Major problems for Sonos
If you have even a passing curiosity about audio hardware, you can’t help but notice the persistent difficulties Sonos has experienced since launching its new app in May of this year. Users of these often expensive audio systems were quick to complain about the malfunctions observed: there were unexpected disconnections, no speakers present, interrupted audio streams, along with no wake-up mode – the list continues.
Discontent reigns
Sonos shares this slump with others. The staff of Sonos, according to a revealing report by Bloomberg, were dissatisfied with the app’s launch and even made attempts to alert the company’s executives to approaching problems.
The ‘Lazarus’ report
The commissioning company, Sonos, enlisted its chief legal counsel, Eddie Lazarus, to oversee a “deep dive” and “reflection” on the events leading up to the May launch of the new application. In unfortunate news, only senior executives at Sonos are able to view the report’s insights. Nevertheless, Bloomberg’s efforts have uncovered some remarkably informative details about the scenario.
The obstacle of “tech debt”
Central to the problem is a concept called technical debt in the software world — old code, passed on from prior software versions, hangs like a sword of Damocles, threatening to disrupt your ongoing pursuits. Because Sonos uses software that has already disappeared, the unavoidable racking up of ‘tech debt’ is a sure outcome.
The team at Sonos had informed their management that, according to them, the app was far from ready for its launch. Still, due to the approaching significant product launches, stopping the rollout of the new app was not an option anymore. Therefore, the problems faced by Sonos became known and the user experience fell short.
