Congratulations to Matthew Roche, the 2007 Iron Architect. His winning submission is attached.
Attachment(s): Iron Architect 2007 - Matthew Roche.pptx
John Lomnicki's submission.
Attachment(s): IronArchitect - Jlo style.pptx
Jeff Loucks' submission.
Attachment(s): JeffLoucks-IronArchitect.ppt
Horacio Randazzo's submission.
Attachment(s): Horacio Randazzo.pps
Come join us to watch the final showdown in the ARC Track interactive theater (Blue 9) at 4:30 on Thursday, 7 June!
Don't miss out on your chance at a Microsoft Certified Architect certification, worth $10,000!
Submit your proposal to ironarch@microsoft.com by 6 p.m. TODAY (Wednesday, 6 June).
What is Iron Architect?
Iron Architect is a contest based on your architectural skill. We give you a challenge -- details on a system we'd like you to architect. Much like the Iron Chef, you receive the ingredients and have only a very short time to respond and present your solution. You match wits against your peers to see who can architect the best system to address the challenge.
What is the challenge?
Please see below -- the challenge is outlined in detail.
What is the prize?
Our Iron Architect contenders will be competing for:
- one grand prize: a Microsoft Certified Architect certification (valued at $10,000)
- two first prizes: Uniden Win1200 cordless internet phone -- you can connect it both to your landline and your computer to phone Microsoft Live Messenger contacts
How do I sign up?
Submit your proposal to ironarch@microsoft.com by Wednesday at 6.
When are submissions due?
Wednesday, 6 June, at 6:00 p.m. (that should be easy to remember -- the 6th at 6!)
What do I submit?
A PowerPoint presentation or Word document outlining your solution. Remember that the final presentations are 5 minutes in length -- so please keep your submission to what you can present in 5 minutes. We suggest 5 or fewer slides, if you submit in PowerPoint.
What happens after I submit?
Your proposal will be reviewed by our panel of judges on Wednesday night, and if you are a finalist you will be notified Wednesday night asking you to get ready to present your proposal in the final showdown on Thursday, 7 June at 4:30 p.m. in the ARC Track interactive theater (Blue Interactive Theater 9).
What is the "final showdown"?
The final showdown is where our finalists present their solutions to our panel of three judges (who will not be dubbed into English...unlike Iron Chef). Each finalist gets 5 minutes to present and then takes questions from our judges.
When is the final showdown, and can I just watch?
Please come by the ARC Track interactive theater (Blue Interactive Theater 9) at 4:30 on Thursday, 7 June to see our finalists go head to head for the title of 2007 Iron Architect! (and of course you can just watch -- cheer them on!)
Can I see all the final submissions?
All submissions -- and the winner list -- will be posted on this blog. So stay tuned!
Whom do I contact with questions?
- Stop by the ARC Track booth in the Blue area in the Technical Learning Center at Microsoft,
- or email ironarch@microsoft.com
We've had some good questions about the contest today -- and we'd be happy to answer any of yours. All you need to do is stop by the ARC booth in the Blue area of the TLC at TechEd, or email your comments to ironarch@microsoft.com. If you want to schedule time with us to run your questions by us, we'd be happy to do so -- again, just email the ironarch alias.
To clarify for anyone who read the blog posts before they were corrected tonight, the time of the final showdown was off by 15 minutes. It will be from 4:30 - 5:45 in the ARC track interactive theater.
If you are interested in participating in the Iron Architect 2007 contest, please submit a Word document or Powerpoint presentation to ironarch@microsoft.com before Wednesday evening, 6 June. Presentations must be no longer than 5 minutes in length, and we ask that you limit your Powerpoint presentations to 5 slides.
Participants must be at TechEd and available to present in the ARC track theater between 4:30 and 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, 7 June.
Microsoft's Iron Architect Contest
Official Rules
By entering the Microsoft Iron Architect Contest (the "Contest") you agree to be bound by these Official Rules.
1. ELIGIBILITY. Open to residents of the 50 United States (includes D of C) who are attending TechEd 2007 in Orlando, FL. Employees of Microsoft Corporation, and their affiliates, parent companies, participating vendors, subsidiaries and advertising and promotion agencies, and anyone working directly on this program, product and promotion and the immediate family members or those living in the same household of each ("Sponsor and Administrators") are not eligible to enter.
2. CONTEST DESCRIPTION. The Contest is skill-based, and the object is to provide the best answers to a series of technical questions. For purposes of this Contest each submission in answer to the problem is called your "entry."
3. ENTRY PERIOD. The Contest begins at 12:01 AM PDT on 29 May 2007 and ends at 11:59 PM PDT on 6 June 2007 ("Entry Period"). All entries must be received prior to the close of the Contest Entry Period.
3. HOW TO ENTER. No purchase necessary. To enter visit http://blogs.msdn.com/ironarchitect or the ARC track lounge at TechEd to pick up the contest description. Each entry should consider the judging criteria. Entries can be in any form the participant chooses to enter as long as the entry covers the criteria below. Participants are encouraged to think creatively.
All entries submitted must be original, must not have been previously published, released or distributed and must have been created and owned exclusively by the entrant submitting the creation. All submissions may be posted on a publicly accessible web site following the contest. Microsoft disclaims any and all liability for any infringement of any 3rd parties rights in any submission caused by any entrant.
Limit 1 unique entry per person. Subsequent entries submitted by the same Entrant in excess of the limit will be disqualified.
4. JUDGING: A panel of Microsoft Architect and MVP judges will review eligible entries based on the following criteria and select one winning team:
- Leadership
- Strategy
- Communications
- Lifecycle Process
- Organizational Dynamics
- Technology Depth
- Technology Breadth
The decisions of these judges are final and binding. Judges will select the winners, on or about 7 June 2007, and will collect the required Forms discussed in "Section 6" below. Given a qualified number of entries are received, up to, but no more than one team of winners will be chosen.
5. ENTRIES PROPERTY OF SPONSOR. All Entries become the property of Sponsor and Administrators and will not be returned. By submitting your Entry, you grant Sponsor and Administrators an irrevocable royalty-free, worldwide right, in all media (now known or later developed) to use, publish, alter or otherwise exploit your Entry. You hereby forever release the Sponsor and Administrators from any and all claims you might have in connection with their use and exhibit of your Entry as set forth above. You also agree to sign (your parent or legal guardian if you are a minor in your state of residence) any necessary documentation to effectuate that license and release. If you do not want to grant Sponsor and Administrators the foregoing, please do not enter the Contest. Sponsor and Administrators are not obligated to use the Entry, even if it has been selected as a Winning entry.
6. WINNERS' NOTIFICATION. Participants must be available to participate in the Iron Architect showdown on Thursday, 7 June 2007. Winners will be required to provide Sponsor with an Affidavit of Eligibility / Liability / Publicity release. If a minor (under age 18) is declared a winner then any and all affidavits and release forms must all be signed by the parent or legal guardian before minor may be declared a "Winner." If winner does not reply to such notification, the notification is undeliverable, and/or the Forms are not returned (completed and signed) within 10 days of prize notification, the winner will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be selected based upon the judging criteria. Prizes will be awarded within approximately 90 days of notification.
7. PRIZES.
- (1) Winner will receive one free Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) certification testing process. It is the responsibility of the winner to qualify for the certification program. Winning only includes paying for the certification. The winner will have to qualify for the certification program before completing the testing. (Estimated Retail Value $10,000 each)
- (2) Two runners-up will each receive one free Uniden Win1200 dual mode cordless internet telephone. (Estimated Retail Value $119.99 each)
No substitution or transfer of prize permitted, except by the sponsor who reserves the right to award a prize of equal or greater value if advertised prize is unavailable. The Sponsor and Administrators are not responsible for any damages or injury incurred by any entrant and/or his or her companions as a result of winning. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the winner.
8. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. This Contest is void where prohibited. This Contest is governed by Washington law, and you (hereafter, "you" means your parent or legal guardian if you are a minor) agree to accept jurisdiction and venue in the Courts of the State of Washington. Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for Sponsor and Administrators to use that winner's name, likeness, picture and Entry without additional compensation unless and where prohibited by law. By entering this Contest you agree to and hereby release and hold harmless Sponsor and Administrators from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, use or license of your Entry, or any prize. If you do not want to grant the foregoing release, please do not enter the Contest.
Your entry must be your own original work. By submitting your Entry in the Contest, you represent and warrant that it is your sole original work, and that you have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your Entry and comply with all of these Official Rules, including obtaining the written consent of all 3rd parties, where applicable. You waive any claim of infringement (including without limitation copyright, trademark, patent, trade name, trade secret, etc.) against the Sponsor and Administrators or their licensees based upon access to or use of your Entry. In the event of any dispute regarding who is the entrant that submitted an email Entry, the potential winner must provide sponsor with proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the potentially winning Entry.
9. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. Sponsor is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of Entries. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. Sponsor and Administrators are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line-systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of email on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or combination thereof, including injury or damage to participants or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in this Contest. If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor or Administrators, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify the or suspend the Contest.
10. OTHER. This Contest is void where prohibited. Illegible, unintelligible or incomplete Entries will be disqualified. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY A CONTESTANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH CONTESTANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Without limiting the foregoing, Sponsor may disqualify any entrants from the Contest who deliberately damage, tamper with or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest.
11. WINNERS LIST: The name of the winner will be posed online at http://blogs.msdn.com/ironarchitect after 11 June 2007, and will remain posted until 11 July 2007.
12. SPONSOR. This Contest is sponsored by Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052.
Optimize Your TechEd Lodging Experience!
Problem Statement:
Have you ever wished you knew where more people like you were staying at TechEd? Maybe you’re looking for people who have similar interests, share the same challenges, or work on the same technology that you have. Imagine “Ask the Experts” talks in your specialty at your hotel, where you could meet in a more intimate setting with both experts and peers.
You can help make this a reality! In this year’s Iron Architect competition, we are asking you to design a TechEd hotel management system that could be used in future events. Here’s how it works...
The Requirements:
We are asking you to design an architecture that allocates hotel rooms prior to registration, and then dynamically provides feedback on attendees registered at the hotel so that the TechEd staff and conference attendees can identify opportunities for networking events. The system must:
· Determine the number of rooms to reserve at all conference hotels for two nights leading up to the conference, all nights during the conference, and one night afterward.
· Determine the number of complimentary (free) rooms available by monitoring the ratio of rooms for conference attendees to complimentary rooms offered by the hotel.
· Dynamically update the registration website to show the number of attendees of each profile type staying at a hotel (without exposing PII).
· Vertical industry should be a second factor taken into account when recommending specific hotels based on role type as the IT Pro and Developer role type will reach a critical mass across several hotels
· Suggest hotels during registration based on profile type
· Determine locations for “ask the experts” events at hotels
For example, if an architect is registering for TechEd, the system will suggest that he stay at the Peabody or the Rosen Center because 45% of the conference attendees staying at the hotel are architects. A month before the event, a report is generated for the TechEd staff, which begins scheduling “Ask the Experts” events for architects at the Peabody because of the high concentration of architects there.
Assumptions:
· The system must be technically feasible using today’s technology.
· Next year’s conference is also at the Orange County Conference Center
· There are 36 hotels available.
· Each hotel offers an average comp/upgrade room ratio of 1 complimentary (free) or upgraded room per 40 paid room nights and an event the size of TechEd uses approx 40,000 room nights.
· There are 7 profile types:
o IT Professional
o Developer
o Architect
o Solutions Architect
o Non-technical Manager or Staff
o Non-technical Executive
o Other
· There are a total of 30 experts available for each profile type, so “Ask the Experts” events for each profile type can only be held in <30 hotels over the week.
· 9,500 total rooms need to be available on 3peak nights, 6,000 of rooms need to be available on 2 off-peak nights and 3,000 rooms on 2 “shoulder” nights that are outside of the off-peak nights.
· Once a hotel reaches capacity the system must determine the second best hotel option based on the profile types already booked at those hotels
TechEd 2007 is coming up quickly, and that means another round of the Iron Architect contest. As with earlier rounds, the contest will be open to anyone at TechEd who visits us at the ARC track lounge in the Blue area. Come to the lounge on Monday or Tuesday, and we'll give you the current challenge. Finalists will be chosen from all those who submit entries by Wednesday -- they will be presenting on Thursday, 7 June, at 4:45 p.m. in the ARC lounge theatre.
A distinguished panel of judges will select the winner and two runners-up from the finalists. The winner will receive a free Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) certification, valued at $10,000. (The winner must go through the application process for the certification program and be accepted in order to receive the paid certification.) Two runners-up will each receive a cordless internet phone that works both with any landline connection and also with contacts in Windows Live Messenger.
We can't wait to see you at TechEd in Orlando -- and we're looking forward to another great crop of Iron Architect contenders!
Find out who got to the final here
Problem Statement
This year’s “Iron Architect Contest” is about creating a new community experience for Tech-Ed: Developers which provides a new learning and knowledge exchange platform to increase the value of the event for attendees. Communities are extremely powerful when they connect and network. We therefore wish to investigate a new community infrastructure to support onsite attendee networking. As you know, having a great feedback mechanism in place is important to better understand the needs of attendees, speakers and organizers alike. In addition to providing feedback sometimes it’s important to discuss topics and issues of the day. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could sign up for an ad-hoc discussion? Have a discussion about a topic that was covered in the presentation session you just attended? Connect with the speaker and other attendees to get the unique chance to clarify your questions or to debate about a certain topic? Or think about the opportunity to get connected to attendees with similar interests? You could opt-in for a service that allows you to setup roundtables with attendees who have similar interests or who attended the same sessions as you did. Here’s how such a system might work.
Requirements
There is a need to build a new system to enhance the community experience for next year’s Tech-Ed: Developers in 2007. Aware of attendee feedback, sessions they attend and their follow-up requests, the new system should dynamically schedule requests for discussion sessions and roundtables, allocate rooms, and notify attendees about their scheduled meetings. Optionally, the system should support community voting for the repeat delivery of popular sessions based on session attendance statistics such as number of attendees and amount of feedback received.
Assumptions
· The system must be technically feasible using current or just-announced technologies.
· The existing feedback system can’t be replaced but minor changes would be allowed.
· There are 5 discussion rooms available: 1 each for 10 attendees, 15 attendees and 30 attendees; and 2 for 20 attendees
· The agenda and timetable follows a similar format to this year’s.
Task
You should design a solution and infrastructure architecture that will address the problem, requirements and assumptions stated above for presentation to the organizing committee of Tech-Ed: Developers consisting of business people and senior technical architects.
Please submit you entry to this email, including:
- Name
- Job Role
- Company (optional)
- your presentation (or whatever you want to include)
- Contact (Mobile phone and/or email)
Remember we are only expecting to receive a deliverable that can be presented in less than 10 minutes to stakeholders+CIO.
Selected entries will present their approach on Friday's session ARCWD06 - Room 130 - from 15:15 to 16:30.
If you have questions, please come to the Architecture Booth in the Ask-The-Experts area.
