[Ticket#: 2006040510000641] Re: [OT] Articles to read

[Steve Knox]

On Apr 6, 2006, at 3:29 PM, Richard Gaskin wrote:

> With other products I manage we generally aim for zero defects only  
> with issues that cause data loss, and evaluate the rest on a case- 
> by-case basis in terms of customer value and company ROI.

This appears to be a decent strategy, if the evaluation of customer  
value bugs is done correctly.  Frequently it isn't.  For example,  
User Frustration bugs (such as the clunky/buggy script editor) should  
have a higher priority than they seem to command, in that lost sales  
and upgrades, and the resultant lowering of company reputation, that  
these bugs can generate can impact the company's bottom line in a  
very significant way.

Management is an art, not a science.  Reducing it to a science takes  
the human element out of the process.  Doing that isolates the  
manager from the task.  This isolation creates arrogance, arrogance  
lowers morale, low morale lowers quality, and you get the point.

A chief signal indicating when managers have fallen into this  
downward spiral appears when they begin listing all of the quite  
valid reasons why X can't be done, or why it doesn't matter.

What they're really saying is "I don't know how to do it, and I don't  
want anyone to think I'm incompetent, so I will redefine the task as  
Impossible, and thus my life will become much easier".

Consider the following:

"Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do  
it, to him it is sin." James 4:17


My Revolution trial code expired today.  I am still not sure if I  
will buy it.  Studio is a bit too pricey for my means.  Media is not  
out yet, and I can't tell if it's restrictions will affect me.  Lynn  
Fredericks has said that inventive users like me don't really exist,  
which does not inspire confidence.  I was really hoping for a single- 
platform product like Studio priced in the $120 US range.

I can get HyperCard to work for my application.  Not well, and  
running Classic will be a pain, but it will do it.  I was hoping to  
buy something faster and more modern with better graphics that would  
run on OS X.  Revolution has so far shown the greatest promise.

But it's not there yet.  And judging from the attitude of some of the  
Rev dignitaries on this list, it may never be.

Steve