| Lec # | Topics | Key Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Course Overview and Organization | Part 1 of the video "Triumph of the Nerds" shown in class |
| 2 | Strategy for Software Companies: What to Think About | Part 2 of the video "Triumph of the Nerds" |
| 3 | How Software Became a Business | Part 3 of the video "Triumph of the Nerds" Student team 1: Best Practices for IT Services Firms |
| 4 | Microsoft® Case Study: Strategy, Management, Organization | Student Team 2: Current Standards/Platforms Battles -- .NET vs. J2EE, other Paper 1 due |
| 5 | Managing Software Development: Basic Issues and Best Practices | Video from Microsoft®: Chris Peter's on "Shipping Software" Student Team 3: Report on Different Development Experiences and Paradigms |
| 6 | Software Sales Guest Presentation: Brian Halligan, former MIT student and former VP of Sales, Groove Networks | Student Team 4: Software Sales Techniques |
| 7 | Part 1: Software Marketing Guest Presentations: Steve Kahl (MIT PhD student, former VP of Goldman Sachs; and Charles DeWitt, former MIT LFM student, former VP of Strategy and Planning, i2, current Director of Enterprise Marketing, Kronos Software) Part 2: Software Entrepreneurship | Student Team 5: Software Marketing and Pricing Techniques Student Team 7: Startup Analysis Paper 2 due |
| 8 | Open Source Guest Lecturer: Professor Alan MacCormack, Harvard Business School | Student Team 6: Analysis of For-Profit Open Source Businesses Excerpts from the video: "Revolution OS" (2002) |
| 9 | Software Business Overseas: Outsourcing and Innovation Guest Presentation -- Izhar Armoney, Charles River Ventures. Specialist on Israeli software industry. MBA Wharton, currently a director of iPhrase, July Systems, Optaros, Proficiency, ThinkFire and Virtusa | Student Team 8: Pros and Cons of Outsourcing and Global Development Student Team 9: State of India Report Student Team 10: State of China Report Student Team 11: State of Israel Report Paper 3 due |
| 10 | "Emerging" Software Technologies/Companies - Paper Presentations 1 | |
| 11 | Wrap-Up |