New Feature R/d Percentages

[tlehnhaeuser]

I trying to get a sense of the mindset of current IronCAD users. Although I know users would like to see their ER implemented, but would you consider waiting for your ER to make room for NEW and EXCITING innovations in the software? Thats the big question. This poll is to give me a sense of your opinion on this subject.

Please note that I am not privy to any internal workings of the IronCAD R/D, this is strictlt for my own piece o mind.

Edited February 17, 2005 by tlehnhaeuser

[cborer]

Tom

I vote for:

60% Customer Driven - 40% New Innovation

 

And second:

80% my suggestions - 20% other suggestions

 

Best

Carlos

[cturk]

With no innovation going on we wouldn't have a product like IronCAD, so I'd never vote for 100% customer driven. It's your product and of course you want to continue to innovate. (BTW what's with the Inovate product, IronCAD w/o 2D?)

 

That being said, in my limited group of colleagues (3-5 engineers doing part time drafting/design and several students at any given time) the consensus is that IronCAD is a wonderful easy to use product, except for the damn bugs. Seems a week doesn't go by where the conversation doesn't drift to "why the he!! does(n't) it do that" or "it didn't do that last week!" Therefore I say 80% customer driven and 20% innovation (or 75/25) sound about right, at least for now.

[djohannesen]

I would go for 60-70% customer driven. (I still feel a number of basic items need refining/including.)

 

Also, with new innovation, would'nt that be best determined by Ironcad saying "we plan to do this..., what do our clients think?"

 

Davo

[Guest mwalls]

Maybe I'm missing something, but don't the users provide the majority of ideas for what is added to the software based on what functions are needed, or used, to get their work done? If I am making a product such as cad software, I would want to put out something that answers to the users ( customers ) wishes, and not so much what I think is the right function. Sometimes the ideas are the same, and sometimes they are not. Of course, you have to balance that with the fact that everybody does things a little different. As far as I see, innovation is nothing more than the ideas of the users, being implemented. It always will be based on a consensus of ideas and input, because no one person will have enough overall scope of experience to address, ( think of ), all the different functions needed. Maybe it is the definition of what is being asked that is the problem with how I see it. I just want the product to have the tools needed to get the job done in the shortest amount of time. The frustration for me comes when the simple things do not work as they should. For example, when the BOM had/has issues, just to name one. I appreciate all the work that the developers do to keep the software moving ahead, and it is a near impossible job to try and get it the way everyone wants it, so thank you for all you do in that area. I would just like to see it continue based on customer needs, and if some function comes along that no one has seen outside of the Ironcad building, ( which I would highly doubt ), post it on the community page and let everyone get a look at it to see if it is more important than other requests made for improvements. I'm not saying there won't be things that are unknown to most users, but with the outside base of people using the product in so many different areas of manufacturing/design, I would think that this input is the most useful. I guess the only real problem is getting all of MY requests to the top of the pile.........ha....ha....ha.......Thanks again and keep up the great work. I know it is appreciated by more than just me!

Mike

[Tom Bobo]

I would think initally the program would be almost 100 % Co. driven and the longer you are in the market place you would have to gravitate to 100 % market driven. The Co. would have to decide what works within their software and the priorties in implimenting the market sugestions it receives from the members. To be honest I don't have a clue how all this works. I'm just looking at it from an inventors point of view.

[tlehnhaeuser]

Maybe I'm missing something, but don't the users provide the majority of ideas for what is added to the software based on what functions are needed, or used, to get their work done?

9164[/snapback]

 

Hi Mike,

I understand that users want what they want and I don't disagree with that. I think a good company listens to its customers (such as IronCAD does) and trys its best to accomodate their wishes. Bu tI also feel that a substantial amount of effort needs to be innovation which ultimately make current customers that much more happy. But as a user and reseller I think alot of users (including myseslf) don't know what their missing until something new and innovative is given to them. Lets face it, working purely from customer ideas in my opinion is stagnate and inevitably dangerous. Lets face it, 3D modeling wouldn't even exist if we left the ideas to the draftsman or engineer. 20-30 years ago engineers/drafters wanted better paper and drawing tables. It wasn't until a CAD company thru CAD in their face that they realized , hey, thats exciting and better.

 

As usual, spitting out my 2Cents.

[Guest mwalls]

Tom,

 

I agree with what you say, but my main point is that it is usually the people using the software that have the ideas for improvements. A few thousand minds are better than just a few. I think the comparison you used is more a technology jump instead of an enhancement or feature addition. I remember when I was programming machine tools in the early 80's with an APT based CAM system that had no mouse. What a pain having all that unbounded geometry on the screen to describe the part I wanted to mill out. Within the next couple of years competing companys came out with a mouse driven system that made this one almost obsolete over night. They did not listen to their users, and they are no longer making CAM software. I think we are on the same page, but I think my distinction between innovation and enhancements is just a bit different. No matter how you slice it though, it is all for the good!

 

Mike