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Balancing Functionality with Mass Appeal in Application Development: Case Study – OneTouchPM™
Gepner, Christina M.
Gepner, Christina M.
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Abstract
Since its inception in 2007, Burns & McDonnell’s highly innovative OneTouchPM® application has
grown to have mass appeal throughout the company. Four years have passed since its inception and it’s
now time for the tool to evolve. Adding functionality to an existing application that has already gained
mass appeal within an organization is a complex management challenge that involves multiple variables.
How do you keep from alienating existing users while still increasing functionality? How do you market
the new functionality? How do you manage the growth?
The research reported in this report involves two components, the first being a review of relevant
literature. Reviewing literature on theories of innovation and technology acceptance models helps to
identify how OneTouchPM®’s existing mass appeal came to be. Literature on product and technology
lifecycle management theories is examined to yield recommendations for the growth and management of
OneTouchPM®.
The second portion of the research reported in this report comes from interviews of four current
OneTouchPM® users. A seven step process was used to develop the interview questions, select the users,
and conduct the interviews. The users were asked questions in the following categories: Demographics,
Value, Security, Support/Training, Marketing, Improvements, and Administrative. User responses
provided insight to the current levels of satisfaction with the application, and gathered suggestions for
how to better market and grow the tool.
The conclusion of this report contains a series of recommendations on how to add functionality to the tool
while maintaining or growing user appeal. Suggestions for additional work are also provided to
encourage future research.
*The interviewee and client names included in this report have been generalized to protect both interviewees and clients.
Description
Date
2011-05-20