Re: [libreoffice-marketing] The LibO developers need input from former users. A proposal. (readable version)

Here is a figure I was given a few years ago, and it is sort of easy to 
remember:
"Only 5% of MSO users use more than 5% of the functions built into MSO."

One year, I remember MSO touted that is had over 250 new functions added 
to Word.
I think it was when either MSO 2000 or 2003 came out.

My question is is why do we need any word processor to have so many 
functions that it makes it too bloated to be easy to use.  Same with any 
other part of an office suite.

I think I remember reading an article stating that unless you are an 
extreme power user, LibreOffice is a good suite to use.  If you require 
all those functions that only a very small percent of users "need", then 
you will need to use MSO.  MSO built in most of their functions for that 
very small percent of users that could not work with out these abilities 
that take massive amounts of complex documentation and examples to be 
able to figure out how to use them.  Give me a more simple approach.  
99.99% of my use, and most of the people I know, need no complex 
documentation to figure out.  Rarely would even the internal "help" 
system be needed as well.  So MSO becomes bigger and bigger with 
functions and abilities that a very small number of users will ever use.

As for missing abilities when switching from MSO to LibreOffice, there 
are few that are missed.  Out of those, most should be included as 
people clean out the bad legacy coding and start adding some other lower 
use functions.

I do not think LibreOffice should go the route of MSO, with all its 
bloat.  Yes, it should make an effort to add needed functions, but no on 
the ones that are not used by most [say 95% or more] of the users.


On 04/19/2011 10:13 AM, Riemer Thalen wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> My name is Riemer Thalen and I am not a programmer. I'm a marketing 
> guy. For the last couple of years I have been wondering: how come so 
> many people pay hundreds of dollars for MS Office when they can have 
> OOo/LibO for free?
>
> Apparently, many people feel LibO does not match MS Office. Maybe they
> are missing functions MS Office has, maybe they think LibO behaves
> oddly, or maybe... we don't know.
>
> And that's a real problem. Because if we really want LibO to become the
> number one office suite in the world, we need to find out what keeps
> people form switching to OOo/LibO permanently.
>
> I am not an old hand in the OOo community. Maybe some market reseach
> into former users has been done in the past. I searched the Internet 
> and I could not find any reports.
>
> At present, the LibO developers are guided by community feedback. But
> for our purpose, that will not do. It is like asking iPhone users if
> they need a keyboard. No, of course they don't. If they thought a
> keyboard was necessary they would not have bought an iPhone in the
> first place.
> The same applies to the OOo / LibO community. The members are dedicated
> LibO users and by definition they are not representative for non-users.
>
> As it happens, my daughter who is business student needs to do a
> marketing survey. That's no big deal nowadays. All you have to do is
> open an account at a survey site. Then you compose a three question
> questionnaire.
>
> The questionnaire is posted and tagged on Facebook and LinkedIn.
> "Did you use OpenOffice in the past? Please, help us improve it. 
> Answer just three questions."
> If only half of the subscribers to this mailing list would post the 
> link, we probably will have more than enough respondents.
>
> The questionnaire could read like this:
>
> /Yes, I used or tried OpenOffice.org in the past and I do not use it
> anymore.
>
> 1) The main reason I dropped OOo concerned (tick as many boxes as are
> applicable): O Writer, O Calc, O Impress (presentation), O Draw,
> O Base, O Formula,  O the suite as a whole.
>
> 2) What made me drop OOo was the following. (Just the one big problem.
> What was the show-stopper for you?)
>
> 3) What else needs to be fixed in OOo in your opinion? (Name as many
> issues as you like.)
>
> Thank you for your feedback!
> /
> Indeed, this is a qualitative survey. We need to know how former users
> feel about OOo/LibO. In what terms do they describe their problem? How
> strongly do they feel about it? That is more important than the exact
> percentage that encountered the issue.
> (Of course, the responses will later be categorized and counted, but 
> this will result in quantative indications only.)
>
> Once the results are in and processed, two importants things can be done:
>
> 1. the developers can prioritize issues, fixes, modifications and new
> functions, targeting a new group of users.
>
> 2. the marketing group can create a "switchers guide" based on 
> real-life feedback. Not all functions in LibO will be and can be the 
> same as in MS Office. Knowing the differences and how to deal with 
> them will greatly improve user satisfaction.
>
> OK, this is as far as my proposal goes. I would like to hear from you
> guys what you think of it. Personally, I feel it is very important to 
> get feedback from outside the community.
>
> Moreover, IMHO it is crucial not only for the success of LibO, but 
> also for the Linux desktop. Without an office suite that is considered 
> state-of-the-art, Ubuntu, LinuxMint, Fedora and the likes are fighting 
> an uphill battle...
>
> Hope to hear from you soon.
>
> Riemer Thalen


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