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Windows 8 and Metro Readiness Workshop

A Windows 8 Readiness Workshop is the first step towards insuring your applications are ready to move to Windows 8 and Metro. Think of these "workshops" as brainstorming meetings during which all project stakeholders get together and discuss the overall goals for an application to moving into the future, the existing architecture and the challenges it brings, the boundary conditions, potential timeframe, priorities, "nice to haves", and just about anything else one can think of. This list then gets prioritized and perhaps split into multiple phases. Key challenges are identified, existing staff, resource capabilities and risks are analyzed. First steps are discussed. In short: Everything that goes with a project is fair game!

We assist in Windows 8 Readiness Workshops by adding our experience and expertise, by bringing up key issues, by helping to judge feasibility of certain aspects, and most importantly by recommending proper architecture, technologies and techniques as well as an appropriate approach. We use our experience from other projects to help judge effort levels and required skills. The result will be a solid plan and realistic expectations in moving forward with Metro and Windows 8, regardless of whether those next steps include CODE/EPS, or whether a project is done in-house or with a different vendor.

The Deliverable

The main deliverable of a Windows 8 Readiness Workshop is the Window 8 Readiness Document. This document recaps the application as discussed during the meeting, including key areas, next steps, risks, and so forth. The most important questions this document will answer are how to architect your application today to put yourself in the best postion to move forward and the exact technical steps required to bring your exisitng code forward into Windows 8 and Metro. The exact scope of this document will vary based on the customer's exact situation.

Many Workshops also feature other deliverables, such as code examples that can serve as proof-of-concept type of materials. Sometimes we also provide other documents or media related to the issues discussed during the meeting. Often times, such secondary deliverables are discovered during the Windows 8 Readiness Meeting.

Engaging in a Windows 8 Readiness Workshop

Readiness Workshops are easy to set up. They usually consist of an on-site meeting which we send one or two high-level experts. If need be, this can also be done online. Before we engage in the meeting we usually have a discussion over email or by phone to discuss the general nature of the project, so we can make sure we send the right people. Whatever materials can be provided ahead of time helps us to show up as prepared as possible.

The actual meeting usually starts out with an overview and a demo from the customer. We then proceed to explore the major areas of the system and it's overall architecture, before we drill a bit deeper into the most important pieces. It is important for us to learn about the key driving factors and key risks that are already known. We also want to explore technological and architectural questions and challenges and understand the goals for moving forward.

After the workshop (which usually takes a day or an afternoon depending on the size of the system), we usually leave with a list of topics to explore further. Often we have learned which questions we can address by providing examples or videos or documents. We then work on these items off site and produce the Windows 8 Readiness Document. We work on this off-site, but often ask further questions. Once we produce the first draft of the document, we present it to the customer, either online or on-site in another short meeting. During this meeting, we not just present the document and its recommendations and findings, but we also often explore further questions. It is not uncommon to have multiple draft versions of a Windows 8 Readiness Document before all questions and concerns are addressed.

Purchase Options

We charge a fixed price for Windows 8 Readiness Workshops. The actual price is determined based on estimated duration and the exact deliverables.