Introduction

The BbyB Beacon is an electronic publication to keep the members of Bit by Bit informed about the current affairs of the company. It contains announcements of important events like training programmes, Management Review Meetings, etc.

Contact Information
 Any contributions to the newsletter in the form of technical articles, or items of general interest, are welcome. Please send them to padmabaliga@bbyb.sdc.int or padmabaliga@bbyb.com

Editorial                                                                                                                    (top)

Most of us have seen the movie, Lage Raho Munnabhai. In it, the spirit of Gandhi constantly prompts the hero to be honest with his girlfriend and confess the truth. When Munnabhai protests that honesty is a difficult concept to practise, ‘Gandhiji’ reminds him that honesty is the only way. How often have we found ourselves in a similar predicament and silently condemned the proverb ‘Honesty is the best policy’ as being old-fashioned and irrelevant to modern times.

But, you know, cliches do contain candid truths. It is not just about speaking the truth, but also about integrity, self-respect and self-image. Sticking to the truth, doing the right thing, being ethical may be equated to taking the long and hard road, but like Robert Frost wrote, “I took the road less travelled by, and it has made all the difference!” Unfortunately, today, in corporate circles, educated youth think nothing of presenting false information, suppressing facts, forging signatures, stealing data and so on. Recently, we have had two cases where ex-employees of BbyB submitted false information to their prospective employers about their tenure in our company, a fact which came to light during the verification process. Both of them promptly lost their jobs. In another case, a couple of candidates who had applied to BbyB for a job had wilfully submitted wrong information and when they were asked to submit proof, quietly disappeared.

In the rush to succeed, to move up in life, ethics have been abandoned by the wayside. But when we reach the goal on which we have set our sights, are we doing so as complete individuals or as a mere, materialistic shell of ourselves?

On another note, the countdown to our Anniversary Party has begun and invitations have already been emailed to our former colleagues. I request those ex-employees who have not yet received an invitation to overlook the omission and contact me by mail or at 98803 53527.

Padma

From The Management                                                                                       (top)
Dear All,  

This month saw the absorption of the trainees into their respective projects. Speaking with the other project managers, I believe that the program has been something of a success. This has encouraged us to start another training programme starting on November 2nd. The last time I wrote this piece, I had said that it would be smaller group, maybe 4 trainees that we wanted. Given how the last programme went we have decided to up that number to 8 trainee programmers who will be joining us soon.

As all the trainee resumes that we went through were employee recommendations, I wanted the process to be as transparent as possible. This is why we went through the trouble of giving scores for each parameter on which the candidate was judged and these parameters and the scores scored by each candidate were made public. We haven't published the scores of the comprehension and analytical tests conducted but if you are interested in knowing them you can contact Padma who will show you the test papers. We will be putting out a similar parameter and scoring system for testers soon.

This month saw us also switching over to KEB power from the generator. I don't think most staff would have noticed the change. We also got additional funding from KSFC to the tune of 20.00 lakhs. There has been a slight delay in the Tata Indicom optic fibre reaching our offices. Tata Indicom has promised that this will be done early next month.

Regards,
Raghu

Projects News

StaffBank                                                                                                            (top)

October saw Deepak and Yogita being welcomed into the StaffBank team. Deepak will be working on Client server version of StaffBank while Yogita will be concentrating on StaffBank On Web.

This has been a hectic month for the StaffRoster team rolling out the pilot to Guys and Thomas. The basic rostering and reports were hosted at BbyB, and tested by BHP. The team will be in UK during November for the release scheduled for first of December.

Change controls modification to Go Direct screen of Personal Details, two new reports for Actual Hours Worked and Autofill were implemented into StaffBank Client server version along with a few bug fixes and internal changes. Clarification from NHSP on Southport payroll was a wee bit tardy, which pushed the payroll design and implementation to the fag end of the month. In addition, regular StaffBank maintenance and other day-to-day issues in StaffBank kept the team busy.

StaffBank version 2.08.00.w.2 was released to Scot with bug fixes for the New Splits addition in Payroll Change control, implemented in 2.08.00.w Version.

StaffBank On Web had a quiet month with few bug fixes and no change controls.

LinguaBank Version 1.02 was released to BHP with Tower Hamlets Access data transferred across to SQL database. Version 1.03 was later accepted by the client Tower Hamlet with SQL database and enhancements.

We bid goodbye to Sajayan this month. Let’s wish him all the best for his future.

Jayashree for StaffBank

MESaLS                                                                                                                  (top)


After the major release of Mesals 4.00.22, the Mesals team had a relaxed month. It has been an uneventful month for MESaLS as there were no Go Live and dry runs. This month has been dedicated to fixing a few Internal/External bugs.

Shashi and Naveen went to UK on 26th October to discuss new enchancements in Mesals4 with Chris Reed and will be back in the second week of November. Our team wishes both of them a successful visit.

Coming November and December are going to be a busy months for implementing additional features / functionalities.

We look forward to our winter stress buster at Ooty.

Vamsy from Mesals

pFACT                                                                                                                   (top)

Hi All,

There are a lot of changes happening in pFACT. First, Team pFACT takes the privilege of welcoming Mrs. Devaki as Project Leader and at the same time also welcomes Lakshmanan and Manu Gupta as domain members of pFACT.
Laxmanan and Manu Guptha have started off with writing classes for pFACT application under the guidance of Raghu Shenoy, Jayaraj and Devaki.
Meanwhile Pravitha, Sumathi and myself are looking into the bug fixes and enhancements in store.
Manu and Srikanth, along with testing, also kept busy writing test cases.
There were two patch releases this month. They are Version 2.01.a for Oracle Users and Version 2.00.h.1 release for SQL Users.

Sukanya for pFACT

Sepia                                                                                                                   (top)

This month we had two beta releases, one for Dorset and the other for Milton Keynes. We will be releasing a patch for version 3.08 to Milton Keynes during the first week of November.
We had project reviews and training sessions for the newcomers to Sepia.
Apart from dealing with day-to-day issues, we were also working on speed issues with Security and other permissions for Milton Keynes users.
This will be my last write up for Sepia. It was great working in Bit by Bit and especially with the Sepia team.

Hema for Sepia

Other News                                                                                                        (top)

Celebrations Galore

Devaki’s son, Sandeep, celebrated his first birthday on 15th October at Koramangala club. The little chap was unruffled by all the noise and cut the cake and received all the good wishes with great poise.

Jayashree celebrated the grihapravesham of her new house in J.J. Gardens, Vijaynagar on the 19th of October.

BbyBers, who are always happy to be in a celebratory mood, turned up for both occasions in large numbers.

Another occasion to look forward to is Manu’s wedding, scheduled to be held on November 16th and 17th at Channapatna. Manu is marrying Anita to whom he got engaged on September 10th.

Farewell to Sajayan and Hema

Sajayan Kondoth, who was a part of the StaffBank team, left BbyB on the 27th of October to join Integrated Risk Control Applications, Bangalore, as Software Developer. Sajayan says he had a good stint at BbyB where he got excellent exposure to Microsoft technologies. He was also all praise for the StaffBank team.

Hema left BbyB on September 27th to join Pivotal Software as Application Analyst. Hema says she is leaving BbyB with a lot of sweet memories for working here was a great learning experience and in addition, it was at BbyB that she met the love of her life, her future husband, Vinod. Hema will be marrying Vinod, our former System Admin, on December 1st. She wished to thank Devaki and the Sepia team, Raghu and Usha for all the support.

John’s Visit
John Hart was on a visit to BbyB from October 24th to October 29th to touch base with the pFACT and Sepia teams.

Chill Out at the Stressbuster
Watch out for the stressbuster on November 25, 26 and 27 in the serene, woody environs of Ooty. Pack your party spirit along with your jackets and stoles and get ready to rock.

Holidays                                                                                                                 (top)

November 1, Wednesday, will be a holiday on account of Rajyotsava.


Training and Education                                                                                         (top)

A training session on ISO Awareness and on BbyB InfoSystems was organised for the new entrants into various projects. The sessions were conducted by Jayaraj and Hema respectively.

Meetings and Events

A follow-up internal audit is in progress and will continue in to the first week of October.

Colleagues Cognizant                                                                                           (top)

This month’s limelight is focussed on Naveen and Sai Ramesh.

Naveen
Naveen who is the Project Leader for MESaLS, joined BbyB on 11th Feb 2002. Naveen is a man of few words, but means everything he says. His team members are full of praise for his leadership skills and enjoy working with him. Read on to learn more about Naveen.

Tell us about yourself.
I show a lot of interest and enjoy myself in whatever I do. I am practical by nature and I take life as it comes. Also, I am very patriotic.

What is the nature of your job?
I am currently working as Project Leader for Mesals. The job profile involves interaction with the BHP Mesals Team, estimation and allocation of tasks to team members, monitoring the progress of the tasks allocated and so on.

What changes have you observed in the company over the last few years?
When I joined BbyB, the work atmosphere was very informal. Things have gradually changed. Now, I feel we are more professional than 3-4 years ago. The company has grown big and we have a proper hierarchical structure now.

Can you tell us of any memorable experiences in your years at BbyB?
On the personal front, getting married to Aruna must rank as the most memorable incident as we both got to know each other while working here. On the work front, there are a couple of things that stand out. There was a period when I got to work with Raghu on Mesals. That short span of time changed me a lot as a software developer and as a person. It not only helped me, it helped Mesals stand on its feet and grow as a project immensely. He helped us in thinking beyond what we could manage ourselves. Apart from this, for nearly three years we had an unchanged team working together on Mesals. I must admit that was the best time I have experienced in BbyB (both on and off work). I got to learn a lot from everyone.

What do you like and dislike about MESaLS?
Regarding Mesals as a product, I like the features it offers for a Medical Equipment Store. I must admit I do not like a few functionalities, which are hard to use for a normal stores operator, - these could have been better designed. Regarding working on Mesals, I feel we are quite far off from the standards (being) set by StaffBank. I regret that and wish to push myself and the team to meet those high standards and exceed them. Moving on to the positives, although Mesals team has suffered the maximum attrition in the past two years, I like the way the team has regrouped in this phase, ensuring the smooth flow of the project.

Aruna and you work on the same project. How does it feel to work in close proximity with your wife at the office?
It is nice to be working together in the same office (and on the same project). I feel it has helped in understanding each other in a big way. It has also proved very useful for me. Aruna has been a constant source of help and encouragement to me in leading the project.

How does it feel to be working in the new office?
It is a great place to work from except for the travelling involved.

Which do you like better - reading books or watching movies? Why?
I love reading books (and newspapers too!!). I also like watching good (non run-of-the-mill kind) movies. Both of them give great pleasure to me.

How do you like to spend your weekends?
I like to read novels, watch movies, watch cricket/F1/football on TV and spend time with family members during weekends. My most ideal weekend would be watching a movie on Saturday and watching an India - Pakistan ODI on Sunday. Throw in two sessions of F1 (qualifying session and actual race). Mouth-watering, isn't it? Guys will agree!!

What is your favourite holiday destination?
There is no such place as my favourite holiday destination. I like travelling a lot. I like to visit historical places and hill stations. I also like to go on jungle safaris. Right now, we are planning a visit to Rajasthan.

When you get stuck in a traffic jam, what is your reaction?
Sometimes I keep wondering what is the solution for this madness, sometimes I feel like running away to my native place where traffic jams are unheard of. With regard to Hosur Road traffic jams, I feel like requesting for shifting our office back to Koramangala. It is such a frustrating thing to spend 3 hours on the road for 8 hours of work every day.

Finally, you look quite serious when in the office. Are you like that outside office hours too?
Definitely I am not of a "serious type" off work. I strongly believe seriousness in office is very much needed.

Sai Ramesh
Sai Ramesh our Testing Team Leader joined BbyB on 2nd June 2003. All the members of his team both admire and like him and feel that he is a great teacher. The secret to this lies in Sai’s attitude. He not only believes that constant learning is the only way of achieving success but also that team spirit is all-important. Sai describes himself as a simple guy who would like to attain great heights in his chosen field. Read on to learn more about him.

What is the nature of your job?
I am a Testing Engineer and I test Sepia. I am into QTP. I also manage the Testing team. This involves work organisation and sorting, clarifying doubts of testers, etc.

You are known for your terrific sense of humour. Comment.
(Smiles widely) I like to laugh and see others laugh.

You come across as a very supportive person and one who looks for the best in others. Did anything make you so or is that your nature?
Basically, I was a sportsperson while in school and college. I played cricket for my school and college, and as you know, cricket is a team game. It is now part of my system to be a team player.

What have been the high points of your 3+ years in BbyB?
Well, I can think of various things. I have been made a Test Lead, and of course, am now working on QTP. On a personal note - I got married after I joined BbyB, which is definitely a memorable event. In fact, these three years have spanned the three important stages of a man's life - bachelorhood, the state of being married and the proud moments of fatherhood.

Which is the last book you read? What did you think of it?
I don’t read novels anymore. I am currently reading a book on VB Script.

You have a penchant for discovering short cuts to the office - to everyone's great satisfaction. How come you have this 'gift'?
The initial motivation was that instead of cribbing about the distance, I thought I should try and do something about it. So I began to ask around and came to know about the shortcuts. It helps in avoiding the waiting periods in the traffic jams and so one reaches home in a better frame of mind.

Finally, you are reputed to jump headlong into a situation - for the challenge excites you. What drives you to do so?
I believe that if one wants to do something, one should go ahead and do it, rather than just sit and think about it and wait for the opportunity. I believe in the Just Do It philosophy - that is if you really want to do it.

Weekend Jaunts                                                                                                  (top)
   

Jayaraj and his family spent a wonderful Diwali weekend in Kerala, enjoying the bounties of nature. Pratima writes in, describing the great time they had and promising to go back for more.

A Tryst with “God’s Own Country”

We started off bright and early on the day of Naraka Chaturdashi, on our journey to Wynad, Kerala. Since we travel light, I should say that I did not have too much of packing to do on the eve of the journey. We set off soon after breakfast in the Scorpio. In about an hour’s time, we reached Mysore Road and Jayaraj being in his element, put his foot down on the gas pedal and before we realized it, we were outside Kengeri.

We stopped every now and then for a brief reprieve. We stopped at Maddur to have a light lunch, comprising of mouth-watering Maddur vadas. We resumed our journey soon after. Our next stop was at Ranganathittu. The place was teeming with eager tourists. We joined the crowd and got into a rowboat. Since it was not the right season to sight birds, we only managed to catch a glimpse of a few ibises, wagtails and a couple of other varieties.

Our next stop was at Nanjangud. We had a cup of tea at a roadside restaurant and then headed to the famous Nanjundeshwara temple. We soaked in the beauty and tranquillity of the temple for over an hour. It was late in the evening when we started off from Nanjangud.

We stayed at Gundalpet that night. We started off early the next day. We reached Bandipur at around 7 AM. We hired a bus to take us on a safari through the forest. We sighted a lot of chitals, peacocks, jungle fowl, bison, a lone tusker and a leopard.

After the fruitful visit to Bandipur, we turned around and drove to Gundalpet and then continued our journey to Kerala. As we crossed the Karnataka border we could see the landscape turning greener. No wonder, Kerala is called “God’s own Country”.

We reached Vythiri resorts at 2 PM. We were warmly received by the people at the resort, and escorted to our cottage. The resort nestles amidst a patch of rainforest. The cottage was located next to a stream. It looked like a piece of heaven that had accidentally come down to earth.

We freshened up and then rushed to the dining room. We were famished. I was delighted to see that the spread was just right for a vegetarian’s palate. After a sumptuous lunch, we walked around the resort. The dining room is connected to the resort by a hanging bridge since the cottages reside on one hill and the dining room on another with gushing water separating the two.

We spent two nights and three days in heaven. Lakshmi was initially delighted at the sight of a beautiful swimming pool, but her enthusiasm waned when a frog jumped into the pool with all good intentions of keeping her company.

However, she had other activities to keep her occupied. There was a basketball court, a badminton court and a lot of indoor games like table tennis, pool and carrom.

We reluctantly packed our bags on the third day and bid a sad farewell to Vythiri resorts and set off on our journey back home. We reached the outskirts of Sultan Batheri at noon. There was a signpost indicating that the Edakkal caves were a stone’s throw away from Sultan Batheri. We decided to visit the caves. After a brief stop for a cup of tea at a roadside shop, we set off for the caves. It was a half-hour climb to the caves, and I must say that we enjoyed every bit of the climb.

It was around 3 PM when we came down the hill. We stopped at a restaurant to cool off. While sipping an ice-cold lime soda and making small talk with some locals, we realized that we could make it to the evening safari at the Muthanga sanctuary. We rushed to the place and hired a jeep to take us on a safari through the forest. The safari lasted an hour and a half. We sighted a few bison and wild dogs.

It was late in the evening when we started back. We stopped for the night at Amblee. The next day, we started off soon after a good breakfast at Amblee and reached Bangalore by noon.

It was my first trip to God’s Own Country and won’t be the last. I’m sure that the memories of this wonderful vacation will draw us back to Kerala time and time again.

A page from our diary - Pratima

Birthdays                                                                                                             (top)

The month begins with a bang, courtesy the Rajyotsava celebrations, and Team Mesals will continue the party spirit as two of their Testing engineers, Divya and Raju,
celebrate their birthdays in November.

Jayashree's and Sharada's Birthday Snaps

Vasudev's Birthday Snaps

Shashi's and Jillee's Birthday Snaps