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Subject:Re: ending support for 16-bit/Win 3.1 From:Virginia Day <Virginia_Day -at- DATACARD -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 9 Jan 1998 09:49:17 -0600
Many companies separate the decision to end development and to end
support. I can understand deciding to end development without
customer input--no more releases, no more free patches, etc. The
decision to end support should really be based on customer feedback,
as several others have said. There should be a support-only period (a
year?). During the support-only period, customers should be able to
pay for the patches they need or purchase a level of support beyond
'free', depending on what customers ask for.
Also, several people mentioned talking with key customers--which
usually means large customers. Don't forget those small customers--at
least get feedback from a representative group of them. And if there
is no way to change the decision to end support, be honest about that
up front. Ask "How can we help you make this transition?"
