A Couple of Major Visual Studio Announcements

This week Microsoft is hosting the Visual Studio Live conference in Redmond. This conference is one of those that is fun to get to if you can, but I have unfortunately not been able to attend this time around. Microsoft has chosen this conference as a platform to make some pretty interesting announcements.

Developing Line of Business Applications from Templates

The first major announcement came yesterday when “Visual Studio Lightswitch” was announced. In short, Lightswitch is a Rapid Application Development platform. The marketing states, “Visual Studio Lightswitch enables you to quickly create professional-quality line of business applications regardless of your development skills” and from what I can tell, it definitely does that. While this tool isn’t targeted at developers who like to build code from the ground up, it certainly does make the lives of those who want to quickly build and deploy applications easier.. I could see this as a great prototyping platform, or even as a mechanism to quickly solve specific problems. I’ll play around with the bits and maybe post a few more articles on it here as I get the time.

Test and Lab Management

If you’ve spent any time at all looking at the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) features of Visual Studio 2010, you have heard about “Test and Lab Management” and are likely excited about it. When Visual Studio 2010 released, the Lab management capabilities were unfortunately not quite ready, and were released in “Release Candidate” form. There are a number of stories and rumors behind this, but the reality is that the team just couldn’t be comfortable with where they were based on the amount of customer feedback that they had received. There was also a lot of confusion around how much this was going to cost organizations to deploy, and how things were going to be licensed. (The idea was you needed the client, the server, and agents for each of the machines deployed, which meant that larger organizations potentially were going to have to make a sizable and serious investment)

The announcement today is that the “RTM” bits for Test and Lab Management will be available by the end of August! The other announcement is that the licensing has been very simplified. The client portion will be available by purchasing either Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate or Visual Studio 2010 Test Professional. The server portion is automatically included with Team Foundation Server, and the agents will NOT require a CAL (basically they are included with your TFS license).

For those of us who’ve deployed Test and Lab Management already, there will be an update package that will upgrade the Release Candidate bits to RTM, but will also include fixes for each of the components (Client, Server, Agent) and the “things” they are packaged with (Team Foundation Server, etc).

A Very Interesting “Community-Focused” Project.

As a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), I’ve had the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing people over the years, and have always been impressed with how “Community-Focused” this group of people can be.

I was, however, recently blown away by a friend of mine who’s also an MVP, and who I’ve had the pleasure of working with on numerous occasions. Arnie Rowland, who runs a consulting company based in the Pacific Northwest called "Westwood Consulting, Inc.” came up with what I think is a brilliant idea. (More on this in a second, but let me set the stage first)

One of the perks of being awarded the MVP award from Microsoft is you receive special attention from the product teams from time to time. Once in awhile a product team will decide to do something very nice for MVPs, like send some special SWAG, put on a special chat session, or offer an invite to take part in face to face meetings. Sometimes, in conjunction with the marketing teams, they offer SWAG that can be very impressive. Well, this year the Developer Division decided that developer MVPs would receive Not-For-Resale MSDN Subscription vouchers that they could give out any way that they chose. (Since many MVPs spend a fair amount of time in public speaking engagements, offering one as a giveaway for the event is likely what they had in mind). These things retail for just over $12K each, so it was certainly a very generous give-away. Of course it now begs the question, how do you maximize the value of these things and get them to people who could really benefit from them.

Here’s where Arnie comes in. He came up with this great idea, which in a nutshell says, “If you’re an unemployed or underemployed developer, we’ll give you free software and the information you need to use it if you’re willing to use it to help out a non-profit agency --- Oh, and you have to prove that you are willing to treat this seriously by submitting a proposal for the work you’ll do”. Arnie discusses this all in a blog post here: http://sqlblog.com/blogs/arnie_rowland/archive/2010/07/12/while-you-don-t-get-a-free-lunch-you-will-get-your-just-deserts.aspx All in all this is an amazing “Win-Win” type project. The un-or-underemployed developer receives over $12K worth of software (there’s more than just the MSDN subscription on the table) and some deserving non-profit organization gets a problem solved!

When I talked to Arnie about this, I realized that I definitely wanted to be involved, so I donated the MSDN subscriptions that I had been given to him for this project. As it turns out several other MVPs have decided to do the same, so this is starting to almost go viral. The guys on the ping show over on MSDN Channel 9 picked it up in a recent episode, and it was also mentioned in a recent MSDN Flash.

So, if you’re reading this and you’re interested in helping out a non-profit organization, head on over to Arnies Blog, and submit an idea. Who knows, you may end up with a very cool pack of software.

It’s been awhile – and Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 is Released!

It has really been a LONG time since I’ve posted here. In my defense, I’ve spent the last year blogging about my dogs and their fight with cancer (See http://nikkitherott.tripawds.com and http://buddytherott.tripawds.com for more info). We lost Buddy a few weeks back, and Nikki seems to have beat it for now, so we’re a getting back to normal in a lot of ways.

A number of things has happened in my professional life since the last post (Which incidentally, I’m still not happy about, and have since had the need to replace my HP Tablet. Guess which brand I DID NOT buy?) and here they are in no particular order:

• My product, “EMC Ionix Configuration Analytics Manager”, was sold to VMWare, along with all of the former Configuresoft assets, including a number of my team members. My Product Manager, a couple of key architects and myself stayed behind at EMC and are now working to define a new Business Intelligence Product that is currently being called, “EMC Ionix Infrastructure Insight" or I3..  More on this in future posts, because it’s been an extremely exciting time and we’re really having some fun delving into the depths of the Storage Resource Management (SRM) domain.
• Due to the fact that the building we had occupied is now the property of VMWare, my team and I have relocated to a new office just a bit Southwest of where we were. My new office has a much better view of Pikes Peak, and given that I mostly work East Coast hours these days, I’m in the office early enough to enjoy the deer and other wildlife that roam through the grounds before most folks get in.
• I was re-awarded the Microsoft MVP Award (They have retired the “Visual Studio Team System” name, so now I’m a “Visual Studio ALM MVP”) for another year. As I told my lead, I didn’t really deserve it, but they gave it to me, so I’m dedicated to earning it this year.
• I was able to speak at a number of Visual Studio launch events, most notably the “.NET Forever” event in Stockholm, Sweden. (Thanks Tibi!)
• EMC announced the acquisition of Greenplum, Inc. If you haven’t heard about Greenplum, you might want to read up on them. This is definitely a major game changer in the world of Cloud Computing. I really can’t say much at this point about the acquisition, but don’t be surprised if you start seeing a lot more “Massively Scalable Data Warehouse” type posts here in the future.
• This may be the first year since the mid 90’s that I have not flown enough to maintain top-tier status on my airline of choice (American Airlines). I’m not yet sure how I feel about this.

Anyway, I think that’s enough of that.

On to the real reason behind this post.

Today marks an important day for developers who practice agile development. Microsoft has release version 1.0 of the Visual Studio Scrum template and guidance. The reason that this is an exciting and important announcement is that Microsoft has finally seen fit to release a template that can be used with Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server out of the box! (This is a point of debate for many people I know, but I’ve always seen the existing MSF guidance as a starting point that must be customized. Now we have a solution that is good to go from the first install!).

This template was developed from the start by Microsoft, who engaged with some very well-known heavy hitters in the scrum community. This means that the template and guidance provided is not something that won’t hold up to real world development, but rather has been vetted by those who live and breathe Scrum on a daily basis.

Check it out! http://blogs.msdn.com/b/aaronbjork/archive/2010/07/19/announcing-microsoft-visual-studio-scrum-1-0.aspx

Insane(ly stupid!) HP Customer Service

Those that know me are aware of the fact that I tend to be rather vocal in my support for the things that I use. I’m an advocate for most Microsoft Technologies, an advocate for the much-maligned Zune MP3 player, Harley Davidson motorcycles, etc etc etc.. If I own/use something and I like it, I let people know about it…

I’ve been a huge fan of HP hardware for many years, and when I became unhappy about the performance of my work-provided laptop, I decided that I was going to take matters in my own hand and bought my own HP Tablet PC. I love this thing, it has been one of the most versatile (and downright useful) portable devices that I have ever owned. Coupled with Windows 7, I couldn’t be happier.I purchased it at Costco, and honestly can’t imagine ever being unhappy with the process.

As circumstances would have it, I am in need of a more powerful portable computing platform (in addition to the tablet mind you, not in replace of) for some field-work that I’m going to be doing. Rather than try and navigate the hardware requisition maze to get a new work-provided one, I decided that I would buy another one of my own. Of course since I love HP products, I decided to see what HP has available. I found *exactly* what I was looking for on the HP site, and unfortunately found out that Costco wouldn’t carry that model with the options that I wanted, so I decided to go ahead and order it from the HP Website. I configured the beast with all the custom options, paid the price, and had it shipped.

I received the laptop (An HP HDX 16T Premium “CTO” model with every imaginable bell/whistle) on Monday of this week. Did my normal pave/rebuild with Windows 7, and after a couple of false starts was pretty happy with my purchase.

And then the fun began…..

On Tuesday evening, I received an email from the HP store talking about their latest/greatest offer… Turns out it was an offer for the exact laptop that I just bought…. AND IT’S $500 CHEAPER THAN WHAT I PAID! Ok, probably some hidden tricks and nothing to get excited about, right? Well, it turns out that one of the guys who works for me decided he too wants a new laptop and decided to buy one, so I sent him the link from the email I’d received, and sure enough, he configured THE EXACT SAME laptop with the EXACT SAME options, and paid exactly $500 less than I did…

No worries I’m sure. I can just contact them, explain the situation (hey, just 1 day after receiving this you drop the price?) and I’m sure they will at least offer me a store credit…. Well, I send an email and I get the following response:

“I understand that you are inquiring about the received coupon after receiving your ordered HP HDX 16t laptop and would like to know if you can avail the said discount on the recently received order, right. I appreciate your inquiry, HP continues to provide you the best in all computer technology. Thank you for choosing HP. Ted, that coupon code is applicable on your next purchase. However, you also need to check on the validity of the coupon before using. ”

To which I respond that the answer is not acceptable… I receive the following response:

“I am very sorry to hear that we were not able to provide you with a satisfactory purchase experience. I want to apologize for the inconvenience that you have experienced due of the $500.00 coupon that you would like to add on your recent purchase.

Feedback like yours is always appreciated, and it lets us know how well our website and staff have assisted you. I have registered your complaint with our management team and we will assess the corrective action that needs to take place.

Ted, we have the 21-day Price Protection Policy. As much as I wanted to process the $500.00 credit on your order, it is beyond my credit limit. However, I would refer you to the Resolutions team to process the credit, if applicable. They will validate the coupon and provide an option for you to avail such discount. ”

OK, so now we’re getting somewhere!

I call the number that they suggest, and basically am told that the email is wrong, that I cannot use the discount. When I tell them that due to their satisfaction policy I could easily box this laptop up, return it, and then buy it again for $500 less, it just doesn’t make sense to do it this way… Their response, “That’s the way the policy works”…

By now I’m highly irritated, and can’t believe that a loyal customer is being treated this way in this economy… So, I send another email basically stating that I will return the laptop and find something else to buy…

Their response:

“Thank you for contacting the HP Home & Home Office Sales Center.

I understand that you got an email with the coupon code after receiving the hdx16t laptop that you ordered, and you wanted to know if you can just get the credit for that coupon code.  I'm really sorry if this has caused you a hassle.  Don't worry since HP is willing to assist you with this. 

I just want to let you know that there is no retroactive application on any of our coupon codes.  Also, all of our coupon codes have  limited redemptions.  What if we credit the amount, but the limit has been reached already?  You really have to apply the coupon code to the actual order to see if it's valid or not.  In this case, your only option is to return the laptop and place a new order using that coupon code.  I'm really sorry for this inconvenience. 

I know that this has caused you a trouble, but I still want to thank and commend you for choosing HP and considering our products.  We have received a lot of wonderful comments and recognition about our products from customers through emails, chats, and phone calls.”

So now it becomes a matter of what to do… I can box and return this laptop, order a new one for $500 less, and be done with it, OR I can choose to simply return it and go elsewhere…..

Given this display of customer service, I don’t think there is really much of a debate….

Guess I’ll be checking out the Dell laptops….

If anyone from HP is reading this, please fix your customer service process. If you drive away your satisfied and happy customers, what will you be left with? How can I, with clear conscience, recommend your products to anyone at this point?

Cross-Domain Business Intelligence

One problem that seems to plague organizations these days is a lack of understanding of how Business Intelligence techniques apply to more than just the typical “what’s our sales performance” question. (See my previous post for more on applying BI techniques to IT data).

I think the root of this problem is much deeper than simply trying to understand BI technologies. I believe the problem stems from a fundamental lack of understanding how to apply a technology solution to a business problem. This may sound a bit like Dilbert-esque crazy talk, but I think I can make a pretty good case for this argument.

There’s a lot of talk and “noise” in the industry right now about “Cross Domain BI” (some call this pervasive BI, but I don’t agree with applying that term to this problem) where BI techniques are being used to tie together data from multiple dissimilar sources within an organization. This provides a unified view of just how well each aspect of the organization is performing. I think that this movement is destined for a very bumpy road unless organizations fundamentally change how they approach problem solving in general, and “BI” in particular.

Distilling the Problem

Anyone who’s been in an engineering role (not necessarily limited to software engineering by the way) for awhile has been faced with the problem of imprecise requirements or specifications. As engineers, we tend to understand how to deal with that problem (it depends a lot on the engineer, sometimes the lack of a good spec makes for a great excuse not to get the job done, or worse, leads to a product simply “built to spec” and sometimes it forces the engineer to become more involved in understanding the problem they are trying to solve) and move on. Unfortunately the trait doesn’t always hold true with those outside of engineering who typically drive Business Intelligence projects.

Agile Business Intelligence

I’ve made the base before that BI projects *must* be driven by Agile methodologies if they are going to succeed. The main point of my argument there is that a successful BI project must be able to adapt to changing requirements along the way, and must be extremely flexible in terms of the data provided to the end-user. I believe it’s also true that for “Cross-Domain” BI to succeed, there must be an Agile component to the business as a whole. If an organization is rigidly structured, with well-defined “silos” of information, any attempt to develop cross-domain BI will likely end up in several BI silos that ultimately become useless when combined. For a cross-domain BI project to succeed, each of the silos of information must understand how data from other silos can be used to improve their own performance. In order to accomplish this, there needs to be an over-arching description of the business goals for the BI project, as well as a description of the goals for each silo. Generally speaking, this is done by following the “Business Scenario”-focused process such as the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF).

This brings me back to my original point. In order to properly apply BI techniques to the “Cross Domain” problem, organizations must first understand the problem that they are trying to solve. If they do this by creating an over-arching “cross domain” Business Scenario that contains the following steps:

1. What questions are you trying to answer?
2. What data do you need to answer the questions?
3. Where does the data exist?

They are more likely to succeed at delivering a useful solution. If they don’t follow this simple approach, they are likely to be left wondering what happened.

BI for the IT Guy (or Gal)

One of the things that I have struggled with in the past in explaining “my” product (Configuration Analytics Manager – CAM) to people who’ve not seen it, is connecting the dots from the “elevator pitch” to the real business proposition. When most IT people think of Business Intelligence (BI) products, they automatically think sales management or maybe they think “Advanced Reporting”. Since people generally tend to classify things into buckets that they can understand, once they hear “BI”, they’re automatically framing everything else said about the product into one of the above categories. When people hear about CAM and they hear, “It’s BI for IT data”, there is either a blank look of, “Why do I need *that*?” or even, “That’s cool, I can have charts and graphs on my reports now”.

The problem that I have with the above is IT management is a maturing industry. IT used to be the cost center that simply provided the business with the tools it needs to prosper. IT used to be “those people” that you only had to talk to when something was wrong, or when something new was needed. (Unless of course you are in IT management, in which case you only got to talk to people when something was wrong or when something new was needed). These days IT has become a first class citizen in most corporate environments, and is being seen as much more than a simple cost center. IT is being measured by much more than just how well they managed their budget.

Given all of the above, sometimes it feels like I’m on a crusade, and the first step is to try and get IT managers and directors to start thinking of their work in terms of business profitability. If IT managers start thinking in terms of a given process (be it keeping an application running, managing a service desk, monitoring an application, or any of the other day to day tasks an IT person performs) as their “product”, and improvement of that process as being their “profit”, then BI solutions built using IT management data will start to become a pervasive requirement for IT organizations. (What better way to help improve profit than to analyze what is and isn’t working?) CAM is poised to be *the* product to help IT when that day comes.

More on the transition to EMC

If you follow this blog, you know that I’ve recently become an employee of EMC. As a matter of fact, I just got my badge today. (As a side note, why do badge photos have to be so horrible?) It has been a whirlwind transition, and has actually been only my second experience of being part of an acquisition by a larger entity.

I realize that it’s early in the game, but I have to honestly state that I have been impressed by the attention that I’ve received by various folks throughout the EMC organization. From the management of my new organization, down to bloggers and tweeters who’ve sent their “Welcome Aboard” messages, I’ve felt as if I’ve personally been welcomed to the EMC family.

Which brings me to the point of this post..

Joe Tucci (CEO of EMC) wrote an open letter to Data Domain employees basically telling them what life at EMC would be like. (If you haven’t heard the story, EMC has made a bid for Data Domain – read about that here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/01/emc_bids_for_data_domain/ ) and several EMC employees have added to the conversation by stating why they feel EMC is a great place to work. (See Polly Persons blog here: http://www.pollypearson.com/main/2009/06/emc-folks-add-to-the-discussion-why-do-i-work-at-emc.html). As a brand-new-to-the-EMC-culture person, I feel that I don’t really have much to add to the discussion, but I can say one thing for sure, if all people that EMC have absorbed through acquisition are treated as I have been (yeah yeah, I know that it’s still early!) then the folks over at Data Domain are in for a very pleasant surprise!