Why Products Fail

I totally disagree with the conclusion of the author that a product's sucess or failure rests entirely on the user feeling like they have complete control of the product. I do however agree with one commenter on the linked site who felt that the article seemed to be little more than an anti-Microsoft rant - but that's another story.

Products fail for a huge variety of reasons. Price point is an obvious one. You could for example manufacture the finest & most controllable dinner fork in the world, but if it costs $1000 odds are you'll be closing the factory doors soon.

Frankly, I'm not sure non-technical users (which makes up a good % of total users) want ultimate control per se. True, they don't want to wait long for their product to do whatever it's supposed to do. But as far as having a dizzying up-front access to all features of a feature-heavy product (as opposed to Microsoft supposedly "burying" them), I doubt many users - technical or not - want to always be confronted with that complexity.

But I do agree with the need an easy-access "put it back like it was" button. When non-technical users mess something up, they usually don't know what they've done nor how they did it.

Also if I'm not mistaken (feel free to correct me) the author's claim that Microsoft doesn't let the user try upcoming products in the "real world" on their home PC doesn't hold water. Isn't that precisely what they do with early releases?

I threw a GA at you. mostly because you mirrored what I did.

even though I was thinking of upgraded my 2000 excel to the latest because of some of the macro's additions to the latest.

about that new computer every 6 months.

I work with a guy thats that way. That's sad.

At work we upgraded our virus software. And the reduction in compute speed set us back about 10 years.

wa @&%%# hoo

Why products fail. its seems that people should learn if its not broken don't fix it.

phoenix911

Yes I remember the epidemic of flashing numeral 12:00 . i also remember reading an article in a Stereo Hi-Fi magazine about the cultural factors behind product choices. The Orientals liked that mysterious blank front that revealed nothing except to the "initiates" meaning the people in the know. Being among the people in the "know" gave them a sense of superiority over those others who didn't know.

Being among the people in the "know" gave them a sense of superiority over those others who didn't know.

now your talking down to me

I gave you a GA because my experiences are very similar to yours. While I regularly use Office 2003(?) on my Windows machine and now Open Office on my Linux machine, I prefer the earlier versions of the Microsoft Office software, before it started becoming "bloatware".

Why do products fail?

A fairly good question (how can we rate questions?)

Look at successful products and try to find out what the difference is with a similar product which failed.

Somehow it has nothing to do with the price and technical capabilities and quality.

It is all on how the user sees the product, how he interacts with the product and the social status a potential user will achieve in his private surroundings.

The Apple IPod was not the first portable MP3 player on the market but the packaging and ease of use made the whole idea a tremendous success.

Some mobile phone developing companies really fail on selling pretty neat idea's. Some years later you see the same feature pop up with Nokia and it is called a tremendous improvement. Nobody noticed it before, why? hidden to deep in the unit? forgot to tell the customers that it is in?

We have a nice abbreviation here: RTFM (Read the Fucking Manual)

If a customer can only use the product after reading the manual, you can be sure that it will be a failing product. (a serious percentage of the quality returns is due the need to read)

A product must be intuitive. You open it up and immediately you understand what you need to do to use all its features you need. (For us engineers there still is a manual in the box, written by engineers, so only understandable by our 0.001% of the population)

A customer in the shop, having to decide what he will take must see and understand the features directly without having to read the complete box of a 10 pages leaflet.

This is going to be very contentious and argumentative - so perhaps
I should not say it? Keeping that is mind; please would you not react
to a personal view, which is entered completely without malice.

Why do products fail? I believe people are motivated by obviously many
reasons; however, the perceived attitude of the seller is most strong.

For example: Apple computers had arguably a better operating system,
and product, than the pc, combined with every marketing advantage;
so why did their product "fail" and the pc win? (market share)

May I suggest that Apple from the very top down, became arrogant.
Their dealers enjoyed a monopoly; and they absolutely revelled in it.
This became apparent. Compare that to the (perceived) image of Microsoft.

He came over as a young man, doing his best to help us all, and presented
us with a far more friendly image of his effort and cooperation.
Even though Apple products were far superior, MS opened our wallets by
creating this (perceived) attitude; of his efforts and cooperation.
(please note: I am not making any judgements here whatsoever.)

This is only one example, chosen because the companies are well known.
Many cases are similar. Opportunities; which make fortunes for ad men.

Perceived attitude is the key to success (or failure) ask any politician!

jt.

Was it Gobels who said;

"if I can make the people laugh, I can sell them anything."

Keeping that is mind; please would you not react
to a personal view, which is entered completely without malice.

Considering we use it Professionally and for personal use?

So are your saying people with no experience should respond?