November 2009 Issue

From the Editor's Desk

Six Sigma as a quality
strategy for students!!
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention,
sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents
the wise choice of many alternatives.”
William Foster

Quality is on the way to become the way of life for students to study, employers to
invest and employees to practice and excel. Six sigma or CMM (Capability Maturity Model) are
concepts known to all, but the maturity levels of CMM or DMAIC approach of Six Sigma are worth
taking a look at.

There are growing concerns regarding the quality of technical graduates produced every year.
NASSCOM’s prediction of a shortfall of half a million professionals by 2010 certainly alerts us of the
decline in the employability rate. Recession has slowed down the recruitment at entry level relative
to the preceding boom period. Organizations place a great emphasis on quality of the employees to
be hired. Preparing for the skills in demand, to beat the competition and to remain at a cut above the
rest has become more important than ever. This perhaps is the right time to concentrate on the
improvement of the quality of the workforce.

The business world has seen the emergence of a number of quality related initiatives like
- Total Quality Management (TQM)
- Just in Time (JIT)
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Quality Circles (QC)
- Benchmarking
- QS 9000
- ISO 9000 QMS standards
- Total productive maintenance (TPM)
- Six Sigma, and
- SEICMM levels

‘Six Sigma’ is a latest quality trend introduced to improvise the processes in business. Bill
Galvin of Motorola and Jack Welch of GE have used this approach and have witnessed significant
improvements in their market share, customer satisfaction and performance of their products and
services.

Six Sigma embodies a systematic, data driven, analytical approach for reducing variation in
any process and thereby eliminating defects. The central idea behind this methodology is that if we
can measure the number of defects in a process, we can systematically figure out how to eliminate
them and get close to ‘zero defects’ as much as possible.
 Let us have a look at how this concept can be applied to students to improve their quality.
The DMAIC approach of Six Sigma has five steps: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control.

In the First step, it is important that a student ‘defines’ his problem (poor results in a particular
course, class or discipline, poor performance in programming, poor designing skills, poor communication
skills etc). Having identified the student CTQs (critical to quality), these can now be treated as project
CTQs. Writing down a problem statement, a mission statement and developing a project charter (what
needs to be done, determine goals, key deliverables, benefits of the project etc) can bring more clarity
on the focused improvement project. They can do a survey on what exactly the industry needs and
what exactly they need in the form of resources.

In the Second step ‘Measure’, the symptoms of the problem have to be analyzed, a baseline of
current and recent performance is established and accordingly confirm or modify the mission statement.
This might perhaps reveal to a student that the project needs to be broken into more manageable parts
or the problem is some what different from the one that was originally described.

During the Third step ‘Analyze’, the root causes of the problem need to be identified, documented
and organized in the form of cause and effect diagram. Alternatives for removal of causes of defects
in our performance levels should be figured out.

The Fourth step ‘Improve’ is when one needs focus on a design of improvement plan and
implementing it. The solutions should be tested and the results need to be measured.

The Fifth step ‘Control’ is a way to ensure that the gains which have been achieved will continue
and problem will not recur, the improvement is foolproofed. Standard measures to monitor one’s
performance should be established. This could be a wholesome process to improve on problems that
students might be facing during their academic pursuit.

Six Sigma philosophy has produced champions, master black belts, black belts and green belts
in the industry and perhaps an introduction of a similar methodology into academic arena can fetch us
the results desired. The success of companies like Motorola, Honeywell, Black and Decker,
Intel, Ford, Apple Computer, General Electric, Bank of America which have got converted
into powerhouses of perfection after practicing Six Sigma speaks volumes of its
effectiveness.

Optimizing our quality level through a continual measured process can perhaps
yield results in tune with the growing demand of quality workforce. Success is three steps
away from a student: a focused exploration, evaluation and expedition....and Six Sigma
methodology can guide them in the right way.

Padmaja Naraharisetty

Principal Mentor, Soft Skills.

 The Art of Story Telling
Wisdom Forgoen!
Setting - A concert hall
Time - During a concert
Situation - Reminiscing on how things have changed

Every year in the month of December, the city of Chennai experiences

a musical carnival that is popularly called as the Maarghali fest. It is one of the world's
largest cultural events. All people irrespective of religion, caste, sex come to attend this fest.
Last year’s fest had been a splendid experience to those who had attended it. Around
1200 performances had rocked the entire city.

An incident happened at the music academy on the tenth of December. Noted

musician Bombay Jayashree was to inaugurate the concert that evening. There came a
93- old woman who could hardly walk, because of her deep interest in the south Indian
classical music, to the concert hall where millions of people found solace listening to the
songs that connect directly to the soul. The old woman, affectionately called as Kunjamma
was accompanied by her son, Shankaran. She slowly moved to the hall and took a
comfortable seat. Then came a 21 year old young lady with brilliance in her eyes. She sat
just beside the old woman. As usual, Kunjamma started a conversation with the young lady.

“Young lady, what’s your name?” she asked. The girl answered “Radha”. Then
immediately came the next question. “Do you know the meaning of your name, little child”.
The little girl said, “Radha is Krishna’s devotee”. Kunjamma, who was well versed in the
vedic non-dualistic tradition immediately replied,”O dear one, Reverse the name Radha?”
Radha spontaneously answered, “Dhaara”.”Radha is the reverse of Dhaara. Dhaara flows
outward from a point. Radha is culmination from all outward sources to a point. That point
is the self, the inner conscious Krishna”, Kunjamma replied.
 As the discussion progressed, the concert started at 5 PM. The concert began with
the traditional opening, the varnam in Bharavi raga. There was pin drop silence in the hall.
All were enjoying blissfully. The second composition was on Ganesha, Gananaayakam in
the Rudrapriya raga. Then came the main song of the evening, Shankaracharyam in the
raga ‘Shankarabharanam’. The raga, equivalent to the C- major in western scale is elaborated
for 45 minutes. Kunjamma’s eyes were filled with tears listening to the composition. Then,
it was break time.

In the break time, Radha asked

Kunjamma, “Why are you in tears?”
Kunjamma then started her reminiscences.
“I first listened to the shankaracharyam
song sung by M S Subbulakshmi at the Sri
Krishna Gana sabha. It is after 50 years I
am listening again to this song sung with
at most dedication, knowing the intricate
inner meaning of each Sanskrit word. We
have abundant wealth of our culture; even
our languages have a culture.”

“This age is not recognizing the

wealth of this nation. If you ask a child
about Rama or Krishna, he replies I don’t
know. The first education that the child
receives from his mother has now become
more materialistic. He doesn’t know
dharma. Dharma can be learnt first only
from mother. The first word ‘a’ refers to
amma- mother symbolizing dharma.

Parents have become more money minded to earn for the children but by doing this
they are making a fatal mistake. Money alone cannot be the goal. In our days we used to
learn everything from our parents. My mother taught all the vedic principles in the form of
stories and examples. Once, I asked amma (mother) where god was. My deeply spiritual
mother told me that god was within me, in my friends, in all animals. This entire creation is
the divine. You are divine. I am divine. A prisoner is divine when his outer bad shell is thrown
away. We are all one divinity, Ram, Allah, Jesus if we go deep away from the body. This is all
what I have studied in my first 10 years in addition to Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu.”

Kunjamma’s son immediately spoke, “My mother is a BA English graduate from Anna
University. She has worked as a Revenue officer for 30 years. In spite of her busy tours, she
gave many lectures on human values.”

Radha was astonished at Kunjamma’s knowledge. She immediately asked, “Were you
taught to see other religions equal?”
 Kunjamma started to reply in chaste Sanskrit,

“Loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu.

Sarveshaam svastirbhavathu.
Sarveshaam shanthirbhavathu.
Sarveshaam mangalam bhavathu.”

As she was speaking with lot of enthusiasm, the concert resumed. The next piece
was the Bhavayami Raghuramam a ragamaalika popularized by MS. Entire Ramayana
was beautifully carved in simple six charanams. Next song was sobillu saptaswara sung as
attribute to the divinity in musical form. The next piece was Hiranmayeem in lalitha raga. As
soon as the song finished, Kunjamma whispered into Radha’s ears, “True knowledge is
depicted in this song my child. My father told me earning money could be done in many ways.
But lakshmi – the money only stays as long as you are with Vishnu. Who tells these words to
their children now-a-days? Hah.”

While she was talking, N Ram, the editor-in-chief of the Hindu came to the concert.
The concert was paused for a moment. Kunjamma continued saying; “I saw Ram growing in
power but he remains humble as he used to be. See, that is Vishnu. Vishnu is the culmination
of all good, all virtuous. Vishnu literally means all present. Revering the good and divine, the
happiness in all beings, the nature is Vishnu. Lakshmi literally meaning prosperity, beauty,
luster comes only by leaving all enemies like jealousy, false pride, anger, lust etc. The first
line of Hiranmayeem conveys this meaning. I am surrendering to Lakshmi and leaving the
company of the wicked. That is the first line. The wicked are all inner enemies.”

After a brief speech by N Ram, who focused on the musical element in all Tamilians,
the concert was concluded by the tamil Kallarkum katravarkum song and finally the
Benediction of Universal peace. All applauded Jayasree’s singing bani, the style of singing.
Jayasree got down the stairs and fell in prostration onto Kunjamma’s feet. Kunjamma
blessed Jayasree and enquired about her parents, her Bombay life, her musical career in
films. Kunjamma also said to her, “Your choice of songs is marvelous, especially
Tyagaraja’s sobhillu, the kallarkum katravarkum.” Then after a small chat,Jayasree left
taking her blessings again.

Kunjamma turned to Radha and asked, “Where do you stay?”

Radha replied, “I stay in Kotturpuram.”
“How will you go, Radhamma?”, Kunjamma asked.
Radha replied, “On auto patti.”

“We are going in the same direction; we will drop you at kotturpuram in our car.”
“No grandma, I will go, I am creating unnecessary trouble to you”, Radha replied.
“No no, there is absolutely no problem. Come with us”.
Radha did not want to say no to Kunajamma. So she boarded the car.

Kunjamma asked,” What do you study?” Radha said,” I am doing my MBBS at the
Madras medical college.”
 “Oh! You are a medico. My blessings to you, Radha. May you serve the divine who is
in disguise as a patient? Read the scriptures, the bible, the Quran at least one page daily.”

“I have been taught by my elders that religion is just the banana peel but spirituality
is the sweet banana within. Old generation had broader, wider vision. They treated all as
their family. My grand grandson comes to my grandson and says, “Papa, Come to school.
Arihant likes my pencil. He daily asks for the pencil. I want all pencils. I will not give. Tell
him to get his own pencils.” See, now-a-days sharing is not taught. In our days, only I had
pens, my father used to come to the school and distribute pens, books and clothes to my
friends. Also, love is shrinking. Demanding took over requesting. Parents lost their temper.
They have no patience to explain anymore.”

“They go to office and they are not available to the children for 12 hours. They come
home and if they just go on chatting on the office works or go on fighting, where is prosperity
in life? How does a child value life?”

“Converting all the negative emotions within oneself to love is wisdom. Love is just
not an emotion. Realize that we are all fountain of love. Jesus is love. Allah is love. Ram
literally means Ananda, the sat chit ananda- true happiness that is nothing but love. Let all
beings live in peace and let there be happiness everywhere. Radha, I consider you as my
grand grandchild. So I am telling all these words to you.”

Radha said, “Grandma I get down here.”

“No Radha, come to our home”, Kunjamma replied.

“Patti it’s late, my parents would be waiting. I will come sometime later”, Radha
replied sweetly.
“You come to our home, Patti. My parents will be very thrilled.”
“We will come sometime later Radha”, Kunjamma replied.

Kunjamma’s son then spoke,“ We stay at the IIT, Chennai. I am a head professor at IIT. Ask
for professor Shankaran. Everyone knows me. You should come to our home, Radha.”

“Surely sir”, Radha replied.

Shankaran then stopped the car. Radha got down the car and said, “Patti, you should
come to our house. It’s just opposite to the Ganesha temple.”

“Child we will surely come this weekend. I have to take my Ayurvedic medicine. May
the universal non dualistic divine dawn in your intellect.”, Kunjamma said to Radha.

M.M.K. Tejaswy
MSIT 1st year,
IIIT Hyderabad
(email: teja.music16@gmail.com)
 HOBBY - LOBBY

Photography

Usually when asked about their hobbies, I’ve seen most people say, listening to music or
browsing social networking websites. I wouldn’t consider either of these to be hobbies.
Listening to music is something every human being would do, almost throughout their entire
life and socializing cannot be a hobby. Well, let’s not get into too much about what I believe
and what I don’t, instead let me make an attempt to present to you, about something that
might be of interest to you. Photography can be a great choice for a hobby.

Even though I have only started photography a couple of years ago, my friends often
come to me asking me to suggest a good camera when they want to buy one. Well, there are
many things to look for in a camera before deciding if it is the one which suits your needs.
As you know, there are many digital camera manufacturers and the many models available
in the market. So, it’s easy for anyone to assume that out of all the camera models released
each year, many would end-up without any buyers, but that’s not true. Not every camera is
made for the same kind of photography style or need. A digital pocket-sized camera might be
easy to carry and simple to use while shooting a closely placed subject, whereas cameras
with high zoom capability would be needed to shoot far away subjects without losing the
quality of the image.

I’d categorize cameras into 3 basic types. They are film cameras, digital SLR cameras
and digital point-and-shoot cameras. Since only professional photographers are using film
cameras these days, let’s not look into those. Although film cameras are far superior, digital
cameras are a good way to start with, and to learn the various available features. But
choosing the right digital camera is not all that easy. What do you need to look for in a digital
camera? You want a camera that will take quality pictures, loaded with your favorite features
and yet is still convenient.

Any digital camera enthusiast when finds a new camera on the TV commercial or a
website, the first question they’d ask would be, what is the resolution this camera provides?
Digital camera resolution is expressed in mega pixels (for ex, 6 MP or 10MP). I’d look at a
minimum resolution of 6 MP, for good quality images. However a great photographer or a
great photograph doesn’t always need those high-end features.

There are two types of zoom: digital zoom and optical zoom. Digital zoom simply
enlarges each pixel electronically, while optical zoom involves a physical lens magnification
of the image you are photographing. Digital zoom is not very important. If someone buys a
camera thinking that it has got longer digital zoom capability, then it’ll take not too long for
them to realize that they only got fooled. Digital zoom is redundant since you can enlarge
photos digitally on a computer with photo editing software. Photos taken with digital zoom
lose quality, so not many people recommend using it.
 Usually point-and-shoot cameras are those
which fit in your pocket and would not burn a hole
in your pocket. These cameras may be priced
anywhere between 4,500 INR to 20,000 INR.
Sony is the most recommended brand when it
comes to point-and-shoot cameras.

Generally, lightweight digital cameras have less zoom power, lower resolution and
fewer features. Of course, these cameras are less expensive. On the other hand, larger
cameras have more zoom power, more resolution, and a larger variety of features.
Aperture and shutter time are 2 features that usually are not available in low-end cameras.
Choosing an ideal camera is a matter of knowing your priorities. Decide what yours are
and pick the camera that is the closest match.

Using the features and pressing various

buttons on the camera also needs some user
compatibility testing. One camera with its built
and body can be convenient to a person, and
at the same time inconvenient to another. Most
people would like it if these features are easy
to use without looking? You'll want a camera
that's simple to master by touch, since you
don't want to search for controls while photographing.

Most of the digital cameras have a built-in

flash, and many have LCD screens and sound
recording. These features are all energy hogs, so
you'll need good batteries to power them. You'll
want a digital camera that uses rechargeable
batteries too, not disposable, because the cost
adds up fast. Good luck with your photography
experiences.

To see some of my photography, visit my orkut profile.

For good reviews on digital cameras, go to www.dpreview.com.

To find some good photography work, go to www.flickr.com.

Suresh Sistla
MSIT Alumni
(email: sureshisin@gmail.com)
 Technology Update
DNA Computers
PC’s today, are running on quad core processors with 16 GB RAM and 2 GB external
graphics card but what next?? Every technology has its inherent limitations and PCs running
on silicon chips have reached close to their maximum potential.

Now it’s high time to move on to a new

technology - something that is technically advanced,
faster, reliable and economical. Don’t think too much;
the material for this technology lies in your body!

The material we are speaking of is the human

DNA (De-oxy Ribonucleic Acid), the material our
genes are made of, and which have the potential to
perform calculation many a time faster than the
world’s most powerful human-built computers. The
most important part of the human body, DNA is now
acquiring a new found importance, in chips /
microprocessors, creating a so called biochip
running the computers faster than ever before.

DNA has already been harnessed to solve the Hamilton path problem (the travelling
salesman problem) and to perform many complex mathematical calculations. It has several
benefits like cheap and energy efficient parallel computing, thereby, making it the choice of
tomorrow.

A computer is nothing but a combination of logic gates (AND, OR and NOT).

Interestingly DNA logic gates have been built up, which rely on DNA code. They detect
fragments of genetic material as input, splice together these fragments and form a single
output.

One pound of DNA has the capacity to store more information than all the electronic
computers ever built and the computing power of a teardrop sized DNA will be more
powerful than the world’s most powerful super computer. More than 10 trillion DNA
molecules can fit into an area no larger than 1cc. With this amount of DNA, a computer will
be able to hold more than 10 terabytes of data and will be able to perform 10 trillion
calculations at a time.

Cracking secret codes and running programs having exponential complexity will be
a mere cup of tea with DNA computers in hand. So just tighten your seat belt to explore
the speed, that DNA computers going to offer us in the near future.

Kushagra Gupta
MSIT 1st year,
IIIT Hyderabad
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