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People and society by
Hari
Posted on Sun, Oct 15, 2006 at 21:05 IST (last updated: Wed, Jul 16, 2008 @ 21:15 IST)
One of the real flaws of creating any product or service is trying to be all things to all people. You find so many examples of such exciting ideas floating around. Sadly few of them are realized and fewer survive in the long run to be termed a real success.
Let me try and explain with software as an example. Or more specifically, let me suppose that "A" has a great idea about a new kind of Linux distribution he wants to create. He wants it to be the absolute best Linux distribution ever created. It will be absolutely easy to use and yet at the same time have every possible feature that can every be included in a distribution. Based on the user requirements it should be either be a perfect, cutting-edge multimedia workstation, a simple desktop or a powerful and stable server - in short, an all-purpose distro, completely configurable and customizable, and yet completely easy to use by any newbie to computers. "A" wonders why nobody in the market ever thought of such a brilliant idea.
Now this is something that fires up a few people including "B" and "C" who join together and gather a few more people. So they go on and prepare a plan. Immediately they start running into problems. Since they want to listen to every idea out there, they will come into many situations where idea "X" clashes with idea 'Y". For example, if it should be user friendly, how can you allow users to configure a powerful server system while keeping several layers of complex detail hidden from them? Do you go for a powerful GUI orientation or just concentrate on command-line tools to do the job? Immediately they realize the contradictions of their own lofty goals. So "A" decides on a more realistic approach. This leads "B" and "C" to quit the project halfway in disgust, stating that "A" has abandoned the initial goals of the project. "B" and "C" proceed to build their own team and "A" continues to struggle, trying to cope with different pressures. The long and the short of it is, "A" fails to create a Linux distro and decides to go with an existing one, while "B" and "C" create a distro that merely clones another popular distro's functionality without adding anything new.
Now this is not about Linux, so let's not get into that aspect of it. The idea behind this story is that *any* product or service in the world cannot be developed without a firm vision of who it's intended for. Five-star and seven-star hotels cannot be thinking of cutting costs so as to reduce the bill for their clients. Their clients, which include CEOs of large corporates, are the kind who don't care about a few extra thousands on their bill - they expect the highest quality of service and ambience when they book a room in a star hotel. If they tried to cater to a lower segment of customers, they would end up losing their main clientele. The owner of the five-star hotel must charge a hefty price to maintain the beautiful ambience, the perfectly quiet and efficient air-conditioning, an effective room-service and the smart, costumed waiters who speak in polite and polished English. He must charge high to maintain his exquisite swimming pool and his well-stocked premium bar.
And on the other hand, the road-side teashop owner cannot afford to wait on his customers. He just makes tea and hands them round without any frills. If you wanted to drink tea in an exotic ambience, you'd better find a decent restaurant, because this guy doesn't worry about ambience. You drink tea standing in the hot dusty street right opposite a large garbage bin and inhaling copious amount of vehicular smoke as the buses and cars brush past you. You are not worried because you don't spend time in admiring the ambience and enjoying the flavour. The tea he dishes out is hot and it quenches your thirst, period. He washes your glass with hot water and immediately uses it to serve another customer.
So can any product or service really try and be a complete solution for everyone? There may be some successes, but they are more the exception to the general rule - you cannot be all things to all people.
2 comment(s)
Comment by Sudipta Chatterjee (visitor) on Mon, Oct 16, 2006 @ 07:57 IST #
Comment by hari (blog owner) on Mon, Oct 16, 2006 @ 08:12 IST #