11.6 Exercises

EXERCISE 11.1 Suppose our job was to redirect 100 software projects to use a common process or standard, such as Microsoft .Net, within one year. If we were brilliant enough to redirect one project every week, through face-to-face mentoring, it would take two years to complete the task. Nobody is that brilliant or consistently productive. We can't succeed working one-on-one. That's working hard, not smart.

The techniques of the "Making a Name" section show a way forward. The core of the strategy is to prepare and present tutorials on Microsoft .Net that will evangelize and train the developers to use the technology effectively. In addition, various process and guidelines documents can make transferring lessons learned to projects easy so that they can adopt the desired technology readily. In addition, we would add a few other elements, such as an executive policy letter directing all projects to make the transition. We would also add Microsoft .Net to the enterprise operational environment (i.e., site licensing and easy acquisition and installation by any project) [Brown 1998].

When given an intractable task such as the one described in this exercise, approach it confidently with a firm grounding in the psychological warfare techniques that will make you ultimately successful.