Outside reading: Enterprise versus consumer software

kids reading outside

Cote’ recently posted a good comparison of the features of Enterprise Software versus Consumer Software. Although we may not agree with all the items in his lists (consumer software can have a login, and very often does have upgrade paths), we do appreciate the general classification. And we really like his insight:

the reality is that there is enterprise software and it does have meaning to people. Granted, it has meaning in the same way that the phrase “being American” has meaning: it’s not clear and concise, and the “definition” definitely isn’t the same across different groups

Well said. There’s always a challenge in using symbolic terms – even if they start out with crisp definitions, some terms develop multiple meanings.

This is always a challenge when eliciting requirements too – in an interview with a user, “reliable” and “fast” can be completely ambiguous terms, because they mean different things to different people. This is why active listening is such a critical skill – it is the best (only?) way to identify when the same words mean different things to different people.

  • Scott Sehlhorst

    Scott Sehlhorst is a product management and strategy consultant with over 30 years of experience in engineering, software development, and business. Scott founded Tyner Blain in 2005 to focus on helping companies, teams, and product managers build better products. Follow him on LinkedIn, and connect to see how Scott can help your organization.

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