Submitted by David Hobbs on 20 November 2007 - 6:40pm
In any system that's actually used (!), you're going to get user reports of problems that need fast response such as access issues (as oppossed to enhancement or bug fix requests). Unfortunately, a common and very difficult type of problem is an intermittent issue or one that you cannot reproduce. That said, even in that case, here are some rules of thumb in responding to a user report:
- Identify whether or not you saw the problem (and never, ever, just close a ticket just because you don't see the issue -- at a minimum contact the user first *before* declaring something couldn't be reproduced).
- If you cannot reproduce the problem, then try to walk through the exact steps with the user on your desktop (or by sharing their desktop). Of course, the user may resist this since they're already frustrated if they contacted you. But as we all know a problem may only occur in a very specific situation (that you never do), although it may be the *only* way that particular user does things (so the user feels this always happens). Of course, if there is another way of doing the same thing, then suggest a workaround.
- Clearly indicate if you *did* something for the problem to go away.
- Ask for confirmation that the *user* thinks the issue is resolved (this one is important but easy to overlook).
- Make it clear that the user can get back to you with any follow-up questions.
An example response that isn't very useful to a user: "Try now" and nothing more (the user doesn't know if you did anything, and they might think you don't believe anything was wrong in the first place).
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Submitted by David Hobbs on 18 November 2007 - 12:44am
A couple rules of thumb about giving vs. taking:
Rule 1. If you give something away for free that your would normally charge for, then make it clear you are waiving the normal rules (and that you may not be doing so in the future).
Rule 2. If you didn't follow Rule 1, then be very wary of changing your policy of giving that something away (even if it is in the manual or contract or whatever). Why? It will feel like you are taking something away (rather than *giving* something if Rule 1 is followed).
This is all *especially* true if it's something that would be easy for the user/client to overlook.
It's very easy to point to the contract, or to the manual, about some policy. But if you have routinely been not following the policy, or not charging for something, then people will continue to expect that they will get it for free. Popping what appears to be a new requirement or cost on them will probably not go over well.
Example One: Let's say a contract stipulates $100/month extra for priority support. If you've silently been giving that priority support for 6 months for no additional cost, and then call up the client to say you'll charge it in the future, they'll be upset. It'll seem like you're suddenly charging them way more money. It's a lot better to just put on the bill in the first place something like "$100/month fee waived for initial six months" or something, so you're *giving* something for six months. Of course, if you mistakenly did not charge that extra amount, then you may want to consider giving a grace period before charging that again (so that the user has time to wrap their head around the idea, and they will also feel that at least they are getting something for free a while longer).
Example Two: Your product's manual says your content should be 600 pixels wide. But your product never enforced that, and, although larger pages didn't look perfect, wider pages didn't look horrible either. If you suddenly change the system (for other good reasons) so that these spurious pages inadvertantly look bad, just pointing to the manual to say they should have kept their content to 600 pixels wide will annoy the users. It would be better to in the first place enforce the rule or at least remind people that you are waiving that restriction but may in the future require it. After the fact of wide pages suddenly looking worse, you can also offer to help your users to review and change the size of their problem pages. Also, if you can somehow change the system fairly easily to be a bit more lax on the requirement, then it would be better to do so.
Obviously, these types of issues may arise because of an oversight on your part (you forgot to charge the additional $100/month in the example above), but in general the main things to try to keep in mind are: a) these types of details *are* important, so try to keep an eye on them, b) try to remind people when you are temporarily waiving a fee or restriction, and c) by all means, don't just flippantly point to the manual, contract, or other document. Of course, there may be times when you do need to fall back to pointing to the document/agreement, but carefully consider the options before doing so.
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Submitted by David Hobbs on 13 November 2007 - 11:30pm
We all encounter users with requirements like this: "This is easy. A college intern set it up in 10 minutes. We just need you to put that functionality in your fancy-pants system." (Well, maybe not that exact wording).
I encountered something like this a while ago. The basic requirement was to generate a little web report in a table. We implemented this in our system, and the user immediately called upset that it wasn't working -- it turned out they copied and pasted from the web page to Excel, and this was no longer working as they expected.
Now I know to ask more questions (and give this dangerous flavor of requirement its proper respect). Some questions to pose:
- do all the users of this system/functionality use the same system/platform (if I watch how you use the system, is that sufficient)?
- what other systems will use the output of this system?
- how critical is this system? are you willing to live with some hiccups?
- are you tied to the exact look and feel of the current system?
- how do you currently manage your site, and the content and other data on the site?
In a lot of ways, this is a much scarier requirement than a brand new one. Even if there are misunderstandings in the requirements of a new system, at least everyone understands that this can happen. But a quick ctrl-a ctrl-c ctr-v can be all it takes for a user to prove that your implementation doesn't do what the previous one did.
You should try to sit down and walk through the user actually using the functionality. If at all possible, you should also walk through the system yourself, noting any potential complexities (and discussing this potential complexities with your client). Emphasize that there may be details of the current system that they and we weren't aware of. Hopefully you can also concentrate on *improvements* that can be made to the system, so they aren't as dissappointed with small setbacks.
As to phasing, if possible, try to first deliver a pilot or beta so they can play with it. Also, you need to be ready to "fix" things after delivery.
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