Product Feedback

[Jerry Daniels]

Rob,

I didn't want to get into this on the list...i'm not sure if falls  
under the category of helping people use Revolution. I'd prefer to  
take this on the blog (http://daniels-mara.com/galaxy_blog) and not  
add to the "glog" here.

Disclaimer: my semi-radical thoughts about a revamped Rev product  
line, are of course, my own. They are not meant as criticism of  
Runtime Revolution's exemplary efforts and products.

Short response:

- I think a simple product with enough components to ensure a great  
first experience is the way to go.

- I might even want to release something like that for free, but  
that's just me.

- Then I'd re-introduce these items as add-ons or different versions  
of Rev:
      + menu manager
      + geometry manager
      + debugger
      + var watcher
      + message watcher
      + standalone builder
      + pseudo table objects
      + application browser
      + database access manager

A kinder, gentler, highly-addictive Revolution would not be like  
MetaCard in the following ways:

- It would have a great first use experience. (Sorry, myself and many  
others used MC inspite of its IDE.)
- It would be like HyperCard with a Home stack with an address book,  
etc.

Revolution we have today would still exist in my vision  
(hallucination?), but my idea is to have a highly addictive free or  
cheap version and then re-introduce more advanced components as add- 
ons or different versions of Rev.

Best,

Jerry Daniels


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On Apr 16, 2006, at 11:08 AM, Rob Cozens wrote:

>
> Hi Jerry,
>
>> I've written a blog that covers some of my feelings about this  
>> stuff...
>
> Is Comment #3 (What would happen if the folks at Runtime Revolution  
> read ?Getting Real? by 37signals a second time and decided to  
> revamp their company?) your proposed answer to comment #1 (If I  
> were Kevin and Mark, I would avoid reading their own Using  
> Revolution list at every opportunity.)?
>
> I understood your original post to focus on alternative means of  
> monitoring product feedback.  I don't see anything in Comment #3  
> that addresses where customer feedback should be received and how  
> it should be handled.
>
> So I ask:
>
> (a) Should a product's manufacturer provide a mechanism whereby  
> product users can express their satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and  
> wish list for new features?
>
> If so:
>
> (b) What mechanism would you propose in place of RR's use-rev list  
> & Bugzilla?
>
> However, "Due to feature bloat, the software becomes something less  
> appealing to new users (non-cult members)" from Comment #1 and  
> "Making simple, elegant software is the first step." from Comment  
> #2 do strike chords with moi.
>
> My first entry into the winemaking world was a joint venture  
> including a professor of viticulture at Cal State Fresno and a San  
> Francisco-based winery supplier.  Our original approach was to  
> respond to every "shortcoming" of the product brought to us by  
> users and prospective buyers.  The winery supplier, who had  
> marketed another wine production control system previously, was  
> very pleased that our response to these critiques was "we can add  
> that feature" instead of "sorry, our software doesn't support that".
>
> So we started out with a design that included two options for  
> recording wine volumes:
>
> 1. Simply enter the volume in a field.
> 2. Vision a tank as a cylinder with optional top and bottom  
> "cones".  Include the volume of each cone and the unit volume for  
> the cylinder in each tank's specification.  For each bulk wine  
> transaction enter the % the top/bottom cones containing wine and  
> the height of the wine column in the cylinder, before & after the  
> transaction, and the volume was calculated automatically.
>
> First prospective alpha test winery says, "We keep a table for each  
> unique tank shape, giving the volume for "headspace" (the height of  
> the wine column in the tank) in one inch increments.
>
> So we add a new volume calc method and a tank shape parameter to  
> the tank record, a screen to build headspace-to-volume tables, and  
> transaction fields to capture headspace before & after the  
> transaction.
>
> The next winery says, "Your software measures headspace from the  
> bottom of the tank to the level of the wine [0=empty tank]; but we  
> measure headspace from the level of the wine to the top of the tank  
> [0=full tank]".
>
> So we add a new parameter field to indicate how headspace is  
> measured and adjust volume calculations accordingly.
>
> The next winery says, "When we calculate volume, we note the wine's  
> temperature and adjust the volume to a standard of 60 deg F".
>
> So a temperature field is added to the transaction field, and  
> volume calculations are modified to adjust volume if temp is not  
> empty.
>
> So now we are supporting five different methods of recording  
> volume, and half or more of the tank record fields are dealing with  
> volume calculation options...all with the same purpose: recording  
> the volumes in & out for each transaction.
>
> The final change to volume calculation was to eliminate ALL options  
> except #1.  All tank & transaction fields involved in volume  
> calculation were removed, leaving "Volume Out" and "Volume In".   
> Our approach was "We don't care how you arrive at these volumes,  
> just give us the volumes.  For those who feel the need to capture  
> headspace and/or temperature, put them in the 'Comments' field".
>
> So I understand too well "Due to feature bloat, the software  
> becomes something less appealing to new users" and "Making simple,  
> elegant software is the first step."
>
> "2. In this ?brave new world? there would be no:
>  - menu manager
>  - geometry manager
>  - debugger
>  - var watcher
>  - message watcher
>  - standalone builder
>  - pseudo table objects
>  - application browser
>  - database access manager"
>
> Sounds quite a bit like MetaCard, no?     :{`)
>
> Rob Cozens
> CCW, Serendipity Software Company
>
> "And I, which was two fooles, do so grow three;
> Who are a little wise, the best fooles bee."
>
> from "The Triple Foole" by John Donne (1572-1631)
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