Open Discussion

[Louis M.]

Before I start writing this let me say this is not a flame, hate post, bash, or anything else like it. This is purely *MY* perceptions and *MY* ideas. I am not an avid poster but I am an avid reader of this forum.

Recently IPS has taken a lot of flak for IG. Some of it is deserved and some isn't. IPS takes constant flak for not releasing a date for the software releases, and when they do and miss the deadline they take crap for missing it.

Customers complain IPS doesn't listen to us. IPS had released a very buggy IG and a premature IPB (in my own opinion). That out of the way let me make my comments.

IPB 2.1 should not have been released until IPB 2.1.1. There were numerous open bugs and flaws that should have been corrected. I think IPS might have felt pressured into it by the community since we have had some serious blood lust for it. Overall IPB 2.1 is an EXCELLENT and well needed update to the forum software line. It is truly an awesome piece of software.

IG 2.x line has been a nightmare at best. The beta' were finding problems but not resolving them all. As stated by many others the release of the original IG final was severely rushed. Customers, you KNEW that if you upgraded to IPB 2.1 your IG 1.3 would be broken. I waited until I thought the betas for IG were in a stable spot until I did my forum / gallery update. IPS either you knew the state of IG or you were ignoring it. IPB 2.1 could have used that extra time for the IG release to update and bug fix IPB code. I feel like many others that IG 2.x is not what it should or could be. There are many skin errors, bugs, and quirks that could be resolved with a little time. Kinder, You have done a lot for the line so please don't take this personally.

Customer Service is not very efficient in my eyes. Legacy Ticket # 192864 and Current Ticket # 104251 (Both are resolved) took extremely to long to resolve. This had dealt with Invision TSL and I was told that someone was working on it and contact me shortly. I waited 1 to 2 weeks each time with no reply until I sent a comment in on it. I used to work in Customer Service and know that the turnaround time was and is very slow, sometimes. I have had other problems that were resolved in minutes. I had in issue with a seriously messed up ICB installation. W1lz0r had somehow saved my butt and fixed it for me. There needs to be some consistency in this area.

Again this is not to bash IPS or the community. I love the products and am purchasing them when they are released. Please IPS and the community members lets work together and cut this "we want it now now now now" and release of incomplete products and we may see better results!

If you wish to contact me please email me at louisamarkham@gmail.com or send me a PM.

IPS Customer for life,
Louis Adam Markham

[krocheck]

[font="Arial"][size=2]Recently IPS has taken a lot of flak for IG. Some of it is deserved and some isn't. IPS takes constant flak for not releasing a date for the software releases, and when they do and miss the deadline they take crap for missing it.[/size][/font]

[font="Arial"][size=2]Customers complain IPS doesn't listen to us. IPS had released a very buggy IG and a premature IPB (in my own opinion). That out of the way let me make my comments.[/size][/font]

[font="Arial"][size=2]IG 2.x line has been a nightmare at best. The beta' were finding problems but not resolving them all. As stated by many others the release of the original IG final was severely rushed. Customers, you KNEW that if you upgraded to IPB 2.1 your IG 1.3 would be broken. I waited until I thought the betas for IG were in a stable spot until I did my forum / gallery update. IPS either you knew the state of IG or you were ignoring it. I feel like many others that IG 2.x is not what it should or could be. There are many skin errors, bugs, and quirks that could be resolved with a little time.[/size][/font]

[font="Arial"][size=2]Again this is not to bash IPS or the community. I love the products and am purchasing them when they are released. Please IPS and the community members lets work together and cut this "we want it now now now now" and release of incomplete products and we may see better results![/size][/font]

[font="Arial"][size=2]IPS Customer for life,

Louis Adam Markham[/size][/font]

I have left only the sentences that apply to my reply in the quote

First thing I want to do is applaud Louis for making this post. I believe there are many people who need to take a few notes from the post. IPS does not schedule releases so as to avoid catastrophes such IG 2.x. As a young developer I have already felt the effects of what a deadline can do to 1) stir your emotions 2) make you write inefficient code 3) leave out features that you would have otherwise coded and 4) leave you with a piece of buggy code (software).

The part about the community laying off the "we want it now" cries is especially important to what I just said. If any deadlines are set, it should be the company setting those and not the cry of the people. Let them set and keep their own pace. I don't want to blame the community entirely though. I believe that IPS upgrades the Corporate Forums a little too early in the development cycle. I do not recall how long we have been using 2.1 here, but I think it has been much longer than it should. The cries come from people using the new version for so long that they want it for their community 'already'.

Is there a good way to fix this ... not really. The corporate forums have proven to be a major resource for IPS to fix most bugs before a supported release. There could be a way to avoid all this ... appoint a small group of members to beta test the versions so that the next major version is kept from the community just a little bit longer. That's my two cents there.

What makes you people think that you "have to upgrade AS SOON AS the latest version is released". From experience (not only with IPB) ... wait for at least the first maintenance release (i.e. 2.1.1). This alone would help fix the problem with regards to IG 1.3 being broken upon upgrade to 2.1. Wait for the maintenance releases before upgrading your own boards - less headaches for you.

I suppose the biggest part of my post is to say be patient. There is no way to make this whole development cycle thing that we have here work unless people are patient with the cycle.

That is all I have to say.

Keith

[Lindy]

Firstly, we appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your feedback.

I certainly understand and appreciate your concerns and agree that the release was not as smooth as we had hoped. To ensure that this does not happen in the future, we've devised a new development structure that will ensure that each product undergoes a thorough Q&A test before it is released. Developers will now set an internal code completion date, at which point the product will be released to each key department (customer relations, technical support, documentation, etc.) - once each department "signs off" on the release, it will undergo final review and then be released to the public.

Of course there will be a vocal minority that will be unhappy with the fact that a product isn't released immediately upon "code completion", however, we would much prefer this to releasing a product [update] that has not gone through a proper Q&A process and lacks supporting documentation.

In short, we recognize the issues you've mentioned and have taken steps to ensure smoother releases in the future.

In regards to your customer service issue, Louis, your TSL issue was a bit unique and I take full responsibility for the delay as I handled all similar requests personally. I do apologize and am pleased that we were ultimately able to resolve your concern to your satisfaction.

Once again, thank you for your feedback as well as your support. Should you have any further questions or concerns that you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact us.

[Brandon C]

Firstly, we appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your feedback.

In short, we recognize the issues you've mentioned and have taken steps to ensure smoother releases in the future.

In regards to your customer service issue, Louis, your TSL issue was a bit unique and I take full responsibility for the delay as I handled all similar requests personally. I do apologize and am pleased that we were ultimately able to resolve your concern to your satisfaction.

Once again, thank you for your feedback as well as your support. Should you have any further questions or concerns that you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Lindy went to school to learn how to say this. Truly amazing response, though Mr. Lindy, I must say that much. :) Lindy is the perfect guy for customer relations, however. :thumbsup: