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SolidWorks Product Definition is the primary voice of the customer in the development of SolidWorks products. The product specialists within this department are responsible for translating and prioritizing existing customers' needs into new product functionality. Product Definition Manager Jim Wilkinson recently spoke with SolidWorks Express about the role of product definition in the development of SolidWorks® 3D modeling software.
What is the function of the SolidWorks Product Definition group?
"The Product Definition Group works with Product Marketing, Field Marketing, and Development management to prioritize functions to be added to the software. We work with our customers to determine how to implement those functions to optimize user productivity and experience, and develop functional specifications that our developers follow to implement the functions in the software. Finally, we run usability, Alpha, and Beta testing to insure that the functions are implemented for maximum user benefit and provide the feedback from this testing to Development so the functions can be further optimized before being delivered."
What skill set exists in the SolidWorks Product Definition group?
"All of the product specialists are mechanical engineers by either education or experience and have a combined total of more than 25 years of SolidWorks experience and over 50 years of CAD/CAM experience. Each team member has their own area of expertise and talents based on interests and past experience. For instance, one individual concentrates on drawings and drafting, while another individual concentrates on part and surface modeling. We also have overlap between the areas of concentration so at least two product specialists review what is being implemented in each area. Even though each of the product specialists concentrates in particular areas, we all have shared interests and experience in areas that are core to the design of SolidWorks, such as ease-of-use and interface design."
How quickly are proposed features included in the product?
"The cycle for product definition is very much in sync with the releases of the software. For the most part, we are working on researching and specifying functions that will be delivered in the next release. It is important to plan in real time with the release so we can prioritize and design SolidWorks software based on our customers' current needs. As with many products and markets today, the needs at a micro level are constantly changing based on available technology. We also conduct research for projects that will be implemented in future releases or on entire market areas upon which we may want to concentrate in the future."
Can you provide examples of how you work directly with customers to deliver new software functions?
"Product specialists work directly with customers in four general areas:
- Research of new functions
- Usability testing
- Alpha testing
- Beta testing.
Here are just a few product enhancements suggested by SolidWorks customers:
Explode line/trail functionality
Explode lines was one of the most requested functions to be added to the core SolidWorks product during the 2001Plus release. To ensure the functionality was added according to our customers' specifications, we contacted all of the users who had submitted enhancement requests for this function. We learned that a semiautomatic method of creating explode lines would be a much better solution than a fully automatic solution like many of our competitors have implemented. We implemented the function based on this research and once the functionality was almost fully implemented, we used many of those individuals who contributed to the research to perform usability testing.
SolidWorks customer Michael Harkins of PVP Advanced EO Systems, Inc., tested the initial implementation of the explode line functionality using a copy of SolidWorks being served across the Internet.
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"Once functions are fully implemented in the software, SolidWorks Product Definition invites small groups of users to SolidWorks headquarters to participate in Alpha testing. This type of testing lasts several days. The user works with the new functions while product specialists and developers observe the customer's interaction. The users can provide feedback on how to better optimize the functions for maximum user benefit.
Multijogged leader line functionality
The multijogged leader line functionality is an example of where Alpha testing greatly contributed to the final form of the delivered functionality. This function allows users to put leaders with multiple bend points and branches on annotations in drawings. SolidWorks customer Steve McGilvrey of Goodrich Corporation participated in related Alpha testing, helping us streamline the interface and user interaction to optimize the productivity of this functionality.
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"After Alpha testing, there are multiple Beta testing stages that are performed by individual users at their own sites. The Beta software is distributed to an incrementally larger audience of end users to increase the number of individuals providing feedback while minimizing the impact on the user base. With each stage of Beta there is less opportunity to implement recommended changes, as it gets closer to the final release of software. But to optimize the final delivery of functions, SolidWorks Corporation is amenable to making changes as long as these changes will not impact the final reliability of the software.
Draft Analysis
Draft Analysis was initially implemented as a tool to be used by mold base designers to determine whether or not a part had proper drafts and parting lines. In initial Alpha testing of this function, SolidWorks customer Mark Biasotti of IDEO Product Development indicated that a secondary use for such a function could improve the advanced surface design of molded parts. When the function progressed to the Beta testing stage, it was learned that an even larger number of customers than identified in the initial research phase would benefit from using this type of function for advanced surface design. Based on this additional feedback and the customer's input into the modification of the function for this specific need, options were added to allow 'contour' type analysis. We were able to add these options to the final Beta version of SolidWorks 2001Plus and still receive additional feedback on it before the final release."
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How can a SolidWorks customer contribute to the development of the next release of SolidWorks software?
"SolidWorks customers should submit their enhancement requests using the enhancement request form on the SolidWorks web site. This process alerts Product Definition to desired functionality and is also the main entry point for customers to become involved in any of our research and testing programs."
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