I was eager to hear what MS is up to. I was told by quite a few folks (I met folks who've attended over six of these events!) that this years summit was quite different from previous year's. This year they were not only interested in telling us what they're doing, but also eager to get the feedback of MVPs. I think that is a good thing.
A lot of what I heard are under NDA (and in some sessions we were specifically asked not to blog about). Overall, I am very positive in different areas.
The second common word I heard (the first common word I heard is not printable) was dogfooding. Another things I heard is the desire to be more agile and shorten the development-feedback cycle.
I was quite happy at the way they heard our comments and criticisms (at least in the events that I attended). Also had opportunity to meet some brilliant people on campus, at the event, and at the dinner as well. I had opportunity to catch-up with some good friends, and also to make a few new ones.
On a lighter note, when Ted introduced me to Billy Hollis, he said he makes fun of everyone including agile folks, and is working on creating a domain for (if I heard him right) Automated Scrum Meetings. I quickly suggested that it should be Certified Automated Scrum Meetings and Neal swiftly agreed that is a great idea as the domain can then be called c(h)asm.
Overall I am happy I took the time to attend—thank you for inviting us over.
