Many years ago a team was brought together to select a piece of software to improve the effectiveness of the Computer Operations group. After a lot of exploration, they boiled it down to two choices, either a higher-end, feature-rich product or a lesser-end, basic-feature product. Of course, the higher-end choice was more expensive. The team was trying hard to select the right product and spend the company's money wisely. When I heard about this, I told the person I knew which one they would ultimately pick. It had nothing to do with either piece of software, but an understanding of market forces and human nature.
Ultimately, the team recommended the higher-end product, as I had predicted. The team tried hard to
figure out the price/feature angle, but I knew that market forces had already balanced them. There was no way to find a better product for the price. They were the same. More money, more features, less money, less features. The market had already done that. Then when faced with the choice between two equal options, human nature entered to select the higher-end product. Human nature said (1) it's really not our money and (2) the risk of the lesser-end product not really being capable enough to handle all needs, now and in the future. The downside risk led to making the higher-end decision.
It was a fine decision, just very predictable.
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