Thursday, February 26, 2009

Insert Current Date and Time in Word:

You can insert the current date or time in a Word document using keyboard shortcuts. Here's how:
1. Position the cursor where you want to insert the date or time.
2. Do one of the following:
• To insert the date, press ALT+SHIFT+D.
• To insert the time, press ALT+SHIFT+T.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Send Mails with your nick name:

Would you like to change how your name is displayed in the inboxs of the people you send messages to? For example, Malar instead of Tamilmalar Hariharan.

The way you control this is via your location document. At the bottom right corner of Lotus Notes, click on the Location bar, and choose "Edit Current..."



Then on the Basics tab, look at the "Internet mail address" field.

If you have just an email address, such as thariharan@csc.com, most email clients will display the value to the left of the "@" symbol. You can control what is displayed by entering your email as

"the nickname you want" . Make sure to put in the quotes and <>.

Note: Some companies may control this field at the administration level, so your changes may be overwritten.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Software Inspection:

A form of document *Quality Control* in which a team of colleagues assists an author in assessing the *Quality* of a documentary work-product against pre-defined quality criteria.

Inspection is distinguished from reviews and walkthroughs by its formal approach to five aspects:

1. A documented process of six to eight tasks

2. Specialist roles within the process, with a written job specification for each role

3. Process control by quantitative entry and exit criteria for the process, and sometimes for each task

4. "Oracles" (such as source and related documents, and "best-practice" checklists) to assist in the identification of defects and

5. Collection and analysis of both product and process data to determine cost-effectiveness.

Additionally, while reviews and walkthroughs concentrate solely on "defect detection" within the document being dealt with, inspection provides explicit formal mechanisms for "defect prevention" via improvement of processes and of personal skills.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Excel Tip – Array Formula:

Problem:

We want to create a conditional formula that will return TRUE if there is at least one number in List1 greater than the value in cell D1. Otherwise the formula will return FALSE.

Solution 1:

Use the following formula:

=($A$2>D1)+($A$3>D1)+($A$4>D1)>0

Solution 2:

Use the OR function as shown in the following Array formula: {=OR($A$2:$A$4>D1)}

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

VPN:

VPN is a private network that uses a public network (usually the Internet) to connect remote sites or users together. Instead of using a dedicated, real-world connection such as leased line, a VPN uses "virtual" connections routed through the Internet from the company's private network to the remote site or employee.

Ther¬e are two common types of VPN. Remote-access, also called a virtual private dial-up network (VPDN), is a user-to-LAN connection used by a company that has employees who need to connect to the private network from various remote locations. Typically, a corporation that wishes to set up a large remote-access VPN will outsource to an enterprise service provider (ESP). The ESP sets up a network access server (NAS) and provides the remote users with desktop client software for their computers. The telecommuters can then dial a toll-free number to reach the NAS and use their VPN client software to access the corporate network.
A good example of a company that needs a remote-access VPN would be a large firm with hundreds of sales people in the field. Remote-access VPNs permit secure, encrypted connections between a company's private network and remote users through a third-party service provider.
Site-to-site VPNs can be one of two types:
Intranet-based - If a company has one or more remote locations that they wish to join in a single private network, they can create an intranet VPN to connect LAN to LAN.
Extranet-based - When a company has a close relationship with another company (for example, a partner, supplier or customer), they can build an extranet VPN that connects LAN to LAN, and that allows all of the various companies to work in a shared environment.
¬
A well-designed VPN can greatly benefit a company. For example, it can:
• Extend geographic connectivity
• Improve security
• Reduce operational costs versus traditional WAN
• Reduce transit time and transportation costs for remote users
• Improve productivity
• Simplify network topology
• Provide global networking opportunities
• Provide telecommuter support
• Provide broadband networking compatibility
• Provide faster ROI (return on investment) than traditional WAN

Monday, February 16, 2009

SIPOC:

SIPOC is a six sigma tool. SIPOC stands for suppliers, inputs, process, output, and customers. You obtain inputs from suppliers, add value through your process, and provide an output that meets or exceeds your customer's requirements. A SIPOC is completed most easily by starting from the right ("Customers") and working towards the left.
For example:
1. Suppliers - grocers and vendors
2. Inputs - ingredients for recipes
3. Process - cooking at a restaurant kitchen
4. Outputs - meals served
5. Customers - diners at a restaurant

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Quickly Change Font Size in Office:

To quickly change the font size in your Office application (Word, Front Page, Publisher or PowerPoint):
1. Highlight the text you want to change
2. Press:
CTRL+SHIFT+> - To Increase the size
CTRL+SHIFT+< - To Decrease the size

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Print only the Chart:

Select a chart. In the File menu, select Page Setup. Then, select the Chart tab, and click Print Preview. Now print the chart.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Lotus Notes - Make it Read on Preview Pane:

If you want to have documents marked are read after you view them in the Preview Pane, you can configure this in your Lotus Notes preferences. Choose File-Preferences-User Preferences, and on the Basics Tab, place a check mark (by clicking) next to "Mark documents read when opened in preview pane".

Monday, February 9, 2009

Select Vertical Block of text:

Press Alt + drag to select vertical block of text in Microsoft Word.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

QFD (Quality Function Deployment):

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a systematic process for motivating a business to focus on its customers. It is used by cross-functional teams to identify and resolve issues involved in providing products, processes, services and strategies which will more than satisfy their customers. A prerequisite to QFD is Market Research. This is the process of understanding what the customer wants, how important these benefits are, and how well different providers of products that address these benefits are perceived to perform. This is a prerequisite to QFD because it is impossible to consistently provide products which will attract customers unless you have a very good understanding of what they want.

When completed it resembles a house structure and is often referred to as House of Quality. The House is divided into several rooms. Typically you have customer requirements, design considerations and design alternatives in a 3 dimensional matrix to which you can assign weighted scores based on market research information collected.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a methodology for taking the Voice of the Customer and using that information to drive aspects of product development. The voice of the customer is captured in a variety of ways: direct discussion or interviews, surveys, focus groups, customer specifications, observation, warranty data, field reports, etc. This understanding of the customer needs is then summarized in a product planning matrix or "house of quality". These matrices are used to translate higher level "whats" or needs into lower level "hows" - product requirements or technical characteristics to satisfy these needs.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Bounce Back:

A product marketing technique that pairs a customer's refund with a rebate on a product.