Conference heron::euro_swas_ai

141.0. "productivity shells" by BONNET::COUTIER () Mon Oct 09 1989 11:33

    THIS MESSAGE IS FROM JACK RAHAIM (CORPORATE AI MARKETING MANAGER)
    
    **** Deadline for Submission is 10/18/89 ****

Productivity Shells represent a key component of DEC's AI
Strategy.  In order for us to successfully implement this
strategy, we need the collaborative efforts of each of you and
your organizations.

As you may know, I have been asked to coordinate an effort to
bring incremental (i.e. incremental to the work being done by
AITG) Productivity Shells to market in FY90.

The purpose of this message is to invite you to submit candidates
for the Productivity Shell Program.

Briefly, the Productivity Shell Program is an AITC program
designed to rapidly bring productivity shell products to market. 
The goal is to enable 4 - 6 shells to be marketed by the end of
this Fiscal Year.  The form these shells will take is:

	Products (in the SDT sense)
	DDS/CMP products (for shells sourced from 3rd Parties)
	Shells offered with (or 'wrapped in') consulting services.

As part of the process, we have instituted a Steering Committee
who will help manage the balancing of the various dynamics
embodied in this program:

	Time to Market
	Revenue/Market Share/Market Definition Potential
	Testing the Productivity Shell Strategy
	Productizing Existing Software
	Optimizing Resource Allocation

The members of the steering committee [and their focus areas]
are:                                                                 

	Norma Abel [engineering]
	Themis Papageorge [marketing]
	Mitch Tseng [internal use]
	Steve Gutz [external use]
	Barry Reynolds [finance/business]
	Jack Rahaim [coordination]


In addition, John Frost and Stew Hoover will be working on this
effort on a part time basis as techical coordinators.

Below you will find the template which should be used to submit
any candidates to the steering committe for consideration.

The deadline for submissions is October 18th.

I want to set clear expectations about this effort and the
process:

	1) A quick decision will be made by the steering committee
		(target date is the week of November 6th for the
		final decisions).

	2) Only software which is currently installed and running
		should be submitted for consideration as part of this
		process.

	3) For candidates which will become products, only candidate
		software which can be brought to market
		in FY90 should be proposed; this requires a maximum
		of 3 months to bring to Field Test status/quality.

	4) In order to propose a candidate, you should be willing
		to provide the engineering resources to finish the
		development; funding is an open issue and you should
		assume no funding at this time; if, however, funding
		is a major issue for you/your organization, submit the 		
		candidate(s) and make note of that fact.


Finally, a definition of what we mean by the term Productivity
Shell: Productivity Shells are software tools that help DEC
Customers, DEC Consultants and internal DEC Developers solve
problems through pre-packaged functionality focused on specific
types of problems.

Thank you in advance for your interest and support.

Jack

------------------------------
Template for Submission to Productivity Shell Program:[maximum length: 3 
pages] - **** Deadline for Submission is 10/18/89 ****

Your Name and Mail Address:

Your organization's name and your manager's name:

Candidate Tool Name (if acronym, give meaning):

Pre-packaged Functionality of Tool (what does the tool do):

How do you see this product being made available to the marketplace:

	Product (in the SDT sense)
	DDS/CMP product (for shells sourced from 3rd Parties)
	Shell offered with (or 'wrapped in') consulting.


Where is it installed, what is it doing and for how long?:

Who would be the end user of this tool (i.e., given that the tool would
be used to build an application, would the 'builder' be):

	1) Senior Knowledge Engineer
	2) Knowledge Engineer
	3) Applications Programmer with little/no AI programming experience
	4) End user - i.e., spreadsheet-level literate end user
	5) Other (explain)

How long will it take to bring to Field Test status/quality?

What documentation and training currently exists for this tool?

What resources can you/your organization provide to make this a product/
	service.  What additional resources would you need?

Any other information you would like the Steering Committee to consider.

Submit Template to: AITG::RAHAIM 

Thanks,

Jack Rahaim