Profit and Loss Statement for Closed Books

[Mike or Penny Novack]

John Layman wrote:

>I think it would be well for the development team to reflect on a few
>rhetorical questions.
>
>What is the real purpose of this development undertaking?
>
>Is there no conceptual 'customer' (other than the development cadre itself)
>that guides the course of development?
>  
>
There is (or should be) a conceptual customer

>
>If the real value of GnuCash is use-value, what importance attaches to
>feedback from its users (both positive and negative)?
>
>Is it realistic to suppose that all users of the software will have the time
>or ability to participate in supporting the effort in some way?
>  
>
OK --- let me express a strong opinion here based upon decades in the 
cypher mines. There is a problem because of the lack of USEFUL user 
participation. Unless there is clear input from users AND commitment to 
the testing process ........
1) A program is "correct" if it doesn't hang or loop. Unless there is a 
definition of what it is SUPPOSED to do then whatever it does is correct 
(with the exceptions noted).
2) It is up to users to be helpful here. I am going to point out that 
the reason I am not actively designing and coding for this sort of 
project is that there is little to no user participation filling the 
development roles that are up to users .About 20% of the effort (in the 
"real world") is USER time coming up with specifications, the user test 
plan, and users committed to do that.

MOST complaints I have seen are not useful. If all the complaining user 
is willing to do is report "it doesn't work" (which may or may not be 
true) but not commit to working with a developer to get to the bottom of 
whether there really is a problem and then the work of fixing it (the 
user to determine IF has been fixed) then this is not useful and 
probably why being ignored. It is certainly why I (a potential 
developer) am ignoring the situation. I also wear a user hat but I am 
NOT encountering the same sort of problems. Gnucash does accounting for 
me just fine, thank you.

Developing software is NOT just for us analysts/programmers.

Michael D Novack, FLMI