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As you veterans know, DRAW 4.0 was, how shall we say this, something less than a success for its users, and for Corel Corp.'s reputation as the developer of bug-free software. The feature-set was very impressive, and I will stand behind my remark about it being one of the most ambitious upgrades in modern history. But this version needed a maintenance update before it could even be taken seriously, and it began the infamous pattern that DRAW users know all too well: buy the upgrade, try to use it, go back to the old version, wait for the patch, then try again.
So why am I willing to comment on DRAW 7? Why would I do this to myself? What cause do I have to believe that DRAW 7 will be any different? Why would I risk public embarrassment again? Here are the answers to these rhetorical questions: Corel is getting a clue
In action and in deed, the officials at Corel are acknowledging the folly in trying to meet arbitrary deadlines for software release. The release / anger / bug fix shuffle has worn everyone down, inside and outside of the company, and even if the software were bug-free, developers have shared with me their fatigue of the 12-month pace. It's hard to be brilliant for 12 months out of the year (I'd settle for 12 days out of the year). You need to be able to be a babbling idiot for a month or two before returning to brilliance, and the product managers at Corel have realized this.
It's also nice to see that the Annual Gala that affords Corel so much lavish publicity and P.R. is no longer set in stone, but instead being scheduled in the neighborhood of the expected release of each version. Corel has realized that the Gala can be held successfully even if the software is not completely ready for shipment. |
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