Comments on: The Vista saga: an opinion http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2006/the-vista-saga-opinions/ Management and Creative Thinking Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:23:56 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Berkun blog » Blog Archive » Tales of Vista development at MSFT http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2006/the-vista-saga-opinions/comment-page-1/#comment-6808 Berkun blog » Blog Archive » Tales of Vista development at MSFT Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:47:37 +0000 http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/?p=231#comment-6808 [...] It’s worth a read, is better informed than my outsider opinion, with references to action vs. results management, Too many cooks, Broken windows theory, opnions on Line of code measurements, etc. One favorite quote from his essay: After months of hearing of how a certain influential team in Windows was going to cause the Vista release to slip, I, full of abstract self-righteous misgivings as a stockholder, had at last the chance to speak with two of the team’s key managers, asking them how they could be so, please-excuse-the-term, I-don’t-mean-its-value-laden-connotation, ignorant as to proper estimation of software schedules. Turns out they’re actually great project managers. They knew months in advance that the schedule would never work. So they told their VP. And he, possibly influenced by one too many instances where engineering re-routes power to the warp core, thus completing the heretofore impossible six-hour task in a mere three, summarily sent the managers back to “figure out how to make it work.” The managers re-estimated, nipped and tucked, liposuctioned, did everything short of a lobotomy — and still did not have a schedule that fit. The VP was not pleased. “You’re smart people. Find a way!” This went back and forth for weeks, whereupon the intrepid managers finally understood how to get past the dilemma. They simply stopped telling the truth. “Sure, everything fits. We cut and cut, and here we are. Vista by August or bust. You got it, boss.” [...] [...] It’s worth a read, is better informed than my outsider opinion, with references to action vs. results management, Too many cooks, Broken windows theory, opnions on Line of code measurements, etc. One favorite quote from his essay: After months of hearing of how a certain influential team in Windows was going to cause the Vista release to slip, I, full of abstract self-righteous misgivings as a stockholder, had at last the chance to speak with two of the team’s key managers, asking them how they could be so, please-excuse-the-term, I-don’t-mean-its-value-laden-connotation, ignorant as to proper estimation of software schedules. Turns out they’re actually great project managers. They knew months in advance that the schedule would never work. So they told their VP. And he, possibly influenced by one too many instances where engineering re-routes power to the warp core, thus completing the heretofore impossible six-hour task in a mere three, summarily sent the managers back to “figure out how to make it work.” The managers re-estimated, nipped and tucked, liposuctioned, did everything short of a lobotomy — and still did not have a schedule that fit. The VP was not pleased. “You’re smart people. Find a way!” This went back and forth for weeks, whereupon the intrepid managers finally understood how to get past the dilemma. They simply stopped telling the truth. “Sure, everything fits. We cut and cut, and here we are. Vista by August or bust. You got it, boss.” [...]

]]> By: AG's Blog http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2006/the-vista-saga-opinions/comment-page-1/#comment-4426 AG's Blog Mon, 15 May 2006 12:07:53 +0000 http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/?p=231#comment-4426 <strong>Vista - So what?...</strong> Interestingly it still seems that people are expecting huge returns from Vista.. Sure XP is more stable than the abomination that was ME or 9x, but it is still plagued by trojans, adware and virii. It is very likely that...... Vista – So what?…

Interestingly it still seems that people are expecting huge returns from Vista.. Sure XP is more stable than the abomination that was ME or 9x, but it is still plagued by trojans, adware and virii. It is very likely that……

]]> By: WiredPrairie http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2006/the-vista-saga-opinions/comment-page-1/#comment-3690 WiredPrairie Tue, 25 Apr 2006 02:02:50 +0000 http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/?p=231#comment-3690 <strong>As a former MSFT employee myself, I......</strong> As a former Microsoft employee myself, I think Scott is right on for the most part regarding the issues surrounding Vista (and its delays). I'm not however convinced there's a door open for competitors (besides Apple) which is wide enough,...... As a former MSFT employee myself, I……

As a former Microsoft employee myself, I think Scott is right on for the most part regarding the issues surrounding Vista (and its delays). I’m not however convinced there’s a door open for competitors (besides Apple) which is wide enough,……

]]>