String Beans
In Richard Feynman’s book “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman”, Feyman tells an anecdote about the time he was working as a desk clerk in his aunt’s hotel. Always looking for ways to improve things, the young Feynman had tied little pieces of paper to the hotel’s telephone switchboard so that when a call came he could see where the call was from and answer the phone from the other side of the desk where he frequently spent time. Apparently his boss came by and wanted to answer the phones, but couldn’t figure out the simple paper system Richard had devised. “What are all these papers doing? Why is the phone on this side? Why don’t you… raaaaaaaaa!”
He closes the chapter with these words:
“I tried to explain—it was my own aunt—that there was no reason not to do that, but you can’t say that to anybody who’s smart, who runs a hotel! I learned there that innovation is a very difficult thing in the real world.”
Well, Mr. Feyman, I certainly agree with you there. For the past year I’ve been leading the charge to bring Microsoft’s Visual Studio Team System to the company I work for. What started as an unfunded thing that few people wanted has gradually evolved into an underfunded thing that few people want. To be fair, it’s not VSTS in particular that they don’t want. No, I suspect that in the end what people are really avoiding is change.
I’ve had the good fortune of working with a lot of very smart people at some really great companies. Nearly all of my closest friends are current or former colleagues. It wasn’t until recently that I came to realize that there’s one thing that they all have in common; they are change. I don’t remember where I read it now, but there’s a great quote that went something like, ”You either are change or you get changed!” The people that I gravitate toward, the people I call my dearest friends, they are change.
Visual Studio Team System is a relatively new and very, very broadly-scoped product. Heck, it took Microsoft months just to figure out how to brand and sell it (and I still think their message could use refinement). It has rough edges, incomplete features, ill-supported add-ons, and teeters somewhat precariously on the line between Holy Grail and complete disaster. That being said, I applaud Microsoft for their efforts and the approach they’ve taken to delivering VSTS. There is no doubt in my mind that once Microsoft realizes their full vision for VSTS, it will be the only Application Lifecycle Management suite truly worth considering.
To successfully implement Visual Studio Team System, however, you and your organization must “be change”. If you are unwilling or incapable of rolling up your sleeves to find the answer to a problem, deal with the occasional hiccup, or educating yourself enough to see Microsoft’s vision for VSTS then you will probably fail. That’s not Microsoft’s fault, but rather your own. Adopting leading-edge technology means accepting some risk and genuinely investing yourself. If that’s outside of you or your organization’s comfort zone or you’re not prepared to do some reading and experimentation then you aren’t ready.
You will probably be changed.
Comments
There are no comments for this entry.