No column for June - Preparing for annual internal engineering event
![photo_IMWright_41[1].jpg](http://blogs.msdn.com/photos/eric_brechner/images/4287151/original.aspx)
Eric Aside
I'm taking June off to prepare for the annual event my organization runs internally for Microsoft engineers. (Not a Microsoft engineer? We can fix that.) This year the event is five days focused on various themes for improving engineers and engineering at the company. We've got one day focused on product quality, another day on software plus services, two days on design, and a day on security and privacy. Mixed in are sub-themes on innovation, environmental sustainability, project management, build and lab management, and talent and teams. It should be a great week!
We're taking some risks this year by making the event activity-based rather than lecture-based. Hands-on activities are more engaging and memorable, resulting in gaining real skills rather than "awareness." Mr. Wright could write a whole column on the abysmal absurdity of "awareness."
I. M. Wright will return next month with a column on whatever inane ignorant idiocy he encounters this month.
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About ericbrec
I. M. Wright is an alter ego of Eric Brechner. Eric is the director of engineering learning and development for Microsoft Corporation. His group is responsible for improving the people, processes, and practices of software development across Microsoft through the application of Human Performance Technology. Prior to his current assignment, Eric was director of development training and managed development for a shared feature team in Microsoft Office. Before joining Microsoft in 1995, Eric was a senior principal scientist at The Boeing Company, where he worked in the areas of large-scale visualization, computational geometry, network communications, data-flow languages, and software integration. He was the principal architect of FlyThru, the walkthrough program for the 20 gigabyte, 500+ million polygon model of the Boeing 777 aircraft. Eric has also worked in computer graphics and CAD for Silicon Graphics, GRAFTEK, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He holds eight patents, earned a BS and MS in mathematics and a PhD in applied mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is a certified performance technologist. Outside work, Eric is a proud husband and father of two boys. His younger son has autism. Eric works on autism insurance benefits and serves on the University of Washington Autism Center board. In the few remaining minutes of his day, Eric enjoys going to Seattle Mariners games, playing bridge, coaching Math Olympiad and baseball, and umpiring for Little League. Although Eric shares I. M. Wright’s passion for product, he tries to be a little more tolerant and open-minded.
