The impetus was that Microsoft needed a safe space where employees could pursue ideas that they were passionate about, even ideas that were not part of their day job, or things that might 'fail fast'.

The name was coined by Quinn based on the fact that many tech companies were 'started in a garage' and the term captured the notion of innovation and the start-up culture. The Microsoft Garage originated in 2009 in Office Labs in Building 4 of Microsoft Redmond campus with Office Labs GM Chris Pratley, Quinn Hawkins, Jennifer Michelstein and Joe Coplen. Teams that win the annual worldwide Hackathon, produced by The Garage, get to meet members of the top level leadership teams to discuss their project and receive direction. These teams are as small as two and as large as twenty+ people. Project teams own their project from ideation to retirement - they design, code, build, release, and support their project.

These experts consult with project teams who want to ship a trial through the Garage, sharing guidance on all aspects of project development including engineering, design, go-to-market, and analytics. The Microsoft Garage is a global program with locations on the main campus in Redmond, Washington, and several others spread all over the world, and a website that launched in October 2014 to share experimental projects with customers.įor project teams that want to move their ideas forward, Garage resources include collaboration with experts to help accelerate project development.

Employees from all divisions of Microsoft are free to take part in Microsoft Garage activities and small-scale innovation projects. The Microsoft Garage is a Microsoft program that encourages employees to work on projects about which they are passionate, despite having no relation to their primary function within the company. October 22, 2014 8 years ago ( ) (website)

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