Name:
David Smith
david.j.smith@microsoft.com

Title/Product:
Software Development Engineer in Test, Expression Blend (SketchFlow)

What inspires you?
Our customers. I work to be their advocate so we produce reliable and useful tools for them to be productive.

How did you choose to work on this team with this product?
I've been a Minnesota resident most of my life with no interest in moving away from family here. I didn't, in all honesty, think I would ever have the opportunity to have a development position with Microsoft here in town. When I first learned about the new Twin Cities development center, I was intrigued. When I started learning more about the Expression products, I thought it was as great opportunity to work on cutting edge products. It's been a fun, fulfilling and challenging ride so far and I look forward to many more releases to come. I've really enjoyed working with the team members both here in Minnesota and Redmond.

What’s your favorite feature? Why?
I am, of course, biased towards the SketchFlow feature added in Blend V3 since this is the first feature I've worked on. It's an innovative feature that really adds another dimension to Blend. It's been great to see the positive reception we've had since it was released.

How long have you worked on Expression?
I’ve been with Microsoft and the Expression team since June of 2008.

What does your typical workday look like?
When I first joined the team, the SketchFlow feature was developed somewhat outside of Blend proper. I spent much of my time working on setting up build servers for our code prior to our full integration into Blend. I worked with the Blend setup system and integrating SketchFlow into it. I also spent time in measuring code coverage and, of course, testing of Blend and SketchFlow in particular. Now that SketchFlow has been released and is fully integrated into Blend, I'm spending more of my time in adding test code to the automation stack for new features.

How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
Outside of work, I like to spend as much time as I can with my wife and two boys.