Product Development and Customer Feedback
“If you asked a group of Porsche owners what they wanted they’d
tell you things like “smoother ride, more trunk space, more leg room,
etc.” He’d then say “well, they just designed a Volvo.”” - Robert Scoble talking about how a Porsche would be a Volvo if they let their buyers decide on features.
Referring to Techcrunch's article No! Never Surrender To Your Users, Facebook.
I completely agree with the fact that Product development team doesn't need to ask what features to provide to the user. Because a user can only mention his/her felt need, but a product is more satisfying when it address an unfelt need. The product connects well with a user only when it gives the user a delightful surprise.
For e.g. Mozilla Firefox is a browser which is being constantly developed by a huge user base. But if the core product wasn't created by a few geniuses, we would all be in a different and less user friendly web (using IE).
Creation and Usage are to distinct attribute of a human being. The astronomer creates the theory & product and the astronaut uses it to travel to outer space.
Now if an astronaut is asked constantly for feedback regarding how it can be made better, the response might not always lead to extraordinary achievements.
Will add more to this later... now getting back to work.
