An operating system development: Windows 3
Chip Anderson · International Conference on Software Engineering · 1996
Microsoft has continually refined what it has learned about developing great software into an architectural approach that is now called the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF). Within the umbrella of MSF concepts is Microsoft’s “methodology” the MSF Solutions Development Discipline (SDD). SDD describes the roles and responsibilities of product team members, the timeline and milestones they use for scheduling, and the development and testing techniques that go into creating shippable software. The author has used this process from the beginning and has watched it evolve over the years. The presentation takes you inside the Windows 1.x, 2.x, and 3.0 development teams at Microsoft. It describes what worked and what did not work during those projects. In addition, the author will describe how MSF concepts have been adapted to help numerous companies throughout the east coast of the United States. The SDD Team Model describes the six roles found inside any Microsoft team: Product Manager, Program Manager, Development, Testing, User Education, and Logistics. It also describes the interactions between each of these roles and how they work together as a “team of peers” to deliver the final product. The SDD Process Model describes the steps a team must go through and the deliverables they must generate in order to succeed. The SDD Process Model is an iterative model that uses the concepts of versioning and milestones. Major milestones include Vision/Scope Approved, Functional Spec Complete, Scope Complete, and Final Release. Deliverables include the Vision/Scope document, the Project Schedule, the Funtional Spec, and the product itself.