So news broke this week in the wake of Bill Gates’ final few days of an old internal email chain he started regarding trying to simply get ‘MovieMaker’ working in Windows XP
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/library/2003Jangatesmoviemaker.pdf
Link to email chain.
I found these internal emails so interesting as it highlights the problems of working in a large software team, its hard for one person to take responsibility or be able to seize the reins and change something. I’ve noticed in organisations of any significant size when something goes wrong for the consumer its generally not one persons ‘fault’. Most people are limited in power in a company and unclear as to how to act when a problem arises that is not specifically within their job description.
This scenario seems to be held true in this email chain as the recipients try to organise who is going to fix which part, but it is difficult. Do they cross into someone else’s territory? Do they ask the other person to fix their end? What if that person is of higher rank? , are they going to hold a grudge that could affect your job security.
I admit I often get annoyed when one thing made by the Windows team does not work with another part flawlessly, “its the same team I scream hopelessly at my screen”. Even though the reality is that the two teams of developers under the umbrella of ‘Windows’ have probably never even met.
Of course its so amusing in this case as the consumer is actually the boss of the entire company suffering at a system which he believed would be of a higher quality and co-ordination better than it actually is. Many people have many different views of Gates. I personally am going to miss him from having a figurehead role at Microsoft, especially if he is constantly calling out the developers internally like this as I do dream for that one day that everything in my house is beautifully compatible and synched with everything else. Sigh a boy can dream ..
