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
Time for another update. I have been updating the comments, but I figured it would be a good idea to do a post. The new code is working well. There have been a few bugs, but generally it is working well. Let me just say it is a 100% improvement over the old code.
We have been using the first release of SimpleTicket for about six months. We have been able to determine what works and what needs improvement. The new version of SimpleTicket addresses many of the shortcomings of the first release from a workflow perspective. From a code perspective the new code conforms to the Ruby on Rails methodology.
The guys are still working on bugs and little edits, but our primary objective is to import six months of data into the new version (we think that will be the best way to bug test the new code) and start testing. Concurrently one of our designers is adding gradients and shadows to the panels.
Finally, the most exciting feature of SimpleTicket is its ability to deliver statistics about our clients to the managers of Architel. We can now have a real-time view into our business - a huge feature of Simpleticket. There is a big shortcoming in our view of the stats; the columns can’t be sorted in ascending or decending order - they are simply in alpha order. I have been told it is very hard to code a solution to this problem. If you have any ideas please post here. Otherwise, we will release without a solution for now. Thanks to our brothers in Paris who did most of the coding on the new version of SimpleTicket - there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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July 29, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , simpleticket , opensource , troubleticket , gpl | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
The new code was installed internally last week. We have been playing with it and making modifications. There are still some functional issues as well as visual issues. We are updating some of the wireframes to more closely reflect the needs of the design. Here is an example:
Note the additional button to replace fake buttons. Note the feed icon. Note the tagging function. The text on the lower right corner describes three of the drop down screens.  We are still working on a release very soon. Keep your fingers crossed.
July 24, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , simpleticket , rubyonrails , opensource , wireframe , design , css | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
We are building a hosted version of SimpleTicket that will allow companies or IT support shops to create a SimpleTicket install within minutes. Here is a peak:
Above you can see the ‘draft’ service levels. We plan to offer two types of SimpleTicket installs. The first is for internal support departments and the second is for IT support companies (like our own Architel).
We are still working out the details, but here is what the signup page might look like once you have selected a plan.
July 18, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , simpleticket , opensource , troubleticket , hosted | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
We realized that we needed to update the customer view of SimpleTicket before we released the new backend. These wireframes were whipped up today. Let us know what you think. We are still thinking through a few issues (password recovery, login, account creation) and we are not certain this is how it will all turn out, but it will give you a glimpse into our thought process:
Most users will only see this view once. After they login they set their cookie and they only see the Create New Ticket page.
We decided to include three things in this view: 1) login, 2) password reminder, 3) create an account. Hopefully this isn’t too much for one page, but we wanted to keep it very simple - fewer pages, less navigation.
We removed priority settings. We have been using SimpleTicket internally for six months and less than 1% of users actually set the priority. We still have priority for internal use - i.e. by the engineers, but that is really for their uses.
This page is the default view for most users after they login for the first time.
This page starts out with a list of a users open tickets. If the user clicks on the “open ticket” link the Ticket detail opens and allows the user to view the ticket history, close the ticket (i.e. really close it), escalate the ticket to a manager, or close the view. Of course the user can still update the ticket with additional information. Note the two feed icons. Users can get an RSS feed for all of their tickets - i.e. so each time they are updated they get a notice in their newsreader. Users can also limit their feed to a specific ticket.
In our new closed ticket view, works just like open ticket view, but the users can reopen tickets if they wish. We have lots of users not happy that their ticket was closed - this gives them an easy way of re-opening it.
We now allow the user to update any of their information themselves. No more tickets asking us to update their information!
July 18, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , simpleticket , opensource , troubleticket , wireframes | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
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