Top 10 Lies of Engineers
by Volker Weber
Guy Kawasaki continues his list of Top 10 Lies. This time it is Engineers. I liked this one best:
9. "Our beta sites loved the software." In twenty five years of working in technology, I've never heard a company report that its beta sites didn't like its software. There are three reasons for this: first, many beta sites are so honored to get pre-release software that they don't want say anything negative. Second, most beta sites haven't used the software very much. Third, most beta sites don't want to seem cruel by criticizing a company's new product. Doing so is as socially unacceptable as telling someone that his baby is ugly.
Other "Top 10 Lies" lists: Entrepeneurs and VCs
Comments
You are probably right. I have been in several real beta programs (there are others too) and have always given real feedback and named, what I did not like. Usually the reaction have been very happy developers. They seldom become fast and accurate feedback from their beta-testers. But just that would be very great to improve the final product.
Jens-B. Augustiny, 2006-04-29
I'll add one to that list of reasons. Sometimes, you assume that the things you *don't* like are problems with the beta, so you don't mention them.
esther schindler, 2006-04-30
Ok, I´m guilty... I think I said #3 a few (dozen?) times... ;)
Elton Grottoli Lima, 2006-04-30
