No doubt, IRT faces serious challenges: market share is shrinking, overhead is increasing, and profits are deteriorating. Will the company be able to turn the situation around? Read the book to find out!

In the form of a business novel, the authors allow us to experience a journey towards Lean Product Development with the focus on Lean Knowledge Management. They point out common implementation mistakes and show how to effectively integrate the flow of innovative knowledge into a planned cadence of product releases.

Included with the book are case studies of two companies that have been successful at understanding and applying Toyota principles. I would like to quote one of them: "... once the desired specification was put on paper, it was viewed as an absolute requirement. No variance from the goal was acceptable. Since the requirements were not a variable, the only variables left were time and money. That meant missed schedules and cost overrruns."

Happy reading!

Do not miss the OTUG meeting tomorrow night:

As usual, check http://www.otug.org for more information. See you all there!

NorthStar Capital Markets Services is looking for a Data Architect / Developer. Please, see the details of the position below.

Data Architect / Developer

NorthStar Capital Markets Services is one of the most respected names in the student loan industry.

We are looking for a Data Architect / Developer to join our development team in Minnetonka. This person will be responsible for designing and developing financial solutions using cutting-edge technology. The ideal candidate is someone who is looking to make a difference in the organization and performs well in a knowledge-based product development environment.

Requirements

• Excellent analytical skills
• Proficiency in relational and data warehouse database design
• Hands-on experience with SQL Server tools, such as Integration Services, Reporting Services, Analytical Services, and Service Broker
• Working knowledge of ETL

• Experience with Excel Services and SharePoint is a plus
• Exposure to C# and object-oriented principles is a plus

Please, submit your resume to itjobs@northstar.org for immediate consideration

Last week, we upgraded our development environment from Subversion 1.4 running on Apache 2.0 to Subversion 1.5 running on Apache 2.2. The primary reason for this upgrade is the support of relative URLs in the svn:externals property introduced in the new version of Subversion. 

The upgrade process was smooth and easy. Here are the steps we followed:   

1. Stopped our existing Apache Server
   
2. Backed up our Subversion repository 
   
3. Downloaded and installed Apache 2.2.9
   
4. Downloaded and installed Subverstion 1.5.2
   
5. Configured httpd.conf configuration file for our new Apache server and started the server
6. Upgraded our repository by executing svnadmin upgrade
   
7. Upgraded our indexes by executing svn-populate-node-origins-index
   
8. Upgraded client tools - we installed Tortoise 1.5.3 and Ankh 2.0
   
9. Upgraded Team City automated build and continuous integration server to the latest version 3.1.2
   

• In the past, in order to use Windows authentication with Subversion we had to write a custom mod_auth_sspi.so. We did not have to do anything for 1.5. Loading modules in the correct order and referencing them from the Subversion application folder did the trick for us:     
  

LoadModule sspi_auth_module modules/mod_auth_sspi.so
LoadModule dav_module modules/mod_dav.so
LoadModule dav_svn_module C:/Apps/svn-win32-1.5.2/bin/mod_dav_svn.so
LoadModule authz_svn_module C:/Apps/svn-win32-1.5.2/bin/mod_authz_svn.so               
 
<Location /svn>
DAV svn
SVNPath C:\Dev\Repository

     AuthName "SVN Server"
     AuthType SSPI
     SSPIAuth On
     SSPIAuthoritative On
     SSPIDomain OURDOMAINNAME
AuthzSVNAccessFile "C:/Repository/conf/authz"
     SSPIOfferBasic on
     Require valid-user     
</Location>   

• Team City 3.1.2 does support Subversion 1.5, but unfortunately does not support relative URL's in the svn:externals property. 

Happy reading!

You could argue that during estimation we analyze and evolve our requirements, which may be considered a value adding activity. I would agree with you. The trick is to make this process fast and lean by doing just enough analysis and eliminating all unnecessary wastes. You will need to figure out what works best for you and your team, but if you are wondering where to start, start with the "Agile Planning and Estimating" book. You will find simple, pragmatic, logical, common-sense methods and techniques to make your projects successful.

Happy reading!

NorthStar Capital Markets Services, the company I am working for, is looking for a Senior Software Engineer. Please, see the details of the position below.

Senior Software Engineer

Requirements

• Proficiency in C# and Web Services
• Working knowledge of object-oriented concepts and design principles
• Experience with SQL Server applications: Integration Services, Reporting Services, Analytical Services, Excel Services, and Service Broker
• Familiarity with Load Testing tools is a plus

About NorthStar

NorthStar Capital Markets Services is one of the most respected names in the student loan industry. Quickly becoming a key ingredient of NorthStar’s success are the T.H.E. Loan Programs making NorthStar one of the top student loan originators in the country.

If you are interested in this position, please, send your resume and contact information to itjobs@northstar.org

To give you a taste of what this book is about, I listed a few of my favourite rules and laws below:

• The Duncan Hines Difference: It tastes better when you add your own egg.
• Prescott's Cucumber Principle: Cucumbers get more pickled than the brine gets cucumbered.
• Rhonda's First Revelation: It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion.
• The Harder Law: Once you eliminate your number one problem, you promote number two.
• Fisher's Fundamental Theorem: The better adapted you are, the less adaptable you tend to be.
• The Bolden Rule: If you can't fix it, feature it.
• The Principle of Least Regret: Set the price so you won't regret it either way.

Happy reading!

It is finally here. The long waited ReSharper 4.0 has been released: http://www.jetbrains.com/resharper/.

Since we moved our .NET development to Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 at the end of last year, we have been using daily builds and betas of ReSharper 4.0. I am happy to see our favourite C# productivity tool released!