At 7:40 _Microsoft Garage program is very unique: it's not like you're jumping into an existing major product and you just add one or two features._ Hummm.... lemme think... they did port an existing product (adafruit python library) onto another existing product (namely Visual Studio) Honestly, they did add a feature to an existing major product. Maybe they had the feeling they decided, but they also explained that if they were "wrong" the management would steer them in the right direction :) Well when I did the final training for my sw eng master 20 years ago, I had to make all those decisions by myself with very little supervision. During my Bs training I had to communicate with external companies as well. All this work is what makes the meat of the report that is presented and graded in front of a jury of teachers. So nothing new under the sun, really. Except that everyone's first experience is unique... to himself :)