Product management at interactive Tools
2 posts by 2 authors in: Forums > CMS Builder
Last Post: December 17, 2008 (RSS)
Just want to post this so the folks at Interactive Tools understand how they are not helping their customers by releasing new products without proper change management and product management.
IT build its reputation on Article Manager and offshoot products like Listings Managers and Auto Manager. Other spin offs, like News Manager also were build on the same core.
For users, it was easy to "export" knowledge and skills gained in one product and one project to multiple ones.
With CMSBuilder, it all changed and suddenly all of the existing skills are not transferable. While this new product is great for IT, it's leaving an existing amount of customers behind. And when we are constantly encouraged to move to CMSBuilder instead of AM2, one would hope that the transition would be smoother. Currently it is not.
The Docs do not do that and support is spread all over several posts and forum. There are no Move from AM2 to CMSBuilder for dummies document at IT. That is needed.
That's my two cents.
cheers
IT build its reputation on Article Manager and offshoot products like Listings Managers and Auto Manager. Other spin offs, like News Manager also were build on the same core.
For users, it was easy to "export" knowledge and skills gained in one product and one project to multiple ones.
With CMSBuilder, it all changed and suddenly all of the existing skills are not transferable. While this new product is great for IT, it's leaving an existing amount of customers behind. And when we are constantly encouraged to move to CMSBuilder instead of AM2, one would hope that the transition would be smoother. Currently it is not.
The Docs do not do that and support is spread all over several posts and forum. There are no Move from AM2 to CMSBuilder for dummies document at IT. That is needed.
That's my two cents.
cheers
Re: [CMSBuilderDummy] Product management at interactive Tools
By Dave - December 17, 2008
Hi CBD,
It's a big switch, you're right. CMS Builder works much different from all our other products. The upside is if you can get the hang of it it will cut your development time in half or more and be able to do many many more things with the CMS.
This is our own personal experience and that of many customers we've talked to. So you have an initial learning curve offset by better profit margins on future projects once you get up to speed.
That said, it doesn't yet replace Article Manager. If you're trying to build an Article Manager style site (categories with lists of articles) you may still be better off with that product. And you already have experience with it.
CMS Builder is very different from Article Manager. In fact it can't do everything that Article Manager can do. For an Article Manager style of site (categories with lists of articles in each) you may still be better off with that product. But for many other sites CMS Builder works very well.
If you have an url for the site you're working on I can tell you which product might be best. And other than that, if you really like Artman you can just stick with that. Lots of customers do. We even use it over CMSB ourselves for certain projects.
Hope that helps!
It's a big switch, you're right. CMS Builder works much different from all our other products. The upside is if you can get the hang of it it will cut your development time in half or more and be able to do many many more things with the CMS.
This is our own personal experience and that of many customers we've talked to. So you have an initial learning curve offset by better profit margins on future projects once you get up to speed.
That said, it doesn't yet replace Article Manager. If you're trying to build an Article Manager style site (categories with lists of articles) you may still be better off with that product. And you already have experience with it.
CMS Builder is very different from Article Manager. In fact it can't do everything that Article Manager can do. For an Article Manager style of site (categories with lists of articles in each) you may still be better off with that product. But for many other sites CMS Builder works very well.
If you have an url for the site you're working on I can tell you which product might be best. And other than that, if you really like Artman you can just stick with that. Lots of customers do. We even use it over CMSB ourselves for certain projects.
Hope that helps!
Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com
interactivetools.com