Microsoft Seeks Input on Windows 8
Customer input and feedback are powerful resources to companies willing to listen. But there is an art to generating effective customer input, according to a Boston area business blogger. The key is active participation coming from the “right” people – that is, from the customers who represent the targeted swath of the market that you most urgently need to understand. Once those people are identified and recruited, it’s important to keep them engaged by showing that the company is listening and providing encouragement for participating.
A new blog from Microsoft demonstrates how companies can do this. The site will chronicle the development of new operating software, Windows 8, generating customer feedback along the way. According to Microsoft, the company aims for the site to be a “point of dialogue between its developers and the general public about design choices, real-world data and usage, and new opportunities that are part of Windows 8.″
According to quotes and videos released by Microsoft, the initial product is design indicates that the software is built to reflect changes in computers. Because computing has been transformed by mobile PCs, applications and touch-screen functionality, Windows is in need of an overhaul not seen since Windows 95. Whether the changes will be enough for consumers is yet to be seen.
The blog hopes to repeat the success of Windows 7, which was described as a “product not just of Microsoft, but of a whole industry of partners of all kinds, thanks to the company’s “Engineering Windows 7” blog. The community helped produce an engaged team of beta testers, contributing to Windows 7 being “the most broadly and deeply tested releases of software we have ever had.” The blog was maintain through the release of the final product and beyond, serving as means of generating public relations when issues such as software bugs would arise. The project may have been an effort to recover from the highly unpopular Windows Vista product, which Windows 7 replaced.
Add your Comment
[LOGIN FIRST] if you're already a member.fields are required.