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ADR-007: Target Audience — New Customers First

Status: Accepted Date: 2026-03-16

Context​

PSSaaS could prioritize either: (a) feature parity with the desktop app to enable existing customer migration, or (b) a modern SaaS experience for new customers who have never used PowerSeller. These audiences have different expectations and different definitions of "good enough."

Options considered:

  • Existing customers first: Prioritize feature parity to migrate desktop users. Risk: building a web-based replica of a 30-year-old desktop app.
  • New customers first: Build a modern SaaS experience that attracts lenders who would never adopt a desktop app. Migration features come later.
  • Both simultaneously: Try to serve both audiences equally. Risk: pleasing neither.

Decision​

Build for new customers first. They expect a modern SaaS experience — guided workflows, progressive disclosure, dashboards, and mobile-friendly design. Existing customer migration is secondary.

Key principles:

  • UX design emphasizes clean, guided workflows for users who have never seen PowerSeller
  • Existing customer migration features (power mode, bulk operations, keyboard shortcuts) are built as secondary "opt-in" mode
  • API and business logic are the same for both audiences — only the presentation differs
  • Feature prioritization targets what new customers need to be productive, not what existing customers are used to

Consequences​

Positive:

  • Market expansion: Attracts lenders who would never install a desktop app
  • Modern UX: Avoids the trap of replicating a 30-year-old interface in a browser
  • Clear design direction: UX team can design for one primary audience without compromise
  • Faster time-to-value: New customers need fewer features to get started than existing customers need for full migration

Negative:

  • Existing customers wait: Desktop customers cannot migrate until sufficient feature parity exists
  • Dual maintenance period: Desktop app must be maintained longer while SaaS catches up
  • Risk of alienating existing customers: If they feel deprioritized (mitigated by clear communication and the power mode UX strategy)