Wade Wegner

I'll be in Las Vegas again tomorrow to attend MIX08.  In it's third year, MIX is an opportunity to learn about Microsoft's strategy surrounding the future of the web, the latest Microsoft web technologies, rich user experiences, and Vista and IE8 forecasts.  It's a great event for technical strategists, creative designers, and technical decision makers.  This year, MIX will explore the following:

• High-fidelity commerce, content, media, services and security
• How new technologies can help find, retain and up-sell customers
• The latest on Silverlight, Internet Explorer, ASP.NET, Expression, Windows Live and other key technologies through keynotes, presentations, discussions, and labs

Keynote presentations will be presented by Steve Ballmer, Guy Kawasaki, and Scott Guthrie.

Here are the tracks I'll be attending:

There were other tracks that I wanted to attend, but they were filled up.  Nevertheless, I'm excited about diving into Silverlight 2, RESTful services, the MVC pattern, and .NET 3.5. 

I hope to see you there!

I recently accepted a job as an Architect Evangelist for Microsoft, working with the central region Developer & Platform Evangelism (DPE) team out of Downers Grove, IL.  I am extremely excited - this is a dream come true!  I've spent most of my career as a IT consultant largely focused on Microsoft technologies, and I think this role will really allow me to focus on my interests and passions.

The story behind how I first learned about the role, and how I came to get an offer, is long and (probably) pretty boring.  Suffice to say, I first heard about the opportunity back in September/October 2007 and had my "finals day" interview in January 2008.  Since accepting the job, life has been a complete whirlwind; as if starting as a new hire at Microsoft isn't hard enough (they really mean it when they say "drinking from the fire hose!"), we've also had to get our house on the market (moving from Colorado to Illinois) and figure out where we're going to live in Illinois.  I am so lucky to have a wife and family that are completely supportive and willing to go through this chaos with me.  Without them, there's no way I could handle all these changes.

So, today was my official first day as an Architect Evangelist.  It was a unique first day too, as I am down here in Las Vegas for the week for the Central Region DPE offsite meeting.  Not a bad way to start!  In all honesty, it should be a great way to get to know members of the team that I would not otherwise meet in person, as they are scattered across the country.  I was luck to be able to meet a few members of my local team during my final interview, and I can't wait to start working with them.  I was impressed by them all, and they seem genuinely friendly and easy to work with.  And they have blogs too (most of them, anyway); here they are (in alphabetical order):

Dave Bost - Developer Evangelist (DE)
Larry Clarkin - Architect Evangelist (AE)
George Huey - Architect Evangelist (AE)
Beth Humphreys - Infrastructure Architect Evangelist (IAE)
Robin Mestre - Platform Strategy Advisor (PSA)

I should also mention Hanu Kommalapti (AE), as he tech'd me over the phone last year.  Although he's not in my local group, I hope I'll have the opportunity to work with him.

I really can't wait to meet the rest of my new colleagues throughout the rest of the week.

Since accepting the job I have been asked the same question at least a few dozen times: what exactly is an Architect Evangelist?  I think it's the word "evangelist" in the title that throws people off.  And, to be honest, it threw me off for awhile too.  However, I've worked with many evangelists over the last few years and they have all been smart, energetic, and excited about what Microsoft solutions can do to affect change for businesses.  None of them have been preachers on a pulpit, but rather resources that are willing to help explain the benefits of the Microsoft stack.

As I'm new to the role, maybe some of the text from the job description will help:

The Architect Evangelist is a member of the Microsoft Developer and Platform Evangelism (DPE) group. The DPE mission is to secure platform adoption and revenue growth through evangelism, community engagement, relationship marketing and a vibrant solutions ecosystem. DPE is committed to broad Microsoft platform adoption and a vibrant ecosystem of customers, partners and developers. Through evangelism, marketing and sales, DPE helps secure the Microsoft platform, now and in the future.
The Architect Evangelist responsibilities include:

• Drive highly visible design wins that lead to compelling evidence and customer references.
• Being the face of Microsoft Architecture in the Local Software Ecosystem.
• Build and maintain a vibrant local ecosystem through an integrated approach to evangelism, communities and intelligent audience marketing.
• Being the Microsoft application platform trusted advisor for customers, partners and local Microsoft resources.
• Subject Matter Expertise in competitive platforms.

Build and maintain deep understanding of:

• Architectural concepts, issues and trends.
• Microsoft architectural vision and roadmap.
• Developer life cycle, Microsoft enterprise developer tools strategy, including VS.NET, .NET frameworks.
• Integration of Microsoft enterprise products, technologies, and solutions into heterogeneous environments.
• Maintain knowledge of competitor’s strategies and technologies and provide feedback to Microsoft Corp. These include J2EE, JEE, IBM Websphere, BEA Weblogic, Open Source, Sun and Oracle.

It's a tall order, and I'm sure it'll be a challenge.  But, I'm really excited about the opportunities and I can't wait to start!

Given my new role, I'm sure the character and content of this blog will change; hopefully for the better!  Please feel free to share any of your input or observations as I move forward.

Joe Shirey, an Architect Evangelist for Microsoft, has posted an eight-part series that discusses the Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) program.  If you're like me and have spent time reviewing the Microsoft Certified Architect Programs web site, and wanted a more in-depth, personal understanding of the process, you should take the time to read Joe's posts in their entirety.  Joe is one of the original participants of the MCA program, and offers a lot of insight into the process.

MCA Part I - Intro - Joe talks about his initial introduction to the MCA program when it was in the beta stage, and explains his purpose for reaching out to potential candidates.

MCA Part II - Why do you want to get the MCA? - Joe points out that the MCA is only "one way to measure an architect."  He recommends that candidates take a close look at their reasons for pursuing the MCA certification.  Take a look at some of the more common reasons he has heard when talking to customers, and his responses.

MCA Part III - Preparing the documentation - To be considered for the MCA program, you have to provide a significant amount of documentation.  Joe provides recommendations on preparing this documentation, as well as choosing a project to present.  Additionally, Joe provides some suggestions on how to present yourself to the board.

MCA Part IV - Putting together your presentation - The presentation is an important part of the process, and Joe provides some thoughts and tips on how to approach it.  Additionally, he provides some insight into what will occur during the presentation, which I found useful and illuminating.  Make sure to look at his "rough set of topics" he proposes you use to pull together your presentation, and his suggestions that follow.

MCA Part V - Other things to prepare before going in front of the board - Joe points out that you either "possess or don't posses" the skills and experience required for the program, and it isn't something you can cram for at the last minute.  That said, take the time to review and brush up on your strengths and skill sets you haven't used recently.  Also, Joe suggests asking an MCA you know to perform a mock board review for you.  Joe, are you volunteering? <grin>

MCA Part VI - The Competencies - This is a fantastic post, and really goes into what the core requirements of the MCA program are all about, as well as Joe's thoughts on the official statements.  Take the time to thoroughly review this post.  Also, note that Joe focuses on the "Solutions Architect" competency, instead of the Infrastructure or product specific competencies.

MCA Part VII - Going in front of the board - The board will grill you for two straight hours.  Joe outlines the process from a board member's perspective and also provides suggestions on things you can do to help yourself out during the review.  This is a great post, and provides a lot more insight into the process the board goes through in formulating and making their decisions.

MCA Part VIII - Getting your results - The elation of passing or the disappointment of not.  Joe shares his thoughts on the potential outcomes.  Regardless of the outcome, Joe suggests that you take a look at the feedback and better yourself.

Personally, I have been interested in the MCA program since I heard about it six months (or so) ago, and having read Joe's posts I find myself even more interested.  If nothing else, I am impressed by the amount of thought and effort put into the process by the board, and how they try to drill down into the candidate to see how they truly measure up to the "straw man".  Additionally, I was struck by the fact that the board wants to see candidates succeed, and that the rigor of the process is to reinforce that the program is a premier certification that is much more than an effort by Microsoft to push their product stack and solutions.

Again, if you're interested in the MCA program, take a look at this posts as well as Joe's blog.