RE: enhancement vs. bug

["Monty Lambie" <mlambie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

When I was in marketing at the last company I worked for we changed the term
to Performance Enhancement Package, good Orwellian Marketing-speak! 

-----Original Message-----
From: Mcgrath, Bob___PI_Mkt [mailto:bob.mcgrath@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 8:02 AM
To: 'paul.tiger@xxxxxxxxxxxx'
Cc: 'bcv@xxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: RE: enhancement vs. bug

As one who works in marketing at a manufacturer, I can attest that we will
rarely own up to "bugs" but will "spin" the response to say we "improved" or
offered a "newer version" that "addressed expressed concerns" etc.  You get
it.  It is not just semantics.  It is an effort to avoid owning up to any
responsibility and to create a positive impression in an end-user's mind
that the company "cares" and "responds"

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Tiger [mailto:tigerp@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 2:13 PM
To: bcv@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: enhancement vs. bug


In a recent news story (the one in Ohio) a Diebold spokesperson (a VP)
called patches and bug fixes  supplied by Diebold *enhancements*.

This might be the biz as usual, where languaging is at issue. In fact it is.
Language can hide lies.
Professionals say *we've got an issue*, while joe-in-the-street says, *we've
got a problem*. See how this works?
Now let's be careful when we are listening.

If I hire you to install software on my system and a bug shows up, I expect
you to fix the bug and not have to pay you to fix things that you didn't get
right in the first place.
If you install something that you call an *enhancement*, I probably
shouldn't be surprised if I get an invoice.

When Diebold says, *we added those enhancements in Maryland*, in response to
bugs and flaws, I wonder how big the invoice was that the Maryland SoS
received?

I told Kell that we ought to call them *enchantments*, because a) they only
work by chance, and b) black box voting is enchanted -- all magic.

Read closely. Pay attention to what vendors are saying. In their own words
they usually telegraph the meaning of their claims or the defense of their
products.

paul tiger