It’s suggested that the web has changed everything.  Whatever requirements there were for delivering desktop applications, the requirements for delivering web applications has changed.

For the web, the thinking goes; delivery of new features to customers is paramount to remain competitive.   Maybe it’s true, but what’s the evidence?  My own experience with popular web sites does not support this conclusion.

Online Examples

I’ve been using Citibank online for over 15 years now, and I use it the same as I did when I first began banking over the web.  The banking features haven’t changed for a long time until recently.  While some features of the application could have been vastly improved, I never felt the urge to change my bank because of the web application. 

But even if Citibank’s competitors offered a vastly improved online experience, I’m unlikely to change my bank because of the web application.  The Citibank online experience satisfies my need already, though admittedly improvements could be made.  Plus, how much better can you improve the features to pay bills, transfer money, and view transactions?

I’ve been using Ebay as a seller and a sometimes buyer for 10 years; the features that I use haven’t changed much nor do they need to.  Ebay has the one most important feature that cannot be realized in software improvements: access to a large community of consumers. 

I use Amazon.com frequently, and the content is way more valuable to me than the functionality delivered and so is the price of the products offered.  The feature of purchasing products on Amazon.com hasn’t changed much, nor does it need to.  I go to Amazon.com not because of the software but because of the content, the price, and the reliable delivery.

I use “My Yahoo” as my home page, and it hasn’t changed much for a long while until recently.  I attempted to use their beta release and I switched back immediately as it wasn’t ready for prime time.  I’m too busy to devote effort to being a company’s beta tester.  I believe that’s another drawback of Agile: most customers don’t want to be testers.  But here again, the content is way more important to me than the functionality of “My Yahoo.”  

Recently, yahoo revamped their online email application.  Though the features have improved significantly and I’d even say it’s good, I still don’t use web email applications.  I prefer outlook.  I’m not sure why, I just do.

My former company used Concur for employee expense submissions and management. Its first release was a huge improvement over the manual systems of the past.  I used it for a number of years while I was there.  I don’t remember it changing much or at all over those years, but it didn’t need to.  Sure there could have been some UI improvements that would have made it much easier to use, but even if a competitor had a better interface, it would have had to offer something revolutionary to motivate change as the current experience with Concur was invaluable.

I use Wordpress for this blog.  I love the application.  They recently released new software, and I promptly upgraded.  I like it, I think it’s better than the older software, but really, I would be satisfied with the old version if they hadn’t offered anything new.  The two most important features for blogging Wordpress satisfied long ago.  A blog using Wordpress is entirely customizable, and it offers an easy interface for managing content.

What Drives Consumers?

Consumers don’t readily upgrade or replace old products because they have new and improved features.  They replace old products because they have a new need or the upgrade product solves and old problem.  Think about how often you replace physical products in your home because the companies offer products with new and improved features.  How often are you willing to replace your refrigerator, television, stereo, iron, toaster, car, dishwasher, washing machine, stove, and microwave oven, to name a few common home products?  Most of these products are replaced because they are broken, no longer work reliably and/or as well as when they were new.

Summary

The web seemingly changes the economics for companies offering new/improved features because the web has lowered the barriers to delivering changes frequently.  Because the barriers to delivering new/improved features to the consumer are lower, does that mean we should deliver new/improved features more frequently?  What if the software features aren’t the business drivers for your web business?   What’s more valuable to an Amazon.com customer, a new book for sale or a new software feature on the web site?  The danger is that delivering software enhancements frequently gives the illusion that you are delivering more customer value when in reality it’s not the most important need for your customer(s).

The web has changed everything.  The web moved the focus from functionality to data.  Changing software features are not the most important change; it’s changing content that is king on the web.  It’s what I struggle with on my blog and most bloggers struggle with. Do we still need new and improving features on the web? Of course we do, but rate of changing features isn’t nearly as important as it’s argued to be.  Having the right new set of features timely is where the focus needs to be over having any new features quickly. That’s what will win on the web and on the desktop.  Identifying and delivering real customer value is never easy, and it doesn’t get easier with smaller more frequent deliveries.