I guess this is why they have been unable to understand the internet, they live in an era were software was written by big groups of people and getting them to communicate meant having meetings.
I've been reading a book called Microsoft Secrets. It is a very dull book so you'll appreciate the summary.
Microsoft works on an industrial division-of-labour principle. It also works on the assumption that bugs ("defects") are enevitable. Indeed, the quantity of known bugs can be used to track the progress of a product. A product with numerous bugs gives a bad reputation and has poor sales. Products with very few bugs are more expensive to produce and users are reluctant to upgrade to subsequent versions. Ignoring the economics, there is a engineering approach to managing emergent complexity.
You'd get most value from this book by comparing it to The Mythical Man Month. There is a strong correlation with the theory in the Mythical Man Month and the observed practice in Microsoft Secrets.
I only bought Microsoft Secrets as a gift for a former manager. However, I subsequently discovered that he was a former Microsoft employee. Sometimes a gift can be too appropriate.
