Community
Community is by definition not a one-way arrangement. If we don't respond to the community, then we're not in it--as this very community has reminded us. Thank you for keeping us honest.
Since you're reading this, you probably read technology opinion on the web and therefore it is inevitable that you've heard a lot about how big (and dare I say late) the Windows Vista project is. Horror stories appear to flow from both distant pundits and seemingly hard-boiled insiders. I have heard the adage "truth is stranger than fiction" many times, but I often find with the press (and yes, even the blogosphere) that the truth can also be more mundane than the fiction and sometimes harder to find.
You can argue endlessly about Microsoft's strategies (and whether they are aligned or even align-able) and specifically about the sustainable wisdom behind a "be everything" Windows operating system that is developed over long release cycles. And, in fact, we do (you might be surprised at the range of ideas that are debated). It is only natural that customers, partners, and the press also highlight those debates and question the leadership under the circumstances.
But speaking personally, every day when I come to work I look at the people I am surrounded by.
Am I surrounded with money-grubbing career-climbers that would tell their management anything to make their project status look good? No. Am I surrounded by incompetent tinkerers who have no business writing the software that tens or hundreds of millions of people rely on? Certainly not. By and large, I am surrounded by real people (just like you). I am surrounded by consummate, professional engineers (just like many of you). I am surrounded with people who have vision; and despite the ever-increasing difficulty of making software that becomes powerful in the hands of nearly any person, they desperately want to make that happen.
Over the past thirteen years at Microsoft, I've watched the job get a little bit harder every year. People strive to keep up with the greater demands on the software they build (demands for more return, more reliability, more security, broader use, etc.) They strive to keep up with the resulting technical and organizational complexity. They strive to keep up with the profession. Sometimes I see newly hired people and I don't envy the rate of change they are expected to thrive in (although incredibly most of them do thrive).
I think it's fair to say that we are learning (right along with the rest of the world) how to ship a software project that is as big and broad as Windows Vista. And yes, we do re-learn this every time. Just as we think we are starting to "get it", the game changes.
And we can do much better. That is why I ask you to continue to be ruthless in what you ask of us (starting with asking whether we are going to post here or not!). Over the history of this company, that clearly seems to be the way we do our best.
Now that you have let me rant a little; you might be wondering if there is any lingering defensiveness. I offer that this post is my little part in the product release process and probably a bit of a personal release as well. A company is only as good as the groups that make it and a group as only as good as its members. If that is the case, then Microsoft and more specifically Tablet PC is going to be fine, based on the people that I see when I go to work every day. I am fiercely proud of my team and all of the individuals that comprise that team. I apologize for giving in to daily urgencies and not posting more. If you are interested, following this I hope to write a little more about what life is like for my team in the near future.
Kurt Geisel Director of Development, Tablet PC Team
