An “Ah-Ha” Moment…

I don’t know about you, but to have an “ah-ha” moment is a rarity for me.  Normally, it is more an “uh-oh” moment, an “oops” moment, or even a “zzzzz” moment.  So if a little light goes on over my head, it’s time to stop and acknowledge it with a little fanfare.  (Cue, horns).

For most of you reading this, (all two of you), you may have already come to this conclusion.  For new software applications, the adoption rate is more important than the features and benefits.  Gee, it doesn’t look as profound now that it is written down, but I believe that it may be the most important factor in the whether a new software application is successful or just relegated to the side of the road, next to the carcasses of all the other applications that promised treasures beyond belief.
Since I like to think that computers exist to make life easier for me, new software applications interest me until I sense a steep learning curve.  If that happens then I will look for alternatives until I find one where the learning curve equals the need for the application.  Makes perfect sense to me.

But I can see that a lot of times software vendors and developers will get really excited about adding new, cool features that can drip marketing hype and let developers showcase their expertise. But in the end the feedback from the users is this; we’re busy, and don’t have time to learn a complicated piece of software. They patiently explain that they sleep between “12:00 am and 6:00 am” and even if it was selfish they weren’t giving it up to learn a software application. 
And there is the “ah-ha” moment:  adoption is much more important than features.  Because it can be the coolest piece of software in the world but if nobody uses it, what good is it?  So now, ask yourself a question, does this add more value or less value.  Most likely, the ramification of the answer will be; less features, more adoption……