[IxDA Discuss] Great design = success

[Peter Bagnall]

An argument which may make some impression on an organisation who  
sees training as a profit centre is risk.

If your product is hard to use but your getting money from training  
you're vulnerable to another vendor producing a system which is  
easier to use, and therefore doesn't require the training. Customers  
are not only going to like the cost savings of reduced training, but  
also in the increased convenience. After all, to them training costs  
personnel time as well as the quoted costs.

So any organisation which is not prepared to improve usability of  
it's product because training makes money is in a precarious  
position. I've never tried this argument out, but I'd be interested  
if anyone has what sort of reaction it gets.

Cheers
--Pete


On 14 Jan 2007, at 16:12, Jon Strande wrote:
> Anyway, back to your message... you know, I can't help but wonder if
> that training organization is really an expense or if it is an excuse
> and selling training services to customers is actually a revenue
> stream, a profit center, for the organization? I know one organization
> that I've done work for who derived about 50% of their revenues from
> training, support and customizations. What a shame, these
> organizations are engaged in activities that detract from
> innovation... my guess is that those resources could be redeployed to
> help build the best product on the market, probably a tough sell
> though.
>
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No one would be foolish enough to choose war over peace - in
peace sons bury their fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons.
      - Croesus of Lydia, 595 - 547 BC

Peter Bagnall - http://people.surfaceeffect.com/pete