RE: Practice: Pay-Per-Use

I find it interesting that preference for billing model has a cultural
component. However, the customers' preferences are not the only issue the
business should be concerned with. The point I am making is that increased
information available to the team in the form of changes to the revenue
stream leads to better software development. If this improvement turned into
significant cost reductions, it might be worth taking a risk on the business
side to introduce an "unpopular" payment model.

Kent Beck
Three Rivers Institute

> -----Original Message-----
> From: xpbookdiscussiongroup-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:xpbookdiscussiongroup-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
> Behalf Of 
> SirGilligan
> Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 8:49 AM
> To: xpbookdiscussiongroup-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [xpe2e] Practice: Pay-Per-Use
> 
> I am in a business were we do both subscriptions and pay-per-use. We 
> have a "huge" customer base.
> 
> The users from the U.S. prefer subscription based products.
> The users from the U.K. and Europe prefer Pay-per-use.
> 
> Could it be cultural?
> Could it be the amount of consumer debt that is carried?
> Could it be the lack of understanding of costs and economics?
> 
> I don't guess ther reasons matter. The preferences of the two groups 
> is really all a business should be concerned with for the short term.
> 
> Maverick
> (a.k.a SirGilligan)
> 
> --- In xpbookdiscussiongroup-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, 
> Friedrich Brunzema 
> <brunzefb@xxxx> wrote:
> > There is something about pay per use that I don't like. I don't 
> really
> > know what it is, but (perhaps its just the wording - pay, pay, 
> pay). 
> > Renting a video from a store could be perceived as per per use, and
> > ordering a pay TV movie would certainly be that as well. Somehow I 
> see
> > pay TV more as pay per use than renting a video from a store, even 
> if
> > this does not make logical sense to me.
> > 
> > Perhaps what I don't like about pay per use is what's so good about 
> it
> > in terms of feedback -- it reminds me that I have to pay every day.
> > 
> > Just think about cars for one second.  If you had to put money down
> > every time you got into your car to pay for the real car costs (not
> > just the gas!) - this would provide good feedback on how much you 
> are
> > actually spending every day.  The cost of longer trips would become
> > very apparent.  Taxi rides are also pay per use,  which make costs
> > very apparent. I suspect many people would use cabs instead of 
> owning
> > a car if the costs were really in your face.
> > 
> > From a business perspective, pay per use probably makes a great deal
> > of sense.  I also appreciate what Kent is saying about money as the
> > ultimate feedback, and how it can help to create even more value. 
> > Still, there's something about it I don't like.
> > 
> > Friedrich Brunzema
> > Extreme Programmer & Coach
> 
> 
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