Product Feedback

[Jerry Daniels]

Colleagues...

A good friend has asked me to recant my remarks below relative to  
whether or not Kevin and/or Mark should read this list. Since this  
person asked me to do this is a good friend, I will say a few words  
here to clarify my thinking and what prompted my remark. Maybe my  
words and their meaning will be more apparent after reading this.

The real problem with online communication is people can be anyone  
they like in ascii. Often we say and do things online we'd never do  
in person. This has been going on for a while and there's nothing  
strange about it anymore. Since teletype, probably.

The tone on the list has at times made me uncomfortable. I look at  
the list like the weather. "It's raining outside. I think I'll stay  
inside until is subsides a bit." The list gets like that sometimes  
for me. If it was my product under attack or my business practices  
being scrutinized, I could spend only so much time trying to spin the  
list or changing my strategy...and then after awhile I would convert  
my energies into product development and improvement.

I am not saying that I think Kevin and Mark should not be given or  
listen to feedback. I just said that if I were them I wouldn't read  
the list. That's just my opinion. I would get some distance from the  
list barrage and get creative and productive with the product. Maybe  
change some more fundamental things about my product or company.

I'm not saying anyone is bad or doing something bad, but it's raining  
outside. I think I'll stay inside a bit, if it doesn't let up. I can  
watch it rain without being out in it all the time.

I've written a blog that covers some of my feelings about this  
stuff...maybe that's a better forum than a list that's for helping  
each other use Revolution.

The blog: http://daniels-mara.com/galaxy_blog/?p=6#comments

Jerry

Voice: 512.879.6286
Skype: jerry.daniels

INSIDE EVERY OLDER PERSON IS A YOUNGER PERSON WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED.



On Apr 15, 2006, at 9:39 AM, Jerry Daniels wrote:

> Judy,
>
> I have begun to believe the dilemma that Revolution (and many other  
> great products) face is the "cult software" phenomenon. I am  
> starting to think software becomes "cultish" and loses its appeal  
> to people who are not part of the "cult" because of a corruption of  
> the creative process whereby:
>
> 1. the developers of the software lose their "faith" and "vision"  
> and start believing in "features"
> 2. as a result, the software becomes something less appealing to  
> new users (non-cult members)
>
> Many feedback sessions, however well-intentioned, end up being ego  
> battles whereby the technical types with less assertive social  
> skill lose faith in their product, their company and themselves. In  
> short, they start urinating in the punch bowl during breaks. (NOTE:  
> this has actually happened.)
>
> If I were Kevin and Mark, I would avoid reading this list at every  
> opportunity. I believe the over-all effect of this list tends to be  
> debilitating for them and might even neuter them creatively  
> speaking. It would be like watching the Catholic channel right  
> before having sex. Oops...I actually like that. Well, you know what  
> I'm trying to say.
>
> Jerry
>
> Buy Constellation from Runtime Revolution!
> http://revstudio.runrev.com/section/revselect/constellation/
>
>
>
> On Apr 12, 2006, at 12:05 PM, Judy Perry wrote:
>
>> It almost sounds like RevConWest...
>>
>> Almost.
>>
>> Just to play Devil's Advocate, how do you know that your  
>> participating
>> end-users are not hand-picked to ensure a certain outcome?
>>
>> Not that I'm accusing you of doing that, but I participated in an  
>> external
>> evaluator session for our first online master's degree.  The fur was
>> positively flying (and most improbably, not on my particular  
>> account), but
>> when I later voiced some of my concerns to the program head, she  
>> seemed
>> most blissful in her ignorance.  Later, when the program made its
>> self-assessment to a national conference, what I had witnessed had  
>> been
>> entirely sugar-coated.
>>
>> I love the process you describe.  I guess it all depends upon the
>> willingness of the company to actually listen to what is being  
>> said as
>> opposed to hearing what they would like to hear.  Your customers  
>> are most
>> fortunate that your company is of the former rather than the latter.
>>
>> Rev clearly has the opportunity to be of the former as well.
>>
>> Judy
>>
>> On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 Roger.E.Eller at sealedair.com wrote:
>>
>>> I fully agree with this approach. It makes for a win/win  
>>> situation for
>>> both the company as well as the established customer base. As a  
>>> matter of
>>> fact, our company utilizes a certain high-end system that is
>>> internationally respected in the industry. Each year, a group of  
>>> end-users
>>> and management attends an event which allows us direct access to the
>>> developers of our chosen system. The users sit down and voice their
>>> concerns, problems, bugs, feature requests, etc. to the entire  
>>> group of
>>> developers and leaders of this company. We even vote on what is most
>>> important, and user opinion actually carries more weight than  
>>> anything
>>> else. After all, the customer is always right. It's like  
>>> bugzilla, but
>>> without the clunky interface, and you leave the event knowing  
>>> that your
>>> votes and input have made a real difference in the direction of the
>>> product.
>>
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