I've had the chance to sit down and interview Katie Jordan, Product Manager of Publisher 2002 at Microsoft. In this interview we discuss the development of Publisher 2002, her thoughts on product activation, a sneak peak on what's upcoming on the Publisher website and more. Here is an excerpt:

ActiveWin.com: During the development of this product were there any hilarious or outlandish moments which stick out in your mind?

Katie Jordan: Funny, I asked the General Manager and the Group Program Manager to share a story and they both plead the fifth. One of the test leads, however, was only too happy to share a story about a fellow test team member. It was close to the end of a development milestone when things are always a little tense and the length of a “work day” runs beyond the typical 24 hours. One of the testers had recently moved from a rather small, unusual office that he had to share with another co-worker, to a coveted corner office. He left for a couple of days and upon returning, was horrified to discover he had a new office mate. What he didn’t know, was that it was really an invisible office mate. The test team had added a 2nd name plate to the office door, moved in an extra desk, added new books to the bookshelf, left empty coke cans and a box of cookies to the desk, and hung a jacket on the back of the “office mates” chair. Rumor has it that the tester that really lived in the office was so mad that he actually stayed away for a couple of days. Leaving the office for a couple of days (or even a weekend) often leads to pranks throughout a development cycle.