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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 Vatsala@bbyb.com or
padmabaliga@bbyb.com.
Editorial (top)
‘Expect the unexpected
and you’ll never be caught by surprise.’ This attitude
helped BbyBers to take it in their stride when things took
an unexpected turn and we had to shift to another office much
before our new office could come up. A notice from the government
and our firm belief that corruption and bribery are unethical
and unhealthy for one’s conscience led to an urgent search
for alternative premises. Fortunately, suitable plug and play
office space was found within stone’s throw distance
and the shift was made. Coincidentally, the first thing we
saw on going to the new office was a poster that read, ‘In
the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.’
The StaffBank team continues
to operate from the ground floor of the main office.
On another note, the unexpected
rains and the resultant traffic jams have caught most Bangaloreans
by surprise but come rain, come shine, we BbyBers are always
there on time!
Wishing everyone a joyous
Rajyotsava, Deepavali and Id!
Padma
From the Management (top)
Dear All,
It now feels
strange to be working in a ‘divided
office’ and the 1st floor now feels empty and eerie.
As you can see the court case against properties in Koramangala
has gone nowhere but I still hold that moving the office
was the correct thing to do. When it is a question of ethics
or profits I would hope that we would always put ethics first.
That is why I had insisted that the phrase “adhering
to the highest standards of business ethics” be
part of the BbyB quality policy.
My special thanks to Jayaraj, Shashi and
Vinod for implementing the move in just one weekend. I want
to thank all of you too for co-operating with us.
Office construction
is now on at full swing and we have been sanctioned a loan
of about 73 lakhs by KSFC for this purpose. Now with the
financial closure of the project, I don’t see any
obstacles to our moving in early April 2006.
We have also been able to finalize our winter
stress buster trip. We are going back to Sterling Yercaud
where we had a great time last winter.
Regards,
Raghu
Projects
News
StaffBank (top)
Hello All,
It has been a relatively quiet
period as far as bugs reported are concerned. StaffBank team
was busy with external changes this month. This involved designing
and development of a few changes and finalising the specification
of a few others.
Arun was busy doing what he
is good at. He was busy working on Payrolls the whole month.
He worked on West Kent Payroll, South Downs Payroll, SHAW PCT
and Web DLL for Charges. He also worked on Maidstone Data Extract.
Arun Kumar was working on
Auto-Email, AutoProcess and Availability Predictor. As the
previous procedures for Auto-Email were inefficient, new procedures
were written for it. As Arun Kumar is leaving us at the end
of this month, he was also busy handing over his work to Shenoy
and Sreedhar. While Shenoy has taken charge of Auto-Email,
AutoProcess and Availability Predictor, Sreedhar will be looking
into CCS modules done by Arun Kumar.
It was a very busy month for
Jayashree. Each change control in StaffBank is going through
a number of testing cycles now. As she is the only tester available
with thorough understanding of StaffBank, she was busy with
Scot Nursing Invoicing Flexibility functionality, Payroll for
SHAW, South Downs and West Kent Trusts, Auto email and Auto
processing.
Pratibha was busy with Mesals
data prep for most of the month. She also worked on scripts
for PASA rates, besides generating scripts to update the Professional
Bodies for Nurses for the London, South and North databases.
Sajayan started looking into
StaffBank on Web along with Sreedhar. He is working on designing
an interactive page for Staff Members Login.
Saraswati, a new member of
the testing team, started testing new change controls for StaffBank
on Web.
Sreedhar was busy with a release
of CCS in the beginning of this month. This was followed by
making a few internal changes to fix a few bugs in StaffBank
on Web. The end of the month saw him working on the NHSP110
External Change Control. Along with Shenoy and Sajayan, he
is looking into making StaffBank on the Web more proactive
for the StaffBank Member login.
Shenoy was in UK at the beginning
of this month handling Auto-Email and finalising specification
for OCR. After he came back, he was busy managing new developments
in StaffBank. He worked on Push library, which is being developed
in .Net. After some embarrassing errors at the client site
in his last UK visit where he was supervising deployment, he
emphasized the importance of testing in software development
to all the team members. He got himself involved in testing
of all the change controls. Apart from this he took charge
of Auto-Email and participated in its testing.
Uma was busy working on Change
control for PASA rates and NHSP110 Change control.
As
usual, Usha was involved in handling day to day issues/version
releases in StaffBank. She was involved in getting LAP3 working
at Guys & St.
Thomas and NHSP London. She was also involved in finalising
the design for Oracle Interface for Agency Invoicing.
I was working on Invoice Flexibility
change control for ScotNursing. After the version was released
to Scot, I started working on Push technology.
Let's wish Arun Kumar all
the best for his future.
Chaitanya for StaffBank Team
MESaLS (top)
Wishing
everyone a very Happy Deepavali!
Post Chris Reed's visit, there has been
considerable progress in development in the month of October.
The issue list that was agreed upon during our meeting with
Chris Reed has grown considerably small with only a few issues
remaining as outstanding.
You might all be aware that there will be a MESaLS User Group on 1st and 2nd
of November 2005, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There has been considerable
interest in MESaLS V4 amongst the existing and new clients. Currently there
are 5 sites which are LIVE on MESaLS V4 (Sunderland being the new addition
to the list) and another 11 sites have ordered their upgrades and are going
through their implementation / migration processes (5 of whom have actually
set 'Go Live' dates; Cambridge and Livingston are slated to go live in the
very near future.). Another 10 sites have indicated that they want to move
to V4 and they will be placing their order soon. Therefore around 65% of the
MESaLS User Base are on, or are moving toward version 4 already. More about
what transpired at the User Group in the next newsletter.
Everybody realises the importance of having easily accessible servers to the
development team (for easier redressal of bugs, CCs, upgrades etc). BHP is
in the cusp of having an own Server Farm from where the MESaLS users run their
application. The ball has been set in motion and the 'State of the Art' installation
should be in place very soon at London Docklands (James Bond film fans will
identify it from the movie The World Is Not Enough).
This obviously means that the Servers are at the developers' disposal on a
24/7 basis for fixing bugs, upgrading versions etc. This will draw the curtain
on the development team here having to go through several layers of dialups
and remote accesses for addressing any data related or application related
(be it minor or major) issues. This also means that we will have to gear up
to meet new challenges like how many users, how many applications, how many
databases, user permissions, data ownership, etc. etc. Looking forward to all
these! More about this in future newsletters.
As usual, the team can expect a busy November!!! For now just enjoy the festival
season.
Shashi for MESaLS
pFACT (top)
This month saw only one major release of pFACT.
This is happening for the first time in the history of pFACT.
Normally, we have at least 3 releases a month.
Hope this will continue and we can go home at 7 PM.
We are all awaiting John's arrival on 31st October.
Wishing everyone at the office a happy Diwali and Ramzan.
Rejeen for pFACT team
Sepia (top)
Hi Friends,
First of all, let’s congratulate Devaki for being blessed with a baby
boy.
After the release of Ver 3.07.a,
NELMHT came out with some changes in Appointments, MHMDS Honos
allocation and Group activity. So all these changes were made
and two patches were sent in this month. Shashi solved the
Go fetch function problem and Vatsala did the Online Help and
Introductory guide for the new enhancements.
Happy Diwali and Happy Journey to all those who are going for a vacation next
week.
Hema for Sepia Team
New
Office (top)
Due
to the unexpected, unseasonal rains, we have lost a couple
of weeks in the construction process. However, our contractor
is determined not to let the rains get the better of him and
is confident that we will be able to make up this delay. The
base for the swimming pool is being built and can be seen clearly
in the pictures, as it is the only ‘no-mud’ part
in the picture. The clear waters of the lake form an inviting
background.
Here are some pictures taken at the construction
site of our new office.
Other
News (top)
Heartfelt Condolences
Every
member of the BbyB family felt Devaki’s pain and grief when she lost her husband,
Hari, to cancer early this month on October 2nd. Devaki and
Hari got married last year and were expecting their first child
at the time of Hari’s untimely death. We offer our heartfelt
condolences to Devaki and pray to God to give her the strength
to bear this misfortune.
A
Birth – a sign of
hope
Happiness and sorrow are the
two sides of the coin called life. On October 15th, Devaki
gave birth to a bonny baby boy. Good wishes and blessings to
the little chap!
Farewell To ArunKumar
ArunKumar who is very popular
as SQL Server guru, will be quitting BbyB on 31st of October.
ArunKumar joined BbyB as an ASP programer in February 2004
but worked extensively on SQL Server 2000. He worked with pFACT
for a couple of months but the major chunk of his experience
was with Staffbank. Arun says that he enjoyed working with
all his colleagues.
ArunKumar is joining
IBM as a Junior DBA-SQL Server and Oracle, in the month of
November. BbyB wishes him the best in his future endeavours.
News
From Abroad (top)
I was in the UK in late September-early
October to help out with a couple of things. The first was
the OCR project where NHSP are looking at having timesheets
sent it by nurses, scanned and optically recognized. This would
mean a huge saving in staff costs as currently these timesheets
are entered manually.
The second task was to help BHP demo StaffBank to NHSP for
the National tender. As you already know we were competing
against the ‘big boys’ this
time – BT, Deloitte, Siebel… We introduced a new concept called
StaffBank Push – This technology will sit on top of StaffBank and help
call centre supervisors to manage their operators better. Tasks will be pushed
out to operators based on rules and priorities decided by the supervisor. The
demo went off quite well and to quote Chris Lee, “We know we have now
done our best”. We now await NHSP’s decision on this tender…
Raghu
New Recruits (top)
Jillee
Yurembam
Jillee Yurembam was recruited on 3rd October 2005 as a Domain Member
of Mesals, ASP and VB. Jillee holds an MCA degree from Manipur
University, Imphal and passed out in the year 2004. He was earlier
working as a developer on ASP.Net at X-treme Wave, STPI, Imphal.
Hailing from the hilly regions of Manipur, he describes himself
as a funloving guy who enjoys being in the company of his friends.
His hobbies include playing the guitar and singing. Surprisingly
he is not interested in sports. Jillee loves dosas and Manipuri
delicacies like Enomba and Kansoi. Jillee is currrently in the
Mesals team and we welcome him into the BbyB family. |
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Holidays
The
first week of this month is going to be very relaxing, packed
as it is with holidays. November 1, Tuesday, is
a holiday on account of Kannada Rajyotsava and the next day, November
2 is a holiday on account of Deepavali.
The celebrations continue with November 4,
Friday, being a holiday too, on account of Id-ul-Fitr, the
last day of Ramzan.
We
wish everyone a happy celebration.
Colleagues
Cognizant (top)
This
month, as part of our process of re-acquainting ourselves
with our colleagues, we bring to you Vatsala
N. and Aruj George. Read on..
Aruj
George
Aruj
George may be pint-sized and look like butter won’t
melt in his mouth, but is a mega fun-loving chap. He
joined Bit by Bit on July 1st, 2005, and started working
on the MESaLS Web application but later moved to MESaLS
Handheld.
BbyB Beacon had a chat with Aruj and here are some excerpts.
How
would you describe yourself?
I am a fun-loving guy but very simple and friendly.
What
do you like most about BbyB?
I love the working environment here and my colleagues. My colleagues are most
friendly and helpful.
What
made you move to Bangalore? Give us your views on this
city.
One
word says it all - opportunities. Bangalore is a city
with lots of opportunities. This is a great city for ‘time
pass’ too.
How
do you spend your evenings?
With my friends.
What
do your friends like and dislike about you?
(refused to answer at first, but did so after some persuasion.) My friends
like my simplicity but get annoyed with me at times for I make sure my work
is my priority.
What
are your favourite foods?
I love eating most Kerala dishes and, of course, pizzas.
What
are the things that make you laugh?
I always love a good joke and ‘comedy films’.
Sum
up your philosophy of life in a few words.
Life is precious. We have to enjoy our life as well as we can. Never compromise
in life. Never think about the past and what we have lost. Think about the
future and what we can gain.
Vatsala
N.
Vatsala joined Bit by Bit on December 1st, 2004
as a Technical Writer. An engineer and a trained
technical writer, she likes her job for it requires
her to interact with various people working on
different projects. She has completed help files
for two projects. A fun-loving girl, she says she “can be moody at times
but always believe(s) in kicking off the day with a broad smile.” “While
I am not very hardworking,” says Vatsala, “ I am not lazy either
and ensure that my work is submitted on time. Till very recently I used to
write the newsletters every month.”
BbyB Beacon had a chat with Vatsala (who’s engaged and soon to be married)
about life, love and other things, and here’s what she has to say.
What
do you like most about BbyB?
The friendly atmosphere and the flexible timings.
What
are the qualities a Tech Writer should have?
A good vocabulary and good command of the language. One should also be technically
sound, and be a good listener and a good interpreter. To top all these, a Tech
Writer should be good at communicating with people.
You
vibe well with..?
At BbyB, I get along well with Nisha, Padma, Jayashree, Sreedhar, Sharada and
lest I forget, Ajmal who tops the list.
What
are your strengths and weaknesses?
Let me start on an optimistic note. I’m bold, cheerful and friendly.
If I’m being asked about my weaknesses, hmmm… well, I’m short
tempered and slow at work.
We
heard you are going to be married soon. What are your
feelings on the eve of changing your status from Ms.
to Mrs.?
Yes. I’m getting married on 18th November, 2005 and I’m just thrilled
to bits about this mega-event. Regarding the change of status from Ms. to Mrs.,
I have no qualms about it as I feel this is bound to happen in every girl’s
life. I have enjoyed my singlehood all these days and now I’m looking
forward to marital life.
Sum
up your philosophy of life in a few words.
My philosophy in life is “Live and let others live”.
I also believe in living my life to the fullest.
Birthdays (top)
Divya
R., our ever-smiling Testing Engineer will be celebrating
her birthday on November 21st. We wish her a very happy birthday.
Remember, everyone, to rendezvous at the dining table at
1:00 p.m. that day for the cake-cutting.
Here’s
a glimpse of last month’s celebrations.
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