NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/comp/software/5151

Text File | 1992-12-24 | 2.9 KB | 67 lines

Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!emory!wupost!csus.edu!netcom.com!mcgregor
From: [e-mail] (Scott Mcgregor)
Subject: Re: On CM and programmer productivity
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 19:53:13 GMT
Lines: 56

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Cameron Laird) writes:

>One of the things I've learned over the last few
>years is how important it is for us (us as vendors,
>say) to be prepared to meet customers where they
>are.  One example, which I've lived over and over
>again:  we talk with prospects about leading-edge
>analytic reductions, only-just commercial visuali-
>zation modes, abstract toolsets, and so on, and
>then make a sale because the customer finally be-
>lieves that we'll save him at least some small
>amount of data-management headache.  The same
>companies that talk about AI, OO, NL, ES, ...,
>can be wrenchingly behind on implementing automa-
>tions that were first begun in the '60s.  I like
>Agent models of operation, and your Anticipatory
>Agents in particular, but there are a LOT of organ-
>izations where periodic backups are still a struggle.
>Do you plan to market to them, too--or principally?
>The answer isn't obvious to me.

I would say that the organizations where periodic backups are still a
struggle are, and will remain, the vast majority, i.e. the mass
market. More sophisticated companies CAN write their own sophisticated
custom solutions, or build them from a complex tool kit that
overwhelms the mass consumer.  On the other hand, once there is a tool
for the mass consumer, they often find it fits them well enough too,
and they choose to use it rather than maintain the more complex system
they adopted earlier.  In other words, if you build only for early
adopters, you'll never cross the chasm to the mass market, but if you
target the mass market you may still appeal to early adopters. Lots of
companies that used to have their own custom payroll or personel
system now have off the shelf varieties that appeal to companies that
could never have developed their own.  I do hope that Prescient will
be able to successfully address the mass market in each of its
products. Certainly many people have commented that they can
understand and use Merge Ahead, but are constantly confused by the
other diff and merge tools (cf Sun World May 1992 review by Dave
Taylor).  I hope we can do just as well with other product areas, and
I am to try.



--

Scott L. McGregor        [e-mail]
President            tel: [phone]
Prescient Software, Inc.    fax: [phone]
3494 Yuba Avenue
San Jose, CA 95117-2967

Prescient Software sells Merge Ahead, the tool for Merging Text or Code and
offers consulting  & training in project management and design for usability.