OBSYDIAN Focus Groups Update
Staying Focused

by Ramon Chen, Product Manager, Obsydian, Synon Corp.

(From the 1996 Summer issue of Synonyms)

With Obsydian, Synon entered the extremely competitive market of PC software development tools - a market whose pace of change often outstrips that of a traditional AS/400 development environment.

In order to remain competitive, Synon must stay focused to ensure that valuable development efforts are going into those features and tasks that benefit existing customers and contribute to Obsydian's competitive edge.

In a drive to provide existing customers with a mechanism of feedback unmatched in the industry today, we have conducted focus groups around the world. These focus groups afford you the opportunity to express your opinions, requirements and desires by providing direct input to the Obsydian development process. Representing Synon are key members of Obsydian Development and Marketing teams.

One of the things that make these focus groups so unique is the fact that they not only help influence the long-term strategic direction of the product, but they allow Synon to take requests and inject them into the immediate development cycle, resulting in almost unheard of feature-to-market delivery time-frames. Such requests contribute to the evolution of an Obsydian Volcano.

The focus groups are a bi-directional exchange of ideas and issues; attendees learn about Synon's latest release plans and design details, while Synon absorbs and benefits from the experience and knowledge of our customers. An outstanding by-product of the focus groups is the constant exchange of ideas between the attendees themselves. All in all, the focus groups are of tremendous value to both Synon and attendees alike.

Visionary Insight

Simon Williams, Synon's founder and chief technology officer, sits in on many of the focus groups, taking time out of his busy schedule to listen to customers' suggestions and to enlighten participants by giving his perspectives on Obsydian's inception and his vision for the product's future direction.

"Having spent several years creating Obsydian, I get great pleasure from listening to people who use it every day to build real applications. Our focus groups always provide valuable insights and welcome new perspectives on how we should develop and enhance Obsydian to better meet our customers' needs." Simon Willams

Dates and Locations

We have conducted 10 focus groups in the U.S. and Europe and are planning more:

US

Dallas, TX April 1

Orlando, FL April 29

New York, NY May 6

Europe

London, U.K. May 29,30, and June 6

Paris, France June 3

Gothenburg, Sweden June 4

Frankfurt, Germany June 5

Milan, Italy June 7

Product Enhancement Questionnaire

The 1996 Product Enhancement Questionnaire is a 15-page document covering all aspects of the tool ranging from the development environment to the generated deployed applications. This questionnaire is sent to all focus group participants and provides a solid basis for discussion of ideas and issues.

The questionnaire is also available for download to those unable to attend the focus groups.
The 1996 Obsydian Product Enhancement Questionnaire (206KB)

A key part of the questionnaire allows participants to allocate 100 votes among areas of Obsydian which they would most like to see improved.

Coming into Focus

To date, the tabulated feedback points to the following as top focus categories:

Top 5 in North & South America

Top 5 in Europe

Top 20 (combined)

Of course, these are very broad categories. In order to get to the specifics, the questionnaire drills down to very fine details giving the capability of specifying feature function requests at the very lowest level. The day-long focus groups also spend time discussing and dissecting the categories, enabling participants to provide Synon with the benefit of their experience and opinions as to how these areas should be improved.

Quotes from Focus Group Attendees

"It is nice that customers have the opportunity to participate in the direction of Obsydian. Simon Williams's participation gives us great confidence that there is a visionary as well as a tactical focus. The focus groups show Synon's commitment to Obsydian."

Kathi Scott, Director of Applications Systems, GATX

"IBS were delighted to host an Obsydian focus group in Gothenburg in which many excellent ideas were exchanged. Obsydian is a great product and I am convinced that these focus groups will contribute to Obsydian's continued domination over the competition."

Christer Ahlstedt, IBS Sweden AB

"I am pleased that Synon is taking the time to listen to the requirements and ideas of Obsydian customers. It is this kind of interaction that creates a well tailored development tool. The close working relationship between Soft Design and Synon gives us a competitive edge and we look forward to participating in future focus groups."

John Leadbetter, Soft Design

Synon/2 Focus

In case you were wondering, the Synon/2 product development team has already spent the better part of a year gathering and collating the feedback and requirements for R6.0 and beyond. They are busy implementing those enhancements into the product. However, because the Synon/2 team is already looking beyond those enhancements, they will be holding focus groups in 1997 to garner more suggestions and requests from you.

Continued Focus

Synon continues to blaze the trail with Obsydian, providing features and functions through focus groups and other mechanisms of customer feedback, such as requests received through technical support. The focus groups are events which take place year-round. Participation is encouraged no matter what your experience level with Obsydian; we are truly interested in your opinions and experiences. If you are interested in a scheduled focus group, or feel that your local user group would like to host a focus group, please contact me at ramonc@synon.com, or contact your local Synon representative.

Thank you for helping us stay focused!

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Modified: 1st of August, 1996