steven36 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Microsoft has significantly grown its user base of dedicated Windows testers in recent years. At the launch of Windows 10, nearly two years ago, the software giant had around 5 million testers through its Windows Insider program. Windows Insiders could be your neighbor down the street, your boss, or the barista that makes your coffee in the morning. Anyone can sign up to test Windows 10, and now 10 million people are helping Microsoft refine and improve its operating system. It wasn’t always like this. Microsoft developed Windows 7 and even Windows 8 in relative secrecy, punishing people who leaked early builds of Windows and keeping features hidden for months. Microsoft has now embraced its fans who want to experience the bleeding edge of Windows development, even if there are many rough edges and bugs along the way. In a LinkedIn post highlighting Microsoft’s cultural shift, Yusuf Mehdi, who worked on the disastrous Xbox One launch, reveals that the company has changed its approach as a result of the feedback on its latest console. “My learning is that you cannot create fans, you have to earn them,” explains Mehdi, detailing how he now goes into every new product meeting with a simple question: “How are our fans going to react?” Embracing fans and opening up a development process to public scrutiny hasn’t been easy for Microsoft. There’s a delicate balance of surprise new features, and the problem of having something out in the wild that’s too buggy for even the hardcore fans to work with. Some would even accuse the software maker of receiving free labor, especially in light of the company laying off a huge number of its testing team for Windows in recent years. Despite the concerns, the Windows Insider program seems to be succeeding. Microsoft has embraced a culture of listening to feedback, and it has now managed to convince 10 million people to have a voice in something that more than 400 million people use every day. By Tom Warren http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/27/15076764/microsoft-windows-10-windows-insiders-10-million-testers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlston Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 39 minutes ago, steven36 said: Despite the concerns, the Windows Insider program seems to be succeeding. Microsoft has embraced a culture of listening to feedback, and it has now managed to convince 10 million people to have a voice in something that more than 400 million people use every day. Pfft... if it's succeeding and Microsoft is listening, why is the update quality still so poor? They release patch after patch after patch to fix bugs. The Anniversary update took 8 or so patches over 3-4 months before it was safe. And the AU release bugs weren't obscure things... broken webcams in Skype and Kindle problems for a start. Hard to believe that there are NO Insiders with webcams using Skype and/or with Kindles! Someone's telling big porkies. Let's see if this "success" is real or imaginary when the Creators Update is released! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WALLONN7 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 34 minutes ago, Karlston said: Pfft... if it's succeeding and Microsoft is listening, why is the update quality still so poor? They release patch after patch after patch to fix bugs. The Anniversary update took 8 or so patches over 3-4 months before it was safe. And the AU release bugs weren't obscure things... broken webcams in Skype and Kindle problems for a start. Hard to believe that there are NO Insiders with webcams using Skype and/or with Kindles! Someone's telling big porkies. Do not see who does not want to see!!! 34 minutes ago, Karlston said: Let's see if this "success" is real or imaginary when the Creators Update is released! Come on, @Karlston, stop being so nice!!! Looks like something will change?! As long as there are people willing to serve as guinea pig, there will be "Creators Update"... "Dumbest Update", "End-Of-Game Update"!!... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 There Are Now 10 Million Windows Insiders Microsoft today claimed that there are now over 10 million people in the Windows Insider program. That’s a big jump from the previous numbers. As you may recall from my article Next Up for the Windows Insider Program: Changing the World, Microsoft launched this program in October 2015 and the program had hit about 3 million people within a month. By the time of my interviews with Microsoft last November, I was told that there were about 7 million people in the Windows Insider program. But now, just four months later, there are apparently over 10 million Windows Insiders. “We count over 10 million Windows Insiders today, many of them fans, who test and use the latest build of Windows 10 on a daily basis,” Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi claims. “Their feedback comes fast and furious, they have a relentless bar of what they expect, but it so inspires our team and drives our very focus on a daily basis.” I don’t actually believe that 3 million more people are suddenly testing Windows 10 builds now. Instead, I bet most of those new testers are actually on Xbox One: In November, Microsoft renamed its testing program to the Xbox Insiders program as part of a consolidation with the broader Windows Insiders program. A bit later, they opened it up so anyone could join. That, I think, accounts for the sudden rise in testers. But no matter how or where the new testers are coming from, Windows Insiders is huge. “To my knowledge, [the Windows Insider Program] is the largest public software preview program in the world, certainly the largest of its type,” Microsoft’s Gabe Aul told me in November. “It’s significantly bigger than anything Microsoft had ever done, and the number of downloads for Windows 10 preview releases is now hovering around the 100 million mark.” Or as Dona Sarkar put it, “Insiders are the millions who represent the needs of the billions.” By Paul Thurrott https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/107833/now-10-million-windows-insiders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrAKeN Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 The Windows Insider program is a hit, Microsoft says The Windows Insider program was launched by Microsoft with much fanfare back in October 2014 when it officially started work on Windows 10, asking users to participate in the development effort and try out early versions of each OS update before the public launch. The whole program turned out to be extremely successful, and according to new stats provided by Microsoft, no less than 10 million users are currently running preview builds of Windows 10 and helping the company develop new features or improve the existing ones. Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President, Windows and Devices Group, praised the Insider program in a post on LinkedIn, explaining that what Microsoft is trying to do right now is becoming a company that’s treating customers like family, getting them involved in products that have always been developed behind closed doors. “We have had one of these unbelievable experiences with our Windows 10 Insider program. We count over 10M Windows Insiders today, many of them fans, who test and use the latest build of Windows 10 on a daily basis. Their feedback comes fast and furious, they have a relentless bar of what they expect, but it so inspires our team and drives our very focus on a daily basis,” Mehdi explains. Getting in touch with customers He goes on to point out that working together with users is part of the effort to create “exceptional products,” emphasizing that responding to feedback is an essential thing in this relationship. “Every interaction with the customer after that is more important and should build a deeper relationship. Customers should feel like they have joined a community – a family. Don't be a faceless company. Enable your fans to interact with real people at your company, people who are fans themselves. This requires real commitment, time and effort. A fan is not only going to tell you what they think, but they are going to expect to hear back, to see you take action on their feedback,” he says. Even though Microsoft seems to value so much the relationship with its customers, the company isn’t really using the same approach for every product. And the best example here is mobile phones. Windows 10 Mobile is collapsing and the uncertainty regarding the platform’s future is what drives many users to Android and iOS, with Microsoft itself remaining completely tight-lipped on its mobile vision. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batu69 Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Topic merged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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