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Date sent: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 12:31:21 -0500
From: Chandrashekhar Shidore <css@puma.mt.att.com>
Subject: New Standards in Meaninglessness

At least ONE article by Mr Dilip D'Souza I 100% agree with.

Date sent: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 22:40:18 -0500
From: "V. \"Shaker\" Chandrasekhar" <shaker@netusa1.net>
Subject: Dilip D'Souza's ISO 9000 column

Very funny and enjoyable. Right on the money too (except for the one paragraph which does not believe that US software companies are mostly at Level 1). Most of the consultants in this area are snake oil salesmen.

V Chandrasekhar

Date sent: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 17:05:46 -0600
From: "Srinivas Vignesh" <vignesh@workgroup.com>
Subject: ISO 9000 column

I have been a regular (make it daily) visitor to your site, and have always appreciated the good work done by you. But then after reading the article by Mr Dilip D'Souza one gets the feeling that the author has done a poor job.

It presents a very poor picture of ISO and standards. Does he know that Motorola India at Bangalore has achieved maturity level 5 at the CPM by the Software Engineering Institute? Has he actually gone into the various difficult steps to attain ISO certification?

ISO certification is not NONSENSE. The author just goes about bashing ISO without proper homework. Please make your facts clear before presenting them.

Vignesh

Date sent: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 12:55:17 -0500
From: Balan <multiphase@cryogen.com>
Subject: New Standards in Meaninglessness

Well written!

I used to wonder and have a similar impression about this so-called ISO 9000. I underwent this ordeal of ISO 9000 training when I worked for IBM and the US financial empire called Fidelity Investments.

The Fidelity Investments guys hardly had any software process. I am used to a lot more stringent quality control and the ISO expert's statement like, 'you should have a defect opened for every problem found' made me laugh.

Anyway, I don't know how these guys and their standards have become so popular when few people understand them, and even fewer people find any use from them.

Balan

Date sent: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 09:41:37 -0800
From: "Mandayam, Ravinder" <mar@DSC.com>
Subject: New Standards in Meaninglessness

A poor teacher can always lead the student to believe that the subject is uninteresting, has no value and is inapplicable.

Date sent: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 13:42:40 -0500
From: "HSAHASRABUDHE" <HSAHASRABUDHE@imf.org>
Subject: New Standards in Meaninglessness

Great!! It is really absurd and worthless. I was involved for this certification for a software company. Fortunately we were not bad enough to get certified. Things like this kills your productivity. Need to educate people on this.

Thanks for choosing a new topic.

Hemant

Date sent: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 10:05:33 -0700
From: peeyush C Nahar <peeyush@asu.edu>
Subject: ISO 9000

I read your article on ISO 9000. The way the article came across to me was that the ISO 9000 standards certification is a whole lot of nonsense. I am doing my masters degree in the quality engineering area, and do have some knowledge of these standards.

In my opinion if a layman reads this article he will come away with a feeling that ISO 9000 certification doesn't mean a thing. This may not be true. I think the author is taking his bad experience with a particular seminar and generalising it.

Peeyush

Date sent: Wed, 31 Dec 97 10:13:33 +0800
From: <kumar.arvind@ubs.com>
Subject: Dilip D' Souza's -- No one should live long

There is a limit to cynicism! I can understand socially relevant issues and other sufferings for which the reason is the government or ourselves. Some of those articles are insightful too.

This article is one in which he cribs about old age on which we have no control.

Arvind

Date sent: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 18:34:14 -0800
From: Steve Long <sel@flash.net>
Subject: Dilip D'Souza

A very moving piece. I am making copies, with your permission of course, to give to some friends and relatives. It struck me as odd, while I read the column, that this person has so much misery in old age, as do most people (including myself, although I am only in middle age), while my grandmother at 98 is as strong, healthy and vibrant as I remember her 30 years ago.

At the age of 80 she chased a chicken that had fallen from a truck on the road and caught it. I couldn't do that now. There is a twinkle in her eye when you speak to her and nothing goes unnoticed. If we could find the secret of her almost increasing well being, scores of people could be saved from the despair of the 90-year-old man displayed in the article I read on your site.

Steve Long

Date sent: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 18:07:40 -0600
From: "Mohan Marette" <cyberian@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: No one should live long

I liked this piece immensely, nice 'piece' by Dilip D'Souza. It reminded me of something, and that is, it is very fulfilling sometimes to take a moment now and then from one's busy life just to observe, listen, ponder and marvel at this puzzle we call 'LIFE.'  

Mohan Marette

USA

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