Bonalu

Bonalu is celebrated as a festival in honour of Mahakali, the Mother Goddess in Hyderabad and Secunderabad and in suburbs of some Telangana areas. “Bonam” is an offering to the Goddess. The offering is in the form of a meal which is made of rice mixed with milk and sugar, filled with water in two earthen-pots , with small neem branches . The pots are smeared with sacred colours of turmeric and vermilion. The lighted diya is put on the top of two earthern pots i.e the bonam which the females put it on their heads and proceed towards the temple. They go in a procession by drum beaters and men dancing in enjoyment.

This old tradition is being celebrated since the time of the Nizams, who participate in the event.

Bonalu is celebrated in Ashada masam (usually in July/August). Special poojas are performed during this festival.

The festive days sees itself with women decked up in traditional silk sarees, and adorned in jewellery go to the temple to offer the “Bonam”. The female dancers, who are mostly middle aged women, balance pots and dance to the tune of the drums in the praise of the goddess. These dancers are believed to possess the spirit of Mother Goddess, who is believed to be aggressive.

This festival is also called as the Festival of Sacrifice to ward off the evil spirit.

Every group of devotees, collectively offer a Thottela, or a Swing which is made of colourful paper structure erected with sticks as a mark of respect.

Another version from folklore as to why it is celebrated: According to the local people, it is believed that the Goddess comes to her maternal home in Ashada Maasam, so folks bring all sorts of offerings in the form of food to show their love and affection. Just like preparing a special meal when the daughters come home to their maternal house.

A well built man, smeared with turmeric on the entire body, vermilion on the forehead, clad in a red dhoti with bells tied to his ankle dances to the reverberating drums. He is known as Potharaju, who is believed to be the brother of Mother Goddess. He dances, and the procession is taken on to the streets. He initiates the festivities and is followed by female dancers who are believed to possess the spirit of the Goddess.

The localities get the festive look with loud-speakers playing Mother Goddess songs in distinctive Telangana-folk style songs and streets decorated with neem leaves. After the temple offering a non-vegetarian feast is followed in every house.

How are Focus groups different from Usability Testing?

In today’s fast paced life, people tend to avoid products that frustrate them. Satisfied customers would be ready to buy good products and services. This also helps in word-of-mouth marketing.

Used together, focus groups and usability testing help in building great products and services which are highly desirable, satisfying, fun and easy to use and also worth being recommended to others. However, both, focus groups and usability testing have different focuses and must be used in conjunction with each other. Focus groups and usability testing must never replace each other.

A focus group speaks about the extent of promises that can be made to the customer while usability testing helps shaping the products based on those promises. Usability testing is special as it focuses on eliminating end-user frustration by turning it into satisfaction and pleasure.

This article is a continuation of a series of comparisons of various user research techniques. Here I’ve contrasted focus groups with usability testing.

Focus Groups	Usability Testing
What is the meaning of focus groups? Focus group is a brain storming session group administered a moderator. The goal of a focus group is usually to get a variety of broad opinions of what people want a product to do for them along with what will drive the end users to buy the product? This helps the moderator to begin considering the features of the product. Focus groups are opinion based and their motivation is to find out what the desires and wants of the users are. .	What is the meaning of usability testing? Usability testing is a one-user-at-a-time testing by users but moderated by a seasoned usability professional. While the user interacts with the product in a structured manner, the usability professional notes down the stumbling blocks, hits, and reactions of the users while they use the product. This help usability professional to guide product development decisions. The key focus is what will make the end users of the product to learn about and use the product easily. Usability testing is observation based and tells if or not something works.
What is the output of focus groups? The output of a focus group is a collection of various opinions, attitudes and preferences of the users.	What is the output of usability testing? The output of usability testing is observational and behavioural measures based on the ease with which the users handle the products.
When should focus groups be used? Focus groups are best used in the early stages of product or service development to provide wide-ranging information on opinions and attitudes of the target user group. This is used primarily when important investment decisions are to be made. Focused on opinions: Focus groups have many voices at the same time, so it is impossible to observe the users in action and record the steps. The moderator can, at best, get opinions about their intended usage With this lack of focus and precision, it only elicits vague opinions. Consider what to build: The purpose of a focus group is to decide what kind of product to consider building. Decide Costs: A company uses focus groups to decide the extent of investment of product development. This results in large near term costs in the hope of future profits.	When should usability testing be used? Usability testing is used throughout the development process to help in finely focused development decisions and it also guides in the realization of the big picture. During the early development stages, paper-prototype based Formative Usability Testing is used to test ideas, navigation, and task flow. Post development, Summative Usability Testing is used to benchmark navigation, task flow, measuring user performance, errors, and subjective satisfaction. Focused on tasks: In usability tests, the users are asked to complete many tasks one after another. The difficulty with which the users complete the task is carefully recorded. This clear focus helps them to get more specific and actionable results. Making products better: The purpose of a usability test is to improvise the product to make it work better. Increase profits: The usability test is used to improvise the products resulting directly in cost savings, greater sales, and increased profits.
How many people do I need for a focus group? Focus groups involve 6-10 people interviewed together in the same location at the same time.	How many people do I need for a usability testing? Ideally about 5-8 users are tested per sub-group individually with usability professional. Why does usability research requires only a few users? Usability research is usually qualitative, or driven by insight (why users don't understand). Qualitative research follows different research rules to quantitative research and it is typical that sample size is low. The end result of usability testing is not statistical validity per say but verification of insights and assumptions based on behavioral observation - quantitative vs. qualitative. · We are looking for behavioral based insight, like what people do. · Statistics tell half the story and often are devoid of context, like why did they fail?. · Research clearly shows that even with low numbers, you can gain valid data. · Usability testing is being used industry-wide and has been for past 25 years. Experts, authors and academics put their reputations and credentials behind the methodology. As mentioned earlier, Usability research is behavior-driven: You observe what people do, not what they say. In contrast, market research is largely opinion-driven: You ask people what they think and what they think they think. For this, big samples are needed for market research. This is why phone or web surveys require hundreds or thousands of responses. Behavior-driven research is more predictable. Basically, if 10/15 users are confused you can assume that many more will also be confused as well.
How much would a focus group cost me? To conduct a focus group, expenses will be incurred on recruiting, incentivising, focus group facilities such as a place where a focus group can be conducted, a place where clients and others can view the proceeding, and audio-video equipment must be readily available. Also expenses have to be incurred to carefully prepare the focus group protocol and also to analyze the findings. Focus groups are less expensive when compared to usability testing.	How much would usability testing cost me? Preparation of testing protocol, hiring a usability lab with one way mirror, recruiting and incentivising people from a target user group, conducting tests one-by-one, and analysis is time consuming and expensive. Usability testing requires lot more time to plan and organize. Usability testing is one of the most expensive and most effective usability evaluation methods today.
How long does it take to conduct focus groups? A focus group involves a detailed protocol scripting and participant recruiting. However, it is not time consuming when compared to usability testing. Ideally a focus group session should not exceed 1 ½ hours. For a couple of focus groups involving 14-20 people, Kern would ideally take 2 ½ weeks to recruit, conduct tests, and present analysis.	How long does it take to conduct usability tests? Usability testing method involves detailed protocol scripting, participant recruiting, and conducting the test one by one, followed by data analysis and report generation, it is a time consuming process. For a usability testing involving 2 sub-groups (about 16 users), Kern will take about 3 ½ weeks for the entire process.
What are the advantages of focus groups? Focus group is one way to gather information about a target audience that you have very limited information about. They help us understand users’ opinion, attitudes, preferences and initial reactions. Group discussions often spark new ideas. They are excellent if you are looking for multiple and a wide range of opinions, ideas and points of views in a short period. Focus groups are cheaper and faster to conduct.	What are the advantages of usability testing? The results of usability testing give a truer picture of the real problems people encounter as they’re derived from observations of real users. They help us to understand the different behavioural patterns of the users while using the products and services. Videos of user sessions provide a very powerful persuasion tool for reluctant stakeholders. It’s hard to argue with recordings of people in tears of frustration. Understanding points of frustration usually trigger practical solutions.
What are the disadvantages of focus groups? The findings do not lead to statistically significant results. As there are more members, one or two members’ opinions usually dominate others and this does not help in arriving at clear conclusions. Opinions.	What are the disadvantages of Usability testing? Usability testing is expensive and time consuming. The validity of test findings depends heavily on identifying the right target group, accuracy of usability testing protocol to recognize key user tasks, and accurate user recruiting.

References:

http://www.macadamian.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D54%26Itemid%3D0

http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article4062.asp

http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx%3Fdocid%3D242848

http://www.zanzara.com/pdf/UsabilityVsFocus.pdf

Nostalgia- Adilabad

I get nostalgic whenever I visit Adilabad my native place. The journey is so fascinating that I never miss the opportunity to look out of the window to watch village life which enthralls me. The serene atmosphere, the sweet smelling earth, the village folk, the encircling mountains and the lush green woods and the pollution free atmosphere are so captivating as if I were in a trance. The colours of earth beautifully canvassed on nature are a spectacle to see. I also took a dip in the gushing waterfalls. It’s a great journey for all who love travelling.

History of Adilabad.

Out of the 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh the district which occupies the northern borders of the state is Adilabad. It is around 300 kms from Hyderabad and the journey takes approximately 6-8 hours. It is situated on the National Highway no 7. Its gets a special focus from the perspective of travel and tourism. The three Indian rivers like Godavari, Penganga and Wardha are spread across the state. Adilabad got its name from the ruler of Bijapur, Adil Shah. It was also ruled by the Mughals, Mauryas, Satavahanas and Chalukyas.

It has been influenced by a variety of cultures and customs. As it is on the Maharastra- Andhra Pradesh border, it is a blend of native Telugu and the Marathi cultures. The whole region appears to be a canvass on nature.

Engulfed with mountains and lush green woods, the place is sanctified by blessed souls like Ved Vyas. It is surrounded by gushing waterfalls, refreshing rivers and revitalizing wildlife. It is also known and the City of Cotton. In short , it is a wonderful tourist destination where you can have a lot of adventure.

Please check out these, I’m sure you will be charmed by what you will see here.

Kuntala is a village in Adilabad district in the Andhra Pradesh in India.

Kuntala has the highest waterfalls in the Andhra Pradesh state with a height of 45 meters.

Kuntaala Waterfall is the highest waterfall of Andhra Pradesh. About 32Km from the district centre and 12Km from the village NerediKonda nestled in dense forests is The Kuntaala Waterfall.

According to the popular and prevalent local belief Kuntaala Waterfall got its name after Shakuntala, the beloved wife of King Dushyanth; the pair fell in love with each other and were mesmerized by the scenic beauty of the surroundings. The locals also believe that Shakuntala used to bathe by the waterfall.

Pochera Waterfalls
Pochera Waterfalls presents a striking vista with gushing waters of Godavari River. Sited near National Highway No. 7, the cascade lies about 50 kms from Adilabad. The place attracts numerous tourists and visitors throughout the year. During winters, the falls becomes all the more attractive with heavy water flow.

Pursuit of Happyness!!!

What does Happiness mean? According to the Wikipedia, Happiness is an emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense joy. In this fast paced world people want to be successful by going up to any extent and in this journey they lose the so called happiness. According to Albert Schweitzer: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.” If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Why do we need happiness? Well I need happiness so that I can remain peaceful, blissful and stay contented in life. What does happiness mean to me? Happiness to me means harmony and peace in life. Here’s what Amy Lowell has to say about happiness.

Happiness: We rarely feel it.
I would buy it, beg it, steal it,
Pay in coins of dripping blood
for this one transcendent good.

We are fortunate enough to get our desires fulfilled. Always be contented with what you have. Get rid of the negative thoughts and believe in yourself. Never underestimate your capabilities. At first I was really embarrassed to post my views on the blog, especially where thousands of people visit .I always had the fear that they would criticize me for what I have written, but now I no longer feel so. With each passing day, the amount of confidence with which I write gives me immense pleasure and happiness. I am fortunate enough to have a bunch of friends who inspire me to write. With so much good around I feel myself proud that there are people who want me to reach skies. And for those who have discouraged me let me tell u something. I have learned to let go things to remain happy.

One cannot borrow, steal, earn or own happiness. It is the experience of living every moment of life with grace, love, respect and gratitude. Don’t leave any room of doubt when you do things. Whenever I do something wrong, it always eats me up until I own up, so one of the best ways is to own up and viola you are happy again. Trust me guys this works. I try to find happiness in everything I do. I feel happy if I help someone, when I am with my family and loved ones, when I play with my doggie, when I get a good feedback from my bosses. Happiness can be summed up in two words: be self sufficient and contented. Never think that Life is too small. Just wake up and spread happiness around. One good deed will lead to many good deeds. “Smile everyday and keep worry at bay” is my mantra. Keep smiling in order to be happy and healthy. At the end I want to say that you need not go in pursuit of happiness. It lies within you. The day when you realize it, I am sure you will conquer the world. So stay happy always and spread happiness where ever you go.

Blogging fever!!!

Looks like people have caught up with blogging fever. Everybody is busily blogging .I didn’t want to be left behind and joined the bandwagon. But then you must ask me as to what is the in thing in blogging? Well just the way orkut got popularity, blogging is not far behind or shall I say has become so fast paced that it outnumbered orkut or other social networking sites. I read that families keep in touch by blogging regularly; now that’s some news isn’t it. I first should confess that I hardly blogged because I considered myself a very bad writer. Blogs to me means something very personal, where in I can share my good experiences and listen to what others have to say.

I was introduced to the blogging by my bosses, who are so sweet that they give me enough freedom to pursue my passions. I was told about blogs by friends but turned a deaf ear till yesterday, when I really thought that I should blog in order to improve myself not only physically but mentally too. I feel writing reflects the kind of person we are and what a best way to introduce ourselves to new people.

Blogging definitely helps shape personality. Take me for example, till yesterday I never felt like blogging because some or the other obstructions came in my way or let me put in saying that I hardly took interest in blogging. But seeing my fellow colleagues’ blogging regularly, an alarm rang in my heart saying “Why do you want to be left behind?” Just start blogging no matter what. But it looks like I might get addicted to blogging which will help me shape myself better. Blogging helps in total personality development. So for all those who are new to blogging world and haven’t heard of blogging yet my mantra is “Blog everyday to know yourself better”.

What does ‘e’ stand for in e-learning?

Most of us are aware of the fact that ‘e’ in e-learning stands for electronic. E-learning presents education with a new spectrum of challenges and practices. I completely disagree with the fact that ‘e’ in e-learning solely stands for electronic. I believe that e-learning is technology centered and a hybrid version of education, but then you might question me “If e-learning is merely about technology where does the learner fit in"? Does it mean that e-learning is a technology driven learning where the learner is the passive recipient? I believe that e-learning is something beyond technology. It is a medium to deliver effective learning with the help of technology outside the classroom.

The technology and media act like a helping hand to e-learning to extend learner’s experiences by providing them superior quality learning in ways that suit their lifestyles.

Students who are unable to attend educational institutions can study at home or in workplace by connecting to tutors and resources. Students who are domestically committed can shift their study timings. They can access asynchronous learning sessions to maintain momentum of study along with their peers. E-learning is in a way an extended learning that makes time and place of study more suitable for the individual.

As practitioners we all strive to deliver good quality courses and the quality should reflect in our practices. Owing to versatility, E-learning is capable of acknowledging learning experience. E-Learning can deliver programmes to isolated rural communities, which are beyond reach by transforming lives and enhancing careers.

Gone are the days when we said world is a large place. The world is shrinking as each passing day brings in new technologies that are more advanced and the process of globalization which is rapidly growing. With the help of Multimedia the potential to take the classroom out in the world and this is really turning into a reality.

With the advent of technology, learning is no longer confined to classrooms. “Everywhere learning” is set to transform radical thinking of the way we practice education in the next few years to come.

Cheers to a new beginning!!!

Though I wrote good compositions in school, I never was interested in writing. I focused more on reading academic books and did a good job in elocutions and debates. You might wonder as to how I got good grades? I used to always learn by heart. I know that’s the worst way of learning but then I was taught that way so couldn’t help much. I always was fascinated by news readers when I was young, so I always read my academic books aloud to ape them. I am good at reading and even my vocabulary is good but then I never put them into writing, so that’s where my “Achilles heel” lies.

I have friends who churn out excellent articles and I am in a way jealous too. I too want to be like them. I got a familiarity feeling whenever I looked at the vocabulary used by my friends in their writings. It is as if things look closer than they appear. Whenever I tried to write I was always discouraged by my friends and family members saying that at my age one should write crisp articles .But then there had to be a beginning and it became the end to all my writing stints. I was very much hurt and felt ashamed to even show them what I wrote. Writing one good article would take me hours. I even tried to maintain a personal diary. One day my brother got hold of it and read all its contents aloud. I was so embarrassed that I immediately stopped writing. I even wrote poems but never got inspiration or encouragement. I really wanted somebody who could boost up my spirits so that I could write better. This went on for many years and now I feel as if I have forgotten to write. This made me accept the fact that I am a bad writer and writing is not my cup of tea.

Whenever someone asked me to write I always got intimidated. Whenever I tried to showcase my writing skills my friends’ discouraged saying writing was not my cup of tea. But I believe that writing is the best way to communicate. It is more concrete and sometimes it is the only mode of communication. I always worked hard to be on a platform shared by my peers and wouldn’t want to stay behind just because I can’t write properly. I won’t be disheartened if you laugh at my blog entry. I would appreciate if you leave your comments and advices. After all, I am a human being and I tend to make mistakes. I believe Failure as the stepping stone of success, so please help me out so that I can also be a successful writer like you all and weave out wonderful articles.