What does MVP mean to you?Being an MVP means many things. Obviously it is gratifying to be recognized and receive the award; however, there is a lot more to it. Firstly, it means that community works. For the last seven years I have been active in the UK IT community. Outside of my day-job, community is high on my "spare time" agenda. This manifests itself in event coordination, speaker liaison, delivering presentations, travel, and monitoring a selection of newsgroups/forums/websites for technology and community related issues. Secondly, it means that I can give something extra back to the community. As an MVP, I speak with our local Developer and Platform Evangelists via e-mail and telephone, and they are able to provide more accurate answers to me and the user groups I represent. If you could ask Steve Ballmer one question about Microsoft, what would it be?I would ask, "Is there anything in Microsoft® Windows Vista™ or Microsoft Office® 2007 that has your name on it?" When Microsoft started out in the late 1970's, the team was small and decisions were small by today's standards. Now that Microsoft is much larger, with multiple and diverse products, do you still have the same input toward the direction of most of these products? What do you think the best software ever written was?Today, I would say that the most useful piece of software that has been written is the testing framework NUnit (www.nunit.org). And I would nominate its parent software xUnit, which has been around for several years – proving that good software can have a lengthy lifespan! If you were the manager of Windows Server™ System - XML Web Services, what would you change?XML Web Services have come a long way since my first involvement with them in 1999. While we have gradually simplified web service discovery and invocation, we also have added the Trustworthy Computing security factor, a layer of complexity that discourages many developers. For educational purposes, I do much people-watching when I attend technical events. I have noticed at recent WCF, WS-* events that many attendees "give up" when the presenter reaches an explanation of the security requirements in the code base. Security is of paramount importance; however, we must find a means of providing a simplification wrapper that reduces some of its complexity. | If you were given unlimited data bandwidth, what would you do with it?I would record all of our local Scottish Developers presentations and make them available for download. Currently, bandwidth is an issue for us and adding video content would be greatly problematic. Unlimited data bandwidth would allow us to offer our technical sessions to a wider audience. What was the last book you read?I will soon finish David Platt's "Why Software Sucks... and What You Can Do about It." It is a book about user interface design, software usage/usability, software security, thoughtfulness, who has control, determining the value, and a developer putting himself in a the shoes of a user. Basically, it is a book about common sense and makes you evaluate the software you have written or have yet to write. What music CD do you recommend?I think great music can be played for productivity. I like to be able to listen to a CD from start to finish and get 60 minutes of solid work done. Thus, I would recommend Metallica’s "Master of Puppets." There, it is out, I am a metal head! What makes you a great MVP?I had to ask my wife to answer this. Apparently, I am a great MVP because I deliver presentations to large crowds, travel long distances to present at and attend user group meetings, write a few articles each month, hold a day-job, find time to focus on a demanding user group schedule, proclaim that "nothing is impossible" and still make it home to see our [20-month old] son virtually every night. What’s in your computer bag?I carry a Dell D810, lightweight charger, a plethora of USB cables for a variety of devices, a handful of USB key drives, headphones, a "Dilbert-style" array of writing implements (various colors, great for MindMaps), an umbrella (I live in Scotland), and a worldwide travel plug adaptor. I also tend to carry technical reading material and a bottle of water. | What is the best thing that has happened since you have become an MVP?I appreciate having the opportunity to meet so many people – I have met nearly 800 people at various events, which I have either attended or helped to organize. What is your motto?"Never expect the highest marks for anything, for that suggests there is no need to improve." I believe that while something can be very good, with a little collaboration, it can be continually improved. It is important to recognize that sometimes we just have to deliver something, no matter how small or how imperfect it might be - once it has been delivered, we can then work on improving it. Who is your hero?My definition of a "hero" is somebody who has done something out of the ordinary, from which we all can learn and benefit. In the world of computing, these are folks who went out on a limb to communicate something potentially controversial, such as Steve McConnell, Kent Beck and Martin Fowler. I also admire Tiger Woods, whose determination and focus have allowed him to succeed even when the chips are down. He had won all his major golfing tournaments while working with his father. Though his father died earlier this year, Tiger succeeded in winning his next tournament with even more determination. He proves that anything is possible, even when times are bad. What does success mean to you?Success is about things working, such as making a conference attractive so that folks not only attend, but also enjoy themselves and find it useful enough to provide feedback. However, true success requires collaboration and team effort. |
