The Soul of a New Machine
Encyclopedia
Tracy Kidder
's non-fiction book, The Soul of a New Machine, chronicles the experiences of an engineering team racing to design a next generation computer under a blistering schedule and tremendous pressure. This machine was eventually launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000
. The book was published in 1981, and won a Pulitzer Prize
and a National Book Award
.
, a minicomputer
vendor in the 1970s. Most of the senior designers are assigned the "sexy" job of designing the next generation machine, which will be done in North Carolina
. Their project (code-named "Fountainhead") is to give Data General a machine to compete with the new VAX
computer from Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC), which is starting to take over the new 32-bit minicomputer
market. The few senior designers who are left in corporate headquarters at Westborough, MA are given the much more humble job of designing enhancements for the existing product lines. Tom West
, the leader of Westborough designers, starts a skunkworks project
which becomes a backup plan in case Fountainhead fails. Eventually, the skunk works project (code-named "Eagle") becomes the company's only hope in catching up with DEC. In order to complete the project on-time, West takes risks in not only new technology but also relying on new college graduates (who have never designed anything so complex) to make up the bulk of his design team. The book follows many of the designers as they give up every waking moment of their lives in order to design and debug the new machine on schedule.
level. Instead of management having to coerce labor to work harder, labor volunteers to complete the project on-time. The reason for this is that people will give their best when the work itself is challenging and rewarding. Many of the engineers state that, "They don't work for the money", meaning they work for the challenge of inventing and creating. The motivational system is akin to the game of pinball
, the analogy that if you win this round, you get to play the game again; that is, build the next generation of computers.
A running theme in the book is the tension between engineering quality and haste: the engineers, challenged to bring a minicomputer to market on a very short timeframe, are encouraged to cut corners on design. Tom West describes his motto as "Not everything worth doing is worth doing well," or "If you can do a quick-and-dirty job and it works, do it."
The engineers, in turn, complain that the team's goal is to "put a bag on the side of the Eclipse"
— in other words, to turn out an inferior product in order to have it completed more quickly.
Tom West practices the '"Mushroom Theory of Management
" — "keeping them in the dark, feeding them shit, and watch them grow." That is, isolating the design team from outside influences and instead using the fear of the unknown to motivate the team.
The "Soul" of the new machine comes from the dedicated engineers who bring it to "life" with their endless hours of attention and toil.
. Case study of the Eagle project from a project management
perspective, written for a course given by Al Shenhar at the University of Minnesota
.
Tracy Kidder
John Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation...
's non-fiction book, The Soul of a New Machine, chronicles the experiences of an engineering team racing to design a next generation computer under a blistering schedule and tremendous pressure. This machine was eventually launched in 1980 as the Data General Eclipse MV/8000
Data General Eclipse MV/8000
The Eclipse MV/8000 was the first in a family of 32-bit minicomputers produced by Data General during the 1980s. Codenamed Eagle during development, its architecture was a new 32-bit design backward compatible with the previous 16-bit Eclipse series. The development of the computer and the people...
. The book was published in 1981, and won a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
and a National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
.
Plot
The book opens with a turf war between two computer design groups within Data General CorporationData General
Data General was one of the first minicomputer firms from the late 1960s. Three of the four founders were former employees of Digital Equipment Corporation. Their first product, the Data General Nova, was a 16-bit minicomputer...
, a minicomputer
Minicomputer
A minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems and the smallest single-user systems...
vendor in the 1970s. Most of the senior designers are assigned the "sexy" job of designing the next generation machine, which will be done in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Their project (code-named "Fountainhead") is to give Data General a machine to compete with the new VAX
VAX
VAX was an instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation in the mid-1970s. A 32-bit complex instruction set computer ISA, it was designed to extend or replace DEC's various Programmed Data Processor ISAs...
computer from Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
(DEC), which is starting to take over the new 32-bit minicomputer
Minicomputer
A minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems and the smallest single-user systems...
market. The few senior designers who are left in corporate headquarters at Westborough, MA are given the much more humble job of designing enhancements for the existing product lines. Tom West
Tom West
Joseph Thomas "Tom" West III was the protagonist of the Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book The Soul of a New Machine. West worked for Data General Corporation as a hardware engineer and vice president, retiring as Chief Technologist in 1998. West died at the age of 71 in his Westport,...
, the leader of Westborough designers, starts a skunkworks project
Skunkworks project
A skunkworks project is one typically developed by a small and loosely structured group of people who research and develop a project primarily for the sake of radical innovation. The term typically refers to technology projects, and originated with Skunk Works, an official alias for the Lockheed...
which becomes a backup plan in case Fountainhead fails. Eventually, the skunk works project (code-named "Eagle") becomes the company's only hope in catching up with DEC. In order to complete the project on-time, West takes risks in not only new technology but also relying on new college graduates (who have never designed anything so complex) to make up the bulk of his design team. The book follows many of the designers as they give up every waking moment of their lives in order to design and debug the new machine on schedule.
Themes
The work environment described in the book is in many ways opposite of what is taught in business schools. Instead of top-down management, many of the innovations are started at the grassrootsGrassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
level. Instead of management having to coerce labor to work harder, labor volunteers to complete the project on-time. The reason for this is that people will give their best when the work itself is challenging and rewarding. Many of the engineers state that, "They don't work for the money", meaning they work for the challenge of inventing and creating. The motivational system is akin to the game of pinball
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
, the analogy that if you win this round, you get to play the game again; that is, build the next generation of computers.
A running theme in the book is the tension between engineering quality and haste: the engineers, challenged to bring a minicomputer to market on a very short timeframe, are encouraged to cut corners on design. Tom West describes his motto as "Not everything worth doing is worth doing well," or "If you can do a quick-and-dirty job and it works, do it."
The engineers, in turn, complain that the team's goal is to "put a bag on the side of the Eclipse"
— in other words, to turn out an inferior product in order to have it completed more quickly.
Tom West practices the '"Mushroom Theory of Management
Mushroom management
Mushroom Management is an allusion to a company's staff being treated like mushrooms: kept in the dark, covered with dung, and, when grown big enough, canned...
" — "keeping them in the dark, feeding them shit, and watch them grow." That is, isolating the design team from outside influences and instead using the fear of the unknown to motivate the team.
The "Soul" of the new machine comes from the dedicated engineers who bring it to "life" with their endless hours of attention and toil.
Further reading
Twenty-year retrospective of the book, with "where are they now?" segments on the people involved and on Data GeneralData General
Data General was one of the first minicomputer firms from the late 1960s. Three of the four founders were former employees of Digital Equipment Corporation. Their first product, the Data General Nova, was a 16-bit minicomputer...
. Case study of the Eagle project from a project management
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
perspective, written for a course given by Al Shenhar at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
.
