are thoseSaturday Evenings when I initially planned to spend no more than 1 Hour on my PC; but went on spending more than 3 Hours . Sometimes I Think there might be a genie in these Computer Machines whichcast a spell on us and cast a spell on us . Is it the "Addiction of New Age " . Not sure as of now . This may need a scientific study one day । LOL!! More in my next post .