Last week was Microsoft’s MVP Summit in Redmond, WA and this was my first year to attend. The week was packed with tons of content and events and it was hard to decide what to go to at times. The Team System MVPs (now known as the Visual Studio ALM MVPs) basically sequestered ourselves in a room on Microsoft campus with members from the Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server product teams rotating through to get our input on the upcoming RTM for Visual Studio 2010 as well as what we would like to see in the next version (or service pack). It was great to have such immediate access to the very people who write the software we use everyday. 

It was amazing how many smart people were in those rooms and I got to finally meet many of the people I interact with online regularly in person including JB Brown, Mickey Goussett, Jeff Hunsaker, Chris Tullier (who was nice enough to show me around Seattle on my last day), and more.

Neno Loje organized a great gift for Brian Harry of a Chuck Norris style T-Shirt with sayings such as “Brian Harry’s planning poker deck has only the zero card.” You can get your very own here.

I have to say to all those people who bash Microsoft for not supporting the developer community, they could not be more wrong. Not only is the MVP program and the summit a great way to recognize thought leaders in the community, but it’s a valuable opportunity for us to provide them with feedback. Their evangelist program is also very active in supporting the local communities.

I just hope I get to go back next year!