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Steve Hudson wrote:
>
> I call this exercise feature analysis. I use a table with a column for each
> product and a description column to the left of those. If the product has
> that feature, I tick its box on that row. After completing the exercise one
> sorts by the number of ticks in the row to show the overall support offered
> to each feature by the market.
It is worth remembering that this sort of comparison has it weaknesses. It is
by no means the case that the product with the most features is the best for
any purpose, or for any user, or the best-designed, or ...
To some extent, you can fix this by choosing "features" appropriately, but
only partly.
Product A has a whole lot of extra features which Product B lacks. Does that
mean I should prefer A? Perhaps, if I need those features.
But, for computer products, do they require more memory or a faster processor?
For cars, how do the extras affect fuel economy?
On a computer, do the extras mean more bugs? In a car, how do they affect
maintenance costs?
Do they complicate the interface? On a computer, can I do simple things
quickly and efficiently, or are there 7 layers of menus? On a car, how
does the cruise control or ABS system affect driving feel?
And so on.
I'm not saying don't do the exercise, just be extremely skeptical of
what it tells you.
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