A New Start

After a week of being stuck in a black container, my notebook is now back in its useful purpose. I was so worried during the past few days thinking that it wouldn't be alright again since it underwent a very serious technical problem. Unfortunately, I could not do anything about it. What could i possibly do? I am not good at troubleshooting computers. Back then, I felt ashamed of what I am. I am an IT student and yet I could not even get into the idea of fixing it by myself. Grrrrrr..... I was so stupid.. What was i doing during my five years in college? At least I should have mastered this craft since it's a part of what i wanted to be in the future. Grrrr.... I was envious with people who could do it right and make real good of it.... Frustration was getting through me. I hate to admit it but that I really still need to improve in the field of IT. i I guess it's time to be better on what i had chosen.

Near death again..

Oh no! tomorrow is the day... I hope it's not.. Huhuhu... Never say die, tomorrow is another day. Research...

Lady in a weep…

I understand that someone is ignoring me because I am being irresponsible with school lately. Late assignments, ghost participation in class, near death INC and late arrivals on team meetings were my mortal sins which I realized a long ago but chose to just ignore for a lot of times. Before the semester, I had made a decision that really changed my life’s perspectives and I had been blinded by my detour not knowing that it was bounded to be worthless in the sense that there was no reason for me to keep going.

I had been through tough times for the last months and it took a painful incident to end it. Not to mention, I was deprived of sleeping during the night. But deeper than that, it was all of me who suffered. I was hit heart and soul. I try my hardest to live a smooth life but then there are unexpected events that are meant to mess up people’s lives. Unfortunately, I was destined to be the victim. It really made me cry buckets of tears. It made me think harder of what kind of person I was. I am a good person and I am trying to be for the rest of my life but how come do I need to linger the pain of being miserably accused of something I am confident of not doing?

A part of growing up, people would say. I thank God for this trial. I am back to normal, stronger than before. I now have to count the things that need to be done and make up for it as soon as possible. Go for the goal!

Oh sad...

A comment: SRIS

I absolutely agree upon this step of the university administration to tap in-house resources for the re-invention of the student registration information system. For each year that the university has been using the previous, never did I see a difference with respect to the transaction processing level. Executing the same process for years was experiencing the pain of waiting turns all over again, to think that the main purpose of automation is to lessen the working burdens of involved entities. Back in June where we had our enrollment for this semester, the newly implemented system ran its first operation. I noticed that the user interface became nicer to look at. However in general, it was still the same experience as before except for the one way entrance/exit, distribution of priority numbers at the registrar and the strict security guard. It still took me the whole day to finish the whole process of enrollment. I was disappointed yet hoping that the next time would get better since I have great trust to the developers of the new SRIS.

Nothing but random innermost desires…

1. To graduate from USeP by 2010
2. To have an IT career in Singapore
3. To be an IT specialist in Korea
4. To cross paths with Bill Gates
5. To be an expert of SAP solutions
6. To be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey
7. To contribute meaningfully to the Philippine ICT
8. To create a very special application embedded on cell phones
9. To travel in whole Asia with my entire family
10. To have a dual citizenship (Canada and Phil)
11. To regularly bring my mama and papa to a spa
12. To taste the yummiest chocolates from every country
13. To meet Baraq Obama at the White House
14. To go out on a date with:
a. Robert Pattinson
b. Kim Kibum
c. Lee Min Ho
d. Jerry Yan
e. Christian Bautista
f. Richard Poon
g. Ely Buendia
h. Enchong Dee
i. Chris Tiu
j. Dev Patel
15. To have my own collection of books:
a. Harry Potter
b. Twilight saga
c. John Grisham
d. Mary Higgins Clark
e. Precious Hearts Romances.. wahahaha
f. Dan Brown
16. To travel in Israel
17. To follow the exact trail wherein Jesus Christ had his passion of the cross
18. To be in Vatican and meet the Pope
19. To chill in Boracay with Borbi and friends
20. To take a Caribbean cruise
21. To sing with Sarah Geronimo
22. To dance with Vhong Navarro
23. To have a plenty bank account
24. To have a family and be with them for my entire lifetime

O! pwede na mo mukatawa.. bwehehhehehehe

Grrr...

I want out!

Look before you leap. This is one of my life’s principles. It’s not that I am afraid to fail but I just don’t want to plunge into something regrettable in the end. It is very easy to commit a mistake, mind you but it‘s hard to face the consequence that lies ahead. That is why I always strive to be mindful of the things I do. My decisions depend mostly on what people may think, feel, say or do. grrrrrr……. Blah.. blah.. Hate it…

Tukar na pud.

My principle in life would probably be the golden rule. However, I can honestly say that I am a hypocrite oftentimes. I hate to treat my fellowmen with unkind words and unjust actions but there are times when I just forget what I believe. This usually happens when I am upset or I have a hard feeling towards someone. I can't control myself in this emotional stage that I could formulate whatever disgraceful things in mind. Sometimes ,I could just utter words of anger to someone I really hate at the moment. Well, it goes to show that I am perfectly human. It's just a matter of learning from past mistakes, forgiving and moving on.

I love to laugh. It’s the only thing that I will never be tired of doing. It’s no to laugh at people’s mistakes but to laugh with people on a clear conscience. To laugh because you admire someone dearly or above all, because you love life.

Laugh Rush!

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
HAHAHAHAHAHHAH!
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHHA!
HAHAHAHAHHAHHAHA!
HAHAHAHAHA!
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!
HAHAHAHAHHHAH!
HAHAHAAH!

Laughter just can't stop striking me!

I feel so addicted!
I feel so hilarious!
I am insane!

Laughter is the best medicine.....

HAHAHAAH!
HAHAHA!
HAHAHAAH!


My third week of OJT is fun... fun... fun....
Yeah....

It feels so good to be this extremely ecstatic..

hehe

Hello everyone.

How can I be so slow to realize?

I thought I could never love someone again since I laid my eyes on Jerry Yan during the popularity of Meteor Garden series in 2003. I was third year high school then and
I still remember how my heart tremendously beats whenever I see his face as endearing as an angel on television. I have always imagined myself being so close to him as if I could already feel his breath. Gosh! Those times were so hard for me as a teenager since I knew back then that everything I longed for about him was impossible as getting a trip to the outer space. It felt like my life was brought into a teleserye wherein everybody was getting in my way to my happiness- to be with the one I truly love. How I wanted to go to Taiwan and follow him in every glorious moments that he had been stepping on for his popularity! Gosh! I really was and obviously totally insane!

Presently, I just celebrated my 20TH birthday but then again the feeling is just the same. However as the song goes, "i remember the boy but i don't remember the feeling anymore.." hehe. Well, I have my newly found love. Thanks to my classmate Hannah for paving me the way to know him. The moment I saw him, the love bug in me strikes again! I really am in love. How can I not fall? By just looking at his face, I could never say no to temptation. hehe.. Kiliggggg to the bones and to death! Gosh! Time really matters. Is it a deja vu?

I love you my only one! -- Please give me back my sanity..

Adrenaline Rush

This day is scheduled for our third consultation for Systems Analysis and Design 1.
Our group decided to meet in school at exactly 7:30 in the morning. For this reason, I woke up at 5:30 am just to make sure that I have prepared everything and to arrive early at our meeting place which happens to be at the Engineering ground floor.

School Arrival

Upon our arrival, we were lucky enough to be the first group for consultation. However unexpectedly, we were not fortunate to have our design phase output checked by our instructor for the reason that I have not yet submitted some of my online case studies. I blame myself for this and I feel so sorry and ashamed. I look forward to repenting my wrongdoings if still be given the chance for consideration. Please...

I post

It was just last year when we first made a move on our Systems Analysis and Design 1 (SAD 1) project. As it was expected, we had a hard time looking for a particular company that would openly accept us to conduct a study. The plan was to go where we had our Management Information System study, the Legacy Group at Bajada St. We decided for it since it’s just a walking distance from the university and assuming that we still had a connection to its executive secretary. However, by the time that we set our feet on the establishment, we were declined of the second opportunity that we asked for the reason that their company was too busy to accommodate what we needed. So we planned for a back-up and to make the long story short, we landed on Barangay Buhangin Station. We interviewed the barangay secretary and fortunately, we were accepted. We proposed an integrated system for the barangay’s inventory, residence and employment record keeping, and blotters based on the information that we had acquired and observed. Our instructor then was Ma’am Tammy and she asked us if we were really determined to pursue the proposal up to its implementation. It was a quite long argument between her and us. But at the end, she accepted the proposal and we were very relieved because at last we would be able to proceed to the next milestone and we did not have to find for another company which was very tiring.
Days had passed, we had our team building and we were ready for the first milestone with regard to the project proposal. One Wednesday afternoon at the fifth floor of engineering building- USeP, we were surprised of Ma’am Tammy’s revelation. She was not going to be our SAD 1 instructor anymore. She had to take part on our school’s newly proposed information system. What????! Certainly, another instructor will take over her subject and that meant something for us, the students. We liked her and just missed a chance of knowing her deeply. Since she studied in South Korea, we lost the opportunity to be able to learn from her experiences. Life went on and with the blink of an eye, we had our new instructor. Charaaaaaaan!!
Sir Randy became our instructor. For the reason that we had been his students for half of our college life, we already look forward for some things to happen. We knew for certain that our school life would never be easy with him. Aja! It looked as if we were fortune tellers. Presto! We were somehow right. On his first glimpse of our project proposals, he doubted if those were worthy of our three years’ learning at the university. For him, those were simple and taken for decades. According to him, it was time for us to get away from what was already obsolete and we had to level up on what was appropriate for college levels. At that moment, I just felt he wanted to let us understand that we had to change our proposals into something that would fit or exceed his expectation. He was just being nice not to directly point out that what we had come up was a trash. Ha-ha.
At the thought of revising our proposals all over again, we almost grasped for air since it had to be a total job overhaul. It would mean that our preliminary efforts would be useless. Thus, we tried our luck to convince Sir Randy to reconsider. We delivered our explanation as to how we had to stick with what we started – the Barangay Integrated System. We told him that we were not confident enough to go for a more technically complicated project since we were still students and that pool of requirements yet had to come our way. We really argued with him but to our dismay, he would never be contented of the said system. He even gave us words of encouragement: “You can do it.” Then, what else could we do? “Gamboa gets what he wants.” Once his mind is fixed, it’s unbreakable and irrevocable and could not be influenced by anyone.
We actually withdrew our first scheme and altered our objectives. Instead, we proposed a web-based system for the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP). At the initial attempt of presenting it, it was denied. During the second, thank Bro for we had been accepted. Obviously, it was an indication to start the process of project development. For the first semester, we had to include the analysis, planning and design phase. Our decision was firmed – to develop an automated system for the online publicity of tutorial services provided by the students of USeP. In this regard, let me share some things that we had been all the way through:

Planning Phase
Included in this phase were the documentation for the project request, feasibility study, working and staffing plan and the risk analysis. Considering UseP as the scope, we had to initially see and analyze the problem. We had to observe and interact with the people who will eventually be the direct beneficiaries of our project. We labeled such two primary entities, the “service seeker” and “service provider”. The former were those students who wanted to learn/improve on a specific subject such as Math and English while the latter were the ones who were offering subject tutorials. We also had initiated the project’s feasibility in terms of economic, technical, and operational aspects. Lastly, we formulated our risk analysis. We had it all prepared for consultation with our instructor. Happily, he approved of it and marked it as “V.G.”, an acronym for “very good”. Personally, it felt something because it was the very first time we received that kind of remark from him. It made us crave and aim for more. From then on, we were very inspired and eager to work on the second phase which was the analysis.

Analysis Phase
Unlike the previous one, this analysis phase was very demanding of time, effort and ideas. We planned to formulate the analysis and strategy plan, information gathering, as-is system (current system) and the to-be system (proposed system). We thought that this would be simple and we just had to write on what we had in mind. However when we attempted for our second consultation, we were asked for the supporting documents that would reveal how we arrived to that output. Unfortunately, we failed to show our evidences. Again, we had to conduct a thorough information gathering. We distributed questionnaires but again, it had to be validated so we had to find an expert to have it validated. After validation, it had to be approved by our instructor. To cut the story short, it was very tiring and it came to a point that we almost stopped doing what we needed to do. However, rough times turned smooth. Luckily, we made it and we happily received a VG.

Think about your approved/proposed systems, is it worth the three or more years of learning you get from the university? Describe how you arrived with

I would honestly admit that the first time this question was thrown at our class; I instantly raised an eyebrow. I could never blame myself for doing that because I personally knew how my teammates struggled to arrive with that proposal.

We had landed on our current proposal by initially experiencing negligence from the company which we actually thought our best choice. It was not an institution owned by a government or a small-time local enterprise. It was a national corporation with big time attachment to its investors. We pursued them politely with our intentions for the company however one representative from them told us that we could never be entertained at all due to the reason that they were extremely busy especially for the fact on global crisis. So what else did we have to take? Explore the city and get some luck. The rest was history. Until we set our foot on a barangay station. We interviewed one person from them and acquired the station’s profile. After having the observations on the regular events inside the building, we arrived with the proposal.

I should probably ask myself,” What have I learned within three years of education?” I have known a lot of theories and the facts regarding IT. Through experiences, I have gained knowledge and lessons. We had programming, database analysis, human resource management, and everything that was necessary for the course. Unlike traditional students whose learning stays within the four corners of the classroom, we were exposed to different types of working environment wherein we could somehow see the big difference between school and the outside world, the industry. Moreover, it had been a common understanding that IT improves the quality of life. Then that was it! What should be the role of Information Technology? When I thought of the proposal, I certainly weighed its worth. Partly, it would be of help to those people working for the barangay station but then there were just few of them. Pertaining to our proposed system, how could this be a contribution to the quality of living when only few could benefit?

Reality check, someone had been right all along that what we have come up for a proposal was not the exact representation of those three years being at school. Besides, it did not justify the purpose of the emergence of IT. On the other hand, one thing that is also true: we could never develop a highly commendable system with just a small amount of time especially when we are not only focusing on one requirement. And also, to program and implement a system is not as easy as to conceptualize it. So please, we need some consideration.

C.S.F.

Aiming for success is not a very simple task. For a person to think of succeeding, an hour for him to become one is obviously impossible. To head start the way of succeeding in whatever field, either in an ongoing project or future plans, a mission should be defined in a specific and measurable manner. It will serve as a guide and as a focus. Next is to identify the goals that should be significantly aligned with the mission. Goals are the things that must be accomplished to solidify the mission.

However, a mission and a list of goals are not enough to accomplish what has been aimed. There has to be a list of factors that should also be considered. It is important for a business organization or a certain person aiming for success to formulate this because these are the areas that will serve as the point of direction towards the achievement of each goal that has been included. This concept is called the CSF or the Critical Success Factors.

Critical Success Factor was first conceptualized in the 1960s by D. Ronald Daniel and was later popularized by John F. Rockart. It is defined as the limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organization. These are the few key areas where the things must go right for the business to flourish. If results in these areas are not adequate, the organization’s efforts for the period will be less than desired (John F. Rockart, http://www.mindtools.com ).

To determine the activities or the areas in which critical success factors are to be identified, six steps are listed down:

Step One: Establish your business or project mission and strategic goals.

For a project to have its significance and completion in due time, it would start with a mission and a set of goals. A project can also be done without these goals and mission but it is best for a team to be specific in what they would want to conquer within the whole development duration. It would also be easy for them to identify the activities that they will be dealing with towards the endpoint since a precise set of targets are known from the very beginning.

Before, whenever I was asked to complete an assignment or I would want to accomplish a task, the only thing clear to me was to get it done. It did not matter how I was going to do it and what exactly I would want my output to be. I did not care if it would be of great significance to other people or it would satisfy me as the doer. It was so easy at that point especially when pressures were less and the society was still not expecting too much. I never took notice of setting a mission and goals before I would plunge into something that would need and consume my time, creativity, effort and my parents’ money. It was until times became tough and people who did not have a clearer understanding on what they want to achieve were meant to falter. I was in third-year college then. Being a college student meant bigger responsibilities and one great example was the arrival of inevitable batches of serious projects every semester. It was far different during the elementary and high school wherein projects could be done in less than 24 hours. Project developments were so hard for me that in those times that I forced myself to get started, I just ended up thinking out of nowhere because I had no idea what to hit first, how I would strategically do it, what precisely I would want to invest for the task and the areas that I would want to deal with towards the success of my project. As for the result, I was such a TIME WASTER.

Step Two: For each strategic goal, ask yourself "what area of business or project activity is essential to achieve this goal?" The answers to the question are your candidate CSFs.

A mission comes into life through the support of realistic and impressive goals. Goals should be pointed towards the mission of a certain business organization or a project. To achieve it, a person must think of the possible ways. This is what step two is all about. There has to be an area in which goals could probably be attained. This is the first stage of determining the Critical Success Factors.

Relating this to my experience as a student, I realized that somehow this was one part that I failed to perceive. I had plenty of goals in mind including some were completing projects in time, achieving not just passing grades but really good grades, gaining a better impression from professors and mostly, graduating on time with flying colors. I may have planned all of these since the beginning and I may have imagined myself in these goals however I missed to witness these things coming into reality. When I would reflect on myself regarding these failures, I just simply reason out that it was not meant for me, it was not just my luck and that I had other purpose and maybe my best was not that enough. This brought me into awareness that perhaps I would be in my desired situation if I followed step two of Critical Success Factor approach. If only I was able to match my every goal with the appropriate means to achieve it.

Step Three: Evaluate the list of candidate CSFs to find the absolute essential elements for achieving success - these are your Critical Success Factors. As you identify and evaluate candidate CSFs, you may uncover some new strategic objectives or more detailed objectives. So you may need to define your mission, objectives and CSFs iteratively.

In evaluating the candidates for the Critical Success Factors, each element has to be weighed depending on its impact toward each goal. Those chosen will be the final list and will be called the Critical Success Factors.

Step Four: Identify how you will monitor and measure each of the CSFs.

The Critical Success Factors have to be observed and studied. In this manner, the approach to assessing and testing the potentiality of each factor will be identified.

Step Five: Communicate your CSFs along with the other important elements of your business or project's strategy.

Step Six: Keep monitoring and reevaluating your CSFs to ensure you keep moving towards your aims. Indeed, while CSFs are sometimes less tangible than measurable goals, it is useful to identify as specifically as possible how you can measure or monitor each one.

Critical Success Factors are the areas of your business or project that are absolutely essential to it success. By identifying and communicating these CSFs, you can help ensure your business or project is well-focused and avoid wasting effort and resources on less important areas. By making CSFs explicit, and communicating them with everyone involved, you can help keep the business and project on track towards common aims and goalshttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_80.htm ). (

Upon reflecting on this paragraph, I have come to ponder that CSF or the Critical Success Factor approach does not only apply to making a project successful or to a business organization. In my case, I have an idea of using the CSF to help me focus on the things that I desire to have and in the pursuit of my goals – not to waste my effort on dealing with less important areas in my life.