Mark Walker and Juan Betts, both Mathcad Product Management Directors at PTC, presented at PlanetPTC Live last week. I interviewed both of them yesterday to find out what their experiences were like. I quickly discovered that they learned more than they expected to at the event.
“Overall it was a very valuable event with lots of participants” said Betts. “The industry focus was interesting, especially the demonstration of a Whirlpool washing machine, which showed the value of PTC’s tools in a real-world application. I received excellent feedback from people on Mathcad’s integration with both Creo and Integrity. I’ll admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how well Mathcad’s integration was viewed by participants on the floor and during our presentation.”
“I noticed a real drive towards more engineering standardization, most likely due to an increase in globalized workforce,” said Walker. “In years past, the discussions were more focused on features and what the tools could do. However, this year there were more frequent and deeper conversations with customers about how they are maximizing the value they are getting from Mathcad.”
Walker said he enjoyed meeting with customers and was impressed that many were already using Mathcad Prime 2.0, saying they were eager to learn tips and new techniques with this latest release. He said he also noticed a much higher adoption rate of Mathcad Prime 2.0 than earlier versions, along with an eagerness among users to master the new features and capabilities.
“Clearly, users are saying they recognize the amount of time and money PTC has invested in Mathcad and look forward to utilizing the program,” said Walker. “I believe Mathcad Prime 2.0 is the version that will convince a large number of users on older versions to make the switch and upgrade.”
Walker and Betts’s presentations were problem/solution oriented and displayed how Mathcad’s new capabilities solved common but difficult challenges. They discussed common engineering challenges, why users face these problems, and how Mathcad’s features can help solve those problems.
Both Walker and Betts agreed that perhaps the most significant learning from PlanetPTC Live came from their discussions about the future of Mathcad, saying they saw first-hand all the distinct ways people use features in Mathcad. During a usability lab, a number of users tested different aspects of Mathcad Prime 3.0. Walker said it was interesting to see the difference in how people used certain features that were designed for other reasons. It is a challenge to figure out each user’s process, he said, because everyone goes about these features differently. Although nobody could hope to discover each and every different way a user interacts with a software application, Walker and Betts hope to figure out more ways to connect with and exceed customer expectations for Mathcad Prime 3.0.
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