Heads roll at Microsoft

[Newby]

That'd really suck if Microsoft went bankrupt... I'd have to learn a whole new operating system...

Good. Think outside the box.

[MyndFyre]

x86] link=topic=5352.msg62234#msg62234 date=1143514645]
If it has to happen anyway regardless (take this situation for example) it's better to throw money at them to let them hire top notch people to continue where the others left off.

That's not how it works.  This shows that you have little actual experience in the software industry.

[Warrior]

x86] link=topic=5352.msg62241#msg62241 date=1143517132]

x86] link=topic=5352.msg62234#msg62234 date=1143514645]
If it has to happen anyway regardless (take this situation for example) it's better to throw money at them to let them hire top notch people to continue where the others left off.

That's not how it works.  This shows that you have little actual experience in the software industry.

Alright, then how do you suggest they handle it? Perhaps they should post an ad in the news paper for volunteer work wanted?
That is how it's done, perhaps not as outfront as that but that's what it boils down to.

[iago]

x86] link=topic=5352.msg62243#msg62243 date=1143517781]

x86] link=topic=5352.msg62241#msg62241 date=1143517132]

x86] link=topic=5352.msg62234#msg62234 date=1143514645]
If it has to happen anyway regardless (take this situation for example) it's better to throw money at them to let them hire top notch people to continue where the others left off.

That's not how it works.  This shows that you have little actual experience in the software industry.

Alright, then how do you suggest they handle it? Perhaps they should post an ad in the news paper for volunteer work wanted?
That is how it's done, perhaps not as outfront as that but that's what it boils down to.

No, volunteer work won't help either.  Like I said, they just have to push back their targe date.  Throwing money and people at the problem does NOT fix it. 

[Warrior]

Keeping people who are doing a bad job isn't going to work either, the date has been pushed back and they have hired new people and gone to great lengths to keep their ready date. Withought money to hire people they would be volunteers, it's either you pay them or you don't.. That is throwing money at the problem and that is what's working.

[MyndFyre]

x86] link=topic=5352.msg62296#msg62296 date=1143557451]
Keeping people who are doing a bad job isn't going to work either, the date has been pushed back and they have hired new people and gone to great lengths to keep their ready date. Withought money to hire people they would be volunteers, it's either you pay them or you don't.. That is throwing money at the problem and that is what's working.

A bad job - you're operating under the assumption that the people being replaced are doing a bad job as defined by the quality of their work.  It may simply be that they don't have enough time to get all the features they want done.

Throwing money at the problem - this is what you do when you add workers to a project, not replace workers.

At least by keeping the employees on the project, they're already familiar with the codebase.

Read the book that iago suggested (The Mythical Man Month) or one that I suggested (Rapid Development) -- the one I suggested is even by Microsoft Press -- and you'll see what we're talking about.  The only way to deliver a truly quality product when you don't have enough time is to slip the date or drop some features.  Clearly their priority is features, so they've slipped the date.

[iago]

Pick two: time, quality, features.  You're going to lose out on the other one, no matter how hard you try or how much money you throw at it. 

[Warrior]

I suggest you do some reading on what's been happening with Vista then, it's clearly shown that Vista has a lot of organizational issues  and the people were replaced due to the need to rewrite media portions which in turn caused the product to be pushed back. Your logic would work if the situation were anything otherwise.