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Subject:Re: Reversing errors is trivial? From:John Posada <john -at- TDANDW -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 24 Dec 1998 10:08:36 -0500
Hi, Guys...As much as I'd like to be so dedicated to being the champion of the
user over the programmer, let's not forget that two of the priorities that a
company must follow is the bottom line and schedule.
Yes, it would be nice if a company would rewrite the software every time a
problem occurs. However, that must be balanced against how much would that cost
and would/could the customer pay for it. Plus, the problem in the software may
only affect 20% of the users. Do we increase the cost to everyone across the
board to address the problem that a minority are suffering? Yes, the company
should absorb the cost...but it might do so in the short term and cease to
exist in the long term.
Not only that, but what impact would it have to the current schedule and all
subsequent releases?
I don't have a problem with writing around some issues in the documentation if
it means that the majority of the users are getting a product on time that
handles 99% of their needs well and 10% of the users follow instructions
similar to the following:
-----------
CAUTION: Users that are upgrading from version 12.4.5 to 12.5 must make a
complete backup of the database as some users have experienced a corruption of
the xyz module. If you are not using version 12.4.5, you may proceed without
backing up the database, though it is always advisable to do so during any
database upgrade. If you are not sure what version you are running, see Section
34.3.2 on page 34-5 for the procedure to determine your current version.
-----------
It's all a question of identifying the impact, addressing the impact
objectively and making a decision that will benefit the most users the most.
John
Pierre Roberge wrote:
> >>. My developers
> > agree but they also tell me that this often takes a lot of
> > programming effort to effectuate.>>
> >
> >
> What are the priorities? Making it easy for the programmers or
> for the users.
-
John Posada, Technical Writer
Bellcore, where Customer Satisfaction is our number one priority mailto:john -at- tdandw -dot- com mailto:jposada -at- notes -dot- cc -dot- bellcore -dot- com
phone(w) 732-699-3077 phone(h) 732-2910-7811
alpha-pager: 800-864-8444 pin 1857522 http://www.tdandw.com
email pager: mailto:1857522 -at- pagemart -dot- net
My opinions are mine, and neither you nor my company can take credit for
them.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish,
and he will sit in a boat and smoke cigars all day."
"The only perfect document I ever created is still on my hard drive."
