Some background then a request...

Microsoft, especially in the developer arena, is heavily focused on increasing the satisfaction of our customers.  I know sometimes it doesn't seem that way, but it's true.  It's a big goal this fiscal year and beyond.  I will save you the gory details, but let's just say that there are quiet a few different and divergent ideas on this.  Talking about and measuring customer satisfaction is a tricky thing.  For example, who is our "customer" from a developer perspective?  At one end is the guy/gal in his basement dabbling with various dev technologies looking to launch the next Facebook.  The other end of the spectrum is the guy/gal working as an 8-5 professional developer for a company.  How many are there in each of those two categories and how many fall in between?  Is one group more important than the other?  What is the best way to engage with those people - do you want to scale and touch lots of people lightly, or is it better to focus on fewer but deeper relationships?

The next challenge is what does "satisfaction" mean?  Does it mean your satisfaction with .NET and Visual Studio and all the associated developer things?  Or maybe its how you feel about Microsoft as a whole, including developer stuff, but also how you feel about Microsoft as a company, as an XBOX gamer, an Office user.  It is a sticky thing since clearly one area can affect the another.  How can Microsoft make you more satisfied as a developer or just with Microsoft? in general?  Should there be a focus on one type of satisfaction vs. another?  Can you even separate on area of satisfaction from another?

Microsoft has done lots of surveys on this problem, but I really don't know if surveys are getting the answers we need or even articulating the problem correctly.  This is especially true since the individual conversations I have about satisfaction with Microsoft seem to offer a striking contrast to what the survey data seems to indicate.  So, I figured I would just throw this out into the wild and ask for some unedited, "tell it like it is" feedback.  You can post comments on this blog or send me email directly at jbrand@microsoft.com.  I will remove your name, email address, etc. from all the responses I receive before I do anything with the feedback you provide. 

A few requests - when sending email please use the subject line: BLOG FEEDBACK.  Please solicit  you developer friends and coworkers to send feedback as well.  When you answer, I would like you to answer the questions below first and then feel free to rant away or provide more thoughts on the issue.  The more you can focus on how you feel as developer vs. general Microsoft customer when free-forming would be great - or at least clearly differentiate what kind of satisfaction is being affected when talking about something. When ranting, however, please focus on what Microsoft could do to make you more satisfied or happier - not on all the stuff we do wrong.  You can use xyz as an example of what we do wrong to illustrate how it makes you unhappy, but please also tell me how changing xyz to abc would make you happier.  On to the questions...

1.  Describe yourself as a developer?  Hobbyist, 9-5 corporate developer, start up, consultant, a mix of types, whatever.  The more descriptive the better

2.  Quick list of dev technologies you use?

3.  On a scale of 1-5 (1 = very dissatisfied, 5 = wildly satisfied), how satisfied are you with Microsoft as a company?  This would be your overall satisfaction with everything Microsoft.  What is the single biggest factor in your (dis)satisfaction?  What are some of the other reasons for your (dis)satisfaction?

4. On a scale of 1-5 (1 = very dissatisfied, 5 = wildly satisfied), how satisfied are you as a Microsoft Developer?  This is about your satisfaction with tools, platform, API, .NET, etc. - our technology helping you as a developer - really try and just focus on how you feel about Microsoft as a developer and not as an Office user, Vista user, whatever.  What is the single biggest factor in your (dis)satisfaction as a Developer?  What are some of the other reasons for your (dis)satisfaction as a Developer?

5.  What can Microsoft do at a local level to improve your satisfaction as a DEVELOPER?  Examples would be more User Group involvement, more public developer events, on-site briefings to your company, labs, XBOX parties, etc.  Please think of this as a local problem, not something like "change Visual Studio pricing" that can only be fixed by the powers that be in Redmond.  Basically, how can Microsoft individuals engage with you as an individual to make you a more satisfied Microsoft developer.

6.  What is the one thing Microsoft could do that would move your satisfaction with Microsoft overall to a 5? 

7.  What is the one thing Microsoft could do that would move your satisfaction as a Microsoft developer to a 5? 

8.  This is your time to rant! ;-)  Seriously, anything you don't think you covered in the other questions feel free to cover here.

So what will happen with this feedback?  One, it will be great just for me to figure out how to do my job better - a help me help you kind of thing. ;-)  Secondly, I will roll the comments up and forward them on to "the powers that be" as direct, unedited feedback.