IA Described

IA_Described, originally uploaded by sampuri.

The changing need of any product has affected the way we used to design. You cannot take a tool and start filling colors and expect a WOW from you customers/Users.There is a need to analyse User needs, Business needs and System needs. It becomes more complex when you have information hovering on you rhead from different channels but an information architect can be a real hel to avoid the confusion clutter.

This diagram describes how an IA filters and architects the user and business need. Won an award on this entry and here is it http://is.gd/7NnPS (See and Search for sampuri the winner).

You can add me on flickr, My ID is sampuri or mail me @ sampuri@gmail.com.

Remembering the Legends of Indian Cricket

The indian cricket has had a long journey since the emergence of our cricket team. Before independence we have seen some special heroes like CK nayudu, Lala amaranth and Mohammad nissar which made their test debut in 1932 cricket team that included some players from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Lala amaranth was the first captain led India after independence in 1948 against the mighty Australia (kangaroos ) who were on a role under the leadership of Don Bradman and announced the emerging talent of the Indian cricket and legends about to come.

We did’t wait long to taste the success and were victorious against the English side which toured the sub-continent in 50’s but our first test victory came in 1952 in madras when we demolished the Pakistanis and tasted first ever test victory in the same year. Some of the stars of 50’s and 60’s include Vinoo Mankad, Hemu Adhikari, Chandu Borde, Sbhash Gupte and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who were considered the pillars of the Indian cricket. They instilled a belief of winning in the team. Nawab Patudi one of the Legends of our cricket lost the sight of one eye in a car accident that impaired his right eye forever, he led India in 40 of 46 Tests he played in, and won 12 of them. Indians achieved their first ever victory on the foreign soil under him in 1967-68.

Most of the 70’s was dominated by the spin wizards of India Bishen Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkatraghavan these guys don't need any introduction to the circket pundits and will always remain legends with their golden arms. In this era when the cricket was dominated by the fast bowlers they showed the world why they are regarded the best ever in cricket. Legends when unite they discover legends, the list of legends increased in this era which included Gundappa Viswanath and Sunil Gavaskar. Sunil went on to make history he was the first player to achieve 10,000 test runs studded with 34 test centuries now taken over by our little master Sachin Tendulkar. These bunch of players were responsible for the back-to-back series wins in West Indies and England in 1971. Kapil Dev emerged as a quality all-rounder towards the end of this decade.

Then came 1980s, players like Mohammed Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Krish Srikkanth, Madan Lal and Maninder Singh emerged. India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 under Kapil Dev defeating Clive Lloyds formidable and very tough to beat West Indies in the final. This changed the outlook of cricket in India and cricket became a religion for the cricket lovers. In 1985, India won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. The test series victory in 1986 in England remains, the most cherish able to date. Every youngster wanted to perform like kapil and sunil after the saga of successful Indian cricket and their unforgetable achievements.

Then came the youngster silently like a tiger is before the kill, he is undoubtedly the best any country has ever produced, Sachin Tendulakar the youngest Indian Cricket Player to make his Test debut at an age of 16 years, 205 days against Pakistan in 1989 in Karachi. Lot has been said about the passion, aggression, style, authority, elegance, outstanding technique and an eagerness to learn and master the game of cricket. An idol for the youngsters not only in India but wherever and whenever he traveled. He is considered to be the god of cricket who changed the way cricket was played in Indian and all over the world. The emergence of Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble in 1989 and 1990 gave further proof of Indian cricket's depth and talent. The Indian side went from strength to strength during the 1990s.

Anil Kumble became the second bowler in the history of the game to take all ten wickets in a Test match innings when he took 10 for 74 against Pakistan at New Delhi. Sachin Tendulkar continued to set new records while Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Javagal Srinath made their mark in international cricket during this decade. India reached the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup played in South Africa.

The legend are still flowing in but one legend will be on top of my list is the Grandpa of cricket "Sachin Tendulkar". He has dedicated his 20 years to cricket, still looks eager to perform and learn. His hunger for runs has not yet diminished.

My Tribute to all.

I was cheering for Pakistan

Photo Courtsey www.cricinfo.com

It is ICC champion trophy match between Aus and Pak which went down to the wire. Aussies looked cruising at one stage after a stunning performance with the ball. Ponting and his men wanted to prove the world that they are still the best in the business and were of course on a role till the time the side from Sub-continent showed their real class with the ball. Brett lee saved the Aussies from which looked like a total mockery in the end as they lost their way and looked like gifting the semi final birth to the India.

I was cheering for Pakistan for the first time in my cricket following history. Now I have understood why they call cricket a funny game. Not to forget that Indian team was also playing on the other ground but all the hard core cricket fans had their eyes glued on the Aussie VS Pak match. My heartbeat was very high and almost chewed all my nails, but a smile on Brett Lee’s face broke my heart and it was all over for the Indian team which entered the tournament as favourites to win the trophy.

Sadly for Indian fans India bowed out of the tournament but all cheers to Pakistan for entering the semis but you cannot win the tournament by relying on other’s heroics, especially Pakistan. But I am happy that India is out because they didn’t perform like a champion team and never at any stage looked threatening to beat any team. They were plagued by some injury problems but you cannot give excuses to justify your defeats.

On the other hand Pakistan must be happy after winning T20 world cup and now have another opportunity to prove themselves as a champion team. I cheered for Pakistan and back them now to win the cup. I think they deserve this!

Journey to Maxwell Engineers on Hamara Bajaj

Folks, after a long long time I had a chance to ride a Bajaj chetak from my house to our factory in faridabad. One of our factory managers came to pick me up on the scooter, it is the same scooter on which I learned how to drive a scooter. This is another chance for me after 12 yrs to feel it again, it definitely reminded me of my childhood days when my dad used to take me out on the same scooter. We used to have a lot of fun and felt like kings at that time owning our own “Hamara Bajaj” chetak scooter.

That’s history now but I rode about 4 kms on the scooter again couple of days back. The scooter was in a very bad condition, you know how workers on the field use them, but no grudges. As the scooter started after almost 5 kicks, I jumped on the back seat and assured that would not miss any chance to enjoy the ride. But things have changed a lot since my childhood, I am not that younger anymore, also have grown grey hair but forgetting all this I was still excited to ride it. As we approached the main road I experience how terrible it is to escape the big potholes on the roads, thanks to your government who is making sure that these should not disappear quickly. But Dinesh Bhaiya (Factory Manager) had already developed the skill to zip on these terrible roads. His seat was having a good cushion of a spring but I was on the flat seat on which I could feel those bumps one after another, reminding me of shouting to the Lord with thanksgiving for all the comforts he has granted me.

We stopped to fiil the fuel tank and that time I realised that yes I am growing old, my back started paining and had already become stiff. We moved ahead and approached the factory road which is the only connection point for our house and the factory, I asked dinesh bhaiya “is that road re-laid?”. He nodded his head and I felt OK. We were on the road and amazingly that was one of the shabbiest and pathetic roads I have ever seen in the NCR, and God that too on a scooter ride. I then made sure to hold something so that I wont fall down on the road. Moving ahead was a big pothole which had a water blockage, we had to cross that. I felt like we are taking a deep dive in the water ourselves as the scooter was almost sunk inside the water which changed the sound of the engine as if someone had been trying to kill you with a pillow on your mouth. My legs were in the air saving myself from that infectious water. Thank God we managed to cross. By now I felt like scratching my body all over, there was irritation all over my body and first time really I was feeling sorry at my state. Dinesh Bhaiya was normal and was like an elephant who doesn’t care of any problem it faces in the Jungle but for me it was already becoming painful and not enjoyable anymore.

We reached factory full of dusty clothes and hair but in this I learned one thing that how much god loves me and may be he wanted me to see that we need to stop cribbing on our condition but instead thank god for all the provision and comforts he has given to us.

I was not born with a golden spoon in my hand but I Consider myself as a child of god chosen by Jesus himself for a special reason. I got right things at right time but it was not easy as I had my own struggles and tests but am thankful that I have passed those tests with good marks in God’s report card.

Praise you Jesus

HOW TO (and not to) WORK WITH A DESIGNER

1) Choose your designer carefully. Look at their previous work. The best designers don’t have a “signature look.” Their projects look as different as their clients do. Awards don’t necessarily mean the design
worked for the client.

2) Leave your preconceived notions at the door. Don’t ask for a project “like someone else’s but in a different color.” Be open to new, unexpected ideas. Don’t be afraid of something different.Let new ideas sink in.

3) Tell your designer what you want to say rather than how you want it to look.

4) Be clear about specific features you need . You want your designer to create a design specific to your needs. If you try to add features as you go along, the design won’t fit as well.

5) Do your research and be specific about your needs. “I need to sell meeting planners on the idea of hiring me to create costumes for their events.” That’s clear and specific about both the product and the audience. The more detailed and specific you are at the start, the better the designer can tailor the project to your needs. If you add requirements later on, the designer will probably just have to shoe-horn them in, which won’t give you the best results.

6) Make sure your message and content are clear.
The more of your content you have complete, the better the designer can build your project around it. A good designer may make suggestions to refine your content to get your message across faster or more clearly, but the more content you have complete, the more the designer will have to work with.

7) Design for your customer, not yourself, your friends or your colleagues. Be specific so your designer knows who your customers are and what they want. It’s more important that they like your project than that you like it. Always remember, “What’s in it for them?” *

8) Have good reasons for your preferences .You can show the designer projects that appeal to you, but dig deeper and figure out why
they speak to you. Think in terms of feelings.* *

9) Don’t design by committee. No good design was ever created by a consensus. The more people who have a voice in the process, the more watered down the results will be. Your friends and coworkers will often give you conflicting advice and people often have ulterior motives when they give you comments (they may be jealous or threatened if you get something that’s too good, or they may just be ignorant). You should only have one person making decisions. Don’t be wishy-washy and try to change direction late in the process.

10) Don’t tell your designer how to design.
That’s not your area of expertise. Instead, give the designer your requirements & preferences, while giving them the freedom to create something that answers them as effectively as possible. If you micromanage your designer, that person won’t be motivated to do anything but cash your check.

11) You can’t please all the people all the time. Bill Cosby said “The only sure way to failure is to try to please everybody.” If everyone thinks your project is “OK” then it’s probably too dull to get much of a reaction from anyone. If you design a project with NO personality no one will hate it. Or love it.

12)Trust your designer (you are paying for their expertise). Designers aren’t just people who can use graphics programs, and if you treat them that way, they will become people who just want to receive a check.

A good designer’s work will make something: WORK BETTER SELL BETTER LOOK BETTER SHED NEW LIGHT ON OLD SUBJECTS

Grace Assembly of God Church Faridabad Live!

I am on phone.

I have been noticing people while they talk on the phone, their phone defines their style and way to present themselves. A high end phone means the guy has conquered the whole world and he is the kind, you will see them always showing their phone while they are talking, making a lot of body movements. Sometimes they even take the phone in their hand and start involving it as a pointer in their talks so that some of the friend in the office will notice and say "hey man is it a new phone?". After that just see their cunning smile and their changed looks....after the pause reply comes "You are talking about this....yeah yeah this is a new phone" as if they are doing sympathy on you. The phone will be their style icon and for some days they keep on stairing it and polishing it with their own clothes, praying for scratch less life. People in office keep the new phones on the desk and when the phone rings they keep on stairing the contact for so long whom they already know and is in their contact, its their own contact buy its a new phone folks this is the time other people can notice the ring tone and come to their desk with some more questions about the new phone.

Someone has bought a new phone among your friends and it is now the right time to change your old ugly looking phone. You soon see them on the phone websites and analysing and asking other people about the feedback on the model they are looking for. Finally they know they are financially tight but its a prestige issue now. They will buy the phone and wont even sell the old phone to gain the upper hand that yes they have now two phones one will be their phone and other one they still have to take a decision on that.....Interesting!

People who cant buy the new phones their phones are always on the vibration mode, their confidence level on the interview calls gets affected and they are hardly concentrating on their conversation over the phone but will always notice who are the people watching their phone. They will try not to show it to others while they are talking but if someone asks them they say "I don't want to waste my money on the phones, well this phone solves my purpose"

If someone whom you don't like buys the same phone you have it is the time to change your phone now ! Some people are scared to buy the new phones as they are experts of handling their phone which is been surviving with them for ages. People wont ask the connectivity and network capacity of the phone but instead they would look for a phone with a high end camera, bluetooth and some interesting games. Colclusing part is your attitude does influence when you have a cool phone.