Hey Everyone,
First, let me say sorry. Honestly, I just completely forgot to respond. Nothing personal. We're just VERY busy here pretty much ALL the time and this one got away from me. So I do apologize and thank Zaniax for dropping me an email reminder!
And as you probably now know, the very big thing was our new version of eWallet, our partnership with WebIS to merge in FlexWallet, and the release of the eWallet Web Companion. A HUGE bunch of changes and a monstrous time suck. Plus, eWallet 6.1 continues the feature expansion and we're working like demons to get it out by the middle of this year!
OK, on to ListPro. I started answering every single item individually but realized that there were some common themes (and doing it individually ended up with a novella of information.) Once you read this, if there are still specific things you want answered let me know, but I think I'll cover them here. Also, as always, all your requests got added to "the list".
Finally, before I start, please understand that I'm shooting for complete honesty here. This means that you might not like some of what I have to say. I hope, however, that you will understand and respect it, even if you don't like it.
An Inconvenient Truth
So here is the first thing I want to say about ListPro. I LOVE ListPro. I'm a ListPro addict. The reality, however, is that ListPro doesn't keep us in business. eWallet does. ListPro is profitable, but it doesn't drive the company. This means that when we get pinched on time, ListPro gets bumped BUT this doesn't mean we aren't supporting ListPro or that we're not continuing to improve it. We are...it just ALWAYS has to wait until the eWallet work is done. It sucks, I know...I know because I LOVE ListPro and have great plans for it but I have to be very realistic as I make development decisions for the company.
"This is MY ListPro"
The second problem with ListPro is that it is so flexible that EVERYONE wants something different. They all see it as their program to do X, where X is the task they have adapted it to, and they feel that X is the "one true use" for ListPro and new features should support that. We get more requests for ListPro than for any other program we make. Our users are typically hardcore fans, they are all doing something different with the software, and they all want it to have different features.
The challenge with ListPro is to manage that feature list. What do we NEED to add? Where do we draw the line between usability and bloat? My big concern is that ListPro does not end up looking like "the Homer"
If you never saw this episode, basically Homer designed a car with every feature he dreamed of and the end result was so costly and unusable that it flopped. I won't let that happen to ListPro.
And if you are curious, our current Top of the List request is item level sync for Windows Mobile devices.
Little isn't Little
Little changes aren't little. They never are. I am constantly reminded by my developers that my "easy" requests often are not. Everything is tied together, so when you change something small it directly impacts every other aspect of the software. This means lots of tests on the development side and TONS of QA (Quality Assurance) testing on the other side. So yes, what you are requesting might seem little...it might even seem little from a coding POV, but remember that in context, things are never as simple as they might seem.
There are also TONS of decisions to make with every small feature change. How does it handle sorting? What happens when they sync? Do you add more options? Where does the menu pick go? Does that make too many menu picks on Windows Mobile devices? Does it break logo requirements for Microsoft? What happens when you switch to landscape mode? I think many people would be amazed at just how complex the simplest thing becomes when you really start to measure the impact it has on a piece of software, especially one that is available for 4+ different types of devices and is as feature rich as ListPro.
What Gets Added And Why
No matter how great an idea is, we may not add it. Even something that seems obvious. Even something that seems vital. Even something WE really want. It just might not make it in. Even if it is a make or break feature for a particular user, we may have to just say "We're sorry. We can't do it." There is a LOT that goes into deciding what features go into a product. I actually wrote a blog post about it here
Ilium Software Blog » Blog Archive » Where’s my template editor?!? that I think explains it pretty well.
And please remember that every single tiny feature takes away from time we could spend doing something else. This means that if feature A offers X benefits and feature B offers X+1 benefits, we
have to go with feature B, even if feature A is logical, simple, and reasonable.
What Is Taking So Long
Poor ListPro. It got the shaft for a long time, I know. When we did finally get back to it we embarked upon a project of epic proportions (all the notes pane changes...this was an enormous update.) So yes, you had to wait a long time.
Will this get better in the future? A little. Remember my first point though regarding the eWallet/ListPro relationship. Every day I have to make tough decisions about this. Here's an example...purely hypothetical. Let's say there is an enormously popular new operating system that hits the market. Everybody loves this OS. Now eWallet is our bread and butter. Do I choose to expand eWallet to support that new operating system? Or do I direct the resources toward ListPro 5.1 to tweak a number of things and add a couple of new features? I WANT to do ListPro 5.1 but if I'm going to make sure that we're still around to EVER release ListPro 5.1, I'm afraid I have no choice but to redirect resources to the place that will ensure we stay in business, thus allowing 5.1 to come out eventually.
I hope that helps explain why thing happen like they do, even if it isn't particularly comforting.
But X Software Company Releases Tons of Updates
We always struggle with this one (the perception that we don't do enough updates) and I can make it really simple. Our software works when we release it. I'm not saying that frequent updates means a program is buggy, I'm just saying that when our stuff goes out the door, by god you can count on it to work every time you fire it up. No crashes. No data loss. No broken features. It works. There are always exceptions but we bust our butts making sure that we've tested stuff to death before you ever get it. Our paying customers are not our beta test group. You deserve the best product we can make.
This isn't to say there aren't things we can tweak to make better. I know that some folks don't like the new 3-state icons (although I'll add that a LOT of people do like them and have no problems) but they work (functionally) flawlessly. In the end, I hate to say it, that becomes a matter of taste and the issue falls into the whole "what features/changes do we make" decision making process I described above.
Also, here at Ilium Software, every release is a big deal. It requires complete, end to end testing of the software (this is HUGE and something we refuse to skimp on...it's part of why our stuff "just works.") It requires updating every system that manages user codes, release information, downloads. It requires updating dozens of resellers. It requires testing every single change from the website to the resellers. EVERY release is a big deal, and this also means that every release is EXPENSIVE. So for us, at least, a "minor release" is still a big deal.
But You NEED To Fix This, It's So Obvious
There is no easy way for me to say this and I am not suggesting that every idea and request isn't important, but what is vital to one person doesn't matter at all to another. We are in the tough position of having to balance this.
Every day I have to ask myself: "For the majority of our users, is this a big enough issue that we need to address it now?" or sometimes "Is this such a terrible problem for a minority that we would be remiss if we didn't fix it immediately?" If the answer is "No" then I HAVE to put the change off. We have limited resources for unlimited possibilities. It's a difficult job, but sometimes I just have to say "We aren't going to do this yet." All I can say is that "I'm sorry".
Where is Your Forum?
We don't have one. Instead we have real humans answering email (
support@iliumsoft.com ) usually within 1 business day and a toll-free phone number you can call where a real human will answer your questions and help you with anything ( 888-632-5388 ). We thought about forums at one point and, while we have one for beta testing, we decided not to do one for support. Why? In a nutshell, our time is better spent helping you one-on-one, developing updates for our software, and making sure the software works before you ever get it than managing a forum. For folks who have managed forums it is a LOT of work. You can have someone working full time just managing forums.
For some companies a forum is the right choice, but for us we've gone with the real people on the phone option instead. Always feel free to contact us to ask anything you want to know!
IN CONCLUSION!!!!
We take every suggestion and request seriously and we fully understand that many of the things you guys are asking for are vital to you. I respect that. Some of the things you've asked for are already planned for 5.1. Others aren't planned for any release. They are on "the list" but at this point, the majority of the users just aren't calling for that feature, MS doesn't require it, and other features are much more urgent in the big picture.
Whew! I'm done for now! :)
Marc Tassin
Senior Product Manager
Ilium Software
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I was hoping there was a dedicated forum with only ListPro users somewhere on the web. Every software title I have purchased has a dedicated forum for its users.
