Software Development - Story 1

XYZ Corporation, Bangalore. Monday 10:45 AM. 2 Programmers glued to the computer monitor.

Prog 1: I think all the screens look perfect. They are exactly same as the design.

Prog 2: Ya I too think the same. But we cannot close it unless the Team Leader approves

Prog 1: OK then. Let us send it for review to the Team Leader

Team Leader reviews the application and calls both the programmers

Team Leader: Everything is fine except for the confirmation screen. I have given comments clearly in my mail. Do those changes and you are good to go.

Prog 1: OK That is great. We will do that right away.

All changes made. Project Manager, Team Leader and Programmers are very happy with the application. Application is shipped to the Customer site.

After implementation, Customer rejected the application giving many more changes to be made. Everyone is disappointed.

Moral of the Story: How much ever you develop, review and modify the application, the Customer is the King. Always keep the King informed

Persons vs work

Ramu: Machi, nee than aptitude exams prepare panitu iruka la. Nan oru question kekaren answer soluda

Somu: Soluda, enna question?

Ramu: Naalu per (4 persons) sendu oru velaya (work) 10 days la mudicha, oru aal (1 person) andha velaya mudika evalo naal aagum?

Somu: Idhu ennada periya kelvi. 40 days agum (Perumidha sirippu!!)

Ramu: Thappu da. 2 days la mudichidalam.

Somu: Ennada kanakku podara. Suthama thappu.

Ramu: Naan sonnadhu correct thanda. Naan sonna velai "Software Programming"

Life after death

It was a typical monsoon night in Kerala. The day had been really long. I could see some sparkles in front of my eyes. May be my mind and body needs a break. First there was the accident case - then an elderly woman who suffered an heart attack - finally the kid grievously injured while playing. Scissors and knives are to me; as the keyboard to a software engineer.

I was about to put my mobile phone to sleep - so that I can catch some uninterrupted sleep. May be the God did not like it. A sweet music which was the ringtone in my mobile - is not very sweet now. My body wanted to dismiss the call, but the mind made me do the otherwise. Voice at the other end was trembling; about the labor pain of a woman in a village about 20 kms from my place. I could not say no. That would be an injustice to my profession. My day has not ended yet!

The rain was intolerable. I got in to my car and started to move. Visibility was near zero and I was moving ahead on my intuitions. But when I was crossing the Ottapalam, I could see something on the side of the road. I was tempted to stop the car and have a look; but the voice I heard over the phone made me move. Finally, once again, my mind got better of me and I halted. I got out in the rain; what I saw there was blood chilling, even to myself who looks at the red liquid everyday. There was an old woman. Her face was gory and covered with blood all over. At the dim light, my heart missed a beat when I had a close look at her face. My mind worked very fast and I realized that she had met with an accident. I picked her up and put her in the rear seat. I tried to cover her wounds as fast as I could and started to move the car, as it had already been about 3 quarters of an hour since I got the call. I reached the place from where I got the call. Stopping the car, I looked at the rear seat. Absence of any movements in the old lady, suggested the inevitable. Yes, she is no more. After my first aid, the old lady’s face was clear. I could sense a calmness there. There was a big mole beneath her eyes. A sense of fear and guiltiness spread inside me. I do not know the reason. But I have to move on. I went in and set things up. Eventually the young lady gave birth to a healthy kid; both mother and the kid were fine. But, I was dumbstruck.

The new born kid was a baby girl and she had a big mole beneath her eyes.

Busy

It was 8 in the morning. Karthik was getting ready to go to office. As usual, he got up very late and he had just 15 minutes to take the office bus at Jayanagar 4th block. On missing he bus, it would be almost 10.30 when he reaches the office at Electronics City. He was making his mom run all over the place, to help him get ready. After all, she prepares his breakfast and packs his lunch. She asked him, “Karthik! Do you have to go to office today?”. What a stupid question – he thought. “Something must have gone wrong with you.”, he told. He said nothing more. His mom continued with her duty to prepare him for office. It was almost 8.10 when he finished his breakfast. He had just finished half the plate and did not have the patience to eat further. Despite his mom’s requests, he flew away with his bag and lunch box.

“Thank God”, he said on reaching the place where the bus stops. A sense of achievement filled him, as he reached there on time. He began waiting for the bus. 15 minutes were gone. There was no glimpse of his company bus. He started growing suspicious. To add to his suspicion, none of the regular colleagues who commuted along with him were present. When the clock showed the time as 8.45, he lost his patience. He thought twice about taking an auto, as it would cost him as high as 200 Rupees. But he had no other option, as there was a regular onsite call at 10. He called an autowallah and bargained for 200 Rupees. He was very surprised to see that the traffic was very sparse. Praising his own luck, he was happy that he could make it definitely for the call.

He reached the office at around 9.45. He was stunned to see that almost all seats in his floor were empty. Puzzled, he logged into his machine and opened the mail client. When he saw the first mail, he was almost shocked!

The subject of the mail read – “Happy Independence Day! 15 August 2006. Have a happy Holiday”.