Curriculum Vitae

15th Jan- 20th Jan 2014

Curriculum Vitae

There was a class activity where the author had to design a curriculum vitae, and Below shows the curriculum vitae which was designed by the author.

Ruwan Mahen Mark Keyser

Address: No.112/2, Matammana, Minuwangoda

Telephone No.: 0112296376, Mobile No.: 0774707470

Email: rocker914@gmail.com

Objective

To be the best of best in what I am doing by applying my knowledge and talent which can benefit the company and myself.

Personal Details

Full Name                   : Ruwan Keyser

Date of Birth               : 30^th, October 1989

Gender                                    : Male

Religion                       : Roman Catholic

Nationality                  : Sri Lankan

Academic Qualifications

·         Completed General Certificate of Education – Ordinary Level May 2005 in St Joseph’s college Colombo 10.

Subject	Grade
Mathematics	C
English Language	A
Science	C
Religion	B
Social Studies	C
Commerce	C
Sinhala language	C
Health Science	C
History	C

·         Completed General Certificate of Education –Advanced Level August 2009 at St Joseph’s College

Subject	Grade
Maths	C
Physics	S

·         Diploma (credit) in ICT at the Asia Pacific Institute of Information and Technology

·         On-going academic studies:

-          BSc (Hons) in Business Information Technology at the Asia Pacific Institute of Information and Technology (APIIT Lanka)

Extra-Curricular Activities

·         Science union Vice president in 2008 at St Joseph’s college

·         Prefect at St Joseph’s College.

·         Played Rugby for APIIT rugby from 2009-2013

·         Committee member of the Sinhala sahithya sangamaya at St joseph’s 2008

·         Committee member of Tantalize 2012 (an Inter-University talent search)

Special Achievements

·         2 year colour’s men in APIIT for Rugby

Skills and Competencies

·         Languages fluent in: English,  Hindi, Sinhalese

·         Fair knowledge in C, C# (ASP.Net), Java, VB.Net

·         Good organizational skills

·         Good communication and documentation skills

References

·         Ms. Manesha Peries
Senior Lecturer – School of Computing at APIIT (Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology) Programme Leader

Mobile: +94 11 2675060

Email: manesha@apiit.lk

Address: 388, Union Place, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka

·         Mr. Javed Ahsan

Lecturer – School of Computing at APIIT (Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology)

MSC Lecturer

Mobile: +94 11 2675060

Email: javed@apiit.lk

Address: 388, Union Place, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka

I declare that the above particulars furnished by me are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I assure you that I will deliver the best of my ability if I get a chance to serve your esteemed organization.                          

................................                                       

 Ruwan Keyser 

Project Proposal Discussion

December 9th - December 18th 2013

Project Proposal Discussion

A project proposal is a detailed account of a succession of activities done in order to solve a certain problem. In order for the proposal to be successful the document should comprise of; having a logical arrangement of research ideas, validate the importance of the idea, explain the idea’s connection to past actions and express the activities for the intended project.

In order to complete a successful project proposal the author has researched and investigated into areas where probable problems existed. The author has visited industries in order to successfully conduct the project proposal. Some of the problems which the author had gone through are discussed below

This project submitted consists of a main component of the ARMPD assignment that should be submitted.  The author was advised to start this report targeting our final year project (FYP) so that it would be convenient to prepare for the project next year. Due to this, much effort and thought were given in order to select the ideal project for everyone.

As requested by the lecturer the students were asked to investigate into potential organizations or areas for a suitable problem and have sessions in order to obtain feedback through discussions.  But unfortunately no student was able to come with a proper idea that met the criteria, yet as planned the feedback was given regarding how to improve the problem and also similar examples and past projects were discussed with the motive of helping the students to understand the issue and investigate them in the right way.

Investigation was conducted by author into retail outlets, supermarkets and wholesale distributing companies with the prime motive finding out a potential existing problem within the companies.

After researching some of the companies, author was able to find a potential problem in regard to inventory management system in Ranjan lanka, supermarket chain.

Software Development Methodologies

2nd December- 4th December 2013

Software Development Methodologies

A software development methodology are concerned with the process of creating software- not so much the technical side but the organizational aspects. 

Types of development Methodologies

According to the different types of project the development methodologies varies. when it comes to choosing the correct development methodologies for different types of projects is very important. Choosing the wrong development methodologies can lead to huge losses in time and money. Below shows some of the main Development methodologies which are used in projects,

Rational Unified Process(RUP)

The diagram below shows the phases of RUP in a detail format

Source: wittmannclan.com, (2013)

Advantages of RUP

Source: wittmannclan.com, (2013)

1. This is a complete methodology in itself with an emphasis on accurate documentation.
2. It is Proactively able to resolve the project risks associated with the client's evolving requirements required carefully change request management.
3. Less time is required for integration as the process of integration goes on throughout the software development life cycle.
4. There is online training and tutorial available for this process.

Disadvantages of RUP software development

Source: wittmannclan.com, (2013)

1. The team members need to be expert in their field to develop a software under this methodology
2. The development process is too complex and disorganized.

Agile

According to Agilemethodology, (2008)The agile movement proposes alternatives to traditional project management. Agile approaches are typically used in software development to help businesses respond to unpredictability. 

Source: wittmannclan.com, (2013)

Advantages of Agile

• Agile is adaptive which is able to respond to the changing requirements
• The team does not have to invest time and effort and finally find that by the time they delivered the product, the requirement of the customer has changed
• Face to face communication and continuous inputs from customer representative leaves no space for guesswork.

Disadvantages of Agile

• Software deliverable, especially the large ones, it is difficult to assess the effort required at the beginning of the software development life cycle.
• There is lack of emphasis on necessary designing and documentation.

SSADM

Structured system analysis & Desgin methods is widely used in computer based application development. Below shows the objectives of SSADM.

• Improve project management & control
• make more effective use of experienced and inexperienced development staff
• Develop better quality systems

SSADM steps and stages

• Feasibility
• Investigation of the current environment
• business system options
• Definition of requirements
• technical system options
• Logical design
• Physical design

For each stage there are series of stages which need to be followed procedures need to be completed.

References

 Agilemethodology.org. 2008. Agile Methodology, Development Methodologies | What Is Agile Methodology?. [online] Available at: http://agilemethodology.org/ [Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].

My-project-management-expert.com. 2013. The Advantages and Disadvantages of RUP Software Development, RUP Development, RUP Best Practices from www.My-Project-Management-Expert.com. [online] Available at: http://www.my-project-management-expert.com/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-rup-software-development.html [Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].

Research Methods

20th November 2013- 26th November 2013

Research Methods

According to Webster.edu (2013), Research Methods helps to understand the use of statistics, One needs to know a little bit about experimental design or how a researcher conducts investigations. A little knowledge about methodology will provide us with a place to hang our statistics, in other words, statistics are not numbers that just appear out of nowhere. The number generated out of research. Statistics are merely a tool to help anyone get answers to research questions.

Types of Research Studies

There are two types of research methods available and below shows the two methods with a description,

1. Qualitative- This method contains non numeric data which are collected through interviews and word of mouth.
2. Quantitative- This method contains numeric data which was collected through analysis, samples, documents.

Research Method steps

Source: Blankenship, (2013)

The above Research method steps can be used to follow when Researching into a topic or a problem.

Primary Data

This data type is also known as field research, and are more reliable than secondary data. Primary data is very important when it directly affects the organizations products and services.

Types of Primary Research

There are different types of primary research methods. Below shows the types of research methods with added information. According to OWL (2013), 

1. Interviews - Interviews are one-on-one or small groups question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on subject.
2. Surveys - Surveys are a form of questioning that is more rigid than interviews and that involve larger group of people. surveys will provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people and are useful when you want to learn what a larger population thinks.
3. Observations involve taking organized notes about occurrences in the world. Observations provide you insight about specific people, events, or locales and are useful when you want to learn more about an event without the biased viewpoint of an interview.
4. Analysis involves collecting data and organizing it in some fashion based on criteria you develop. They are useful when you want to find some trend or pattern. A type of analysis would be to record commercials on three major television networks and analyze gender roles.

Question Types.

1. Closed Questions
2. Open Questions.
3. Funneling
4. Responses

Closed Questions

Closed questions are focused on short answers. This types of questions can be answered right or wrong and these types of questions are easy to answer.

Open Questions

According to SkillsYouNeed (2013), By contrast, to closed question, open questions allow for much longer responses and therefore potentially more creative and information. there are lots of different types of open question; some are more closed than others.

Funneling

According to SkillYouNeed (2013), We can use clever questioning to essentially funnel the respondents answers- that is ask a series of questions that become more restrictive at each step, starting with open questions and ending with closed questions or vice verse.

Responses

According to SkillYouNeed (2013), as there are myriad of questions and question types so there must also be a myriad of possible responses. Theorists have tried to define the types of responses that people may have to questions, the main and most important ones are.

References

Www2.webster.edu. 2013. Research Methods. [online] Available at: http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/statmethods.html [Accessed: 26th Nov 2013].

Burgess, H. 2012. Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) | Beyond Intractability. [online] Available at: http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/batna [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013].

Blankenship, D. 2013. Steps of the Research Process - Excerpt. [online] Available at: http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/steps-of-the-research-process [Accessed: 26 Nov 2013].

Negotiation

13th November 2013- 19th November 2013

Negotiation

Negotiation can be defined as a particular bargain between two or parties which can be either advantageous or disadvantages. According to SKILLSYOUNEED (2013), Negotiation is a method where people make arrangements to settle differences. The process by which compromise or agreement is reached without getting into arguments. If a scenario such as a disagreement occurs, The parties try to achieve the best possible outcome from their side.

Why Negotiate?

According to  SKILLSYOUNEED (2013), From time to time there will be conflicts, disagreements between parties due to different needs, wants and beliefs of different types of people. Without Negotiation, such disagreements will lead to arguments and dangerous conflicts where every party is dissatisfied. Negotiation helps by not letting parties reach that part of the segments through proper communication by coming to a mutual understanding.

Types of Negotiations

Negotiation types can be divided in to two types.

1. Distributive

2. Integrative

Distributive Negotiation

Distributive negotiation is where two or more parties have conflicts and arguments and cannot come to a mutual agreement. According to MindEdge (2013), Distributive Negotiation occurs when two or more parties are trying to claim the maximum amount of value for themselves. This is where one or more parties will fail to obtain the required outcome expected. This scenario is called a Win lose situation since one party will definitely fail to obtain what they want. 

Integrative Negotiation 

Integrative negotiation is where two or more parties engage in a negotiations and will come to a mutual understanding where both parties will be satisfied with what they obtained. According to wiseGEEK (2013), Intergrative negotiation is a strategy where the goal is a result that is as good as possible for both the parties/all parties. This is were every party obtain what they required and this scenario is called the Win-Win situation where every one gets what they want by coming to a mutual agreement.

After the above discussions the next lecture we had a role play where there were two teams to perform according to the above two negotiation types.

Role Play 1(Disruptive negotiation)

The first role play was about disruptive negotiations and the scenario is based on a foreign couple taking a ride in a local tuk-tuk for a distance of 2km, the standard price for the ride is close up around Rs.100(Rs.50 for the first km and 40 for the next) but the couple was charged Rs.1000. there was an argument involved in this role play which lead to the foreign couple paying the Rs.1000. Below shows the points which was pointed out by the Role play.

• Due to the lack of knowledge one can take advantage of thee other 
• Since this negotiation lead to a big argument where both parties were disgusted of each other, these types of negotiations lead to damage in relationships.

Role Play 2(Integrative Negotiation)

The second role play was about Integrative negotiation and the scenario is based on a family incident where the father's death lead the two children to argue on what they should get from the last will and they come to a conclusion that they cant decide with each other and they take professional assistance by meeting a lawyer to decide who should get what. Below shows some of the points which was taken from the role play by the author,

• When two parties cannot come to a conclusion, they can get profession assistance to help come to a mutual agreement.
• In this case both parties will always come to a mutual agreement where everyone will be happy.

Personal Styles

Individuals have varies types of person styles for negotiating and below shows some of the personal styles which was given by Manesha (2013) Authors lecturer.

• Self Denying-  These types of personalities are reluctant to provide information, has hidden feeling and is confused because of not providing information.
• Self protecting- Uses distraction to get in the other party and doesn't like talking about personal information.
• Self- Exposing- Likes to be the center of attention and speaks out what the person demands.
• Self Bargaining- He wont be the first one to approach, if some one initiates then will participate.
• Self Actualizing- This personality has a balance of everything which is provided above. 

With the following personality types there are different skills involved which can be divided into 2 types.

1. Tough negotiators
2. Soft Negotiators.

Below shows some of the characteristics of both types.

Tough negotiators

• Will have high expectations
• Will never settle for something less than the idea.
• Can be categorize as a taker rather than a giver.

Soft Negotiators

• Never over ambitious
• Can be put into the category of givers
• Trusts others.

Negotiation Styles

When it comes to negotiating there are styles where a negotiation can be approached and below shows the 5 Negotiation styles.

• Competing
• Collaborating
• Compromising 
• Avoiding
• Accommodating 

source: Mindtools (2013)

The above table shows the grid to explain Negotiation styles. which explains in the diagram.

Guide lines for Effective Negotiating

According to Tjan (2013), Harvard Review have listed down 4 main Effective Negotiating styles for better Negotiating. 

1. Back Ground Homework.- before Negotiating checks and understand the other parties interest and runs a background check. 
2. During the process dont negotiate with yourself-  This is where when you don't know the position, by so this helps to stay on what you want rather than giving it in to the opposition .
3. The stalemate- When there is a scenario, that there is nothing towards either side.
4. To close or not to close- Every negotiation someone has to give in but some rare occasions there are win win situations, This is ware you drive so hard in a negotiation that it comes to an end.

BATNA

According to Burgess (2013), BATNA is a term which was found by Fisher and william in 1981. It is a negotiating technique where the negotiator Gets to yes Negotiating without Giving in, it stands for best alternative to a negotiated agreement , "Saying there is another way", It is like what the best someone can do if the other one refuses to negotiate.

Reference

SkillsYouNeed, 2013, (. 2013. What is Negotiation? - Introduction to Negotiation | SkillsYouNeed. [online] Available at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/negotiation.html [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013].

Burgess, H. 2012. Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) | Beyond Intractability. [online] Available at: http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/batna [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013].

Editor, N. 2013. What is Distributive Negotiation? Negotiation at Work. [online] Available at: http://negotiation.atwork-network.com/2008/05/21/what-is-distributive-negotiation/ [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013].

Tjan, A. and Tjan, A. 2009. Four Rules for Effective Negotiations. [online] Available at: http://blogs.hbr.org/2009/07/four-rules-for-effective-negot/ [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013].].

wiseGEEK. 2013. What Is Integrative Negotiation?. [online] Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-integrative-negotiation.htm [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013].

Goal Setting

November 8th 2013 

Goal setting

Goal setting is one of the motivational techniques which anyone can use to follow to reach their objectives. Goal setting is a powerful tool which can be used to plan  future and through set up a motivation.

why set Goals?

According to Mindtools (2013), Setting up Goals focuses on the persons acquisition of knowledge, and helps to organize time and resources so that anyone can make the most of the time. Goals can be divided into two groups. Long term and short term goals. When setting up goals there is a big picture involved and steps to be followed according to achieve goals.

Setting up long term goals

When setting up long term goals the first step is what you want to achieve in a long term. According to MindTools (2013),  Setting lifetime goals gives you the overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of decision making, and also mindTools (2013) have listed down some of the following in setting up long term goals.

• Career – What level do you want to reach in your career, or what do you want to achieve?

• Financial – How much do you want to earn, by what stage? How is this related to your career goals?

• Education – Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to have in order to achieve other goals?

• Family – Do you want to be a parent? If so, how are you going to be a good parent? How do you want to be seen by a partner or by members of your extended family?

• Artistic – Do you want to achieve any artistic goals?

• Attitude – Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you? (If so, set a goal to improve your behavior or find a solution to the problem.)

• Physical – Are there any athletic goals that you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this?

• Pleasure – How do you want to enjoy yourself? (You should ensure that some of your life is for you!)

• Public Service – Do you want to make the world a better place? If so, how?

Mindtools, (2013)

Here are some long term goals which the author has listed down,

Be a Managing Director  in a business IT firm within 25 years(25 working years of the company).

To have a business of my own while working in a company.

To have a salary of Rs 500,000 within 5 years.

Travel to the world.(Travel to the best places in the world).

Have a Cancer trust fund created by me to help cancer patients who doesn't have money for treatment.

Setting up short term goals

After setting up long term goals, according to them create 3-5 year short term goals which helps to achieve long term goals. Then create even shorter goals which can be helpful to achieve goals which was setup for the 3-5 year plan. Then have a daily To-Do list which will helpful to achieve those smaller goals. The small goals might be to read books, pass a semester exam etc.

Below are some short goals that the author has listed down,

Finish CIMA within 2 1/2 years.

Finish my BIT degree with a 1st class within the given time.

Get work experience in a Accounting firm.

Get an A for AR&PD.

Get an A for E-Commerce.

Smart Goals

There are a lot of ways that anyone can make goals and SMART goals are one of the most popular and most powerful way in making SMART goals. SMART stands for the following,

S-Specific

M-Measurable

A-Attainable

R- Relevant

T- Time bound

Finally Having a effective set of goals is an essential thing for any person. Setting up goals is easy and goals can be set at any time and there are no time restrictions for goals. SMART goals can be used to setting up short term goals to go up with the long term ones. 

References

Mindtools.com. 2014. Personal Goal Setting: Planning to Live Your Life Your Way. [online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html [Accessed: 8 Nov 2013].

Time Management

October 30th-(11.00-12.00 a.m)

The second day of our lecture started with a question, Why Time management is important to us?  the class answered with many answers for example time doesn't stop we keep growing old and many more. 

Time Management(My definition)

Time management can be anything which will help any one to plan ahead, prioritize there work, it can be some steps which some one uses to prioritize work accordingly.

According to wiseGEEK(2013)Time Management is the art of arranging, organizing, scheduling and budgeting ones time for the purpose of generating more effective work and productivity.

Every person in this world has some kind of a goal for which he want to see him self in another 5,10 or even 20 years down the line.  It may be a role of CEO, it may be a good businessmen or to be happy in life who has achieved everything what he had hope for. To achieve such goals we need to use techniques and tools to help everyone assess them, help them reach that milestone at the end of the day. so here are some tips and tricks that any one can use to reach their daily milestones.

Tips and tricks(Techniques) which help Time Management

• Tackle the most difficult task early in the morning.
• Use notes to help you organize and plan your day ahead.
• Prioritize work accordingly; give more priority to thinks which are urgent more than important.
• When your working try to stick to a place where you feel most comfortable working and that you wont get distracted.
• Prioritize work
• Having a to-do list
• Multitasking etc..

MindTools(2014) has identified 10 common mistakes for no proper time management. and the list is shown below,

1. Failing to keep a to-do list
2. Not setting personal goals
3. Not prioritizing
4. Failing to manage distractions
5. Procrastination
6. Taking on too much
7. Thriving on 'BUSY'
8. Multitasking.
9. Not taking breaks.
10. Ineffectively scheduling tasks.

The above list are known as common mistakes for poor time management, but in the list multitasking can also be taken as a good time management skill because for some people multitasking is a good technique and for some it doesn't so it varies from one person to another depending on their skill and what a person can take.

There were techniques to identify time management and below shows some of the Time management techniques which we can use to manage day to day work.

Eisenhower's Matrix

Students were asked to draw the Eisenhower's matrix in accordance to the work that was scheduled for today. below shows the authors schedule,

	Urgent	Not Urgent
Important	·          Meet Mr. Gamindu about my FYP ·         Attending lectures	·         Meet admin ·         Make ARMPD blog
Not important	·         Get my pen drive from a friend	·         Watch a movie ·         Play LOL

Authors work, (2013)

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a visual diagram used to outline information. It helps in effective learning where any one can summarize, brainstorm to solve problems and memorize information. According to Luciano (2007), mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts,  its a visual thinking tool that helps anyone structure information to help analyze, comprehend, synthesize and help generate new ideas.

There was a group activity where students were grouped into four and instructed to develop a mind map based on the Eisenhower matrix and below shows the Mind map which was developed by the group.

Source: Authors work, (2013)

 This concluded today session where the lecturer collected all the drawn mind maps.

Reference

wiseGEEK. (2013). What is time Management. Retrieved Nov 5, 2013, from wiseGEEK(clear answers for common questions): http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-time-management.htm

Luciano. 2007. What is Mind Mapping? (and How to Get Started Immediately) - Litemind. [online] Available at: http://litemind.com/what-is-mind-mapping/ [Accessed: 05 Nov 2013]