People searching for Xojo will still see it here anyhow,
This was in response to the back-patting thread on Back Pats - General - Xojo Programming Forum
I can only speak for myself, but it is not the engineering team, their work, the concept of the software, the amount of their work or even the roadmap for its future that is at issue. I am certain they are all talented and dedicated engineers with an outstanding dedication to their craft and to their mission.
Yes, they deserve recognition to be sure and to be told directly that we all appreciate their efforts. I do.
The problem is the company’s continued focusing on bringing new features to forefront without them being anywhere near completion, and the refusal to address long standing and persistent quality control issues. (yes, I know, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Xojo Inc., please save the rebuttals.)
I suspect that the ability of the engineering team to choose to focus their resources on what is needed to make the product work as advertised is far outside their locus of control, its not their choice to make, that’s leadership’s prerogative. This is and will never be their decision to make, and therefore is not in any way their fault, nor reflecting poorly on them. For and on the record: We love them, we thank them and many of us still love this product and want desperately to see it turn around.
I can already predict what rebuttals will be offered to this post, demands for what problems directly affect me, ad hominem fallacy attacks, demands for my most recent reports etc, and eventually, post removed or thread closed. It’s all so tiresome, so please save your energy; I will not engage in a week long contest of circular logic all over again.
We have not upgraded our licence since 2017 because there has been nothing added to the product that would warrant the licence fee since then. The features that have been brought since then are of alpha or pre-release quality and that is being generous.
Almost nobody I have spoken with (I’m sure there are MVP exceptions to be found) is highly optimistic about the product’s long term future as long as development resources are pressed into new features rather than an extensive and effective performance and quality control pass. If Xojo Inc. continues to value customer money, then it needs to make the product work properly and efficiently, simple as that.
The company needs to halt (temporarily) all new feature development and spend the next 12 months fixing what is in hand and being offered to the customer for sale. COVID-19 has given Xojo Inc. an almost 2 year grace period to get things fixed. Most customers would have excepted reduced releases (possibly even one or none), no new features and even licence fee changes in light of a global situation and reduced business activity. What did we get during this unprecedented opportunity for introspection and housecleaning? Nothing worth paying the licence fee to obtain, from our perspective.
Web 2 is not in any way serviceable in a commercial production environment, and SpaceX will have commercial lunar service before Android is ever delivered in a production viable state. Why does this unsustainable situation continue? Leadership must know that eventually every customer and prospect will come to understand that the ship is being sailed full throttle with open holes in the hull and no effort at damage control is even considered.
Every new half-baked feature is a slap (and perhaps a phlegm-rich juicy spit) in the face of customers who have chosen to entrust at least a part of their business’s future into this companies hands. Only to be ignored, swept under the rug and censored for bringing this to account. It’s abhorrent, and inexcusable. That’s why customers are pissed, it’s not the engineering team, its leadership running the entire operation off of a cliff, unwilling to concede that major mistakes have been made, changes are needed and that perhaps they are a little over their heads situationally (everybody with serious responsibility has been here at some point). Its no shame to admit this, in fact its a hallmark of integrity and an indicator of corporate/leadership longevity.
Eventually Xojo Inc. will acknowledge that it’s customers value reliability, quality and performance much more then shiny new bullet points added to the release notes and marketing checklist. If they can come to this realization before its’ too late remains to be seen. I would love nothing more than to see it rise from the downward trajectory it is in, it is possible, there are many historical examples.
I would go much further and recognize and congratulate many on this team for knowing the true and internal state of the situation,and its trajectory, and yet choosing to remain at their posts. That is the truly commendable and courageous act. Thank you.
Carry on.
