During one inter-team knowledge sharing session with protocol team,3G/4G protocol domain caught my attention and after studying about protocol stack,the evolution from GSM->UMTS->LTE I decided to expand my horizon of learning to this domain.From past 2 years,I have been working as a protocol development engineer gaining expertise in modem software commercialization,working on various layers of protocol stack like Session Management,Mobility Management/EMM,Call Control/Supplementary Services in LTE/UMTS.I gained expertise in UMTS/LTE 3GPP specifications like 3GPP 24.
008,42.080 etc relating to NAS layer,call and supplemantary services related procedures.During my tenure in CP-protocol team,I also got the chance to work in Samsung Mobile Certification lab,Korea for 3 months in close colloboration with HQ,Korea.
The work comprised providing real-time analysis and resolution of modem issues during PTCRB and SMC lab testing of various models of North america region.The stakes were really high and the urgency to meet development and testing deadlines enabled me to challenge the horizons of my working style,making the best use of the resources at my disposal,communicating efficiently with various stakeholders like mobile operators,project managers and SMC lab testers.During the commercialization of LTE-only compatible protocol stack for the first time in indian market for Reliance RJIO operator,I got the opportunity to develop the call-drop analysis tool.During the verification phase of the implementation,frequent and huge-scale drive-tests ensued the large number of call-drop(CS call and Volte call drops) issues.The complete activity of analysing huge set of log files was toilsome given the constant inflow of issue and urgency to stablise the modem software.The pattern of issues and the pressure to debug faster presented an oppurtunity to me to develop a tool specific to call-drop issues,in which complete analysis with cause and countermeasure of call-drop got automated just with the dragging of log-file in the debugging tool.Backend script of the tool was done in Java and frontend was developed in CTL toolkit language alongwith basic batch processing involved.
We got the tool up within a month just before phase-2 drive tests after testing at our end and helped in saving huge number of man-hours and alleviating the pressure of activity.My work in protocol team enabled me to understand the subtleties of software engineering in practical domain,be it understanding specifications from mobile operator like ATT,TMO for North America region,preparing working plans for design and development of the features requested,actually working defatigably to timely complete the development;support,co-ordination and resolution of issues during testing and verificataion phase and finally the lauching of features in the next binary release while being open to the feedback provided from operators and Project management team.My passion for software development and engineering kept me going and had me accumulate 4.5 years of experience.I throughly enjoyed and ameliorated myself with the lessons learned at working in such wonderful organistion which provided me opportunity to get associated with my work.I could see the culmination of efficiency,meeting deadlines,having back-up solutions in the timely launch of projects. During my work in Samsung India,having worked closely during almost every facet of software development,I realised the urge to expand my knowledge horizon further in a systematic way and focus on strong foundation of software development to find excellance in the field.
I believe that acedemic experience in this particular course will provide me a strong structural core on which I will build strong foundation through learning and prudence.My Decision to apply for KTH university for Masters in Computer Science with specialization in software technology is motivated by the close resonance between this specialization course and my hands-on experience of 4.5 years in developing modem software products and system,my dedication to strive for strong theoretical foundation in the field and the steller learning envirnoment with the right mix of acedemia and practical knowledge that this course will provide me.
In the long run I see myself coming out to be a more efficient,cognitivily more keen and professionally sound individual,who will help inculcating the same principles and techniques learned here in my master’s course to the further endeavour’s I take. Through this course it would be an honour to be a part of academic community of a country which is ranked so high in the Global Innovation index 2017.I hope that with my passion for learning new methodologies for software systems design,the culture and values accumulated with working in research wing of samsung,the urge to experience inter-cultural nuances of internationally cherry-picked scholars,I will be a valuable addition to the esteemed academic community at KTH.
