The First Day at School

by Charles Oldham | 14 Aug 2007 | Permalink | Featured, Software, Software Engineering, Teamwork

This weekend I was again enjoying the company of my nearly four year old nephew (the nearly being important at this age) when it struck me how in many ways the journey to our new release of Tideway Foundation has parallels to him growing up.

Whilst I have been involved in many projects in my career so far many have not have had the benefit of an organised Alpha and Beta programme; nor have I had the privilege to see the project through from the start to delivery.

I recall at the start of the project the curiosity of what the future would bring as we went down the path, what twists and turns would we take?

As the weeks went by various glimpses of the new project’s personality came about and I started to feel that I understood its character a little more; helping it develop and slowly take on a life of its own with the team always ready to guide and support it. Along the way there were small diversions into little character traits that didn’t last, moments of frustration and sleepless nights.

The further down the path we got the more obvious the personality of the project was to those outside of the close team. With the fullness of time the project left the comfort of it’s creators and experienced life with other trusted parties close to its family. I’d like to thank our Alpha team for taking care of our project and helping it evolve and develop further.

In the same way that a child moves on from nursery to starting school a few days a week our project has now moved into Beta and is meeting people outside close family and friends for the first time. How those people will like our project, how our project will react to them?

Shortly we shall be completing the Beta programme and our project will be joining the outside world standing on its own feet looking after itself. I wonder how all those hopes I have for it will work out, which choices I helped make where the right ones, what surprising benefits will we find. How will it evolve, grow and gain knowledge? Will I recognise it in a year’s time as the project I hoped it would be?

In the coming months as you meet our new release of Tideway Foundation I hope you like it. We’ve spent a lot of effort in the team trying to be good parents and prepare it for whatever the world may throw at it, as that role draws to a close I hope we have done enough.

This weekend I shall remember to enjoy the company of my nephew whilst I can, seeing the world through fresh young eyes, before he too makes his way into the wider world carrying my hopes of who he will be and what he will achieve with him.