Can You Hear MISys Manufacturing V5.0 Coming?

Judging from the distant rumble in the hallway outside of the MISys Development Department, you'd get the distinct impression that a new version of the MISys Manufacturing System is speeding down the track.

While we won't reveal the exact date out of respect for Murphy's Law (if something can go wrong, something will go wrong) an ambitious schedule for the release of MISys Manufacturing v5.0 was agreed to last year. Since then, the Development, Customer Service, Technical Support, Marketing, and Sales departments have been working in concert to make it happen on target and on schedule.

Many moons ago (well, probably about 300 moons ago) we used to just code and code and code until we decided the software was ready to ship. That was before we attracted the attention of Intuit and Sage. Now deciding when the software is ready to ship isn't as easy as it once was. Our strategic relationship with these companies requires that our software integrates seamlessly with half a dozen different accounting systems. Release promotions have to be designed months in advance, help systems developed, product documentation updated, business partners notified well before the product release, web pages updated, and "what's new" webinars planned.

So, once we get near the agreed to release date, there's a heavily loaded train steaming down the track behind us. At the same time, our reputation for developing great software, reliable software, earned over the past 25 years is put to the test, And test we do! Our Technical Services department is now in high gear trying to break the software every way they can.

Not that programmers don't test the software they write. They do! Its just that programmers test to make sure the software does what they intend it to do. Our Technical Services department is staffed with people who, it seems to me, have a mean streak when it comes to testing software. You see, these guys go out of their way to break the software, doing things the software was NEVER intended to do, and making sure that no really bad things happen, appropriate error messages appear, and graceful recovery paths are apparent.

While MISys, Inc. is far smaller than any of the software companies with which we partner, we take the development and delivery of world-class software just as seriously. When you see a message appear on your screen that a new version of MISys Manufacturing is available, pause for a moment to think of all the people who worked tirelessly for months on end to make this release possible.

Are you User Friendly?

Our survey of existing users of our MISys Manufacturing software earlier this year provided us with some valuable insights into how people are using the software and how they feel about the experience.

When asked what MISys should do, a significant number of respondents commented that making the software more "user friendly" would be a worthwhile endeavor.

I was contemplating this sentiment last night as I worked on a press release using my favorite word processor, Microsoft Word. I've recently converted to Word version 2010 -- the one with the "new and improved" ribbon menu.

Now I'm sure a lot of really smart software designers out in Redmond, Washington worked long and hard in an effort to make MS Word 2010 more "user friendly" than previous versions. To be fair, Word is a complex product (but not as complex as MISys Manufacturing) and I'm not sure whether anyone will ever consider Word to be "user friendly."

I don't know about you, but I've written thousands of documents in my career, and I've learned just enough about Word to do what I need to get done. There's probably much more in Word that I don't know how to use than what I do know. But that's OK. Word is a fine tool, a tool I use every day, and a tool I just couldn't do without. User fiendly? No, sorry.

I had the priviledge of working with the next version of MISys Manufacturing recently and I know the guys out in the labs have been working overtime to make MISys Manufacturing v5.0 more user friendly in response to last January's user survey. While I don't think MISys will ever become a "user friendly" product (like Word, it does lots of really complex stuff), I can tell you that the guys have made some significant improvements.

Going back to MS Word for a moment, one of the things that allowed me to become successful using the software was just learning how it was laid out -- where I should look for the functions I needed.

I think MISys v5.0 goes a long way in helping people understand what's inside the product and how to get to where you want to go. I can't wait until you see it!