An adoption learning curve is involved with every new software purchase. It needs to be integrated with current systems & software, & the end users have to be brought up to speed using it. If the software is chunky & too complex, adoption resistance can occur.
Ease of Use
The software should have an intuitive interface, & use of features should be pretty much self evident. The shorter the learning curve training a new user, the better. The software should also have the ability to easily fit into the existing systems with which it will have to communicate. For example, a collaboration software might allow you to use some features from your Outlook itself or even
share Outlook data.
Adoption
To get a measure of 'shelfware', i.e., software that is purchased but never used, some
studies peg the number of shelved content management solutions at 20-25%. At a million dollars per implementation, that's pretty expensive shelfware! According to another study
in the US, 22% of purchased enterprise portal (ERP) licenses are never used. No doubt, 'Shelfware' is a result of ill thought out purchase decisions. These studies clearly underline the importance of making an educated purchase. One possible way to protect against shelfware is the new concept of '
software as a service' (SAAS)
hosted software. The software is hosted by its developer, & buyers have to pay a monthly subscription, which they can opt out of anytime.
Seth Rowland, Basha Systems LLC (www.bashasys.com) (unauthenticated)
Jul 30, 2010 4:48 PM
"Ease of Use" and "Adoption" are actually quite different. In any adoption study, there are the "promoting forces" which motivate the user to adopt a new technology, and the "demoting force" which are barriers or off-putters to adoptions of new technology. "Ease of Use" is general a factor in mitigating the "demoting force". Ease of Use is not a reason to buy a product. However, between 2 product of similar function which are NEEDED by a user, ease of use will be a factor in choosing one over the other.
You are right that "shelf ware" is a very common occurrence; think of how many cans of beans you have in your kitchen cabinet. We buy more than we need; we buy in case we need. I believe your numbers may be an underestimate. I have heard numbers in the corporate space of failed database systems closer to 50%. As a society, we tend to buy and forget; that is until someone sends us a bill for a "renewal" or for "maintenance".
The question is do you want to price a product so low that people will "buy to try"? And then use "ease of use" to keep they involved. Or do you want to price a product at a higher level to filter out those who are committed to using the product. In the first scenario, wizards and ease of use are critical because you lack a commitment to get training on a "trial product". In the latter, the training allows you to have a more complex system which can be appreciated.