Semantic Kernel

Semantic Kernel is a lightweight, open-source development kit that lets you easily build AI agents and integrate the latest AI models into your C#, Python, or Java codebase. It serves as an efficient middleware that enables rapid delivery of enterprise-grade solutions, backed with security enhancing capabilities like telemetry support.

Semantic Kernel combines prompts with existing APIs to perform actions. By describing your existing code to AI models, they’ll be called to address requests. When a request is made the model calls a function, and Semantic Kernel is the middleware translating the model's request to a function call and passes the results back to the model.

source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/semantic-kernel/overview/

LDAP

LDAP, the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, is a mechanism for interacting with directory servers. It’s often used for authentication and storing information about users, groups, and applications.

source: https://ldap.com/

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a directory service protocol that runs on a layer above the TCP/IP stack. It provides a mechanism used to connect to, search, and modify Internet directories. The LDAP directory service is based on a client-server model. The function of LDAP is to enable access to an existing directory.

source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/desktop/ldap/lightweight-directory-access-protocol-ldap-api

SLI, SLO, SLA (service level indicator/objective/agreement)

Key Definitions & Differences

• SLI (Service Level Indicator): The actual measurement of a service's behavior, such as uptime or request success rate.
• SLO (Service Level Objective): A target value for the reliability of a service, defined by the SLI. These are usually internal goals.
• SLA (Service Level Agreement): A contract between a provider and customer that outlines expected service levels and consequences (like service credits) if targets are missed.

Practical Example

• SLI: The current success rate of user logins is 99.98%
• SLO: The goal is 99.95% success rate per month.
• SLA: If success falls below 99.90%, the company owes customers a refund. 

Key Takeaways

• SLOs should be stricter than SLAs to provide a buffer for error.
• SLIs (indicators) are used to measure SLOs (objectives).
• SLAs are typically legally binding and external, while SLOs are internal targets. 

Reference: https://www.atlassian.com/incident-management/kpis/sla-vs-slo-vs-sli

takt time

Takt time is a calculation of the available production time divided by customer demand.

For example, if a widget factory operates 480 minutes per day and customers demand 240 widgets per day, takt time is two minutes. Similarly, if customers want two new products per month, takt time is two weeks. The purpose is to precisely match production with demand.

Takt is German for a precise interval of time such as a musical meter.

source: https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/takt-time/

Gherkin Syntax

Gherkin Syntax: Structured format (Given/When/Then) for defining behavior.

Gherkin is a plain-text language with a simple structure. It is designed to be easy to learn by non-programmers, yet structured enough to allow concise description of test scenarios and examples to illustrate business rules in most real-world domains.

Here is a sample Gherkin document:

Feature: Account Holder withdraws cash

Scenario: Account has sufficient funds

    Given The account balance is $100

      And the card is valid

      And the machine contains enough money

     When the Account Holder requests $20

     Then the ATM should dispense $20

      And the account balance should be $80

      And the card should be returned

source: https://support.smartbear.com/cucumberstudio/docs/bdd/write-gherkin-scenarios.html

Reference: https://cucumber.io/docs/gherkin/reference/

ROAM (risk management)

ROAM

ROAM is a risk management framework used primarily in Agile and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to categorize risks during PI planning.

Resolved

The risk has been addressed and is no longer a concern.

Owned

A person has taken responsibility for addressing the risk/concern.

Accepted

The risk is considered absorbable if the situation occurs.

Mitigated

Action has been taken that lessens the probability of the event happening or the consequence if it happens has been reduced to acceptable limits.

Sayre's Law

Sayre's law is an adage stating that "in any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the stakes at issue." The principle underscores how conflicts over minor matters often generate outsized animosity due to the absence of significant material consequences.

Sayre, a professor of political science at Columbia University from 1952 until his death, drew from his experiences in university administration and faculty governance, where competition for prestige and minor perquisites often eclipsed substantive policy differences. The law underscores a pattern wherein low tangible risks permit unchecked escalation of ideological or interpersonal conflicts, unmitigated by external accountability or significant loss.

source: https://grokipedia.com/page/Sayre's_law

See also TWOTW: Bikeshedding

pelmet (cornice)

In British English, “pelmet” covers both rigid structures (like cornices) and soft treatments (like valances). Americans typically say “cornice” for the hard box and “valance” for the soft fabric. 

Synonyms:

• Cornice or Cornice Board: The rigid, structured box
• Valance: The soft, fabric treatment
• Window Topper: General term for anything decorative above windows
• Box Valance: Sometimes used for fabric-covered rigid structures

A cornice is that rigid, box-like wooden frame, usually wrapped in fabric or painted, sitting above a window and its curtain/drapery. 

Cornices provide surprising insulation benefits. The rigid box creates dead air space above the window. Cold air stays trapped instead of flowing into the room.

A valance takes the soft approach entirely. Pure fabric hanging loosely across the window top.

source: https://www.blindsgalore.com/blog/index.php/blinds-basics/difference-between-cornice-vs-valance-vs-pelmet

YAGNI

YAGNI ("You Ain't Gonna Need It") is an Extreme Programming (XP) principle stating that functionality should only be added when it is actually needed, rather than when it is foreseen. It prevents overengineering and reduces technical debt by avoiding the creation of unnecessary, complex features that often go unused. 

source: AI overview of Wikipedia

Key Aspects of YAGNI:

• Benefits: Reduces the cost of building, testing, and maintaining unnecessary code. It also minimizes the "cost of delay" for actual, needed features.
• Application: It is commonly used in Agile development to maintain a clean codebase and focus on current, tangible value.
• Drawbacks/Risks: If taken too far, it can lead to a lack of necessary architectural planning, making future refactoring difficult. It is not an excuse for ignoring security or essential design.

Example: Instead of building a complex, generic search algorithm for every conceivable scenario, you only implement the specific filtering required by the user right now. 

source: AI overview from martinfowler.com

When to Apply YAGNI:

• When tempted to write "future-proof" code.
• When features are proposed based on speculative, unverified future needs.
• When complex abstractions are added prematurely. 

source: AI overview of Reddit

eight wastes (lean): TIM WOODS

TIM WOODS

Transportation

Moving stuff or information more often or further than necessary

Inventory

Extra or unnecessary stuff or information; multiple versions

Motion

Poor ergonomics; poor layout; cruft; manual/repeated data entry

Waiting

Batch processing; insufficient training/staffing/processes/capacity

Overproduction

Extra stuff is created; poor forecasting; inappropriate performance measures

Over-processing

More is done than necessary; misunderstanding customer requirements or quality standards; providing too much detail

Defects

Rework; ineffective detection of process failures; poor training/design/documentation; incorrect/incomplete input data/information

Skills

Ineffective organizational management structure/culture; risk aversion; not using a person's skill; delegating to someone unskilled; staff blocked from their task (not empowered)