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How I worked for Microsoft's Agile team in 1998, when the term Agile was just trying to come up with

Windows 98 RU signed by Microsoft WPGI colleagues

Imagine that you need to develop an operating system that will be translated into dozens of languages, sold in billions of copies, the release date for the release has already been publicly announced by Bill Gates himself. One problem - TK with a full list of functions and what the interface of the new Windows will be like - this is not only not there, but will not be until the very release. This is the essence of Agile, isn't it?

Today, companies say a lot about Agile, how wonderful and productive everyone will work, we just invite the Agile coach, appoint Product Ouners, Scrum-masters, Chapter leads and other characters in this theater.

Serious people from consulting agencies, without batting an eye, speak of Agil as a revelation that came down from heaven, although it worked in the large IT corporations, and even in the Soviet design bureaus for decades before them. They simply did not call fashionable words. Stalinist design bureaus during the war - why are you not Agile? “A working product (flying, shooting, etc.) is more important than exhaustive documentation,” you will receive. “Cooperation with the customer (front) is more important than agreeing on the terms of the contract,” easily. There were even Agile coaches, those who were wearing leather jackets, caps and a TT on their side.

But let us come back closer to the affairs of our time. I'm talking about Agile, which I saw in action at Microsoft 20 years ago.

Yes, if Windows 3.x existed on the market for 5 years, Windows 95 for 3 years, then future versions were supposed to be updated in a couple of years. However, the matter at MS was complicated by the fact that developers are in Redmond, localizers are in Dublin, and subsidiaries are trying to get into the process every now and then. country offices (they are called “sub” in MS). Saba vigil that all terms and images in the interfaces are harmonious and decent for local Aborigines. It is enough to bring the classic "Send to ..." (Send to ...) and you will understand the severity of the problem.

Of course, I saw the process from the level of a party soldier, or an ordinary localizer, to be more precise. None of the management then uttered terms from Agile philosophy, but it worked just that way. Agile Manifesto, as you know, appeared in 2001, i.e. three years later, although ideas and methods themselves have ripened since the early 1990s. Therefore, in 1998, surprisingly now, it already worked.

Agile in historical performance


So, at Microsoft there were - and probably will continue to be - three clans (Tribes). These are developers, localizers and subs. There are continents and oceans between them - since then globalism has not gone anywhere. The only difference is that the Internet in the late 1990s was frail and slow, and you had to interact quickly and efficiently - that's how it is now.

In the localization clan, the division into squads (Squads) was by product (Windows, Office, Server Products) and by language. How many localization units were actually, I did not know. But the fact that about 20 of them I saw with my own eyes is for sure. Each unit was led by Product Owner (called the Business Level Product Manager), the person who was personally responsible for maintaining deadlines before Mr. Gates, if not his head, then his wallet. And the wives would have unscrewed the head for the failure of the release, having learned what source of income the family had lost (about motivation and income - below).

In turn, the units were divided into Tiers (lines) according to the importance of the market, let’s say so - into elite units, simple infantry and construction battalion. The Tier 1 group included the Spanish, French and German versions. They were supposed to be released on the same day as the English-speaking Windows. Tier 2 - Eastern tigers (Japan, China, Israel, plus Italy, Portugal and the Arabic version), they were released a week or two later. The Tier 3 system was closed, which included East European languages, including Russian, and exotics like Brazilians.

Sergey at Microsoft WPGI building, 1998

As members of the horizontal structures called Chapters in Agile Terminology, there were specialists who could serve a set of tasks of the same type for several teams. For example, localization engineers from the Polish and Czech teams made intermediate builds for all Tier 3 languages, and the next time it was entrusted to the Russians and Slovaks, and so on in a circle. Accordingly, Russian Windows localizers periodically connected to the translation of internet Explorer or Office, if the situation required it in those units.

The role of chapter leads was performed by the most advanced program managers from the Tier 1 squads, who monitored the maintenance of qualifications not only in their squad, but throughout Tiers, periodically gathering employees with the same functions for meetings and trainings. The goal of the leader leads is to educate a self-confident “universal soldier,” who, without prejudice to the cause, can replace a sick or departed colleague from any Tier.

Guilds (Guilds) were composed in the form of communities of Irish senior localizers and other specialists and representatives of developers in the United States. They exchanged info on new features in the next build and opinions on how these features work in general - you need to translate the interface. It was not always possible to build new builds smoothly, but the third stage of languages ​​with a minimum of prestige had their advantages. Tier 1 teams shared with Tier 2 and Tier 3 tips on what the modules are and in what situation they crash, and how they overcome these problems. In other words, there was no parallel work on the solutions of the same problems (Agile rulez).

Sprints in the development were invented long before the time intervals between the intermediate builds were proposed by Agile Kouchi.

Between the intermediate builds, the units were given a period of 2 weeks. This will later be called sprints as part of the Scrum approach. A new countdown began with a squad rally in which there was a report for the past 2 weeks, the performance of the intermediate build was assessed, and tasks were set for a new sprint. An intermediate build is what MVP is now called in Agile (minimum viable product). When you see that let's say some kind of Windows is released as an assembly with a four-digit number, it was that very long way from sprint to sprint.

At the head of the rally of the detachment, Product Ouner or his deputy usually sat, and a scrum master on duty was nearby. The position of the master was highly respected. This person wrote down questions from employees and solved all sorts of working problems, such as getting additional computers to the groups for testing, transferring to America the purchase orders for the latest and most advanced hardware in America, such as CD burners, USB adapters and other samples - to see UI messages which will give Windows when they are connected.

By the way, such nonsense as the daily rallies of teams in MS of those times did not go around (oh, yes, standups, they are daily, they are a pioneer camp on the road like "Peter, what are you going to do today?" And meanwhile, Peter is already under 40, - this is one of the pillars of today's Ajail, ha ha). In general, reporting was minimal, a maximum of a week. They just knew how IT people do not like bureaucracy.

Preparedness for change is more important than following the original plan.


It is not known that the developers smoked in Redmond, but the new Windows that arrived from there to localize the Fitch struck me with their dampness and inconsistency. It was possible in the soap for a month to work on translating the UI of some features, when it was suddenly announced that this was all canceled, and it won’t go into the release.

At first we believed in similar feints, but then we learned to carefully hamster (archive) all the work in the translation memory. And not in vain - something could easily return to the next sprint, and then by pressing the Autotranslate button all such UI turned out to be localized in almost an instant. Of course, then you had to look at the screens with your eyes, cut some windows (fit the dimensions), correct something in the translation, but still an order of magnitude faster than localizing again.

By the way, for the localization of software, MS has its own internal product called Microsoft Localization Studio. It is not sold on the open market, as considered one of the corporate know-how and advantages over competitors.

About team motivation without newfangled bullshit


Here is a lyrical digression about the motivation of the Agile team. All the beautiful words that you will hear from Agile Coach and CIO about new unique methods of team motivation - complete bullshit, invented for lemmings. There is only one method of motivation tested over centuries (the situation of war does not count), and it is called loot. And not just loot, but such a mega-loot, which is very painful to lose.

In Microsoft of those times, this motivator was skillfully and very efficiently executed. All employees from top to bottom, except those on temporary contracts, received the so-called share-option (share options). They were handed out according to the results of the fiscal year in different quantities (position, KPI). This is such a method of rewarding when an employee received additional income from the exchange rate growth of shares in the stock market from allocated shares for use (the shares themselves remained in the ownership of MS). If desired, the employee could buy shares in the property, and these amounts were deducted from the salary without withholding personal income tax. Employers of the Russian Federation, how do you like it?

Simple localizers and software engineers were charged an average of 1000 cher-opshn per year, but I can’t say how much they received Product Ounera, but apparently more by an order or two. Moreover, the income from the growth of shares was not allowed to be used immediately, but with a delay, after 5 years of “owning” another portion of the share-option.

At that time, Microsoft's stock price was growing almost linearly every year. People who started working in the Dublin office in 1991, by 1998 already received income from a shera-opsh, comparable to the salary under the contract. They bought houses and Mercians on them. And in front of them there was invitingly looming new money from those share-operations that were issued recently, i.e. 1-5 years ago. So the man was mega-motivated and attached to the team. And when the IT specialist’s material problems are resolved, then why not work.

Microsoft Release Day


Alpha version, Beta, release candidate and here it is, a CD with Windows 98 in a beautiful box.
We did it, guys!

What, what, but they knew how to make a celebration of the release of Windows at Microsoft. All day, the Dublin development center with a staff of several thousand employees did not work completely, an orchestra played in the courtyard of the business campus, and a string of grocery vans from catering brought everything and brought food and drinks. Super bosses made speeches, and marketing handed out souvenirs to employees with the emblem of a new product, T-shirts, caps. You could get a more memorable souvenir from the boss, such as in the photo.

Book signed by Bill Gates, 1998

A budget was allocated to departments for evening visits to pubs, and when employees took a seat at the tables, Product Ower solemnly announced “Taps open!” - i.e. any drink in the pub is free and in unlimited quantities. Well, Ireland has its own traditions.

Instead of a conclusion. When I hear today about Agile as a new method of software development, - and especially they like to ask about this at interviews, - Camon Geis, nothing is new under the Moon. If you need the correct scholarly answers about the terms from Wikipedia, you will collect performers, but do not get motivated creators.

And yes, motivation. Which of the employers in Russia is ready to share shares with ordinary employees? AND? That's it ...

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