[sliverstorm]

This is interesting, I feel like I'm starting to detect a pattern. It seems like every time Microsoft makes a product that is generally accepted to be good, they start spreading some of the team behind that product around the company as a way to try and infuse the rest of the machine with some of the new magic juice.

It makes sense, but I've never really heard of it being done much in the past.

[InclinedPlane]

Sounds like just another variety of strategy tax. Sacrifice the quality of a successful project for the good of the motherland.

[anothermachine]

And this team-exploding is why all of Microsoft's good ideas die on the vine.

[petervandijck]

I don't think it makes sense, a team is more than the sum of its parts.

[nirvdrum]

How is it any different than hiring from outside, where ostensibly you're trying to hire people to make the team better?

[petervandijck]

You kill the magic of a successful team if you spread them out. If a team works great together, you should keep them together. The team dynamics are a lot of that success.

[bmajz]

Sometimes, it really does help though. The team running Windows 7 and now Windows 8 was the core of Office (Steven Sinofsky, Julie Larson-Green, Jon DeVaan). They really helped shake off the engineering problems during the Vista timeframe and enabled a really cool, successful product in Windows 7. Same with Terry Myerson (mentioned in this article) and his success first with Exchange and now Windows Phone.

[Someone]

I am not familiar with what happened there, but the way you describe it, that is not "spreading around" a team, but moving an entire team to a new project.

Spreading around a team is like spreading around a kindling fire. Moving it to a new project is like adding fuel.

[nirvdrum]

I don't disagree with this. But I read your comment as moving people to another team couldn't make that new team any better. Perhaps I just misunderstood.