Even at this early stage, we've been asked what SimpleDesk will feature, and the manner in which we will be releasing it.
Our style is very much being geared to an incremental style - we aren't planning to do mammoth releases every 6-12 months with many new features, that seems far too long for us.
While the exact release cycle we're planning on is not entirely certain, we are planning for shorter than that, and for each release to be a few new features on the previous one. So, as a result 1.0 won't have all the bells and whistles you might expect from a fully featured helpdesk, but in fairness, we'd rather give you something very fundamental and core to work with, while we work on adding the really neat stuff in 1.1 and beyond.
Without further ado, I present what we'll be issuing in 1.0.
Ability to post, edit, reply, close tickets as well as
displaying tickets and
seeing a list of all the tickets availableIn all honesty, this is pretty much what the helpdesk is - couldn't really have a 1.0 without the basic fundamentals :)
Ticket <-> Topic managementOne of the most hotly requested features when we first asked what people would want is the ability to move tickets into topics and vice versa. All too often a ticket will be posted when it would be better being put in the public board for discussion, or a public topic has been posted with sensitive details that really should be handled in a ticket that the staff can resolve.
This would be a one-click operation that would simply move an entire thread to the helpdesk, or repost the entire ticket to a thread of your choice.
Shut down forum componentOne thing we're keen to provide is what can look like, and function like, a standalone help desk - you would be able to close down the entire forum-specific code and simply have access to a functional, viable helpdesk, albeit one that states it is powered by SMF.
Urgency levelsTickets can have 6 levels of urgency: Low, Medium, High, Very High, Severe, Critical. The ability to raise a ticket's urgency is permission controlled, as is the ability to use the higher levels of urgency - meaning that regular staff could be allowed only up to High, with supervisors or team leaders being able to raise it higher.
AssignmentsThe ability to be able to assign a ticket to a given user, such that they could be given ownership of a ticket and it would be prioritised on their display as that it was assigned to them.
File attachmentsThe ability to attach one or more files to a ticket so staff can utilise that information. Permission driven so can be disabled upon request.
PermissionsNot all users are going to be helpdesk agents, nor are all users going to be allowed to access the helpdesk. Access to the helpdesk is permission controlled by usergroup, as is the staff view of the helpdesk.
Mod Management Page/Back-end AdministrationAs ever, with the level of data that will be applicable, there will be additional areas added to the Admin panel in SMF, for managing the Helpdesk:
- One click disable/enable for the Helpdesk (in Core Features)
- Maintenance tasks to ensure the data is kept in order
- Some admin configuration options, too
Mate this is awesome! 8)
I'll probably be here everyday just to experience/witness its development, and be a little part of something big ;D
Great work team, and what a good collection of people it is :)
This sounds awesome cannot wait to make use of this mod. This will defaintly come in handy for one of my sites :)
Keep up the good work ;)
Spoogs official 2 thumbs up to the project (lol like that means anything)
Seriously tho i like all that i have read so far and look forward to its release. This mod seems to address quite a few features that i would love to have.
Arantor, from what i see this will solve my view own topic issue in a much better way.
Welcome to you all :)
Glad our idea is working for you all, we're a little away from a release just yet, but we will be taking more feature requests soon :)
I should add that while the above is what 1.0 will feature, we've already discussed what is very likely to be in the next version or two, and as we draw closer to 1.0, I'll also be revealing what we'll be putting in 1.1 - our goal is very much an iterative evolution rather than big jumps :)
Can't wait for the final release. This looks like its going to be good.
1.0 is gonna be awesome. Though I know that later versions will be just as awesome too ;)
Woot! Good luck mates!
When it's out I'll translate into portuguese. :)
Farewell
I'm exciting to try it. I'm also exciting to translate it to Turkish, unless someone does it before me. :) Good luck!
Thats alot of great features for the first release! I wish the development well and will definitely use it on my website when this is released!
Good to hear and we will be opening for translation soon, it looks like we will be using a custom translation tool too.
While we're on the subject of languages, in a later version why not add multi-lingual ticket support (obviously won't be useful for all forums, as most are only single-language, but could be useful).
In what respect? Internally it's no different to how SMF handles it right now - just as a single forum can be multi-lingual, so too can tickets.
Quote from: Arantor on January 15, 2010, 12:17:11 PM
In what respect? Internally it's no different to how SMF handles it right now - just as a single forum can be multi-lingual, so too can tickets.
I understand the question somewhat, but I believe that they mean having a specific area in one language (eg all the controls are that language).
However, as stated by Arantor, it's how SMF handles it. When you change the language on the forum, it most likely also changes on the Helpdesk.
When all the translations are done, it'll be whatever language the user is using - would be very naughty of us (as former/current Customizers especially) not to handle it through the proper translation system in SMF.
Ah, I see where this is going; identify what language a given ticket is in at submission and have that selectable - definitely an interesting idea. I can say right now it won't be in for a while; there's enough features on the roadmap for the next version or so, but it's definitely something we'll look at adding :)
Quote from: Trekkie101 on January 15, 2010, 08:38:48 AM
Good to hear and we will be opening for translation soon.
Be my guest, you guys know how can find me :P
Will you be offering support in multiple languages here on this site too?
I always intended to have language specific support boards, but we have not decided yet.
@Chris
AFAIK, yes :P
I don't see any reason for us to limit things :)
I'd help but the only languages I support are British and rubbish ;D
Looks amazing so far! Great job to all the SimpleDesk staff! :D
I just have a little question about the "Shut down forum component". Are you saying that if the forum was in Maintenance Mode staff members who have permission to solve tickets can still access the HelpDesk?
Quote from: [FailSafe] on January 16, 2010, 02:16:26 PM
I just have a little question about the "Shut down forum component". Are you saying that if the forum was in Maintenance Mode staff members who have permission to solve tickets can still access the HelpDesk?
Not really, no. As far as I know, maintenance mode works just like before.
What it does, it shutting down all forum components, leaving only one big helpdesk.
Oh, so like it can be added to any site? ???
At last, someone is working with this "support ticket system". :) Keep it up, I'm just confused and I'm not good with SMF, is this compatible with 1.1.11x? Sorry if I missed it out.
Thank you in advanced.
Quote from: [FailSafe] on January 16, 2010, 02:26:12 PM
Oh, so like it can be added to any site? ???
Any SMF powered forum, yes. And it can run just like a usual mod, with the forum intact, or shut down the forum and run only like a helpdesk.
Quote from: Achilles on January 16, 2010, 02:26:42 PM
At last, someone is working with this "support ticket system". :) Keep it up, I'm just confused and I'm not good with SMF, is this compatible with 1.1.11x? Sorry if I missed it out.
Thank you in advanced.
I'm afraid it is not. With the release of SMF 2.0 Final closing in, most mod authors, including us, are moving on.
Quote from: Nas on January 16, 2010, 02:17:35 PM
Quote from: [FailSafe] on January 16, 2010, 02:16:26 PM
I just have a little question about the "Shut down forum component". Are you saying that if the forum was in Maintenance Mode staff members who have permission to solve tickets can still access the HelpDesk?
Not really, no. As far as I know, maintenance mode works just like before.
What it does, it shutting down all forum components, leaving only one big helpdesk.
Lol. I'm being confused now, what do you mean, LEAVING ONLY ONE BIG HELPDESK, you mean that ONLY the helpdesk will be available and all other Forum Topics will shut down?
Yes. :) There will be an option to turn off the normal functionality of the forum and leave only the helpdesk.
B
Quote from: Nas on January 16, 2010, 02:27:54 PM
Quote from: Achilles on January 16, 2010, 02:26:42 PM
At last, someone is working with this "support ticket system". :) Keep it up, I'm just confused and I'm not good with SMF, is this compatible with 1.1.11x? Sorry if I missed it out.
Thank you in advanced.
I'm afraid it is not. With the release of SMF 2.0 Final closing in, most mod authors, including us, are moving on.
If I will update my forum to SMF 2.0, can I merge everything? As in everything the data, my users, the posts, themes? Like nothing is lost except the installed mods?
Lastly, I am not hurrying you up or anything when is the subjected date for the release? :)
Thank you very much!
Yes, the upgrade to SMF 2.0 will preserve all of your forum data. Themes and mods will probably need to be reinstalled with 2.0 versions, though.
B
Quote from: Achilles on January 16, 2010, 02:32:29 PM
Lastly, I am not hurrying you up or anything when is the subjected date for the release? :)
We do not yet have any public release date set. But keep your eyes out for updates. :)
Quote from: Bᵃ on January 16, 2010, 02:34:17 PM
Yes, the upgrade to SMF 2.0 will preserve all of your forum data. Themes and mods will probably need to be reinstalled with 2.0 versions, though.
B
Thank you very much!
To sum up...
HD-only mode basically turns SMF+SD into a helpdesk, hiding all the boards, topics, and everything else; it just appears to be a helpdesk then. But it's a helpdesk that can leverage all of the bridges to other systems.
Compatibility is intended for 2.0 RC2+ only. Was one of the first questions the dev team asked itself - and answered - supporting two different sets of code is hard enough normally, but given that it would have to be a series of rewrites in order to work on 1.1.x as well as 2.0, we reasoned that running with 2.0 was a better route for us in the longer term.
Release date is when it's ready. The dev team have a roadmap in mind and we've talked about provisional dates for release to beta testing as well as provisional public release dates however we'd rather get you all a version 1.0 that is working and bug-free rather than meet a date on a calendar. If it's late, it's late because we wanted it to be awesome, not because of anything else.
Quote from: Arantor on January 16, 2010, 02:43:33 PM
To sum up...
HD-only mode basically turns SMF+SD into a helpdesk, hiding all the boards, topics, and everything else; it just appears to be a helpdesk then. But it's a helpdesk that can leverage all of the bridges to other systems.
Compatibility is intended for 2.0 RC2+ only. Was one of the first questions the dev team asked itself - and answered - supporting two different sets of code is hard enough normally, but given that it would have to be a series of rewrites in order to work on 1.1.x as well as 2.0, we reasoned that running with 2.0 was a better route for us in the longer term.
Release date is when it's ready. The dev team have a roadmap in mind and we've talked about provisional dates for release to beta testing as well as provisional public release dates however we'd rather get you all a version 1.0 that is working and bug-free rather than meet a date on a calendar. If it's late, it's late because we wanted it to be awesome, not because of anything else.
Good posting and understandable. ;D
Ok, thanks Nas and B. I finally understand. =)
No problem. :)
B
For what its worth, public release dates will be made when the beta packages are sent to be tested :)
We're currently on schedule, if not ahead, including work on our site being carried out :)
Hey SD Team, just wanted to wish you all the Best on this project. Sounds very interesting and a great contribution to SMF.
Thank's, SoLoGHoST, and welcome to this site :)
Indeed, thanks and welcome :)
It's looking to be an awesome adventure in code :D
Sure seems that way ;) I'd offer to help, though, honestly, I have too much on my plate atm, with DP and all. Though, honestly, don't see why you need any help, you seem to be making super fast progress on it.
Cheers :)
Big mods = big pleasure and learning experience. Adventures in code is what we're all about! lol :D
That's exactly it - I've already boosted my own knowledge of Javascript in working on some of the AJAX stuff :) (Might not be the cleanest JS around but it works)
The important thing is it working in all browsers. That's pretty much it, clean or not, the expected outcome is #1 priority in as many browsers as possible. This is why I have about 8 browsers that I work with to make sure it looks presentable and works the same in all 8 browsers. This is a must have for every coder, IMO.
Hey live, nice to see you here :)
Cheers :)
Would you really expect us to be anything less than thorough, though? ;)
From all the posts and screenshots, Simpledesk is looking better and better. I can't wait for it to be released.
Quote from: Arantor on January 16, 2010, 02:43:33 PM
we've talked about provisional dates for release to beta testing
Don't forget me :P
nice MOD, i hope the download is soon ;)
Quote from: DrHouse on January 22, 2010, 12:51:27 PM
nice MOD, i hope the download is soon ;)
You're not the only one. ;)
Even though I have only seen the screenes in this topic, SD will be in development a looong time.
Of course. But on the same token our plans and roadmap were never about 1.0 being an uber release with a bazillion features. The idea when I set the roadmap was that 1.0 would be the minimal functional core, with a couple of nice-to-have features. Barely 3 weeks in, we're at 30%, and that figure will change soon.
The idea was to have quick, nimble releases, such that instead of glacial cycles like SMF has - between 1.1 and 2.0 - we were going to do incremental releases with each subsequent 1.x branch being a few new features. You can see the general plan of action on the project tracker if you look... ;)
Oh, worth noting, we're now at revision 100, great progress from the SD team :)
is available in spanish?
It will be if someone can/will translate it when it's closer to production status.
Quote from: Trekkie101 on January 24, 2010, 10:21:20 PM
Oh, worth noting, we're now at revision 100, great progress from the SD team :)
Hey, great job! Congrats! :D
Quote from: Arantor on January 22, 2010, 07:24:11 PM
Of course. But on the same token our plans and roadmap were never about 1.0 being an uber release with a bazillion features. The idea when I set the roadmap was that 1.0 would be the minimal functional core, with a couple of nice-to-have features. Barely 3 weeks in, we're at 30%, and that figure will change soon.
The idea was to have quick, nimble releases, such that instead of glacial cycles like SMF has - between 1.1 and 2.0 - we were going to do incremental releases with each subsequent 1.x branch being a few new features. You can see the general plan of action on the project tracker if you look... ;)
Nice, keep it up SD Team! :)
Quote from: Arantor on January 24, 2010, 11:00:39 PMIt will be if someone can/will translate it when it's closer to production status.
if you want i can help, send me the text via PM (from SMF please :P )
@DrHouse, there will be a tool available so you can quickly manage translations from here. Or you could do it like any other mod and edit the files manually and posts them in a board (Which will be set up once we're closer to a release). :)
Quote from: Sabre on January 09, 2010, 07:11:45 PM
Great work team, and what a good collection of people it is :)
You hit it right there. Ive been lurkin' around and im amazed of the people involved.