This will be my 4th time attending SOLIDWORKS World, and each time I have signed up for and participated in the user feedback sessions. I am curious how many other users participate. I have enjoyed the experience and it helps me to appreciate and understand the effort that goes into each release of SOLIDWORKS. ​ and the team do a great job of keeping the process interesting and it's one of the parts of SWW that I look forward to every year!

My experience is anecdotal to be sure, but from the people I have talked to I get the distinct impression that those who participate wholeheartedly in the product improvement processes available to SOLIDWORKS users tend to be less frustrated with SOLIDWORKS. I would hope that those who express great disappointment in functionality, stability or user interface preferences are using every available avenue to communicate it to the development team. I'm a geek AND a nerd so I sign up for any and all areas that are applicable to me, and it has been interesting to see how feedback from users like myself has highlighted problems or even unexpected enhancement opportunities in areas like the touch UI and even the development of xDesign.

I will admit that I still have to remind myself to fill out crash reports, submit enhancement requests, etc. when I find something that is consistently interfering with my workflow, but I will also say that in my experience SOLIDWORKS has been surprisingly responsive in addressing these concerns. Realizing that my input is actually being listened to helps motivate me to keep participating.

With all that said, if you haven't participated in the user feedback sessions, I would highly recommend that you do. If you want to have the opportunity to shape the development of your toolset then this is a great way to do that.