Official 2007

The first kind is the product planning personnel. Product planning personnel to main task is to survey, including survey your competitors, customers, and other city field demand. The process of product planning is a definition of the product process. They do a lot of research, by tracing user market, market research, look at the industry’s report, so as to determine the product of three to five years of development planning. As for the product planning personnel actually, the most important thing is to have prospective. Is not only can see now the market is what kind of, and more to see three to five years later would look like.

We can see a lot of Microsoft products, there is a saying that “version 3.0″, may at 1.0, 2.0 is not very good, may be the problem of function, may be staying ahead of the market’s sake, like Windows, to make, no matter from hardware or software applications to see, all without market, but through continuous improvement, to 3.0 had achieved great success. From this point of view, product planning personnel is very important.

The second class is the product management personnel. To a certain extent somewhat similar to traditional market personnel, but not completely the same. Their main task is the product to the market. Including the decisions of product positioning, pack pack. The most important thing is to convey what a user information. Also is why users buy your product, or upgrade to your product. Many people say Microsoft’s products, except for the good quality, market also do well. Like IE is a very good example of the operation of the market.

For example, IE the original user positioning, not trying to let the users have turned to Netscape IE, never do it. But the face of a new Internet users. This is very clear user positioning. In addition, different version of IE, traces the development, will need to use a simple information to users, this version than other version do any good. These are all product management personnel to do.

Next role is program management, we used to call the project management, but the last time I speak in Shanghai, students, they say the domestic project manager do very different, so here I will call in program management. Sometimes I could swap with.

At Microsoft, program management is mainly do products, at the right time to the appropriate product launch. He met the most main difficult is how to keep control. The appropriate time means that you have to control the release of product, process, can not have the delay. We all know the product process not sure is man-made factors, the release date control, this is very difficult. And to make the right choices. There are times when you can be in the release date and new properties between need to make trade-offs, or whether to take new technology, using the new tools, algorithm is necessary to what, do we need to do, what to do and not do between, make trade-offs, so as to control the characteristics of the product and make it can meet the demand of market. Program management personnel need to measure the risk of doing these things, need to measure so clear.

The three kinds of personnel to the entire product planning, to the market, and the product development process control basically settled, can be said the most critical.

The rest of the product design, the main product is the user interface or visual design. These people generally have design background. Like Microsoft products, used to user interface design or the user interaction emphasis on not many, for traditional PC, early just professional tool. But now more and more to consumers at the beginning of the wielder direction, development, so to the interface design demand more and more. The company invested in this great human. I don’t know that everyone can see the new Windows XP, or as “MSN explorer” no, these products and traditional products compare, appearance, including users how to use it. Are completely different, more attention is a holistic experience, experience.

The product design and an important work, which ensure that the product all visible part is consistent. Different modules, or different characteristics by different people may development, how to ensure the visible part of the look the same, the user will not be in a product when using suddenly feel not the same products, this depends on the product design personnel.

The fifth kind of personnel is the product availability assessment engineer, they mainly do is to ensure that the products can be used, easy to use, and can easily user acceptance. General in the product development process or early days, all have some of the prototype with, is for some characteristics what to do, how the user interaction, the design of some different prototypes, and then to a usability assessment engineer for usability testing. To determine the final plan. This is often paying more attention to the Microsoft has been.

You might have noticed in IE early version, the address bar and not Go “inside” button, just have a address bar. But then through the usability testing, found that some users to address knock in after waiting there, also do not know the press enter. That really is a person like this. So from 5.0 to start in address after Abram add button. Users of the address later on, can try to click a button to connect to the web he needed.

A class is under development personnel. Developers in Microsoft should be very important, but I feel, in contrast, is not like in our domestic some enterprise so important. Developers main work, part design some algorithm of a document or characteristics of PM that will put forward its own feedback. There are more important a piece, is to help launch products PM schedule, from when can do “beta” 1, 2, when can be released. These closely related with developers, so and developers decide it’s progress. In addition, is usually write code, programming and debugging, and later the defect repair.

The next part of the test personnel. Microsoft to test seriously. Testers in product development process to independently. Is not affected by the influence of other personnel, independently completed test. In addition some cases, will be for the user’s spokesperson, the user’s interests in the first place. If you think that this product to send out that not a line, must hold to. Of course this often cause some heated debate, decided to question what’s not definitely solution. But the end result is benefits users.

Next is a special localization Microsoft personnel. This point I want to everybody now may not be very applicable. But how do we put our future products to the world, there is a global process, also have through the localization to meet other Chinese other than the needs of the market process, so the future will certainly have the demand. And those personnel is released document. Included in this is the site document, the software of the document, this some documents are mainly help users how to use the product. And for developers, do some code examples, this is the main job of document release. We talked about traditional development of documents in the Microsoft is to finish PM, is all the program manager for the start of a project each feature writing is very detailed characteristics description.

And those people is product support personnel. It is also very important in Microsoft, on the one hand, the Microsoft deal with end users to one of the most common way, often have many users call asking the question, the future in the next version will be it out. And the most important in the Microsoft for, each scored a phone user is to spend money, in fact product support directly affect the company’s sales turnover. To provide more rapid more effective user a hold, is the most important link.

Finally a role is to operations management, the actual is website operation management. And you know, Microsoft products at present more and more and Internet tightly integrated, like we do now “Hotmail”, “MSN Calendar” and other products, itself is a web site. Operation management role it is no, this is just for two or three years out of the new development role, in the future will be more and more important. Because you and the traditional do so-called product packaging. Before you can say I put my CD finished, product release, do not have a thing.

Because users buy the product, you already make money. The actual doing even machine online service, you software release is just the start, as long as the users use a day you all need to spend money, will affect the whole of your profit. In fact online management is very complicated, such as “Hotmail”, now has more than one hundred million and one thousand users. In a front-end about five thousand more servers running Windows 2000, to meet user login. The background and many of the server to send and receive E-mail, storage, is a complex system, because the underlying network, have hardware and operating system, and the above your application, plus the Internet itself is not sure of the environment. How to break the complex system management, it can be very challenging.

Because the traditional application with is different, the user can go away. And there’s a lot of uncertainty, like our traditional products, users buy more, I make more money. But in the machine, the user is more sometimes may also be a problem, you may not support is so many users. Such as the many people to visit, your site is can meet the needs of users access to so much. A website is often needed to advance to flow, or to users make comparison with accurate prediction. Operation management in Microsoft will be more and more important, while many of the product design will affect what you can run well. So the other workers also puts forward new requirements.

At present basically, operation management, product planning, product management and program management these four types of people in fact in the main promote a product process. Others play is a passive, or focus on the role of specific things do. But every role, is indispensable.

We talked about Microsoft front now basically have eleven type of work. How to put these people to organize, can more effectively to go into the development process? Microsoft now basically is a so-called existing structure. In the most basic organization inside the company is a product units, such as like IE is a product of unit. Products of managers will have a unit budget, someone rich. In each product units, in administrative according to the type of job you to differentiate, as the project manager, he above can have a general project manager group leader, such as developers have a development group leader, testers also. This is in the administrative organization.

Administrative organization structure is mainly is for you to make some of the performance evaluation, including future will give you a wage increase. Doing a product when, in each product within the element group, according to different characteristics and divided into each of the project team with, the basic principle of hope is divided by a very capable very small team to develop them. Because I said according to different characteristics of the product to differentiate organization, so ask you in the product design, the product can into smaller modules and small characteristics, and then between each other and not a lot of compliance relationship.

Because of the interaction or cross across the group of compliance is the most difficult of the relationship management. Each team by project manager in basically, or program manager to lead, to responsible for a feature, will have the developers, and there will be testing personnel, basically developers and testers are usually a percentage than a, such a group of about 10 people, is the most basic development unit. Some relevant decision with technology is basically a project manager, will not have the person above or so your decision. This organization structure can make in some business and technology soon do some decisions, and because each group of people less, can make a big team like small team so soon move, efficiency will not be affected.

Lift it IE products for example group. It in different period have different personnel, the number is also different. The first is IE1.0 several people, IE2.0 may be 40 people, to basically came IE4 300 project team. In 300, people in the project team is such composition, a unit is the product manager, this because the most basic unit based on products for units, so products unit manager is the big boss. Below are five product planning personnel, product managers have twenty, project manager fifty, developers one hundred, testers also have one hundred, and the document release, because IE is some SDK, also have some online web pages and help files.

Documents have 10 people personnel. The personnel structure is also according to the characteristics of the product, or you in this version of the emphasis of the middle you to decide. Also in IE product group. In IE5.5, and more than 300 people, but this time the project manager is only 15 people, less than IE4 fifty people a lot, developers also only 40 people, because to IE5.5, basically big characteristics of stability has, for the end user IE5.5 do work to less, mainly in the stability and performance do improve, in addition to some companies and enterprise users do some support, so the development personnel and project manager reduced Numbers, but testers many, testing staff 200 people, this is mainly in the less IE4 feel, so when in IE5 organization an independent test team tested.

IE industry group is divided into ten project team, each group is about 10 to 50 people, basically is responsible for a product module, like browsing, or HTML editor and print. But there are some time a project manager will be responsible for more than one characteristics, and even some developers may he in some ways have expertise, he needs to be in different flow between organization, so this organization is actually a dynamic.

Below we talk about Microsoft product development process. The development process of the classification of the basic principle is hoping to be big project into a number of landmark development cycle, and in each cycle is to consider some redundancy, make your development cycle more practical. Through the objective description to ensure that all people along the same direction is development. The use of product characteristics described to guide the development process. At the same time use of the user data to determine some characteristics of the take house, or priority scheduled. Add do not add this feature, not developers feel good, I will do this thing, often from the user to consider or Angle, the user how much revenue from middle to decide.

And more important is the unity of the term. In Microsoft just go in when also can do such training, will please all kinds of role do a lecture, probably need to-well, six hours. Among them are for many terms, abbreviations, and to the development of the model is introduced. In order to ensure that everybody understands is unified. So you can ensure that both in work or discuss, everybody understanding is the same.

At one point in the development process of our products incessantly test, not finished to a certain stage began to test, because often the that time is often too late.

Microsoft product development process is divided into four stages, the first stage is the planning stage, the stage is basically the product planning personnel as well as the project manager to drive, the stage is mainly to accomplish such things affection: one is the objective description. Based on this product goal, we already know, what we need to do, what features do to achieve this goal, so they decided to provide the products of what function. And then shall according to the function to PM write corresponding specifications.

General product specification, is the traditional said at technical documents, basic will write two times, the first to write a simple, list you this function or you hope to achieve the characteristics of what demand, tell us the whole of a product which related to the target, between the products compliance, why are you doing this feature. Finish this page characteristics described later, everyone will sit together, have a look, scheduled to a priority level, what do we do first, which have the possibility to do, or what is the next version. Put the things done, program manager will write a more detailed characteristics shows that this is guiding development, testing the whole process of technical document. Basically have commonly a some templates.

In the planning stage, when all the characteristics after the specifications, and schedule time schedule. This agenda schedule often needs to participating people by development. See these product specifications, according to your experience to do the estimate how long it takes to still need to scored some redundancy, finish this after, product planning stage is done.

The sign of finished product stage, is objective description, all characteristics specifications, and schedule of the complete schedule. This into the second stage, namely the development phase. Because we have our own characteristics described, has known what way. So according to these characteristics, this one phase, divided into three to four small stage. The basic principle is the division of the important characteristics of each other or compliance to make some time left the important. In the second or third will do between period. This is a period of development to promote personnel.

All developers began to write the code, for every developer has a corresponding tester, developers will write code to take to test. This phase is the sign of the so-called properties completed, or call code completion, also is all this property has been developed over. Then move to the next phase, the testing phase. The testing stage mainly by testers push. During the development phase also have test in progress, but in the testing phase carry on the main is integrated test, like installation, compatibility tests, performance, or the other aspects of the test.

In addition must usually offer some “beta” version, let users to practical use and back feedback. This phase will have more “bug” come in, but this one phase basically won’t add some new characteristics. This stage is the sign of the end of the so-called “zero defect”. Microsoft has some defects or to track called “bug” tools, if these tools to see from the cycle has not released any activity bug, this marked the stabilization stage has ended. There is now a trend, is stabilization stage better and long, thereby better guarantee the quality of its products.

The zero defect, into the next phase of the release. In this one phase everybody will continue to track the bug state, confirm that it can be released until……. General will make a CD, or make it to online. Finally released by the product manager will stage, the project manager, and operation management of the person to execute.

Sum up, Microsoft products group had a clear division of work and different roles, product development by four phase composition, namely the stage of planning, development, testing and stabilization stage and final release stage. The general rule in Microsoft a is a detailed division of labor and the division of responsibilities, through all the role of all control of the product development process. I just talk about four process, eleven role, but every character are in fact not synchronous.

Such as product planning personnel, in the first stage, and the second phase of product planning staff will have some work to the third stage because characteristics have completed, will not have new features, product planning staff have already started to do the next version. But the product manager will continue to do this product to ensure that the product to continue. And customer demand determine product direction and goal, often doing some decision to consider is the customer and market, very few purely for technology and other reasons. The most important is the big project into several’s project, is gradual, not a lot of problem solving blow. And objective description and product features, that is our traditional text file, this is for the whole project played the guidance function must be defined to very clearly, so that everyone can see it.

Finally, from the project began to let all people to step in. Because good product is designed, not the final developed, because the basically decided later, development of the late stage is complete. If the design with a defect, such as do not consider the technical support, it’s hard to do later.