Yuan Chen The Story of “Springfield”

Six signs 1. We build, they will come(use) 2. What we offer is exactly what they want! 3. There is no “I” in the “team” 4. We will use [n-tire/soap/insert other buzzword here] to construct this calculator in one week 5. I seldom estimate the schedule or manage the priority correctly 6. The situation you mentioned will never happen

Bingo, Catch one?  “I build a [YOUR PROJECT] that nobody use”  Yep, you are right, but it’s out of my expectation  Anyway, think about the success of Youtube, Google, Microsoft Empire…

What’s “Springfield”  Codename of “Microsoft Intern Application Tracking System” aka. MIATS  A project developed by Compass team in MS^2 training version 3.0  3 Devs, 2 Testers, 1 PM  2 months, We rock & roll

Our Vision  To provide a platform where talents can be exposed, discovered and managed effectively and efficiently  我们要建立一个能够有效并高效地发现、 管理天才的平台

1. We are always right…  We build, they will come(use) Your software is here

“Springfield” fact  Solve real problems but not rise new problems…  Yet another IATS in MS?  We have workflow tracking, report, more effective search  Conclusion: Different is far not enough, we should explain what’s NEW & BETTER!

2. Communicate with customers  What we offer is exactly what they want

“Springfield” fact  Misunderstand customer’s workflow  The requirement change frequently  Feature spec change frequently  Revise the code painfully each time…  Conclusion: Reach clear and common agreements with you customer, put them down into documents

Teamwork  There is no “I” in the “team”

 We have daily meeting but make ineffective decisions

 I don’t agree with you…

 People need motivation

“Springfield” fact  Not everyone put all efforts on the project  Discuss a lot, but each one on their own way  Forming -> Storming -> Norming -> Performing  Conclusion: There is “M” & “E” (ME) in the “team”

3. No plan, no gain  I seldom estimate the schedule or manage the priority correctly

“Springfield” fact

 The schedule estimated never work well  Development is in chaos…  Conclusion: Each project has its implicit schedule, try to catch it!  Tip, My estimation formula: 1.5 * estimation + 1 time unit

4. Technologee…  We will use [n-tire/soap/insert other buzzword here] to construct this calculator in one week SDK APIs Framework Tech Components Soft ware

“Springfield” fact  We plan to use 3-tire/Ajax at the beginning…  However, we found time is not enough  So we do a lot of “work around”  A buggy system, debugging sucks…  Conclusion: KISS

5. Quality assurance  We code complete, let’s begin the test Smoking as soon as “plug in”

“Springfield” fact

 Show-stop bugs during each review  Some bugs require design modification  No assurance for bug regression & the quality of new code  Conclusion: Accompany testing with coding

6. Murphy’s law  The situation you mentioned will never happen Sometimes things go badly when internet connection is slow…

“Springfield” fact  We assume all developers will not be absent during the project  We assume all scenarios works well in release mode  However, they didn’t…  Conclusion: If something can be wrong, it will!

Already failed? Don’t worry!  How we rescue “Springfield” Clear the requirement Scheduling / Planning / Buffering Risk management Implement features “KISS” New intern comes for testing Refer other site’s professional design

Good words for Springfield  Springfield ( ) is an excellent tool for interns recruiting. It’s simple but helps streamline the intern recruiting process which is so important to the lab! --Lolan Song( DIRECTOR-UNIVERSITY RELATIONS )  Springfield started to show her strength to MSR Asia’s intern recruitment! --Wen Chen(UR PROGRAM LEAD)  I love Springfield! Very nice tools. Congrats! --Harry (CVP - RESEARCH)

Things really matter  It depends on your expectation!

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Thank you