Key Terms in Strategic Management

Most of these terms are used interchangeably and may mean different from one person to another. Based on various sources I read, here's what I think they mean:

Mission - enduring purpose/duty, most important aim

Vision - desired future state supporting mission

Goals / Objectives - what the organization intends to do, an end-game

Strategy
- a chosen path, direction or plan of action, to achieve goal
- involves all or most of the resources within organization
- usually long-term
- usually timeless
- what to do?

Tactics
- way to a achieve sub-goals or implement strategy, tools
- performed by a subset or a specific ___ in  an organization
- shorter to mid term
- may vary depending on some factors like time, environment, etc.
- how to do?

Strategies should consider the tactics and tactical solutions should be aligned with strategies.

Some examples from Jan Zlotnick:

Goal: Be the market share leader in terms of sales in the mid-market in our industry.
Strategy: Remarkable Customer Service
Tactics: Offer lower cost solutions than enterprise competitors without sacrificing white-glove service for first 3 years of customer contracts.

Goal: Become a social utility that earth uses on an daily basis.
Strategy: Love Your Neighbor
Tactics: Offer a free global communication toolset that enables disparate personal interactions with your friends to monitor, share, and interact with.

Execution - implementation

Sources:
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2013/01/14/the-difference-between-strategy-and-tactics/
http://www.managementguru.net/key-terms-of-strategic-management/
http://bluesummitstrategy.com/strategy/mission-vs-vision/2007/
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/strategic-planning-strategy-vs-tactics.html

Outline: Talent is never Enough

by John C. Maxwell

When is talent alone enough?

- Talent is never enough. If talent were enough, then the most effective and influential people would always be the most talented ones.

- Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results. - Peter Drucker, the father of modern management

- Some tasks are not improved by adding more people.

- More isn't always better, and some things are best done by an individual.

- But there are many tasks that call for talent more than numbers. Like high jumping, they require the extraordinary talent of one person, not the mediocre talent of many.

Putting talent into perspective

1. We should marvel at their giftedness.
2. We should recognize their contribution to society?
3. We should separate what they can do from who they are.

- Talent gives you a head start on others but to keep on being a success, you should keep working on that talent.

Do you have what it takes?

1. Everyone has talent. Find your talent.

2. Develop the talent you have, not the one you want.

3. Anyone can make choices that will add value to talent.
- Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. - William Jennings Bryan

KEY CHOICES TO MAXIMIZE TALENT

1. Belief Lifts Your Talent
-
2. Passion Energizes Your Talent
3. Initiative Activates Your Talent
4. Focus Directs Your Talent
5. Preparation Positions Your Talent
6. Practice Sharpens Your Talent
7. Perseverance Sustains Your Talent
8. Courage Tests Your Talent
9. Teachability Expands Your Talent
10. Character Protects Your Talent
11. Relationships Influence Your Talent
12. Responsibility Strengthens Your Talent
13. Teamwork Multiplies Your Talent

DB2 CHAR VS VARCHAR

CHAR

VARCHAR disadvantages:
- uses 2 extra bytes to store the length
-  needs a little extra effort when storing and manipulating length of VARCHAR -> may affect efficiency


General Rule:

• Use CHAR if average length of field is more than 6 bytes to save space
• if average length of field is less than 6 bytes, there will be no storage savings for using char
• Use varchar for columns with more that 30 characters (can be shorter for others)

Creating a SOAP Web Service

1. Create the Java class with methods you want to be converted as web service
2. Add a WebService annotation to the class
3. Add WebMethod annotation to the web service method. This is optional. All public methods of the web service class are automatically considered a web service method.

Example:

@WebService
public class BookStore{
@WebMethod
 public List<String> getBookNames() {
 }
}

This will create a web service class called BookStoreService.

Consuming a Web Service

What you need:
- wsdl source

1. Use wsimport tool from java se. In command line enter:
wsimport -keep -s , e.g. wsimport -keep -s src
-keep - keep generated files (.java files)

2. Import the the java files in your project and use them as stubs to call the webservice method(s). The name of the stub you can use can be found in the wsdl:service tag of the wsdl.
Ex.
 name="CurrencyConvertor">

CurrencyConvertor cc = new CurrencyConvertor();
CurrencyConvertorSoap ccs = cc.getCurrencyConvertorSoap();

Scrum

Scrum

 - one of the best Agile practices

Product back log

 - user stories/wish list

Roles

• product owner - chooses what to deliver from product back log
• scrum master - similar to PM
• developers
• testers
• customers
• executives

Release planning

• release backlog with estimates
  estimate by story point
  estimate by hour - 1, 2, 4, 8 hours or 2, 3, 5, 10 days or 1, 2 , 3, 6 months
• sprints - short duration milestones (2 to 30 days) - > ship ready state
• burndown chart - work remaining by time(day) chart
  burndown velocity - ave. rate of productivity, slope
• sprint backlog
• daily scrum - stand up meetings, completed tasks & obstacles
• sprint restrospective - what went right? and what went wrong/areas of improvement?

Software Development Methodologies

A software development methodology or system development methodology in software engineering is a framework that is used to structure, plan, and control the process of developing an information system. 

Broadly these are:

1. Software development life cycle methodology
2. Agile methodology 

There are many models under these methodologies

1. Software development life cycle:
   
   • Waterfall: a linear framework 
   • Spiral: a combined linear-iterative framework 
   • Incremental: a combined linear-iterative framework or V Model 
   • Prototyping: an iterative framework 
   • Rapid application development (RAD): an iterative framework
2. Agile methodology:
   • Scrum 
   • Extreme programming
   • Adaptive software development (ASD) 
   • Dynamic system development method (DSDM)

Sources:
http://www.itinfo.am/eng/software-development-methodologies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development_methodology