On Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 11:45 AM, Jon Paris <jon.paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Apr 3, 2015, at 1:31 AM, John Yeung <gallium.arsenide@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Maybe some have even given the RDi
trial a shot, and like what they see, but really *are* up against the
cost.
This is the part I find so hard to understand.
I'll agree a lot of folks, including developers but also obviously
higher-ups, have beliefs that are "hard to understand" in that they
aren't fully rational. That much Buck tapped into well.
Your arguments based on productivity and returns are not sufficient
for a significant portion of folks who control the purse strings.
Lots of companies will not spend X dollars to increase their sales by
3*X. A lot of the time, it's because of fear. It's not like there
are many cases where the 3*X is somehow guaranteed. It's more like
"increase the chances for a positive result" kind of thing.
The "free" trial is not really free. There's an investment of time
and hassle. You can blame whoever you like for not being willing to
put in that investment (the developer, the manager, the CEO, whoever,
doesn't matter). You said yourself there's an initial hump. So,
there's *some* cost, and the future increase in productivity is just
from testimonials and hope.
Now, I want to put that part aside. I also want to put aside the
folks who, as Buck pointed out, ultimately just truly like PDM/SEU. I
want to focus on the segment of people who *are already convinced*
that RDi is a good idea, and yet *really are* up against the dollar
cost. Depending on what level of the bureaucracy you're contending
with, there sometimes really just isn't the money.
If you want to argue that this segment doesn't exist or is too small
to matter, fine. I don't have anything more to say on that front. I
don't have any hard numbers on that unicorn population.
But history has shown that this community does not really value what it gets for
free - adoption went way up _after_ IBM put a price on the tool. It has zoomed
again as people finally understand that SEU is not being updated.
This is one thing I've been asking for: actual numbers. Not that
you've given numbers, but if the RDi uptake pattern is what you're
saying, then good for IBM. Maybe they would do even better *in
today's climate* with a different strategy, but maybe they wouldn't.
I'm not going to insist IBM change what's working well enough.
John Y.
midrange.com
