In an entry from last month, here, I contrasted my experiences using the Tomboy open source note-taking program with my participation in the Microsoft OneNote (that link doesn’t like Firefox, BTW) Beta program. Well, I just received another invitation, and I thought the experience was again quite a contrast.
Here’s the invite (actual link has the URL invite code removed, though note the JSP extension from zTelligence):
You are receiving this survey as a member of the OneNote customer feedback panel. We are conducting a survey about your use, satisfaction, and deployment of OneNote. Your input will help guide the development efforts of the OneNote team. We would appreciate your completion of this short survey. It should take no more than 10 minutes of your time.
Thank you again for your time and participation in the OneNote customer feedback panel.
To take the survey, please click the URL below.
http://deploy.ztelligence.com/start/index.jsp?[removed]
You have received this invitation to complete this survey because you are part of the Microsoft OneNote customer feedback survey panel. We want to assure you that, as always, we guarantee the privacy of your answers to this survey. You will not be identified on the questionnaire and your information will only be used for research purposes. If you have any questions or concerns about the questions we ask, please email us at [email protected]
So I hit the survey, and the first question is how many PCs we have deployed at RedMonk. I clicked under 25, and got the following:
Thank you for your interest. However, at this time, we are looking for survey respondents who fit a different profile.
Now, to Microsoft’s credit, just because my feedback is not wanted, I’m not cut out of the potential reward. I’m apparently still eligible for one of the 4 $500 cash prizes (although I never win these damn things). But as a user and fan of OneNote (I really miss it) I’m told my input is not required. The goal obviously is to solicit input from firms with bigger deployments, but the unintended side effect is giving me the impression that my feedback is not important to the development of OneNote.
As an analyst, I can try to put this into the proper context – I’d guess that Microsoft is looking for feedback on the deployment and ongoing management of the product, which they rightly, IMO, assume they aren’t going to get from firms our size. But how many users will be able to make that connection?
Viewed against the open source contribution model, which is often sign up to a developers list and start spewing feedback, Microsoft’s Beta program is certainly less transparent, if more structured. The attempt is there to provide a response to that feedback, as the OneNote homepage linked to above has a section entitled “You talked, we listened”, but the connection is indirect at best.
Once more, I think the lesson here is clear: reduce, any way you can, the barriers between your developers and the folks who will end up using those applications. And certainly don’t tell them that their feedback is not important – well intentioned or not, it gives the wrong impression.
