Savvy Avi

It seems that agile is the predominant methodology in software development, especially in shrink-wrap software and web. It certainly stands behind some mammoth success stories of late. However, agile is not a fit-all method, in many software domains it just won’t work well. More than that, agile seems more like a philosophy, a way of thinking, than a complete methodology. Software is a new field and it is going through some phases. Agile is one of those. Let’s look at the language used in new wave development methodologies. Programmers are action figures; they are “cowboys” or “ninjas” or simply “heroes”. Programming is a dangerous, masculine, activity like rugby (scrum) or an extreme sport (extreme programming). Planning is a poker game, specifications are paper in an electronic paperless world and all we need is dialog (agile manifesto). Could it be that this juvenile lingo is a product of an engineering field that is in its adolescence? When considering what methodology to use...

Service companies use branches, phone, kiosks and web as direct channels to customers. In recent years service companies added a new channel - the smart phone application. Smart phones differ from PCs in screen size, ease of typing and input, connection speed and use context. Keeping these changes in mind, mobile apps shouldn’t be a replica of their online counterparts. One difference is that the mobile app has to be leaner. Another difference is that mobile apps should have unique features, such as location based features, taking advantage of mobile capabilities. As a case study, I compared the online website and mobile app of Citibank ’s card services. As shown below the mobile app has fewer pages (17 vs. 84) and has fewer levels (4 deep vs. 6 deep). Companies rushed to create iPhone and android apps often not doing it “right”. Mobile operation system defragmentation and rapid market changes make doing it right all the more challenging. That may be the reason why Citibank’s iPhon...

eMbrace venture which I am a part of started as a project in Product Design and Development class. It is mentioned in the last SDM pulse in an article by the class's professor Qi Van Eikema Hommes: “one team in this year’s class started out with a technology—an RFID tracking device—rather than a need. Team members wanted to design a web-based system to track everything from documents to parts and information. In class, the students were urged to find out why the world would want their system. Using techniques learned in class, they interviewed and observed people, ultimately identifying a need among parents who sometimes lose their young children in busy areas. The team felt that these parents would like anyone who finds their child to be able to contact them quickly. Based on this need, the students developed an attractive RFID bracelet for kids and a companion web-based tracking system. The team is now exploring the possibility of collaborating with Verizon to produce such a sy...

Molded after the popular Sloan experimental courses (e-Lab g-Lab) SLAM lab (System Leadership and Management) is a course offered only to SDMs. Students consult Cambridge technology firms with strategic decision making. The course, offered in fall, has a summer preparation course adequately called pre-SLAM lab. During the summer course, the class is presented with cases about MIT spinoffs: E Ink, A123 Systems, Ember. All the cases have been written by Harvard Business School. I think I have spotted a pattern: MIT incubates companies and HBS writes case studies about them. Professor Michael Davies, who teaches the class, is the most charismatic lecturer I have had so far at MIT. Pre-SLAM class is always entertaining but when class ends I am not always sure what I’ve learned. One lesson I did pick up is that even very smart people can make stupid decisions. People are ‘prisoners’ of their own history and tend to bias strategic decision with emotional ‘reasoning’. I have seen it in poli...

This blog is about management, technology and finance. And when the muses strike about art. Most of what I will write about would not be completely original, rather it would be contemplation about and reviews of publications, books and articles. After all between a job, studies, family and other activities who has the time to come up with original thoughts - only the very lucky ones: philosophers, writers and columnist. As an MIT student of System Design and Management (SDM), I also hope to write some insights about the program. I need some perspective in order to organize my thoughts and so it will probably take a few months. Another aspect of being a business (& eng) student is that I find myself reading case studies instead of the things I would normally read. Case studies will probably not be much of an inspiration, I hope they will at least be educating. I also hope that the change in my reading habits would not “dry” up my blogs.