Business Analyst - Opportunities

The term Business Analyst (BA) is used to describe a person who practices the discipline of business analysis. A business analyst or "BA" is responsible for analyzing the business needs of their clients to help identify business problems and propose solutions. Within the systems development life cycle domain, the business analyst typically performs a liaisonfunction between the business side of an enterprise and the providers of services to the enterprise. Common alternative titles are business analyst, systems analyst, and functional analyst, although some organizations may differentiate between these titles and corresponding responsibilities.

Sample Resume 

Joe Smith - Business Analyst
Some City, NY USA
914.555.5321
jsmith@someplace.com

OBJECTIVE

Eight years of full scope experience as a Business Analyst / Project Manager within television media, not-for-profit, broadcast and retail sectors, maintaining budgetary control over all projects within an organization, and responsible for company resourcing.

CAREER SUMMARY

2001 - 2004: Project Manager / Business Analyst
Organization: Acme Global Media

Client Orientation / Project Assessment

• Clarified client requirements, business needs and project objectives, via feedback sessions and client meetings, in collaboration with all stakeholders.
• Collaborated with Sales and Marketing teams, external ad agencies, third-party technology distributors to facilitate communication for successful project launches.
• Conducted business analysis, project assessment and feasibility determination. Analyses of data feed requirements for news products, and blast emailing applications used to reduce outsourced ASP fees.

Scoping / Documentation / Budgeting

• Strategized project scoping and specifications documents, to clearly communicate the project roadmap. Led initiative to produce in-house mass emailing application to save outsourced application fees, used in contest campaigns for customers.
• As the contest guru at ABC Interactive, developed documentation schema for online contests, interactive quizzes, and forums supporting major news, entertainment and sports web sites.
• Produced user manual for Content Management System.
• Managed project budgets of up to $300,000 and short-term projects of around $35,000 budgets.

Team Leadership / Resource Allocation / Scheduling

• Led multidisciplinary team of up to 4 to 14 developers, designers, testers working on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Project Manager working with a team of 8, including developers, designers, multi-media specialists, usability architects, and content producers. In 6 weeks, directed efforts in a prioritized manner to ensure this and a series of other projects met milestones.
• Coordinated work of employees and outside contractors to meet deadlines, budgets, and client demand. Provided situational leadership to motivate individuals.

Project Kickoff / Implementation Training

• Met with all developers and project stakeholders to lead a kickoff meeting. Defined and introduced the project, team members' roles, and key deliverables. Mapped out timelines, milestones, communication processes, question and answer session.
• Generated excitement and buy-in to secure commitment to project objectives, and shared a group vision to start the team on a motivated track.

Quality Assurance / Project Review

• Assigned Q.A. team members to develop test cases, browser requirements, functional analyses of online products, and worked with internal and external clients, content producers and stakeholders to conduct interim project reviews and final project tweaks prior to launch. Obtained multi-level signoff on projects and contests prior to approval.

Launch / Post-Launch Review

• Timed successful launches of web sites to allow for system administrator support, developer resources, and training of content producers on Content Management Systems, and content delivery strategies.
• Held post-launch review meetings to revisit project strengths and liabilities, and to build out better processes for future projects. Team building and wrap-up continued up to this point.

1999 - 2001: Business Analyst / Web Developer
Organization: XYZ Interactive

• Updated and maintained 400+ page site, reinforcing branding and marketing.
• Led a team of 3 developers and designers to create Inquiry Health Broadband.
• Worked within a large team of developers and content-designers to launch phone company site
• Acted as primary webmaster for hospitality site, liaising with content producers.

1998 - 1999: Business Analyst
Organization: Sandhill Online

• Worked with executive teams to define and develop web sites from concept to completion for a range of professional associations and companies including

EDUCATION

B.Sc. Cognitive Psychology
1990 - 1994, University of Waterloo

JP Morgan Chase buys Wamu

WaMu Customers, Welcome to JPMorgan Chase!

We're proud to welcome you to one of the nation's largest banks; as of September 25, 2008, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has acquired the deposits, loans, and branches of Washington Mutual. Your deposits remain insured by the FDIC and are now also backed by the strength and security of JPMorgan Chase. Our combined company will offer superior banking convenience - over 5,400 branches and 14,000 ATMs in 23 states. Here's what this means for you: 

What's different?	Your deposits at WaMu are now backed by the financial strength of Chase in addition to continuing to be insured by the FDIC. If you bank at both WaMu and Chase, your deposits continue to be insured separately today just as they were yesterday, and generally will be for another six months. At that time, your deposits will be insured by the FDIC for up to $100,000 per depositor (with an additional $250,000 for self-directed retirement accounts), and will continue to be backed by the strength and security of JPMorgan Chase. Learn more about the size and strength of our company.
What stays the same?	Continue to bank just as you usually do: same account numbers, same Washington Mutual name on your account, same checks, debit cards, credit cards, deposit slips, same online banking website and passwords, same branches & ATMs, same familiar bankers, and same great service!
What will change?	Soon You'll be able to use over 9,300 Chase ATMs fee-free - jointly, that's 14,000 ATMs for your banking convenience! In the future You'll begin to see the Chase name on your statements, online, and on your credit cards as they reissue. Your branch will be re-named Chase and you'll be re-issued new debit cards with the Chase name. Until then, bank as you do today. As our systems merge, you'll be able to use any of the Chase branches nationwide. This won't take place this year, and we'll let you know well in advance of any changes.

We look forward to serving you, and to introducing new products, services, and convenience in the coming months.

Tell me more* about the change to JPMorgan Chase.

Visit WaMu online.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What will happen to my account at WaMu? And to my branch?

A. It's business as usual. As of September 25, 2008, JPMorgan Chase has assumed the deposit and loan accounts, and all branches, of Washington Mutual. You can continue to access your accounts just the way you've accessed them in the past: use your same branch, same debit, credit and ATM cards, same checks.

Q. Is my money safe?

A. Yes; in addition to FDIC insurance, now you're assured your bank is backed by the strength and security of JPMorgan Chase. If you have money in both banks, your deposits have separate FDIC insurance for up to six months. Come see us and we can help you review your coverage.

Q. What if I have more than $100,000 at WaMu?

A. Your money is secure and now protected by the strength of Chase. Chase assumed all deposits of Washington Mutual.

Q. When can I bank at Chase branches in my area?

A. We'll be working hard to combine systems as quickly as possible so you can begin to enjoy expanded branch convenience in your area, and we expect system changes to begin late next year. We'll let you know in advance of any changes; in the meantime, simply continue to bank at WaMu branches as you do today.

Q. Do my direct deposit, automated payments and transfers remain the same?

A. Yes. These services all continue for you without interruption or action on your part.

Q. Where do I send my credit card and loan payments?

A. There is no change in how or where you make payments; payment instructions and addresses remain unchanged.

Q. I have a Chase credit card, car loan, and mortgage. Can I make payments at a WaMu branch now?

A. Not yet! We'll let you know when you can make Chase credit card, car loan, mortgage or other loan payments at WaMu branches, or vice versa.

Q. I have deposit accounts at both WaMu and Chase. Are both of my accounts insured?

A. Yes! Your deposits are insured separately today just as they were yesterday, and generally will be for another six months. At that time, your deposits will be insured by the FDIC for up to $100,000 per depositor (with an additional $250,000 for self-directed retirement accounts), and will continue to be backed by the strength and security of JPMorgan Chase.

Q. I'm a small business owner. What will change for my business?

A. Immediately, no change at all – bank just as you do today. As our systems merge, we look forward to bringing you innovative services ranging from online invoicing to convenient ways to help you manage your cash flow. Chase is a national leader in business banking services, and is the nation's #1 SBA lender.

Q. I have a relationship with the WaMu Commercial Group. What will change for my business?

A. Immediately, no change at all - work with the Commercial Group just as you do today. As our systems merge, we look forward to bringing you innovative services. Chase is a national leader in commercial lending and cash management solutions.                

Courtesy: http://www.chase.com/welcomewamu/

NFL Basics - Rule Book

One 11-man team has possession of the football. It is called the offense and it tries to advance the ball down the field-by running with the ball or throwing it - and score points by crossing the goal line and getting into an area called the end zone.

The other team (also with 11 players) is called the defense. It tries to stop the offensive team and make it give up possession of the ball. If the team with the ball does score or is forced to give up possession, the offensive and defensive teams switch roles (the offensive team goes on defense and the defensive team goes on offense). And so on, back and forth, until all four quarters of the game have been played.

In order to make it easier to coordinate the information in this digest, the topics discussed generally follow the order of the rule book.

THE FIELD

The field measures 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. Little white markings on the field called yard markers help the players, officials, and the fans keep track of the ball. Probably the most important part of the field is the end zone. It's an additional 10 yards on each end of the field. This is where the points add up! When the offense - the team with possession of the ball-gets the ball into the opponent's end zone, they score points.

TIMING

Games are divided into four 15-minute quarters, separated by a 12-minute break at halftime. There are also 2-minute breaks at the end of the first and third quarters as teams change ends of the field after every 15 minutes of play. At the end of the first and third quarters, the team with the ball retains possession heading into the following quarter. That is not the case before halftime. The second half starts with a kickoff in the same way as the game began in the first quarter.

Each offensive team has 40 seconds from the end of a given play until they must snap of the ball for the start of the next play, otherwise they will be penalized.

The clock stops at the end of incomplete passing plays, when a player goes out of bounds, or when a penalty is called. The clock starts again when the ball is re-spotted by an official.

If a game is tied at the end of regulation, a 15-minute overtime period will be played. In the NFL, this is sudden death and the first team to score wins. Possession is determined before the period begins by a coin toss.

THE PLAYERS

Each team has 3 separate units: the offense (see section below), those players who are on the field when the team has possession of the ball; the defense (see section below), players who line up to stop the other team's offense; and special teams that only come in on kicking situations (punts, field goals, and kickoffs). Only 11 players are on the field from one team at any one time.

THE KICKOFF

A game starts with the kickoff. The ball is placed on a kicking tee at the defense's 30-yard line, and a special kicker (a "placekicker") kicks the ball to the offense A kick return man from the offense will try to catch the ball and advance it by running. Where he is stopped is the point from which the offense will begin its drive, or series of offensive plays. When a kickoff is caught in the offense's own end zone, the kick returner can either run the ball out of the end zone, or kneel in the end zone to signal a touchback - a sign to stop the play. The ball is then placed on the 20-yard line, where the offense begins play.

FIRST DOWN

All progress in a football game is measured in yards. The offensive team tries to get as much "yardage" as it can to try and move closer to the opponent's end zone. Each time the offense gets the ball, it has four downs, or chances, in which to gain 10 yards. If the offensive team successfully moves the ball 10 or more yards, it earns a first down, and another set of four downs. If the offense fails to gain 10 yards, it loses possession of the ball. The defense tries to prevent the offense not only from scoring, but also from gaining the 10 yards needed for a first down. If the offense reaches fourth down, it usually punts the ball (kicks it away). This forces the other team to begin its drive further down the field.

MOVING THE BALL - The Run and the Pass

A play begins with the snap. At the line of scrimmage (the position on the field where the play begins), the quarterback loudly calls out a play in code and the player in front of him, the center, passes, or snaps the ball under his legs to the quarterback. From there, the quarterback can either throw the ball, hand it off, or run with it.

THE RUN

There are two main ways for the offense to advance the ball. The first is called a run. This occurs when the quarterback hands the ball off to a running back, who then tries to gain as many yards as possible by eluding defensive players. The quarterback is also allowed to run with the ball.

THE PASS

The other alternative to running the ball is to throw it. Or as they say in football, pass it! Usually, the quarterback does the passing, though there are times when another player may pass the ball to confuse the defense. Actually, anyone on the offensive team is allowed to pass the ball as long as the pass is thrown from behind the line of scrimmage. A pass is complete if the ball is caught by another offensive player, usually the "wide receiver" or "tight end." If the ball hits the ground before someone catches it, it is called an incomplete pass.

THE TACKLE

The defense prevents the offense from advancing the ball by bringing the ball carrier to the ground. A player is tackled when one or both of his knees touch the ground. The play is then over. A play also ends when a player runs out of bounds.

SCORING

The object of the game is to score the most points. There are four ways to score points in football.

TOUCHDOWN = 6 POINTS

A touchdown is the biggest single score in a football game. It is worth six points, and it allows the scoring team an opportunity to attempt to get an extra point. To score a touchdown, the ball must be carried across the goal line into the end zone, caught in the end zone, or a fumble recovered in the end zone, or an untouched kickoff recovered in the end zone by the kicking team.

EXTRA POINT and the TWO-POINT CONVERSION = 1 or 2 POINTS

Immediately following a touchdown, the ball is placed at the opponent's two-yard line, where the offense has two options. Usually the offense will kick an extra point, also called the point after touchdown, conversion, or PAT. If the offense successfully kicks the ball through the goal posts, it earns one point. The offense can also score two points by running or throwing the ball into the end zone in the same manner as you would score a touchdown. Since going for two points is more difficult than kicking an extra point, the offense generally chooses to kick the extra point.

FIELD GOAL = 3 POINTS

If the offense cannot score a touchdown, it may try to kick a field goal. Field goals are worth three points and often are the deciding plays in the last seconds of close games. They can be attempted from anywhere on the field on any down, but generally are kicked from inside the defense's 45-yard line on fourth down. For a field goal to be "good", the placekicker (or field goal kicker) must kick the ball through the goal-post uprights and over the crossbar. The defense tries to block the kick and stop the ball from reaching the goal post.

SAFETY = 2 POINTS

The safety is worth two points. A safety occurs when the offensive ball carrier is tackled behind his own goal line.

TURNOVERS

While trying to advance the football to the end zone, the offense may accidentally turn the ball over to the defense in one of two ways:

THE FUMBLE

When the ball carrier or passer drops the ball, that's a fumble. Any player on the field can recover the ball by diving on it or he can run with it. The team that recovers a fumble either gets-or retains-possession of the ball.

THE INTERCEPTION

An aggressive defense can regain possession of the ball by catching (intercepting) passes meant for players on the other team. Both fumble recoveries and interceptions can be run back into the end zone for touchdowns.

THE TWO SIDES OF THE BALL

THE OFFENSE

Whichever team has possession of the ball is the offense. While only the quarterback, the wide receivers and tight ends, and the running backs can legally handle the ball, it is the quarterback who is the leader of the team and the playmaker. In fact, he's a man of many talents - he not only throws the ball, he outlines each play to his team.

THE OFFENSIVE PLAYERS

• The quarterback ("QB") passes or hands off the ball.
• The center snaps the ball to the QB and blocks the defense.
• 2 guards and 2 tackles keep the defense at bay.
• 2/4 wide receivers catch the ball thrown by the QB.
• 1 or 2 running backs take the ball and run with it.
• 1 or 2 tight ends block the defense and can also catches passes.

THE DEFENSE

The job of the defense is to stop the offense. The 11 men on the defensive team all work together to keep the offense from advancing toward the defense's end zone.

THE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS

• Linebackers defend against the pass, and push forward to stop the run or tackle the QB.
• The defensive line (ends and tackles) battles head-to-head against the offensive line.
• Cornerbacks and safeties defend against the pass from the QB to the wide receiver and help to stop the run.

Hibernate 101

Hibernate is an object-relational mapping (ORM) library for the Java language, providing a framework for mapping an object-oriented domain model to a traditional relational database. Hibernate solves Object-Relational impedance mismatch problems by replacing directpersistence-related database accesses with high-level object handling functions.

The canonical "Hello World" example, we introduce the core Hibernate APIs and give details for a basic configuration.

"Hello World" with Hibernate

Hibernate applications define persistent classes that are "mapped" to database tables. Our "Hello World" example consists of one class and one mapping file. Let's see what a simple persistent class looks like, how the mapping is specified, and some of the things we can do with instances of the persistent class using Hibernate.

The objective of our sample application is to store messages in a database and to retrieve them for display. The application has a simple persistent class, Message, which represents these printable messages. Our Message class is shown in Listing 1.

Listing 1. Message.java: A simple persistent class

package hello; public class Message {    private Long id;    private String text;    private Message nextMessage;    private Message() {}    public Message(String text) {       this.text = text;    }    public Long getId() {       return id;    }    private void setId(Long id) {       this.id = id;    }    public String getText() {       return text;    }    public void setText(String text) {       this.text = text;    }    public Message getNextMessage() {       return nextMessage;    }    public void setNextMessage(Message nextMessage) {       this.nextMessage = nextMessage;    } } 

Our Message class has three attributes: the identifier attribute, the text of the message, and a reference to anotherMessage. The identifier attribute allows the application to access the database identity—the primary key value—of a persistent object. If two instances of Message have the same identifier value, they represent the same row in the database. We've chosen Long for the type of our identifier attribute, but this isn't a requirement. Hibernate allows virtually anything for the identifier type, as you'll see later.

You may have noticed that all attributes of the Message class have JavaBean-style property accessor methods. The class also has a constructor with no parameters. The persistent classes we use in our examples will almost always look something like this.

Instances of the Message class may be managed (made persistent) by Hibernate, but they don't have to be. Since theMessage object doesn't implement any Hibernate-specific classes or interfaces, we can use it like any other Java class:

Message message = new Message("Hello World"); System.out.println( message.getText() ); 

This code fragment does exactly what we've come to expect from "Hello World" applications: It prints "Hello World" to the console. It might look like we're trying to be cute here; in fact, we're demonstrating an important feature that distinguishes Hibernate from some other persistence solutions, such as EJB (Enterprise JavaBean) entity beans. Our persistent class can be used in any execution context—no special container is needed. Of course, you came here to see Hibernate itself, so let's save a new Message to the database:

Session session = getSessionFactory().openSession(); Transaction tx = session.beginTransaction(); Message message = new Message("Hello World"); session.save(message); tx.commit(); session.close(); 

This code calls the Hibernate Session and Transaction interfaces. (We'll get to that getSessionFactory() call soon.) It results in the execution of something similar to the following SQL:

insert into MESSAGES (MESSAGE_ID, MESSAGE_TEXT, NEXT_MESSAGE_ID) values (1, 'Hello World', null) 

Hold on—the MESSAGE_ID column is being initialized to a strange value. We didn't set the id property of message anywhere, so we would expect it to be null, right? Actually, the id property is special: It's an identifier property—it holds a generated unique value. (We'll discuss how the value is generated later.) The value is assigned to the Message instance by Hibernate when save() is called.

For this example, we assume that the MESSAGES table already exists. Of course, we want our "Hello World" program to print the message to the console. Now that we have a message in the database, we're ready to demonstrate this. The next example retrieves all messages from the database, in alphabetical order, and prints them:

Session newSession = getSessionFactory().openSession(); Transaction newTransaction = newSession.beginTransaction(); List messages =       newSession.find("from Message as m order by m.text asc"); System.out.println( messages.size() + " message(s) found:" ); for ( Iterator iter = messages.iterator(); iter.hasNext(); ) {    Message message = (Message) iter.next();    System.out.println( message.getText() ); } newTransaction.commit(); newSession.close(); 

The literal string "from Message as m order by m.text asc" is a Hibernate query, expressed in Hibernate's own object-oriented Hibernate Query Language (HQL). This query is internally translated into the following SQL when find() is called:

select m.MESSAGE_ID, m.MESSAGE_TEXT, m.NEXT_MESSAGE_ID from MESSAGES m order by m.MESSAGE_TEXT asc 

The code fragment prints:

1 message(s) found: Hello World 

If you've never used an ORM tool like Hibernate before, you were probably expecting to see the SQL statements somewhere in the code or metadata. They aren't there. All SQL is generated at runtime (actually at startup, for all reusable SQL statements).

Courtesy: http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-10-2004/jw-1018-hibernate.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernate_(Java)

Chase - The best home Equity

With Chase Home Equity, you get superior service - online or by phone.

Complete an online application in minutes! Use Chase Home Equity Loans or Lines for... Home Improvement Home Remodeling New Car Financing Debt Consolidation Education Financing Making Dreams Come True

Home Equity Loans and Lines Quick and Simple Quick Online Application Great Low Rates Free to Apply Answer in About One Minute

Speak to a Chase Loan Specialist by Calling 1-866-837-3005

A Chase Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit can help you achieve whatever you can imagine! Think big - think outside the house, beyond renovation and consolidation. Your equity loan will put you in the path of a dream vacation, take a wedding from pretty to perfect, make college or private school an affordable goal... bring the farthest corner of the world instantly into reach.

Courtesy: Chase - Home Equity http://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?