Carnegie Mellon West Software Management Blog

Chandra is a second-year grad student, a Director, Product Strategy at Oracle, a dedicated father and husband, and he plays a mean game of Wii Tennis. Check back often to read his new insights!

Dan is an IT Systems Architect at Boeing and a first-year grad student in the MS Software Management program. He loves reading , biking, and hanging out with friends over a cup of coffee. Most importantly though, he loves education! And thinks the ability to learn is one of the greatest things about people. His favorite quote is “A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.”

Product Marketing and Human-Computer Interaction Courses

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We concluded our course on Product marketing this week with a little get-together for the local students after the final presentation at the plenary session. Students from India, North Carolina, Washington, and Southern California missed a lively conversation and some excellent food and drinks.

But that was all they missed. This semester was exciting and the students, regardless of their location, shared in these experiences. This was our semester to choose an elective course. The reasons for choosing the electives ranged from wanting to learn a new subject area to improving in an area that would have an immediate impact on their career. However, whatever the reason for their choice of elective, they were unanimous in their feedback – they learned new ways of looking at problems and challenges when dealing with a product requirement, product design, or business strategy and launch.

The Product Marketing course and the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) course together provided a foundation for successful design and launch of products and the critical process we need to follow and controls we have to keep in place. The course challenged us to bring our focus back to customer needs and to design and deliver a solution to the customer problem. Too many a times as engineers we get engrossed in our view of the world and completely miss the voice of the customer in our products and then in the delivery of these products.

We had some excellent guest speakers for the product marketing session which provided us a pragmatic view of customer-focused marketing and a perspective from sales, product management, marketing operations, marketing communication, product launch, and strategy functions. They reinforced the customer as the most critical cog of the business. This augmented the learning from the excellent mandatory reading and optional reading assignments.

I can summarize this course as well as the learning so far – “Its all about the customer”.

We have a three-week break before the start of the next semester. I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with my family. The next semester will have to wait.

A piece of advice for the season based on a personal experience, I highly recommend you test for carbon monoxide detectors in your homes or install new ones in case they are not working. Please have a safe holiday season.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you … I will see all of you on the bright side of year 2008.

posted by Chandra @ 2:05 PM  0 comments

It's paying off already!

Well it’s been some time since I’ve written. A lot has gone on! Though my coursework in Metrics has kept me quite busy, it’s sure paid off at work. In only 14 weeks, I’ve already been promoted and asked to be on an enterprise-wide committee. It hasn’t come really, from people hearing about me being in a master’s program, so much as it’s come from the skills I’ve been learning being turned right around and used at work to gain some very valuable visibility.

I’ve often heard it said that the measure of a man is not measured in the length of his knowledge, but the width of his actions. I’ve certainly found that to be true, especially at Carnegie Mellon West. A lot of masters degrees I think, are geared towards knowledge collection, be it preparation for a PhD or more of an intellectual pursuit of sorts. But Carnegie Mellon West in contrast is very much geared towards knowledge through application. One does become a great academic, going through some interesting material, but it’s all things that can be directly applied to your work the next day! This isn’t a masters where you can read a book and call it a day, oh no my friend, much is expected and in turn a whole lot is learned.

This isn’t ground school you might say, it’s more like the actual flight lessons. “Learn by doing” is no doubt an unofficial motto, because I’ve seen it throughout the program so far. A lot of my classmates have become friends as well, which naturally comes from spending 5-10 hrs a week in sessions with 3-4 people. I have no doubt these connections will last me far beyond the program, and getting this kind of insight has been great as well. I very much look forward to seeing what the final presentations look like, and how my classmates take what they’re learning in the work force and apply to the material we’ve been given. It’ll not only give me an insight into the minds people at companies like Yahoo, and Google but will also help me hone my own skills here at Boeing.

Until next time,

Daniel Maycock

posted by Dan Maycock @ 10:37 AM  0 comments

Soup's On - Join the fun at Carnegie Mellon West!

My name is Daniel Maycock, and I’m a Masters of Science in Software Management student at Carnegie Mellon West. I’m also a Project Manager at Boeing in Everett, Washington. I recently just completed my first course, and boy did it stretch me! I thought having just left my undergraduate experience a mere two years ago, this graduate program would be a slam dunk, but it really stretched me. Not in a bad way of course, rather, a very very good way, a way in which I grew along with my team. And though it took some hard work, I could tell I was a stronger person at the end of the course. This is something people of all ages can benefit from too, in all stages of their careers, because Carnegie Mellon West is geared to grow you in the place you’re weakest while fine-tuning your strengths.

One of the best things about this program is the fact that I have such diverse classmates and teammates. They come from all different industries, experiences (both personal and professional), and a huge part of the learning experience is being able to utilize each others’ strengths and help each other through our weaknesses. For example, one of my classmates was struggling to devote enough time to the assigned reading material, while another of my classmates did have the time to spare. We divvied up responsibilities, and that teammate was able to do the in-depth reading and research and share with us his findings, while my time-strapped classmate was able to interpret and provide great insight because of his professional experiences.

The time-strapped student learned how to do more with less time, whereas the other student learned new insights beyond what he was able to get from the reading material. Both students lacked something, but grew in different areas working together – this is Carnegie Mellon West at its core!

And the conversations that came out of the class, my gosh! You couldn’t get this anywhere else, learning from so many backgrounds and experiences simultaneously – it’s like cooking a fine stew with a bunch of ingredients, coming together to make an amazing meal. Sure you might have access to some salt, or paprika, maybe even some cayenne – but parsley? Forget about it! You’d need to sign up for a week long seminar on gardening just to get a taste of parsley! But at Carnegie Mellon West, your classmate is the parsley and you just happen to the garlic they were looking for. You mesh together, along with your other classmates, and before you know it – you’re entering your minestrone recipe in the county fair and getting first place! Yes my friends, you too can win the county fair – but you have to jump in the Carnegie Mellon West pot and see what’s cooking.

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t like minestrone and I’m doing fine on my own.” Here’s the thing though, not only are corporate folks in these classes, but entrepreneurs too! And the faculty come from backgrounds in VC’s, start-ups, established corporations, etc – it’s like the ultimate knowledge bank, waiting for you to make withdrawals (or soups). Plus my degree has been turning heads, not only because there’s lots of CMU alumni where I work at Boeing, but also because Carnegie Mellon is so well respected. (#2 in Computer Engineering by US News & World Report, and #7 in business and engineering).

My experience so far has been an amazing one, and it’s only been seven weeks. The books are all books I’d buy anyways for my IT career, but now I have an excuse to spend money on them and get my wife to go along with it. Who doesn’t need an excuse to buy more books though! And the time commitment fits great, people with kids & families study and participate right along with yours truly (who has no kids at the moment, *knock on wood*).

The best way I can end this first blog is, if you imagine the coolest thing in the world – it may cause you to pass out which is a health risk and is not suggested. Well, think of the coolest thing you can WITHOUT passing out, and you’ll probably be thinking about pizza or a beach, but after seven weeks in this program you’ll be thinking about Carnegie Mellon West (not on a beach though, sand gets in the computer, it’s bad news). If you don’t believe me, just ask the hundreds of students that have made Carnegie Mellon West their graduate education choice!

The soup’s just right, so pull up a chair! We could use whatever fun flavors you can contribute, and hopefully you’ll be able to take some new recipes with you as well.

posted by Dan Maycock @ 2:48 PM  0 comments

Back to School and the Electives

I cannot deny that the 3 weeks break after the first year of the MS in Software Management was timely and needed.

The start of the second year required us to choose between the various courses offered as electives. For example, this semester we were offered a choice of four courses, each one running as a mini-semester of 7 weeks. Typically the semester is 14 weeks long, and if the semester is broken into two, you would have a mini-semester of 7 weeks each. In either case you do get a week off after the first 7 weeks of the mini-semester.

We had excellent choices for electives this semester. We had to choose between Business Strategy and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) for the first mini and Product Marketing and Open Source for the second mini.

I elected to take the course on HCI and Product Marketing for this semester.

There are six of us in the HCI course and this contributes to a very interactive session. Instead of breaking into two groups of three each, we decided to work as a single team. This gives us twice the time with the coaches and the faculty as well as the experience of dealing with a larger team.

The initial three weeks of this course have been extremely hectic for me, as I had to travel for work. I did not miss a lot of designated coach facilitated meetings or plenary sessions, however, I did miss a few ad-hoc team meetings and reading sessions. This brings me to the topic of traveling for business or pleasure while at school. I think it can be managed but it does put undue pressure on your team members especially if you are traveling overseas or to the east coast from the west coast as connectivity while traveling is still an issue and is compounded by the time difference.

I don’t know the solution to this issue except to minimize traveling as much as possible. Luckily, the meetings remain flexible, so I can continue to keep up with my course assignments and not put all the burden on my teammates.

I am really enjoying and learning a lot in this course. Next week I will discuss HCI.

posted by Carnegie Mellon West @ 3:18 PM  0 comments

Family Matters

In this blog, I am going to share some personal background and how I strive to bring balance between family, work, and school.

Family time was one of the main concerns that I had before starting the MS in Software Management. At that time, my wife was about to join work again after her maternity leave. I started the course after bargaining with my wife and promising on making radical changes related to my working habits. My wife works for a non-profit organization and we have two kids – My daughter ‘Angelica’ is 5 years old and my son ‘Arjun’ is 18 months old.

Work-study-life balance is one of the main questions that I get asked by students who are joining the software management program.

One year into the program, I am not going to pretend that it was easy; or that the tips I am sharing with you were straightforward to implement. However, I have reaped many benefits since I made changes in my life to embark on this journey and accommodate the demands of school. Some highlights of the changes include:

1. Special time for my family: Sunday is our family day. We try to finish all weekly chores before Sunday. We plan the day so that most of the day is spent outdoors. We finish the day early (usually by 6:00 pm), as the kids get tired out from the day’s activity. I do not typically compromise on this time. This gives me more than enough time in the evening to catch up on weekly readings, planning my schedule for the week, and an occasional series on TV.
2. Work and the commute: I live in South San Jose and work in San Mateo. The commute is close to 40 miles each way. I used to drive to and from work everyday and I can tell you that it was extremely stressful, especially now that I can compare that to my experience of carpooling/vanpooling for the last 3 months. This has helped me start and end my day in a very planed and predictable manner. I typically sleep or read a book and find myself refreshed when I reach the office or arrive back home in the evening.
3. Spread the schoolwork evenly: Fridays and Saturdays are typically reserved for completing pending school assignments that I could not finish over the week. However, I usually reserve the reading assignments for the early part of the week, starting on Sunday nights. I find that reading earlier in the week is more beneficial, since the plenary sessions at Carnegie Mellon West reinforces the ideas from the reading. These sessions are run typically on Tuesday or Wednesday for about 2 hours.

Listed below are some of the rules that have helped me make the changes that I have listed above. They might work for you as well:

1. I make sure that family comes first. Grades at school or a minor snafu at work can be fixed. You will be surprised that if you do not follow this rule, you will push your family pretty hard and into a corner.
2. I do not try to do everything at work or at school. The art is to divide and conquer as a team. I know we live in an era of sports and entertainment where a lot of credit is given to “megastars,” who can do everything on their own. I am not saying, “don’t shine or showcase your abilities”; on the contrary, I believe that it is more important to “choose wisely and execute to the best of your abilities”.
3. Plan your time well in advance for family time, work, and school. Work can always throw a curve ball at you in terms of last minute fire-drills and deadlines. Don’t be afraid to ask about the relevance and timeline of the task. Push back on schedules or re-assign to others in case it deviates and messes up your weekly plan or larger career or educational goal. Give enough time to yourself for preparing and planning for each task.
4. Be true to yourself and your family, your peers at work, and school. Do not over-extend yourself and over-promise. If you do, you will find yourself giving more excuses and reasons for why you are behind on a task or you might find an unhappy family.
5. Start the day early at work and complete the day on time. You will be surprised that this small change can actually help your family plan better as well. When I get home now each day at 6:15 pm, my daughter is done with her school-work and reading and the dinner is always ready. This gives us time to spend with the kids before they go to sleep. My wife and I make sure that the kids are in bed by 8:30 pm. I work on my job or school related tasks through midnight. This was not the case before I joined the program. Earlier, I would come home any time from 8:00 pm through 10:00 pm.

Embarking on this journey through grad school (especially at Carnegie Mellon West where you learn by doing) puts the responsibility on you to manage your time well so that you can do justice to the task at hand and to your peers. Carnegie Mellon West courses are designed to accomodate the busy professional with family obligations, however its still up to you to make changes to your daily routine to include special times for family, work, and school because family matters.

posted by Carnegie Mellon West @ 3:45 PM  1 comments

Winding Down One Class and Gearing Up for Another

posted by Carnegie Mellon West @ 12:01 PM  0 comments

Method and Process of Learning at Carnegie Mellon West

I thought it would be helpful to give you some of the methods and processes I've seen employed so far at Carnegie Mellon West, and some of the "take-aways" I've gathered from it:

You are only as good as your team and vice versa
CMU West provides a holistic learning experience by providing a team-oriented and learn-by-doing approach. What this means is that most of the tasks are completed as part of a team. The faculty, at the start of the semester, create the teams for each course. The team members work together to accomplish both team and individual tasks as well as manage team and individual learning. For each of the courses so far, I have had a new set of team members. Typical teams so far have ranged from about 3 students to 5 students.

As you divide the task and create roles amongst the team to accomplish a particular task, you begin to improve your team management skills, communication skills, and learn from each other in a collaborative environment.

In each task through the first 2 semesters, I tried to take up different roles; from editor to researcher to team lead. My recommendation to students is to try and take up roles that they are not comfortable with and fulfill those roles to the best of their abilities while utilizing the help of your peers and faculty. As a student, you should avoid always taking roles that you are already comfortable with. Don’t be afraid to be the weak link. This is the opportunity for you to learn in a controlled atmosphere and your team members are there to help you.

And then there is the Coach
Ensuring that the team is performing to its highest potential is the job of the coach. A coach is a faculty member that observes and oversees the team dynamics as they accomplish the task, and her or she will provide suggestions and tips for improvements. The coach also helps the team avoid traps. Unlike a game of basketball or baseball, the coaches are not the ones calling the play-by-play strategy. I can draw closer comparison to a golf coach who provides tips on improving your swing.

By working in small teams under the supervision of the coach you acquire knowledge related to the course together as a team. At the same time you are going through team formation and dynamics, project management, improving people management skills, leadership skills, and communication skills.

Role-playing
As part of the learn-by-doing philosophy, in some courses team members and faculty are role-playing as part of a fictitious company. The tasks themselves mimic a real-world business problem where faculty members act as senior managers of the company and you and your team members are working on critical assignments and projects for the company. For example, in the current course for Systems and Requirements, we are working to create vision of a new product and present it to the CEO and VP of Marketing for their approval to start product development.

The plenary session
Every week there is a two-hour plenary session. The session is run more like a round-table discussion on most occasions except when the faculty wants to present something specific or we have visiting faculty. The topic of each session relates to suggested and optional reading material that are used to help in the completion of the task. These sessions provide a forum to learn from the larger class as we discuss relevant experience, and from the faculty as they share their expertise and experience.

The suggested and optional reading material
The required readings take about 3-4 hours a week, but if you read all of the optional readings too, you could double that. It is always good to plan your week such that the readings are completed before the start of the week. Considering earlier assignments are completed by Saturday, one should be done with their reading on Sunday or latest by Monday.

The ad-hoc team meetings
Not all assignments can be accomplished through designated team meetings, wiki, or emails. There are times that you need to get on brainstorming sessions that are not supervised by faculty or the coaches but are instead self-regulated by the team. These sessions improve the individual members’ communication skills.

The office hours
The faculty has open office hours to discuss any assignment related issues. But these times also function as a great opportunity for the students to speak to the faculty and take their advice on work or school-related issues. I have had the opportunity to speak to a few of the faculty members as part of their office hours and have learned a lot from them. They have been very helpful and encouraging to my inquiries and questions.

The deliverables
Each course has multiple tasks and each task could have more than one deliverable. The deliverables are typically reports that need to be submitted before a deadline that is set by the faculty or a deadline that you as a team have determined. When the team is working on a deadline set by the team members, the team acquires project management skills. One lesson I learned quickly through this process is to start thinking of the intended reader and audience of the report as each report initially has a maximum page limit that we had to adhere to.

Most courses also have at least one presentation as a deliverable. In this case you deliver the presentation to your peers or to the “senior management” (aka the faculty) of the fictitious company. The goal of the presentation could be to announce a decision related to the project, analyze a particular problem and provide solutions, or sell a new idea. The faculty as well as your peers critiques these presentations for both the style and content of the presentation.

And then to know how you did in the course
Obviously there are grades that go with each course but at Carnegie Mellon West there are other indicators that tell you how well you did.

1. Each member of the team goes through a detailed analysis of the accomplishments and contributions of every member as well as a self-appraisal. The team members share positive contributions and qualities as well as areas for improvement as part of a team meeting.
2. The coach and the faculty’s formal and informal assessment of your deliverables provide you with a running assessment of an individual as well as the teams abilities.

In summary
My grades could always be a lot better and there is room for more personal improvements but the MS in Software Management is turning out to be the best personal investment I have made in a long time.

posted by Carnegie Mellon West @ 4:01 PM  3 comments

• Product Marketing and Human-Computer Interaction C...
• It's paying off already!
• Soup's On - Join the fun at Carnegie Mellon West!
• Back to School and the Electives
• Family Matters
• Winding Down One Class and Gearing Up for Another
• Method and Process of Learning at Carnegie Mellon ...
• Systems and Requirements - I
• Metrics Class - Collaboration and Teamwork
• The First Course - Introduction to Software Manage...

• February 2007
• March 2007
• April 2007
• May 2007
• June 2007
• October 2007
• December 2007