Parallels Team
Congratulations on a great product concept and successful implementation to date. We understand that virtualization is new technology and 3D graphics implementation is a complicated issue to resolve and are certain your developers have put in many many long hours to make this product successful. We also understand that your company has been thrust into the spotlight and is experiencing some growing pains as a result.
The latest release of Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0 is clear evidence of the organizational challenges facing SWSoft.
With all do respect, the latest version certainly does not coincide with the level of product maturity implied by your marketing department in the run up to general availability. As you are well aware the public has been anxiously awaiting the support of 3D graphics for more than six months. Avid supporters of and previous purchasers of Parallels were offered an opportunity to "pre-purchase" an upgrade based on the perception of readiness put forth in your advertising.
In our opinion it is misleading and deceptive to offer statements such as:
2. Play the hottest 3D games!
OpenGL and DirectX support lets you explore a whole new world of 3D games and applications right on your Mac. Play Half-Life 2 and work in Sony Vegas at near native speeds right in your Parallels virtual machine.
Only to have those statements clarified AFTER purchase with language such as:
Dear customers
Please, remember, what Parallels Desktop 3.0 is the first released virtualization software to deliver 3D support to the Mac. There are still some limitations on using the 3D support, please consider the following:
° The current version have been tested with and has the confirmed 3D support for the limited number of applications listed in the Release Notes
° There are also some issues possible with running your 3D application due to the copy-protection mechanism used in it.
Ethically, this information should have been disclosed prior to purchase. We believe better alternatives should have been explored such as:
1) Full disclosure of the major open defects prior to purchase
2) Waiting to release version 3.0 until more thorough testing had resulted in a significantly improved release than what exists today
3) Retooling the beta program once again to allow more thorough external testing
We understand the open public beta model used in previous releases proved a difficult to manage customer feedback process. When you retooled your beta program by closing the public beta and supporting only a limited number of external testers by invitation only it appears that we might have drastically reduced the number of hardware/software configurations tested resulting in a higher number of defects escaping from integration test to general release.
Some possible solutions are:
Perhaps the language used in marketing materials should be revised to more accurately reflect the state of the product at time of release so users can make an honest and educated assessment on whether the time is right to upgrade. We understand the external market pressures dictate a shortened schedule; however, quality and integrity must remain a priority. Maybe the marketing department itself needs some realignment.
A closer look at software development standards and methodologies such as IEEE 12207, Capability Maturity Model, Personal Software Process, etc can help your developers reduce the defect count prior to beta testing. If industry standard practices are being followed there is room for significant improvement in their execution.
Perhaps the beta program should be expanded again but in a more controlled fashion. Perhaps an online feedback mechanism that didn't consist of only free-form text should be explored. There are ways to improve the defect recording process to ensure that you receive meaningful feedback vs. a lot of the garbage you received previously.
In summary, we feel that the primary goal of this release was to introduce 3D graphics functionality. To that end, we are disappointed in the extremely limited 3D support AS A PURCHASED PRODUCT and some of us feel deceived and/or conned. Some have even lost confidence in your marketing and product support capabilities.
Your management team must recognize that you have the opportunity to take the virtualization application marketshare by storm but are also on the brink of squandering that opportunity due to a history of shoddy product support/customer service and now a paid release not yet ready for prime time.
Bottom line, this release should have been a minor 2.x update or a 3.0 beta. Not a paid upgrade. Hopefully most of us will continue to support your efforts as the product is continually improved. However, I personally will not accept and pay for a 4.0 release unless significant product, development lifecycle, and organizational improvements are made.
Best Regards
Shaun Williams
Sr. Software Engineer
Congratulations on a great product concept and successful implementation to date. We understand that virtualization is new technology and 3D graphics implementation is a complicated issue to resolve and are certain your developers have put in many many long hours to make this product successful. We also understand that your company has been thrust into the spotlight and is experiencing some growing pains as a result.
The latest release of Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0 is clear evidence of the organizational challenges facing SWSoft.
With all do respect, the latest version certainly does not coincide with the level of product maturity implied by your marketing department in the run up to general availability. As you are well aware the public has been anxiously awaiting the support of 3D graphics for more than six months. Avid supporters of and previous purchasers of Parallels were offered an opportunity to "pre-purchase" an upgrade based on the perception of readiness put forth in your advertising.
In our opinion it is misleading and deceptive to offer statements such as:
2. Play the hottest 3D games!
OpenGL and DirectX support lets you explore a whole new world of 3D games and applications right on your Mac. Play Half-Life 2 and work in Sony Vegas at near native speeds right in your Parallels virtual machine.
Only to have those statements clarified AFTER purchase with language such as:
Dear customers
Please, remember, what Parallels Desktop 3.0 is the first released virtualization software to deliver 3D support to the Mac. There are still some limitations on using the 3D support, please consider the following:
° The current version have been tested with and has the confirmed 3D support for the limited number of applications listed in the Release Notes
° There are also some issues possible with running your 3D application due to the copy-protection mechanism used in it.
Ethically, this information should have been disclosed prior to purchase. We believe better alternatives should have been explored such as:
1) Full disclosure of the major open defects prior to purchase
2) Waiting to release version 3.0 until more thorough testing had resulted in a significantly improved release than what exists today
3) Retooling the beta program once again to allow more thorough external testing
We understand the open public beta model used in previous releases proved a difficult to manage customer feedback process. When you retooled your beta program by closing the public beta and supporting only a limited number of external testers by invitation only it appears that we might have drastically reduced the number of hardware/software configurations tested resulting in a higher number of defects escaping from integration test to general release.
Some possible solutions are:
Perhaps the language used in marketing materials should be revised to more accurately reflect the state of the product at time of release so users can make an honest and educated assessment on whether the time is right to upgrade. We understand the external market pressures dictate a shortened schedule; however, quality and integrity must remain a priority. Maybe the marketing department itself needs some realignment.
A closer look at software development standards and methodologies such as IEEE 12207, Capability Maturity Model, Personal Software Process, etc can help your developers reduce the defect count prior to beta testing. If industry standard practices are being followed there is room for significant improvement in their execution.
Perhaps the beta program should be expanded again but in a more controlled fashion. Perhaps an online feedback mechanism that didn't consist of only free-form text should be explored. There are ways to improve the defect recording process to ensure that you receive meaningful feedback vs. a lot of the garbage you received previously.
In summary, we feel that the primary goal of this release was to introduce 3D graphics functionality. To that end, we are disappointed in the extremely limited 3D support AS A PURCHASED PRODUCT and some of us feel deceived and/or conned. Some have even lost confidence in your marketing and product support capabilities.
Your management team must recognize that you have the opportunity to take the virtualization application marketshare by storm but are also on the brink of squandering that opportunity due to a history of shoddy product support/customer service and now a paid release not yet ready for prime time.
Bottom line, this release should have been a minor 2.x update or a 3.0 beta. Not a paid upgrade. Hopefully most of us will continue to support your efforts as the product is continually improved. However, I personally will not accept and pay for a 4.0 release unless significant product, development lifecycle, and organizational improvements are made.
Best Regards
Shaun Williams
Sr. Software Engineer
