New Release -- December 23rd, 2010

[FarmMeister]

Originally Posted by Jennifer Michelle

I am here killing time while some items on my farm mature ... I can't believe what I am seeing in the posts ...

You all have to understand that Devs DON'T and Shouldn't communicate directly with users ... I am a designer and developer myself and in my position I always have a go between (an Administrator or a Liason) who speaks to the users. This is because the users WANT, WANT, WANT and are not particularly tolerant of a developer telling them that either it can't be done or it is going to take more time. ... Direct communication has been tried and DOES NOT WORK.

The Devs were very nice in telling us that Farm 8 and more levels would be coming in the next release, but even that doesn't work as shown by the constant badgering and whining on this board. If you have been around for more than a year you can probably remember when we plowed, planted, harvested and sold our crops ... then we had only ONE farm ... when there were NO facilities ...

Get off the backs of the Devs and let them work at their own pace ... you CAN'T RUSH the upgrades ... if they start rushing to bow to your incessant pressure and impatience the quality of this game will be affected ... and then they will have people whining about the problems ... the Devs are doing their job and have given us the best free game I have played on the internet ... If you are "bored" with the game perhaps you need to take a break and go play something else or go DO something else ... try playing the zynga games ... you will come back here grateful for the job the devs do ...

Now relax, have a cup of java and leave the Devs alone ... the upgrade will arrive when it is ready and will not cause the game to fall apart ...

My thanks to the Devs for a great job and for their attention to detail ... My tanks to the Moderators for trying to keep this a civilized thread ...

I am also a designer and developer, since the mid 80's, working in many technologies, environments, and industries during that time. I have spent most of my career working directly with the customers/users/business partners, plus vendors, on projects big and small.

Because of this, I find that I get better results as I can better understand the domain of the business, the domain of an issue/opportunity, and the customer(and their expectations), while reducing the chances of misinterpretation due to intermediate translations. I also see an increase in customer satisfaction by the personal and improved communications. It also affords me the opportunity to help the user understand technical issues(really ones and not made up ones to use as an excuse for not delivering the right solutions at the right time).

This open line of communications also improves on trust and builds up what some of us call an 'emotional bank account'; this also leads to loyalty and even customer enthusiasm. When I tell my customers that something is not feasible or that will take longer than they think it will(customers ability to estimate is not their best skill), they believe me. If I make a mistake, it is forgiven, so long as success out weighs any mistakes.

And, I am able to offer, through dialog, trust, and understanding, alternatives and sometimes show them new opportunities.

Because I work with my customers(and don't treat them as the enemy), I also see problems, issues, and opportunities that they sometimes
fail to recognize. And, because I work with them, I have also seen their reactions to when they are forced to work with a go between.

So, it does not always fail, and I would say far from it.

Now, of course, users can get spoiled in this way, so managing their expectations, which is where the trust and communications come in, is very important.

Now, with all of that said, I can agree, riding the devs, pushing them, and trying to rush an implementation is definitely wrong and will not result in quality results. If there was some federal mandate, lawsuit, or major revenue opportunity involved, it would be different; however, this is a game.

But a little communication and trust building can go a long way. No, they will not make everyone happy, but you can choose who you would like to build that trust and loyal with.