I Need Coffee - Episode 205 - BC Weekly Review! (March 27, 2026)

1. MVP Summit 2026 Recap (Seattle)  
   - Attended via Southwest flight (felt luxurious compared to Avianca)  
   - Highlighted how smart Microsoft product managers are; they operate months/years ahead and run circles around most people in technical depth  
   - Key insight: Microsoft is uniquely positioned for comprehensive AI across its ecosystem (Office, Teams, Excel, BC, GitHub, etc.)  
   - Strong impression that Microsoft is investing heavily in making AI actionable and integrated, not just chat-based  
   - Noted that even hardcore MVPs and PMs struggle to keep up with the pace of AI changes

2. AI Experimentation Highlights  
   - OpenClaw nightly self-improvement**: Prompt “scan yourself and suggest top two improvements” — running every night  
   - Claude still dominant** for professional Word documentation and large structured outputs  
   - Playwright automation project**: Built a system inside an AppSource app to automatically log into BC, navigate, prepare screens, and take named screenshots for user guides (21 screenshots generated with inline references)  
     - Created 35–40 page documentation of the entire setup, lessons learned, troubleshooting, and scripts so the team can replicate  
     - Next step: test Chrome MCP as alternative for BC UI automation  
   - AI Project Management**: Continuing to use OpenClaw + Teams Planner for task analysis, risk assessment, daily top-5 reports, etc.

3. AppSource & DevOps Migration  
   - Actively packaging multiple apps for AppSource (registration, licensing, pipelines, testing)  
   - Decision to migrate from Azure DevOps to GitHub (Microsoft’s clear direction; DevOps pipelines have become too painful with 32+ pages of procedures)  
   - Expect GitHub to have its own pains but better AI integration (Copilot CLI, agentic PRs, code review from mobile, etc.)

4. Microsoft Ecosystem Observations  
   - Hopeful for better model selection and harness control in M365 Copilot, Teams, and Office tools  
   - Wants true agentic behavior (e.g., meeting summary → auto-create & prioritize tasks in Planner, not just show to-dos)  
   - GitHub Copilot now model-agnostic in VS Code → should be competitive with Claude Code / Cursor

5. Team & Operational Notes  
   - 1099 procedures for BC v27 still causing pain (complex setup, poor usability)  
   - Franklin publishing first AppSource app  
   - Joselyn advancing MB-800 practice exams + financial reports  
   - Ronald on Continia + iSolutions  
   - Prospect discovery questionnaire (500+ pages) now under review by Fatima for project use

6. Upcoming Events  
   - Directions NA – Orlando, April 27–29 (preparing presentations with Brad)  
   - Dynamics Con – Las Vegas, May 12–15 (3 sessions)  
   - Directions Asia – Ho Chi Minh City, May 13–15  
   - DynamicsMinds – Slovenia, May 25–27  
  
  7. Fun / Personal Note
   - Weekend chores: washed garage door and daughter’s car, cleaned sunroom to resurrect home theater (shared with pottery wheel)  
   - Forgot laptop at home on flight day → wife delivered it to airport  
   - St. Patrick’s Day dinner: Korean soon tofu + galbi + ice cream (traditional Irish meal)  
   - Watched classic movies (Days of Thunder, What Women Want)