Rangers Sabbatical, part 3 - MCDC
For more in this series, please visit the series index.
The MCDC (Microsoft Canadian Development Centre) was where I spent most of the day during my trip, sitting and focusing on code, drinking Dr Pepper (yet another drink no longer available in South Africa), and bugging Microsoft staff for assistance. I sat next to Willy-Peter in the unofficial VSTS section of the building, and as is my luck, the other person next to me was yet another South African working for Microsoft, named Adrian (who works on the data warehouse in TFS).
One of the cool Lego-based artworks inside the MCDC.
The MCDC was just like any development company I’ve seen in South Africa, but what really struck me was seeing how much time is spent on conference calls—and the dedication these people put into shipping quality products. Weekends and evenings are not time to relax but time to continue pushing.
An evening with Willy-Peter (far left), his two sons, and myself in typical Microsoft delivery mode—evenings are for getting more done.
Not only is the work ethic amazing, but the amount of non-coding activities required to deliver a high-quality product is equally impressive. Two aspects really stood out for me: first, the amount of work the SDL (Security Development Lifecycle) adds to a project and how every aspect of a project is checked and rechecked for security issues. The second is the understanding that the VSTS release had been delayed due to performance—and watching how much focus is put into solving the performance issues was truly amazing. Listening to the performance improvements being made left me with no doubt that they would solve it.
However, not everything about the trip to the MCDC was easy. On several days, I had to take the trip to and from the MCDC by myself (instead of following Willy-Peter), which led to some interesting impromptu tours of Vancouver from the side of the bus (anyone who claims I got lost is just a liar). However, the public transport system is amazing—there are plenty of buses and trains, all well signposted, and I was only once unsure how to get back, so I sent a quick SMS to Willy-Peter, who checked the amazing online system.
The view of an oncoming SkyTrain out the front of a SkyTrain.
The three parts of the public transport system that blew me away were the SkyTrains, which are completely automated, the SeaBus (a huge boat that ferries people across the river), and the online system. I used the online system for one trip I made, which I’ll write about in part 4. You enter the time you want to leave, your start and end locations, and it calculates a number of routes that include buses, trains, and SeaBuses to get you there.
The SeaBus (in the middle of the shot) is coming into port with Vancouver city in the background.