Something you only hear once a project....

... and let me tell you, it's an unbelievably sweet sound:

Test Manager: "Let's branch the code base, place a code freeze on it, and burn an install DVD labeled 'Release Candidate 1'".

After 15 months, I really can't think of a nicer thing to hear at this point. It's a concrete sign that the hours upon hours of overtime, the heartache of making the multitude of mistakes that are always made on a project, the (at times seemingly endless) stream of bugs from QA is all finally coming to an end.

More importantly, it's the sign that the client is finally going to get the application they've been promised for almost 5 years, a sign that for thousands of end users the dawn after a long night of *shudder* legacy is finally brightening the horizon.

For those that get here having been involved in the project, I cannot even begin to conceive how I could thank you enough for what you've done to get it to this point. You are more than aware of what has gone into this DVD, and even though some of you bailed early (no sinking ship metaphors please), I wouldn't have been able to write this without you.

15 months.
17 Developers.
1.8 million LOC.
Fixed Price.
On Time.
On Schedule.

Thank You.