codyg1985’s Think Tank

This article by a MSDN blogger points out the fallacies of the Windows development process. The most notable portion of this article points out the command structure at work behind the development of Windows Vista:

This isn’t necessarily bad, except sometimes the cooks flash-mob one corner of the kitchen. I once sat in a schedule review meeting with at least six VPs and ten general managers. When that many people have a say, things get confusing. Not to mention, since so many bosses are in the room, there are often negotiations between project managers prior to such meetings to make sure that no one ends up looking bad. “Bob, I’m giving you a heads-up that I’m going to say that your team’s component, which we depend on, was late.” “That’s fine, Sandy, but please be clear that the unforeseen delays were caused by a third party, not my team.”

The bottom line is that there are too many people working on the project that should be relocated to other portions of the project. The leadership structure should not consists of multiple vice presidents and general managers, of which most of them have varying opinions on what direction the project should go.

Many features were cut from Windows Vista in order to make deadlines, only for the operating system to be delayed anyway:

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.”

There is also mention of how Windows Vista is going to be “the largest software project in mankind’s history.” Measured by the sheer amount of code and the footprint the OS leaves on a system, yes it is one of the largest pieces of software to be developed. This mentaility of adding on line after line of interdependant code is going to make future releases of Windows even more cumbersome than Vista has turned out to be.

The next release of Windows, even if it is known internally as Vista R2, should include a complete rewrite of the operating system, from top to bottom. It is going to be a hard swtchover for software and hardware developers, but the NT kernel, while a stable and robust, is an old platform that is showing its age. A complete rewrite of the kernel, along with a revolution in UI design, should be researched and implemented in the next version of Windows. Frankly, Microsoft needs to innovate instead of play catchup to Apple and Linux, both of which have been or are introducing revolutionairy UI design and security.

The atmosphere at the Windows division needs a radical change in goals and in its thinking. Windows Vista provides next-generation technology to those that write applications for it, but not enough is known about these technologies by the average PC user to make Vista a compelling upgrade from Windows XP. At least not yet.

Here are a few notes about Windows Vista:

• ArsTechnica has written a visual tour of Windows Vista Beta 2. The review is quite exhaustive as it goes into each aspect of the operating system, complete with screenshots of it all.
• Chris Holmes has written a tweak guide for Windows Vista Beta 2. With each new build, these guides provide ways to increase the performance of the operating system and circumvent some of its annoying features.
• Paul Thurrott is writing his comprehensive review of Windows Vista Beta 2; so far he has written a summary about this release and the compatibility issues with the new beta.
• The Insider talks about some small aspects of the Windows Vista UI that have been overlooked by Microsoft design engineers, including the XP taskbar in the taskbar properties window and the Windows 3.1-era font install dialog box.
• An interesting website developed by Microsoft touts some new programs that may debut after Windows Vista is released. The videos show some nice UI concepts that should have made it into Windows Vista anyway.
• The Windows Vista Sidebar Gallery website has been unveiled. The website is primitive now, but it will be soon home to many widgets to go on the Windows Vista sidebar.