Move the "Feature Wishlist" to www.ideascale.com or similar

[rnoguera]

The dedicated feature voting systems allow for a much better idea evaluation and priorization.

Everyone can vote other people ideas and ideas are ranked according to the votes.

The developer can inform feedback users with the ideas that are being developed or considered.

It costs like 99 $ a month, so cost is not a concern...

[Lenny Forziati]

Ideas can be voted on here to by rating threads, or even by posting a simple "me too", but almost nobody bothers to do this. It isn't clear that using something like IdeaScale would change that (lack of) behavior.

[rnoguera]

I use the Alpha forum regularly, and I didn't even imagine rating the threads would do any difference to support a wish.

Pay a visit to any of the ideascale webs (like http://3cx.ideascale.com/) and you will see the difference.

The system is much more useful for the user and for the developer also.

[MikeC]

Lenny,

Your response is probably some of the most feedback I have ever seen regarding the Features Wishlist forum. I say this not to be inflammatory in any way and I hope it is not taken that way.....but is there some "number" of responses or times something is placed here that will actually get the attention of Alpha?

Requests such as this have been made for many years now. That is, to have Alpha respond more to a Wish and to let us know the status of such. Many of us simply do not even attempt any more (or very often) to submit ideas as the status of any/all has never been something that is known....in fact there is little indication that they are even read by Alpha. Your post is a rarity (but VERY welcome!!! ). :-)

Most of what I stated above goes for Bug reports as well (and I have personally placed a request for this in this forum), but not to the extent as I do get responses most times (not always) regarding an issue....but no status usually (even knowing if it is going to be considered to be fixed or not OR that it is being looked into). Many easy ways to do this have been suggested over time--even a page with a list of current issues/submissions and status would be a good thing....and would possibly eliminate redundant bug submissions if users knew to check the list first. This would for sure save Alpha time which I am sure is always something that is deemed valuable!

[aburningflame]

"me too" - Move the feature wishlist. Ive had a feature sit on here for a long time - with no response.
Hell, I dont even know the status of it.

I whole heartedly agree with the posters above.
Move the feature wishlist.

No one knows that rating these threads and posting me too will even do anything.
Alpha employees seem to be ghosts on this forum.

I say this because I want alpha to improve because i would like to continue using it: Listen to your clients.

[iRadiate]

"me too" - Move the feature wishlist. Ive had a feature sit on here for a long time - with no response.
Hell, I dont even know the status of it.

My sentiments exactly Scott. What is the point of having a Feature Request section if there is no response.
Did Alpha see the post? Did they ignore it? Are they too busy? Do they care? Are they saying great suggestion, we'll make Alpha better by doing this?
That's the problem really, who knows.

I like the idea of the above suggestion, but really, unless Alpha is actively involved, would it make any difference?

Stephen

[Mike Wilson]

I'm sensing " collective bargaining" here. What seems to be the underlying theme in this thread is that the there is request that there be a venue for the users as a collective to be able to influence the path of a company in determining what the company should provide for the users. Is that the gist of the request?

[MikeC]

I would never consider attempting to go down that path Mike.

My take....and my prior post here...is only wanting Alpha to let us know a few basic things regarding the "Wishes" posted ( and bug reports). To acknowledge receipt of them and to let us know their status. I think it would benefit Alpha greatly if they did so for already stated reasons.

[aburningflame]

Thats very true - if alpha isnt involved then what difference would it make.

[aburningflame]

That isnt the gist of the request Mike.
If you look at other professional software a lot of them have a bug and request feature list.

One of these was DevExpress ASP.NET controls.
Their support was AMAZING and good support makes a product 10x better.

The gist of this request is to move the wishlist to a site with voting / etc.

For example I can say :
I want dropdowns to be able to use dynamic filters.

Other users can thumbs up or thumbs down.

Then when alpha develops new features - they can focus on ones with thumbs up - because that is what their clients wants.

If youre an ice cream truck and your customers all want mint ice cream - but you only stock chocolate , would you not then stock mint ice cream to improve sales?
Alpha thinks their chocolate is the best and seem to be unwilling to stock mint ice cream.

The alpha customer feedback/support is bad and improving this would improve their product and company reputation.

I mean, look at this thread.
A PRODUCTIVE, EFFICIENT method for customer feedback was proposed - and it was shot down by alpha pretty quickly.

"Oh this forum is fine, you can just rate the posts and post me too"
Very closed minded.

Oh well.

[aburningflame]

http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/al...838#post576838

[Lenny Forziati]

Scott, I certainly did not intend to come across as "closed minded" at all. Alpha as a company is very open to suggestions, as am I personally. We of course want to stock whatever flavor ice cream you and all of the other ice cream buyers in the city want. We are constantly adding new flavors in our patches, something many other vendors hold off for a paid product upgrade.

Instead, my response was intended to say that I suspect (IOW, I made an assumption, which is of course inherently dangerous) that setting up something with ideascale or similar would not have much active participation from customers. I based my conclusion on the lack of participation I see here on the features wishlist, which even includes on this thread itself until you picked it back up yesterday. If there is real interest across our customer base and it will be used, it is certainly something worth taking a closer look at.

Also keep in mind that we do regularly review this section of the board, but some of the feedback we give needs to be limited as it relates internal product strategy. First and foremost, we don't say "that's a bad idea, we'll never do that" because if there is customer demand, we will do it even if someone here personally does not see a need for it. And we may see something, think it is a great idea, and add it, but not be able to say anything about it until it is (about to be) released. An example of this is V11 - there is some information around now about what will be in the new version, but it is not an exhaustive list yet.

[rnoguera]

I suspect (...) that setting up something with ideascale or similar would not have much active participation from customers.

I bet the response will be great. A lot of users use alpha5 for a living. For others is an important tool in our daily job. We are all very interested in sending our feedback to Alphasoftware.

[aburningflame]

Hi Lenny - thats fair enough.
I am speaking solely based on my experience with Alphas support - which has not been good overall.
This forum is really the only thing you guys have going in terms of support (and its practically 95% user contribution).

I understand the need to keep some things quiet, however, I think your assumption that people would not use a feature wishlist was misinformed.
I think the lack of participation you see here on the feature wishlist is due to the fact that we do not receive any feedback or insight - so I think users are extremely discouraged.


Here is an example:
http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/al...Like-lookup%29

With that sort of response, why would I post another feature request?
As far as Im concerned, its pointless.

However, I think users would be more inclined to click a thumbs up thumbs down.
It would take 5 minutes - and it would give users something to look forward to.

Look at Google - Google is very open about their developments.
I dont think allowing customers to see what is on the drawing block would be bad for the company.
Obviously, there are some things you can keep quiet, but all-in-all letting users vote on features would give you the incentive to stock the right ice cream.

Anyways,
I do appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Please keep an open mind and please take the time to consider the above.

Enjoy your day.
Thanks.

[Lenny Forziati]

Here is an example:
http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/al...Like-lookup%29

With that sort of response, why would I post another feature request?
As far as Im concerned, its pointless.

At the same time, look at it from Alpha's point of view - with that level of interest, why would we give it a high priority?

I think the problem is probably a fundamental disconnect in expectations. Alpha has been expecting other users would post some sort of reply to suggestions to indicate interest, and has seen the lack of responses as a lack of interest. Users however have unbeknownst to us been expecting immediate feedback from Alpha. IdeaScale seems like a good way to reset those expectations.

I have set up http://alphasoftware.ideascale.com/ as a starting point.

[aburningflame]

Lenny - I understand.
Its a vicious circle.
People dont post because alpha doesnt reply, alpha doesnt reply because people dont post.

Thank you for setting up ideascale (it wasnt even my idea - but i pushed for it because i believe it will truly allow alpha to get the feedback it needs).
I have posted an idea to start!

[iRadiate]

This is great! I've already bookmarked the site and plan to review it every day.
Alpha is a great product. The users here are highly skilled and an amazing resource. Some feedback now on feature requests can only make Alpha better still, no?

Stephen

[Mike Wilson]

Well done, Lenny. I too will be reviewing these suggestions often.

[MikeC]

Scott,
My last post only pertained to what I had said prior and was not intended to be a summation of what this thread was about.

I absolutely agree with what you have stated regarding the problems with the wishlist forum.

Lenny,
Thanks for the feedback and for trying something new to try to alleviate this issue. I hope it works out and have also added the site to my everyday tabs.

[aburningflame]

MikeC,
I didnt say you intended to sum the thread. I was just adding my 2 cents. :)
Hopefully this new idea thing works out for Alpha and its developers.

It has been added to my bookmarks as well.

[Peter.Greulich]

Other users can thumbs up or thumbs down.

Then when alpha develops new features - they can focus on ones with thumbs up - because that is what their clients wants.

Who is going to say thumbs down for a new feature? It's a fair assumption to assume that any new feature would be welcome.

[aburningflame]

Who is going to say thumbs down for a new feature? It's a fair assumption to assume that any new feature would be welcome.

I had added an idea and it was thumbs downed because apparently it is available in a new patch. So, its there if needed.
However, if you take a look at the ideascale site - you will actually see that certain ideas are ranked higher than others.

Some users dont thumbs up and idea they dont care about or like.
Some users may thumbs down - who knows.

[Peter.Greulich]

I'm not panning your idea. But a lack of up votes doesn't mean that no one has any interest. People generally tend to be passive unless they have a burr under their saddle. Few people would ever say, no - please don't give us that new feature. OTOH, if they have to choose between A & B, that's another matter.

[aburningflame]

By voting up for ones you care about and down about others - you are virtually choosing between A&B.
Maybe people shouldnt be passive if they want change - and maybe the few that arent passive will feel strongly enough about it to encourage alpha.

Lets see.
THe burr under my saddle is that I use this for everyday development and my job depends on it - why wouldnt I want it to be more efficient?

Anyways - doing nothing and expecting results is counterproductive.