Google Wave

So I was trolling the Net earlier today, and came across a small snippet somewhere about Google Wave.

So I start watching the YouTube video of a demo, and WAS BLOWN AWAY!!

This was exactly the app I was wishing I had 2 weeks ago when I was at the outplacement agency and needed to sync information (email, chats, docs etc) all in one app. Rather than having a bazzillion webpages and apps open.

Looks like the app was created by the same guys (Lars and Jens Rasmussen) who had originally created what became Google Maps.

So questions\thoughts that come to mind right now:

1. How is Google going to make money from (the marketing term being "monetize") this app?

2. The UI is already looking complicated. They should look at simplifying it.

3. They are already talking about working with the standards body to enhance HTML to support some newer features. This is the kind of stuff Microsoft used to do back when.

Geoffrey Moore on the evolution of companies

Reading Geoffrey Moore's book titled "Dealing with Darwin: How Great Companies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution"

While reading the book, I'm coming across stuff has particular bearing to my experience with the Response Point team. Response Point was an IP-PBX system built by a small team in Microsoft. (What Bill Gates once called "a small but elite team"). This team operated very much like a startup, built and shipped V1 from scratch in 2 years, and then 2 Service Packs within 6 months of each other. Then on May 5th, 2009, the entire team was eliminated as part of Layoffs 2.0 at Microsoft. The reason cited was that there wasn't a chance for business success "in the forseeable future".

Here are a few of my interpretations based off my learnings from the Response Point experience, and what Moore postulates in his book:

• There are basically 2 business architectures: complex systems and volume systems. Complex systems are low volume high touch transactions but economically expensive. Volume systems are high volume low touch, low complexity but economically inexpensive systems. Complex systems tend to be customized around a target customer. Volume systems on the other hand are targeted for the masses, optimized to meet the 3 basic values of retail markets: price, availability and selection.

  IMO, Response Point was designed to be a volume system but was marketed as a complex system.

• Volume systems require strong branding with a distribution channel that does not sell to customers, but rather allows them to buy.

  Response Point had a mixed branding issue. The units were sold under an OEM brand, with Microsoft (the stronger brand name) as a secondary brand. Also, a VAR model was used to sell the units to customers. In hindsight, one wonders if branding the units as Microsoft, and selling via channels such as Best Buy would have had a more positive impact.

James Whittaker leaves Microsoft

I was bummed to hear that James Whittaker has resigned from Microsoft: http://blogs.msdn.com/james_whittaker/archive/2009/05/21/tour-of-the-month-the-exit-stage-right-tour.aspx

James is a terrific ambassador for testing, showing the world that testing is extremely fun, highly technical and an intellectual exercise.

[Breaking news: 5\27\2009] Per this blog, James is now a Director of Test in Google!

I first noticed James as a result of his paper "What is software testing, and why is it so hard?" way back in 2000 (see embedded document below). As a tester myself, I was blown away that an academic (as I then wrongly considered James to be) knew what it was like in the trenches.

What is Software Testing and Why It is So Hard

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work Internet & Technolog Books Fiction software testing

IBM and Intuit working together for SMB solutions

There was an announcement today that IBM and Intuit are teaming up to provide small and medium businesses with bundled software and solutions: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/27543.wss

This is actually well timed, given that the government is pumping huge amounts of money into "the system" via the stimulus plan. And that SMBs are really hurting in the current economy and looking for cost reductions and improving efficiencies.

Also, SMB continues to be an underserved (and poorly understood, some would say) segment.

So all in all, a very smart move by both companies.

Starting the blog

So here goes. New blog. Posting #1.