Eric, you offer several user conferences - which products need explanation, and which questions do the users usually have?


Eric Shepherd: It is not so much the products that need user conferences; it is more about cooperating and collaborating. Customers enjoy coming together to learn from each other. They get tips and tricks about the software, but more importantly, they learn how others are using the software effectively to solve problems. The point is that they want solutions, not features per se.

How do you react to user questions and ideas in the development of new products?


Eric Shepherd: We have thousands of people using the software to create, deliver, and report on assessments and millions of people using it. We are challenged to ensure that every feature request is understood, documented, categorized, and prioritized, but we have systems in place to help us with this.

Now, we even have systems to capture feature requests on the fly, while someone is actually using the software, so we can track and put their request in a context. Our advantage is that with lots of customers, we get lots of feedback. We work regularly with individuals and groups to discuss and brainstorm options to achieve their goals.

Which benefits do users gain from these conferences?


Eric Shepherd: Users learn about what they didn't know they didn't know. They can discuss theories and reach consensus, which helps us codify their processes. This in turn helps them become more efficient and more accurate in their work. By providing feedback, testing theories, and promoting collaboration, these conferences help us provide better products.

Who usually attends these meetings - are they more in the technical area or the educational business?


Eric Shepherd: Instructional designers, training managers, and learning professionals tend to turn up at our conferences. Of course technicians are generally more interested in specific issues rather than in attending workshops on end-user types of systems.

How do the needs of companies and universities differ?


Eric Shepherd: Surprisingly, the needs for assessment systems are very similar, however the vocabularies vary, and so we have to ensure that we are using words that resonate with each group. One advantage of providing products for companies and universities is that we see cross-fertilization of ideas and experience, which helps us all do better.

How do the needs of Americans, Europeans, and Asians differ?


Eric Shepherd: I hesitate to single out a culture, as we are all individuals, and we all exhibit different behaviours; this can confuse our understanding of culture. Also, different areas of the world are driven by local pressures. So high-wealth, high-pressure environments like New York will tend to focus on impact, whereas low-wealth, low-pressure environments might focus on surviving. For instance, in a recent e-survey that we did with a customer, we saw high response rates from Asia, lower rates from Europe, even lower from North America, and the lowest from South America.

It is very easy to draw inappropriate conclusions from such a survey. Maybe it was a discipline issue, maybe an internet speed issue, maybe a language issue, and so on. So when assessing people's knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes, we need to ensure that we are measuring the right thing.

Why do you as a CEO attend all these conferences yourself, and what are you trying to communicate there?


Eric Shepherd: I attend conferences because I love to listen to users directly and to understand the context of the decisions that I have to make. I am keen to learn from others first hand. My being there helps people understand that I care as much about their success as I do about that of my staff. Although this is time consuming, it helps Questionmark react quickly to changing expectations and requirements.

Which trends do you see in learning technologies and tools?


Eric Shepherd: Outside assessment, I see that wikis, blogs, and social networks are growing rapidly within learning environments as ways for experts to share knowledge directly without having technology get in the way. The challenge is how to know which experts to trust and which ones express random ideas that are not based on research or common best practices. This is why rating systems will become more important to acknowledge the value of the articles and determine whether or not a wiki page or blog posting is worth reading.