Six months ago we released our internal trouble ticket system using the GPL open source license - we call it Simpleticket. Over 20,000 people have downloded the code (more than 100 per day) since release. Hundreds of people have emailed us thanking us for releasing the admittedly “flawed” code. We are about to release the second version of SimpleTicket addressing most of the problems and providing features we need. You see, we operate an IT support company that lives or dies based on our trouble ticket system. On the eve of the release of our new code the volume of disgruntled people is deafening. Check out some of these comments:
I am good friends with Kate and Peter and it really pisses me off seeing how you guys have ignored their needs. Before going out and just coding whatever you want you should consult the community. Kate and Peter have very specific needs and the wireframes and the descriptions detailed in this blog don’t meet their requirements. How do you expect them to use simpleticket if you don’t get their buyin? We are outraged that you would pay programmers to build a ticketing system for your own company and not contribute to the open source community. - by Frank
We were shocked to read this comment and responded here. Two people, Peter and Kate have spent a lot of time claiming we have not worked on the code with comments like:
you never actually WORKED WITH THE COMMUNITY. The non-architel developers were the only ones doing any work. - by Kate
And stuff like this:
Also the statement, “Alex and Rodrigo who added thousands of lines of code after the release� is patently false. Architel’s contributions to the branch called masukomi, which we all agreed would be the basis for hte next version, were very minimal. - by Peter
At the end of the day it really pisses us off. We wrote a ticketing system, released it using an open source license and let anyone download and use it. To say we did not get enough feedback when we built it, or that we did not do any work on it or that we did not contribute to their branch of the code is just crazy.
We wrote the damn software in the first place and spent the first 90 days resolving bugs so that we could keep our business running while using SimpleTicket. If you were to believe Peter or his friends you would think “they” wrote SimpleTicket and we were just using it.
We spent the last 90 days paying coders to rebuild the code, adding much needed features and bug fixes. When we release the new code I am sure Peter and Kate will be around to tell us what we are doing wrong (Peter has said, “However, I would love to see the new version when released.“), but man I wish they would go away. I wish folks we just thank us for the code and contribute code back if they want to.
July 29, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Architel , simpleticket , opensource , troubleticket , helpdesk | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
I noticed a few comments from Ward and Vince regarding the status of SimpleTicket as an open source project. To Ward’s question, “…does this mean that SimpleTicket is no longer open source?” Absolutely not, we are committed to keeping SimpleTicket open source using the GPL.
To Vince’s answer, “…he took it back in house to develop.” The hard part about building software is deciding what to build. In the end we need SimpleTicket for our business and we must have certain features. One day I looked at the demo version and it looked nothing like the software we had intended, instead it was circa 1999 radio buttons. I proposed to the two most active non-Architel developers that they continue the project with their vision and we would continue a different project using our vision. They decided they would rather complain than to continue their own version of the project.
To meet our deadlines (we had missed our May deadline working with the community) we hired coders to complete the second version of SimpleTicket. Once it is released we would love to start building a community around the project. Ward, we would love to have you on board. But just as I said to the other developers, I don’t want you to waste your time on code that will never find its way into SimpleTicket. By working together we can make sure that we all get what we want. Go ahead and wait for the new code and if you like it and want to get involved please give me a call or send me an email.
July 6, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Rails , Architel , Ajax , Ajaxian , Biginjapan , simpleticket , rubyonrails , bij , podcast , podserve , alexleverington | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
The SimpleTicket Conference call was held today at 10AM. Attendees included Peter, PeterB, Kate, AlexL, AlexM, Rodrigo, and Fred. Topics included:
- PostgreSQL support (we will create a dev environment for the folks interested in PostgreSQL support).
- Kate’s branch will be opened up. We are going to dev her code with Peter’s contributions to determine what feature additions will be added to the main trunk.
- Search was discussed and will be added before the May version release.
- Tagging was dicussed (RelTags) will be added on the Admin side only before the May version release. We discussed Tagyu.
- A peer to peer baysian auto-tag feature was dicussed for a future release (i.e. how other people tagged tickets with certain text would be shared and allow for auto tagging of tickets int he future)
- Microformats were adopted officially (SimpleTicket will use Microformats anywhere).
- Simplicity was discussed - we must fight the urge to make simpleticket complexticket!
SimpleTicket is an open source trouble ticket system written using Ruby on Rails. The SimpleTicket podcast can be found here.
March 29, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Architel , simpleticket , opensource , podcast , mysql , postgresql , troubleticketsystem , microformats , reltags , tagyu | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
We were contacted by students from SMU’s MBA program to help build a business or marketing plan for SimpleTicket. We are meeting this evening with the students and their advisor. Here are several Q&As about SimpleTicket Alex blogged about previously (we have also included several links that might be helpful for the MBA students:
Q. Why did Architel write SimpleTicket?
A. Architel wrote SimpleTicket because they had a very specific workflow and non of the cheap (under $10,000) solutions worked for the company. The expensive solutions (over $50,000) were so complicated and ‘heavy’ that we decided to build it ourselves.
Q. Why did Architel decide to release SimpleTicket as an open source project?
A. The more people who saw the project thought we should ’sell’ it. I was surprised that people would want our ’simple’ ticketing system. Our workflow is so narrow I figured it would not work for many types of companies. If we released the software for free, including the source code, anyone could edit/modify the code to match their own workflow. By using the GPL we could ensure that all versions/modifications/improvements would be shared with the entire community. Finally, the network effects potentially huge - imagine a network of developers working on your software (for free!).
Q. How will Architel make money?
A. First, we don’t need to make any money. The cost of development was far less than it would have cost us to purchase one of those heavy-weight packages. If we don’t make a dime we will be fine. But, surely you realize that open source projects can be very lucrative. How? 1. you can provide maintenance for a fee, 2. you can provide customization for a fee, or 3. you can provide application hosting for a fee. Revenue generated by the project can be reinvested in the project or simply distributed to the parent (Architel).
Making Money With Open Source (whitepaper) by Kai Hendry
How to Make Money Off Open Source, by Lisa Vaas
Conversation witha successful Linux services entrepreneur by Robin Miller
Open Source Case for Business by OSI
How Do You Make Money from Open Source Software? by Clark Lane
101 Ways to Make Money off Open Source
Making money with open source by Amy Kucharik
Money in the open source world by Alex
Open Source year in reivew by Alex
February 17, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Architel , simpleticket , opensource , smu , mba | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
The interest in SimpleTicket has been somewhat greater than we expected. The number of downloads in a week is a little overwelming and the reaction while generally positive has caused us to dedicate more Architel resources to the project. What are we doing? Well starting tomorrow, Giorgio Maone will be focused on three efforts:
- Rails-ification of the existing source code (i.e. cleaning it up so Grandma would be proud)
- Addition of RSS notifications for clients and engineers
- Addition of Tags to posts to assist with the development of the search feature
Giorgio has been working on several Big in Japan tools and is better known for his development on the Mozilla Firefox browser. He also is well known for FlashGot, his Mozilla/Firefox/Thunderbird extension (more than 13 millino downloads to date). The extension was a Softpedia 5/5 Pick!
February 8, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , RSS , Tags , Rails , Architel , Biginjapan , simpleticket , rubyonrails , ruby , bij , firefox , mozilla , flashgot , thunderbird , softpedia , giorgiomaone | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
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