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Lean Manufacturing Management

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Lean manufacturing management technique was also borrowed by US automobile manufacturers from their Japanese competitors. Lean manufacturing is characterized by emphasis being placed on product quality in the first place. The approach became integrated in various stages of the production process and also relies on suppliers and subcontract to produce the greatest proportion of value added.

Editor’s Note Lean Manufacturing Management process has been adopted for software development. Lean software development will be covered in future articles.

Finally, speed of processing and delivery are emphasized. At the same time, central feature of lean manufacturing remains on the supplier structure that significantly reduces the number of companies a manufacturer deals with directly. Consequently, lean manufacturing is characterized by close relationships as well as frequent interactions with suppliers. Thus, in 1970th there was a process of reorganization of the supply chain in United States. In Japan auto assembly and production parts are located in several core industrial regions such Tokyo and Yokohama. At the same time, concentration of suppliers in United States is not as intensive as in Japan.

Thus, implementation of the new management technique is closely related to size of the country. In United States, there are two types of suppliers – captive and independent. When lean manufacturing management was implemented in the United States by the Big Three automobile manufacturing companies, captive suppliers were concentrated in the Midwest. Even today, as a consequence of implementation of the new technique, geographical representation of suppliers remains similar to the one that was introduced in 1970th. While Ford historically operated with a centralized model of production in Detroit and Dearborn, now company’s parts are clustered in Michigan and Ohio.

On the other hand, General Motors used to have multiple centres in Michigan, but soon after implementation of the new management technique, the company moved the operation process to the Midwest by purchasing independent supplier companies. Thus, before World War II, captive suppliers of automobile manufacturers have been largely clustered in the Great Lakes Region. However, after the new strategy was implemented, unskilled production process was moved to the south.

Jennifer Burns is a staff academic writer at Custom-Writing.org, writing service. Jennifer provides writing help and support to students who order essays and annotated bibliographies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Burns

Posted in Agile Software Development, Lean, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »


SCJP 5.0 Certification Preparation

by Ganesan

SCJP 5.0 - Carving a well qualified Java Tiger ProgrammerSun Microsystems offers many certifications starting from programmer level to architect level. The latest version of programmer (SCJP) exam is SCJP 5.0 - Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 5.0 (CX-310-055). Sun started calling SCJP 5.0 instead SCJP 1.5 from this new version.

Achieving this certification provides clear evidence that a programmer understands the basic syntax and structure of the Java programming language based on new syntax introduced in SCJP 5.0. The certified programmer can create Java technology applications that run on server and desktop systems using J2SE 5.0 ( Java Tiger). Java Tiger is the another name of J2SE 5.0.

NOTE: The external version number of this release is 5.0 and its internal version number is 1.5.0.

What is new in Java Tiger ? Changes include generic types, metadata, autoboxing, an enhanced for loop, enumerated types, static import, C style formatted input/output, variable arguments, concurrency utilities, and simpler RMI interface generation.

Wow ! Thanks to Sun Microsystems for providing such a valuable features for Java Programmers. So, if you decided to take Sun Java Programmer certification (SCJP) go ahead with SCJP 5.0 and be a Java Tiger Certified Programmer and enjoy the benefits of new features.

Changes in Exam Objectives from SCJP 1.4 to SCJP 5.0

SCJP 1.4 Section 1: Declarations and Access Control Section 2: Flow control, Assertions, and Exception Handling Section 3: Garbage Collection Section 4: Language Fundamentals Section 5: Operators and Assignments Section 6: Overloading, Overriding, Runtime Type and Object Orientation Section 7: Threads Section 8: Fundamental Classes in the java.lang Package Section 9: The Collections Framework SCJP 5.0 Section 1: Declarations, Initialization and Scoping Section 2: Flow Control Section 3: API Contents Section 4: Concurrency Section 5: OO Concepts Section 6: Collections / Generics Section 7: Fundamentals Is SCJP 5.0 easy compared to SCJP 1.4 as it has limited number of sections? No, most of the concepts are new in SCJP 5.0. Some of them are not related with SCJP 1.4.

SCJP 5.0 Exam Details Delivered at: Authorized Worldwide Prometric Testing Centers Prerequisites: None Other exams/assignments required for this certification: None Exam type: Multiple choice and drag and drop Number of questions: 72 Pass score: 59% (43 of 72 questions) Time limit: 175 minutes

After completion of SCJP 5.0 exam you are familiar with Java Tiger concepts like generic types, metadata, auto boxing, an enhanced for loop, enumerated types, static import, variable arguments, etc.

How long I need to prepare for this exam? The answer is it depends on your current knowledge in Java programming and OO Concepts. You may get an approximate estimation from EPractize Labs SCJP 5.0 Preparation Time Calculator.

How to start? Where to start? First go to Sun’s website and understand the exam objectives. http://www.sun.com/training/catalog/courses/CX-310-055.xml Plan for your preparation. If needed calculate an estimation from EPractize Labs SCJP 5.0 Preparation Time Calculator. Identify your weak areas based on the exam objectives. Set more focus on those topics. Study and workout the program examples. Practice with mock exams and see where you are. Continue your practice till you achieve your goal. Achieve your SCJP 5.0 certificate and share your success WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES! Recommended SCJP 5.0 Exam Preparation Kit

Use SCJP 5.0 Exam EPractize Labs - Personal Edition for empowering your preparation by PPA-1(Plan, Practize, Achieve) methodology.

SCJP 5.0 Certification Benefits

For the Individual Clear evidence that you are a Java Tiger programmer. The certification empowers in driving Java Programming based on J2SE 5.0. SCJP 5.0 certified programmers can easily design and develop the code based on J2SE 5.0. Being a SCJP 5.0 certified programmer helps you to improve your career potential, gain more respect, boost up your job security and opportunities. With SCJP 5.0 certified programmer, you become more competitive in the job market.

For the organization Enables management to distinguish SCJP 5.0 certified programmer as Java professionals who can develop quality code efficiently and effectively. Helps in deciding the best development APIs or Java Components based on latest J2SE APIs. More confidence to work on Java Code technical decisions with business partners. Enables project team to get best coding practices and guidance from a qualified Java Programmer.

Good Luck !

About the Author

Ganesan - CEO & CTO, EPractize Labs Software. Has more than 7 years of experience in architecting and designing small scale to high scale enterprise applications in various domains using Java/J2EE Technologies.

Posted in Industry, Uncategorized, certification | No Comments »


Agile Approach for Software Outsourcing is Effective

Proving the agile approach for Software Outsourcing is effective can be difficult to convince senior management. There are many people honestly skeptical because they are afraid that it would be another fad of Software Development. Into the proof question, the technological curve represents critical insight that are described in the groundbreaking book of “Crossing the Chasm“, and the curve shows differences among five technological adopter types. There are early adopters that pursues new concepts early in the life-cycle and the majority who wait and see to buy new concept, while the late majority are concerned about the ability to handle concept so that Software Outsourcing process will be a thought to adopt and develop. And, finally laggards, that do not require anything with these new approach.The early adopters and innovators are very comfortable to think about the new concept for a while and after that tailoring it for environment of Outsourcing process. While the Software Development techniques are being adopted by companies that fit those profiles, and now in the early majority some companies are testing the wings in pilot projects. The community of agile is actively and positively reaching out to executives, noted for demand, strong proof is generally made by people working in companies that fit in late majority and laggard profiles, and, as Software Outsourcing became the main stream.The research found that releasing of earlier result in the life-cycle seems to contribute lower defect rate with higher productivity for Software Outsourcing, and at the same time also revealed for weak relationship between the lower-defect rate and completeness in detailed design-specification. The example, tells that scope management that related to waterfall practices that includes detailed design up front, was the single largest factor for failure contribution.

Existing research work is not completely convincing, despite of the encouraging offerings. Rather than specifically addressing agile approaches, much of that compares traditional waterfall approaches with Software Development. Although secondly the books have mentioned effectively summary and the existing research process that much remains to be examined during software outsourcing.

About the Author

TatvaSoft - Software Outsourcing Company
chetan.patel@tatvasoft.com
Ahmedabad - India

Editor’s Note: I slightly modified the use of English in this article.  I had a bit of trouble understanding it on first read.

Posted in Industry, Planning, Uncategorized | No Comments »


Tips On How To Choose An Offshore Software Vendor

IT departments and software companies across the world are considering outsourcing in a big way. The obvious advantage is the cost and the not-so-obvious advantage is the availability of highly qualified personnel. If you are considering engaging an offshore development team then these tips can help you make an educated decision on which company to go with:

1) Knowledge of the industry vertical Software has become highly specialized and it is necessary that you choose a vendor who has working knowledge about the vertical you belong to. A company claiming to cater to all verticals in software development services may not have specialization in any area. Choosing a company which does not understand your industry can result in a learning curve which may even become a cost centre for you in development costs.

2) Track record One of the best ways to check knowledge of a company is to pay attention to the track record of the company. Ideally case studies of previous projects and client references of people who you can contact are good indicators to check the working history of the company. This may take some time to do, but should definitely be done if you are considering employing a team for the long run.

3) Quality certification Most well qualified outsourcing companies are now working hard towards quality certification to help them stand out in the crowd. A basic ISO certification or SEI CMM level certification should be given preference when considering an offshore vendor. These quality certifications are usually awarded for the processes followed by the company and can go a long way in influencing the quality of work.

4) Quality of personnel A quality check and telephone interview should be done with personnel who will write your code. It is necessary to validate that they are familiar with the fundamentals and have good research knowledge along with the ability to learn.

5) Infrastructure Information Technology services requires good infrastructure and sufficient back ups to tide over various kinds of problems which might arise from either technical failure or geo-political issues. Apart from back up plans, regular telecom and hardware infrastructure along with physical infrastructure should also be considered when evaluating a vendor.

6) Years of business Preferred offshore vendors are those companies which can show over 7 years of business (which means that they have been around since the time of the dot com crash and have managed to live through it) and a healthy percentage of growth. A fairly new company might have a good value proposition but there is a risk factor regarding business continuity which you might need to take into account.

7) An onsite visit to validate all claims One of the best ways to ensure that you choose the right vendor is to actually take a trip to the country where the vendor is based. Most software developers are based in India or Eastern Europe and a visit there can validate all the points above as well as give you an opportunity to meet the people who will be delivering business critical services.

It may not be possible for you to undertake all the above steps when evaluating a vendor but even a few of these steps will ensure that you are able to make a good decision when it comes to choosing an offshore vendor.

Rod Morris is the founder of CodeLance - www.codelance.com - a leading freelance programming website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rod_Morris

Posted in ISO 9001:2000 , Planning, SEI CMM, Uncategorized | No Comments »