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For those of you still doubting that I worked for Microsoft....

amirm

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Here is your definitive proof!!! :D

Someone got a hold of an old email Bill sent complaining about not being able to find "MovieMaker" (simple program for editing video which one of my groups developed) Digital Plus Pack (also developed in my team). Here is one of our local reports, Dave Ross, reading the email and ahem, pausing on my name because he can't pronounce it (should be a firing offence! :D):


What Dave Ross laments not happening was actually the norm. Bill would send many of these emails as would other executives and employees at large. Indeed it was ingrained in Microsoft culture to be highly self-critical.

Here is a copy of what was triggered from Bill's complaint read above: https://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/files/library/2003Jangatesmoviemaker.pdf

I don't remember the original email Bill is referring to.

Anyway, as you see there, I agreed that it was screwed up and fed it to my team to get it fixed.

Nothing to be proud of here of course but someone who knew me then sent it to me and I thought I share it here.
 

stunta

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I thought the only proof you needed that you work for Microsoft is knowing where building 7 is :)
 

restorer-john

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I thought the original email of Bill Gates was remarkably composed, considering the hoops he'd jumped through. I am just imagining the same email written by Steve Jobs- that'd be funny to read. :)
 

Wombat

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Did MS have specialists who wrote and tested User Instructions and customer friendly operation? Techies are notoriously inept at this and it is still, generally, a problem to this day.
 
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OP
amirm

amirm

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We had a massive usability test lab and personnel for that use (which reported to me toward the later part of my career there). Scenarios would be created by program managers and typical customers recruited to see if they could efficiently complete the task. Or perform competitive analysis against competitors. The usual setup was the candidate behind one-way glass and recorded (for later review) as they worked through the scenarios created for them. Refinements would then be performed to fix issues that this testing would uncover. And example for the media player was, "create a playlist of these few music tracks."

I sat through some of these and it was eye popping how people would get stuck not even able to start let alone complete the task!

Use of this resource was not mandatory at Microsoft. My team, Office and few others used them quite often. Others not. It would lengthen the development cycle so not everyone opted to use it.

Only Apple and Microsoft to my knowledge have made this level of investment in usability testing. Sadly I see little trace of it in the work of Google for example, whether it is Android of the interface for their horrible back-office tools. So you are definitely right in this regard.
 

svart-hvitt

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Here is your definitive proof!!! :D

Someone got a hold of an old email Bill sent complaining about not being able to find "MovieMaker" (simple program for editing video which one of my groups developed) Digital Plus Pack (also developed in my team). Here is one of our local reports, Dave Ross, reading the email and ahem, pausing on my name because he can't pronounce it (should be a firing offence! :D):


What Dave Ross laments not happening was actually the norm. Bill would send many of these emails as would other executives and employees at large. Indeed it was ingrained in Microsoft culture to be highly self-critical.

Here is a copy of what was triggered from Bill's complaint read above: https://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/files/library/2003Jangatesmoviemaker.pdf

I don't remember the original email Bill is referring to.

Anyway, as you see there, I agreed that it was screwed up and fed it to my team to get it fixed.

Nothing to be proud of here of course but someone who knew me then sent it to me and I thought I share it here.

@amirm , given your bashing of Apple in different threads, I am doubting more that you are still not working for Microsoft ;):p

Maybe it’s a mafia thing; you can never really get out;)

Teasingly yours

:)
 
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Wombat

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Like Genuflecting(sic) :oops:
& 8 C&Cs, adulation. :p

It could be right, but where are shoot-outs.

On topic re unresolved brand comparisons. Apologies if taken otherwise.;);)
 
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Wombat

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We had a massive usability test lab and personnel for that use (which reported to me toward the later part of my career there). Scenarios would be created by program managers and typical customers recruited to see if they could efficiently complete the task. Or perform competitive analysis against competitors. The usual setup was the candidate behind one-way glass and recorded (for later review) as they worked through the scenarios created for them. Refinements would then be performed to fix issues that this testing would uncover. And example for the media player was, "create a playlist of these few music tracks."

I sat through some of these and it was eye popping how people would get stuck not even able to start let alone complete the task!

Use of this resource was not mandatory at Microsoft. My team, Office and few others used them quite often. Others not. It would lengthen the development cycle so not everyone opted to use it.

Only Apple and Microsoft to my knowledge have made this level of investment in usability testing. Sadly I see little trace of it in the work of Google for example, whether it is Android of the interface for their horrible back-office tools. So you are definitely right in this regard.



Getting to market trumped useability at times. I think that shows. Lots of 'upgrade downloads'. Market cycle dictates product readiness cycle.

Why has this been tolerated for so long? Fickle consumers.
 

jhaider

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I thought the original email of Bill Gates was remarkably composed, considering the hoops he'd jumped through. I am just imagining the same email written by Steve Jobs- that'd be funny to read. :)

I suspect most of the Microsoft folks knew the difference between HIV and HPV, though.
 
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