IPS 4.3.4 again giving wrong MySQL recommendation

[Chris Anderson]

I think this conversation has brought to light that IPS needs to be more open about their rapid software development process.   Some of it works remarkably well  and some of it could benefit from improvement.  Instead of the customers trying to encourage improvement it would be much better if it was driven from IPS instead.  Having an open and honest dialog with your customers will likely uncover ways to improve things with minimal effort on your end to implement. There are also ways your customers could better participate in the process as well.

[bfarber]

19 hours ago, Christopher Anderson said:

I think this conversation has brought to light that IPS needs to be more open about their rapid software development process.   Some of it works remarkably well  and some of it could benefit from improvement.  Instead of the customers trying to encourage improvement it would be much better if it was driven from IPS instead.  Having an open and honest dialog with your customers will likely uncover ways to improve things with minimal effort on your end to implement. There are also ways your customers could better participate in the process as well.

We actually just completed a long survey process of our customer base to look for areas of improvement. You are always welcome to share ideas and we are happy to take them into consideration. ? While we have explained our reasonings in this topic for the specific subject at hand, it doesn't mean behind the scenes we aren't taking all of this feedback into account and further discussing ways to improve our processes.

[Chris Anderson]

 

2 hours ago, bfarber said:

We actually just completed a long survey process of our customer base to look for areas of improvement.

I'm not being difficult here, I'm simply curious.  At what point do you regard someone as a customer and included in "our customer base"?  I've been a paying member here for some 15 years and have purchased 10 licenses.  I have never been "asked" what my opinion might be on anything since becoming a customer.  I've stopped and started numerous projects due to one "problem" or another and I find that after many long years of silence decided to be vocal about my concerns.  If I had ever been asked about my concerns I would have done so in a less public way.

[Joel R]

39 minutes ago, Christopher Anderson said:

 

I'm not being difficult here, I'm simply curious.  At what point do you regard someone as a customer and included in "our customer base"?  I've been a paying member here for some 15 years and have purchased 10 licenses.  I have never been "asked" what my opinion might be on anything since becoming a customer.  I've stopped and started numerous projects due to one "problem" or another and I find that after many long years of silence decided to be vocal about my concerns.  If I had ever been asked about my concerns I would have done so in a less public way.

You could almost say, you're a power user of Invision Power. 

On a serious note, I think any client - whether brand new or a loyal minion - is welcome to post feedback on the suite at any time in the feedback forums.  That's one of the primary ways for IPS to learn (and service) such a large customer base in an efficient manner.  Also, being a loud and vocal voice on major problems also helps.  That's why I carry around my rape whistle, my bullhorn, and practice yelling at Lindy in the mirror to get warmed up for my feedback posts.  

[Rikki]

40 minutes ago, Christopher Anderson said:

 

I'm not being difficult here, I'm simply curious.  At what point do you regard someone as a customer and included in "our customer base"?  I've been a paying member here for some 15 years and have purchased 10 licenses.  I have never been "asked" what my opinion might be on anything since becoming a customer.  I've stopped and started numerous projects due to one "problem" or another and I find that after many long years of silence decided to be vocal about my concerns.  If I had ever been asked about my concerns I would have done so in a less public way.

A survey went out to every active customer (that is, someone with an active license or Cloud plan) late last year, and we received thousands of responses which we reviewed individually as well as assess for trends & problem areas. If you didn't receive that, it may have been that your license was lapsed, or the email bounced for some reason. We plan to do similar surveys approximately once a year to see how we're doing, as well as more targeted surveys as necessary (for example, we have an exit survey in place if someone tells us they don't plan on renewing).

Of course, aside from surveys we always welcome feedback in whichever format is convenient for you. Forum topic, support ticket, tweet, letter - whatever works for you ? We really do value feedback and we've been working on gathering it more effectively.

[Chris Anderson]

4 hours ago, Rikki said:

A survey went out to every active customer (that is, someone with an active license or Cloud plan) late last year, and we received thousands of responses which we reviewed individually as well as assess for trends & problem areas. If you didn't receive that, it may have been that your license was lapsed, or the email bounced for some reason. We plan to do similar surveys approximately once a year to see how we're doing, as well as more targeted surveys as necessary (for example, we have an exit survey in place if someone tells us they don't plan on renewing).

Of course, aside from surveys we always welcome feedback in whichever format is convenient for you. Forum topic, support ticket, tweet, letter - whatever works for you ? We really do value feedback and we've been working on gathering it more effectively.

In the future if you survey your customer base it would be helpful if you made a blog posting about it.  "Hey folks, we are going to be sending out surveys to all "registered", hint...hint... customers next Wednesday.  Please keep and eye out for it as it could possibly end up in your spam folder.  If you haven't received one by (date) please contact us and we will forward you a copy.  You could then highlight the purpose of the survey to encourage participation.  It would also be nice to have a followup blog, "Hey thanks to those that participated in our recent survey!"  Heres a snapshot of what we learned from it and the changes we will be making in the coming year. 

What you learn from the survey could be entirely different from what your customers intended to convey or your changes may not be what is wanted. The customer base then could let you know that sooner rather than later or ask for some change to pretty please be prioritized.

One of the reasons a client may have an inactive license is due to some issue(s) they may have with the software or your company.  Being invited to participate in a survey may uncover what those issue(s) might be.  Correcting said issue(s) may very well bring that particular customer back into the active customer status.  Everyone with a vested interest in your company's success should be surveyed in one fashion or another.

[Lindy]

Chris - 

 

Firstly, thank you for 15 years of business, we appreciate it! 

There were in fact multiple reminders about the survey, but as noted, this particular one targeted active customers. I completely agree that feedback from those that let their license lapse is important as well, but that wasn't the focus of the experimental survey we pushed out last year. We now have, baked into the software, a renewal reminder that appears in the AdminCP before a license expires. If you choose not to renew, it allows you to easily let us know why and we do review all of those responses. Naturally, you're also welcome to contact us at any time with any specific feedback - you have a standing invitation. ? 

That was our first ever survey of that scale and it was extremely beneficial, with thousands upon thousands of responses. There were several concerns that were common across most such as search, Commerce and Gallery. We then took the more elaborate responses ("I hate it" or "It sucks" isn't the kind of feedback we look for and will generally not follow up on it, vs "I find it difficult to search for partial model numbers") and conducted mini focus groups with those clients. As a result, search was vastly improved, we made numerous Commerce improvements with more planned for 4.4 and the Gallery interface and upload process was improved in 4.3. It's a system we really like and we will continue to use moving forward. 

With that said, we will not likely announce them as they would rarely target all customers and former customers of all types, with all apps, all at once. To gather usable feedback, they really need to be a touch more focused. So, it's important to keep @Invisionpower.com whitelisted.