December 2009 to March 2010
The base camp in our nomadic life has always been Hyderabad, India. Hyderabad is home turf. It has been our resting ground for a battery re-charge during the brief interludes between countries and jobs. This time, during my stay in Hyderabad, before leaving to Geneva to join my husband, I had something more in my agenda – the building of analyzeVietnam.
The launch date of analyzeVietnam was therefore dictated by the arrival of my visa to Switzerland. Having applied for my visa in late November 2009 I worried that I would have to leave by early 2010 leaving my project in the lurch (the Swiss rules dictate that one has to travel to the country within a month of procuring visa in order to apply for ones residence permit). However thankfully the Swiss authorities delayed my visa till March 2010. After 4 months of emails from and to my agent and the embassy, endless attestations and authorisations my visa finally arrived and I was scheduled to travel mid march. During these 4 months we worked overtime, believing that each week was to be our last and thanking our stars for each week of borrowed time that we got from the Swiss embassy.
The site was completed and officially handed to me for customer testing a day before I travelled to Geneva.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Forecasting
January 2010
“Forecasting is like trying to drive a car blindfolded and following directions given by a person who is looking out of the back window.” Anonymous
If one was to ask what was the most challanging part of building analyzeVietnam the easy answer would be forecasting.
It was not until January 2010 that we had all the historical data ready and some important decisions to make. What do we forecast using historical data and what do we forecast using projections made by international bodies? Do we use inflation or GDP growth rate to forecast income and consumption expenditure? How do we deal with differences in the projections released by various bodies? – These were only some of the questions that we had to grapple with.
We mulled over this till our hairs greyed and we consulted experts and statisticians. Finally we arrived at our decisions with the proviso that we would clearly publish whatever methodology we used for all to see.
But this was just half the problem solved. Our next challenge was to make sure that all our projected numbers made sense top down and bottom up and that the forecast country values were in synch with the projections made by the Vietnamese government and other world bodies. Given that the site was number driven we had to make sure that the data was credible and that it added up to the last decimal.
We understand that the 10 years of forecast that we provide is only a value-add to the range of features that we provide in analyzeVietnam. We also understand that it is no way a firm prediction but only an indicator of what the future is likely to be based on past trends. Given its small significance did we spend undue effort on forecasting? Maybe. But then it was all part of making analyzeVietnam a truly rounded tool and one of a kind
“Forecasting is like trying to drive a car blindfolded and following directions given by a person who is looking out of the back window.” Anonymous
If one was to ask what was the most challanging part of building analyzeVietnam the easy answer would be forecasting.
It was not until January 2010 that we had all the historical data ready and some important decisions to make. What do we forecast using historical data and what do we forecast using projections made by international bodies? Do we use inflation or GDP growth rate to forecast income and consumption expenditure? How do we deal with differences in the projections released by various bodies? – These were only some of the questions that we had to grapple with.
We mulled over this till our hairs greyed and we consulted experts and statisticians. Finally we arrived at our decisions with the proviso that we would clearly publish whatever methodology we used for all to see.
But this was just half the problem solved. Our next challenge was to make sure that all our projected numbers made sense top down and bottom up and that the forecast country values were in synch with the projections made by the Vietnamese government and other world bodies. Given that the site was number driven we had to make sure that the data was credible and that it added up to the last decimal.
We understand that the 10 years of forecast that we provide is only a value-add to the range of features that we provide in analyzeVietnam. We also understand that it is no way a firm prediction but only an indicator of what the future is likely to be based on past trends. Given its small significance did we spend undue effort on forecasting? Maybe. But then it was all part of making analyzeVietnam a truly rounded tool and one of a kind
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A Slice of Our Life in Vietnam
Late November 2009
It was soon time to bid adieu to this lovely country. Our careers have taken us to many countries from the developed world and we always took joy in imbibing different cultures. But somehow Vietnam was more special. This country where basic communication was impossible without an interpreter and with its hot and sticky climes won our hearts and made us many lasting friends.
We never could put a finger on why it was so endearing.Was it the simple and trusting Vietnamese? Was it the hospitality? Was it because of the sheer intensity of their positive energy? Or was it their complete lack of any hangups or pretences? I think it was a combination of all the above points.
Our initial days in Hanoi were spent in a cocoon of splendor and luxury that was completely insulated from the real Vietnam. This paradise comprised 5 star living quarters, international brands for shopping, English speaking liveried staff and service of any kind just a phone call away. When we decided to stake out on our own we took a gargantuan leap to a different world comprising an incomprehensible staccato of Northern Vietnamese slang, crowded wet markets smelling of fresh meat and vegetables, a unique Vietnamese motorcycle transportation service called XE OM, ‘Made in Vietnam’ shops and so much more.
Our Vietnamese friends took it upon themselves to make this transition as easy as possible for us. They helped us find an airy and spacious house and made us flash cards containing practical phrases in Vietnamese to use in day to day life. With their help and some from ‘Google Translate’ we got by... and then we fell in love with this beautiful land
Everday I went for long walks pushing my daughter in the pram through our residential complex only to be stopped every few yards by friendly mothers and grandmothers, minding their playing children, wanting to admire my baby daughter. Somehow we pantomined our way through the story of my origins, my liking for Vietnam and my daughter’s accomplishments. I went for jogs around the lake in the green and airy community park. I left intructions for my nanny through google translate which was quite unnecessary as she always second guessed me. We sipped ca cao and cà phê in the coffee shops.
Our stint in Vietnam finally came to an end when my husband took up a job in a different country. I moved to India from where I continued to work on analyzeVietnam.
It was soon time to bid adieu to this lovely country. Our careers have taken us to many countries from the developed world and we always took joy in imbibing different cultures. But somehow Vietnam was more special. This country where basic communication was impossible without an interpreter and with its hot and sticky climes won our hearts and made us many lasting friends.
We never could put a finger on why it was so endearing.Was it the simple and trusting Vietnamese? Was it the hospitality? Was it because of the sheer intensity of their positive energy? Or was it their complete lack of any hangups or pretences? I think it was a combination of all the above points.
Our initial days in Hanoi were spent in a cocoon of splendor and luxury that was completely insulated from the real Vietnam. This paradise comprised 5 star living quarters, international brands for shopping, English speaking liveried staff and service of any kind just a phone call away. When we decided to stake out on our own we took a gargantuan leap to a different world comprising an incomprehensible staccato of Northern Vietnamese slang, crowded wet markets smelling of fresh meat and vegetables, a unique Vietnamese motorcycle transportation service called XE OM, ‘Made in Vietnam’ shops and so much more.
Our Vietnamese friends took it upon themselves to make this transition as easy as possible for us. They helped us find an airy and spacious house and made us flash cards containing practical phrases in Vietnamese to use in day to day life. With their help and some from ‘Google Translate’ we got by... and then we fell in love with this beautiful land
Everday I went for long walks pushing my daughter in the pram through our residential complex only to be stopped every few yards by friendly mothers and grandmothers, minding their playing children, wanting to admire my baby daughter. Somehow we pantomined our way through the story of my origins, my liking for Vietnam and my daughter’s accomplishments. I went for jogs around the lake in the green and airy community park. I left intructions for my nanny through google translate which was quite unnecessary as she always second guessed me. We sipped ca cao and cà phê in the coffee shops.
Our stint in Vietnam finally came to an end when my husband took up a job in a different country. I moved to India from where I continued to work on analyzeVietnam.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Maps
November 2009
The challenge was to make a data and number driven website accessible to the lay person. Displaying data in the context of its location using visually appealing and interactive maps was one of the many value additions that we provided to make analyzeVietnam more user friendly.
One would think that sourcing and displaying a map is easy enough. However we soon found that there were many versions of the Vietnam map available. Although all the maps were “S” shaped many had inaccurate borders and most came minus a few islands. Moreover none of the publicly available satellite images were detailed enough. They just gave a high level view of Vietnam with its provinces.
A Vietnamese state owned enterprise came to our rescue and was willing to sell us accurate and very detailed maps making it possible to drill down to the districts, showing major roadways and landmarks. Soon we had a CD with 64 high resolution vector images – a map for Vietnam and each of its provinces.
The next step was to consolidate information on each province and each district of Vietnam to be displayed against each map. All this had to be in English and Vietnamese. Uyen undertook this arduous exercise
Threshold did a splendid job of making the maps easy and quick to download, zoomable numerous times, and pannable to any district. Thanks to Uyen’s back breaking effort against each map analyzeVietnam now contains detailed information on topography, economy, infrastructure and business climate. Each province is rated based on how developed and business friendly it is.
And thus with the maps module analyzeVietnam sought to become a universal medium for communication, easily understood by all.
It is said that maps are much more than an aid to navigation; they are, in effect, the key to empire, the way to wealth. How True!
The challenge was to make a data and number driven website accessible to the lay person. Displaying data in the context of its location using visually appealing and interactive maps was one of the many value additions that we provided to make analyzeVietnam more user friendly.
One would think that sourcing and displaying a map is easy enough. However we soon found that there were many versions of the Vietnam map available. Although all the maps were “S” shaped many had inaccurate borders and most came minus a few islands. Moreover none of the publicly available satellite images were detailed enough. They just gave a high level view of Vietnam with its provinces.
A Vietnamese state owned enterprise came to our rescue and was willing to sell us accurate and very detailed maps making it possible to drill down to the districts, showing major roadways and landmarks. Soon we had a CD with 64 high resolution vector images – a map for Vietnam and each of its provinces.
The next step was to consolidate information on each province and each district of Vietnam to be displayed against each map. All this had to be in English and Vietnamese. Uyen undertook this arduous exercise
Threshold did a splendid job of making the maps easy and quick to download, zoomable numerous times, and pannable to any district. Thanks to Uyen’s back breaking effort against each map analyzeVietnam now contains detailed information on topography, economy, infrastructure and business climate. Each province is rated based on how developed and business friendly it is.
And thus with the maps module analyzeVietnam sought to become a universal medium for communication, easily understood by all.
It is said that maps are much more than an aid to navigation; they are, in effect, the key to empire, the way to wealth. How True!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Selecting our IT Partner
Early November 2009
If content is king then the IT partner is the foot soldier without whom the kingdom would collapse. The quality of the IT partner can make or break a website. I am aware of so many horror stories where the IT vendor would drag completion endlessly making you a secure income base for himself and making himself a drain in your pocket. IT companies are notorious for holding a revolver to your head and refusing to take on even the slightest change without a substantial fee.
We were looking for an IT company with not only the right capability but also someone who was agile and could churn out results for review on a day to day basis. I sent out emails to all our contacts and alumni groups asking for a good IT vendor. We were thrilled to find a plethora of recommendations. We tediously sieved through them and there were atleast 10 companies that seemed to fit the bill. After extracting a non-disclosure agreement from the candidate companies we sent them the RFP along with screenshots and sample data. We also scheduled calls with each company, did background checks and took referrals from their clients.
We finally zeroed in on Threshold – a small yet nimble company situated in the back alleys of Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad. We found out that Threshold had worked well with other start-ups and their proximity to our home in Hyderabad, to where I soon moved, was a very compelling factor. Although technology famously breaks-down all barriers of distance and remoteness I am a strong advocate of old fashioned face to face dialogue.
analyzeVietnam, with its complex data joins, rich and interactive charts and maps and multi-language support, would have posed a challenge to any software developer. Threshold gave it their best shot. They were honest and took feedback and criticism in the right spirit. We rode over many frustrating moments and we came up against many seemingly insurmountable road blocks. But together we ploughed along and saw through the completion of analyzeVietnam in time and on budget.
If content is king then the IT partner is the foot soldier without whom the kingdom would collapse. The quality of the IT partner can make or break a website. I am aware of so many horror stories where the IT vendor would drag completion endlessly making you a secure income base for himself and making himself a drain in your pocket. IT companies are notorious for holding a revolver to your head and refusing to take on even the slightest change without a substantial fee.
We were looking for an IT company with not only the right capability but also someone who was agile and could churn out results for review on a day to day basis. I sent out emails to all our contacts and alumni groups asking for a good IT vendor. We were thrilled to find a plethora of recommendations. We tediously sieved through them and there were atleast 10 companies that seemed to fit the bill. After extracting a non-disclosure agreement from the candidate companies we sent them the RFP along with screenshots and sample data. We also scheduled calls with each company, did background checks and took referrals from their clients.
We finally zeroed in on Threshold – a small yet nimble company situated in the back alleys of Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad. We found out that Threshold had worked well with other start-ups and their proximity to our home in Hyderabad, to where I soon moved, was a very compelling factor. Although technology famously breaks-down all barriers of distance and remoteness I am a strong advocate of old fashioned face to face dialogue.
analyzeVietnam, with its complex data joins, rich and interactive charts and maps and multi-language support, would have posed a challenge to any software developer. Threshold gave it their best shot. They were honest and took feedback and criticism in the right spirit. We rode over many frustrating moments and we came up against many seemingly insurmountable road blocks. But together we ploughed along and saw through the completion of analyzeVietnam in time and on budget.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Sourcing the Data
Early November 2009
Content is King
We all agreed that the real intellectual property of analyzeVietnam would be the content. Businesses, strategists, marketing managers and B-Schools would want to use analyzeVietnam essentially for the insights brought forth by its ‘content’.
The checklist of items to address were as follows:
- What databases are currently available on Vietnam?
- What level of detail do they provide?
- How was the data collected by these databases?Are these sources reliable?
- Is the data across these databases consistent?
- Which of these are free and which paid? What are the copyrights details?
We spent the first few days scouring all the available databases on Vietnam. We soon found that almost all the international databases provided macro level data, no where near the level of granularity that we were looking for. The only database that had anything close was the statistics department of the Vietnamese Government – GSO, Vietnam. This office conducted monthly surveys of a wide range of data and a detailed census once every 5 years.
However this data again suffered from some of the problems that we were trying to overcome – it was disjointed making it impossible to run even slightly complex queries. We decided that GSO, Vietnam woud be our starting point and we would work with them to plug the holes.
Our next step was to create a high level datastructure which would form the basis of the analyses that we wanted to let the user perform. In order to make analyzeVietnam really flexible this data structure would have to facilitate conditional data fetches using all possible permutations and combinations of the various data parameters. Once we had our database design pasted on the wall we started filling it with the available data. The gaping holes were immediately apparent.
It was time to approach GSO. Over the next few months we worked with statisticians and made sure that the data added up – top down and bottom up and that this data was consistent with those published by international bodies.
While the data from GSO formed the crux of our website you will find in analyzeVietnam a rich collection of data from other sources as well as interesting articles, photographs and business templates
Content is King
We all agreed that the real intellectual property of analyzeVietnam would be the content. Businesses, strategists, marketing managers and B-Schools would want to use analyzeVietnam essentially for the insights brought forth by its ‘content’.
The checklist of items to address were as follows:
- What databases are currently available on Vietnam?
- What level of detail do they provide?
- How was the data collected by these databases?Are these sources reliable?
- Is the data across these databases consistent?
- Which of these are free and which paid? What are the copyrights details?
We spent the first few days scouring all the available databases on Vietnam. We soon found that almost all the international databases provided macro level data, no where near the level of granularity that we were looking for. The only database that had anything close was the statistics department of the Vietnamese Government – GSO, Vietnam. This office conducted monthly surveys of a wide range of data and a detailed census once every 5 years.
However this data again suffered from some of the problems that we were trying to overcome – it was disjointed making it impossible to run even slightly complex queries. We decided that GSO, Vietnam woud be our starting point and we would work with them to plug the holes.
Our next step was to create a high level datastructure which would form the basis of the analyses that we wanted to let the user perform. In order to make analyzeVietnam really flexible this data structure would have to facilitate conditional data fetches using all possible permutations and combinations of the various data parameters. Once we had our database design pasted on the wall we started filling it with the available data. The gaping holes were immediately apparent.
It was time to approach GSO. Over the next few months we worked with statisticians and made sure that the data added up – top down and bottom up and that this data was consistent with those published by international bodies.
While the data from GSO formed the crux of our website you will find in analyzeVietnam a rich collection of data from other sources as well as interesting articles, photographs and business templates
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Building the Prototype
From concept to something more concrete
Tired of the inadequacy of wire frames on MS excel and PowerPoint we finally resorted to hiring a freelance Vietnamese software developer to translate the web-pages in our mind into a HTML prototype. In retrospect dealing with our prototyper was one of the most hilarious parts of developing analyzeVietnam.
Like a lot of industrious and enterprising Vietnamese our prototyper and his wife ran a small IT shop in the night in addition to a regular salaried day job. The wife managed the finances of their side business and she dispatched her husband to collect the specifications during lunch and coffee breaks.
And again like most Vietnamese our prototyper spoke very little English. Uyen graciously agreed to serve as the interpreter. Needless to say a lot was lost in translation during our hurried sessions at Uyen’s office and the result was a prototype that was quite unreadable with typos and spelling mistakes.
We were bursting with ideas. We wanted Matrix movie style raining numbers with charts and a globe for the central banner and an eye-catching green yellow combination for our theme. Our prototyper tried his best to accommodate most of our creative surges but the result was unfortunately mediocre and not very pleasing to the eye.
As you can see the compact analyzeVietnam of today with its mellow blue and white theme is a far cry from the above description- something that we arrived at after several iterations carried out almost till the time of launch. But what the Vietnamese built for us was the first physical manifestation of a nebulous concept in 3 peoples’ minds. This simple HTML prototype served as the basis of the multi-faceted and user friendly analyzeVietnam of today.
Tired of the inadequacy of wire frames on MS excel and PowerPoint we finally resorted to hiring a freelance Vietnamese software developer to translate the web-pages in our mind into a HTML prototype. In retrospect dealing with our prototyper was one of the most hilarious parts of developing analyzeVietnam.
Like a lot of industrious and enterprising Vietnamese our prototyper and his wife ran a small IT shop in the night in addition to a regular salaried day job. The wife managed the finances of their side business and she dispatched her husband to collect the specifications during lunch and coffee breaks.
And again like most Vietnamese our prototyper spoke very little English. Uyen graciously agreed to serve as the interpreter. Needless to say a lot was lost in translation during our hurried sessions at Uyen’s office and the result was a prototype that was quite unreadable with typos and spelling mistakes.
We were bursting with ideas. We wanted Matrix movie style raining numbers with charts and a globe for the central banner and an eye-catching green yellow combination for our theme. Our prototyper tried his best to accommodate most of our creative surges but the result was unfortunately mediocre and not very pleasing to the eye.
As you can see the compact analyzeVietnam of today with its mellow blue and white theme is a far cry from the above description- something that we arrived at after several iterations carried out almost till the time of launch. But what the Vietnamese built for us was the first physical manifestation of a nebulous concept in 3 peoples’ minds. This simple HTML prototype served as the basis of the multi-faceted and user friendly analyzeVietnam of today.
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