WORK[etc] Web App Blog

The WORKetc Liquid Road Map

11
Jan
Posted by Daniel Barnett Tue, 11 Jan '11 @ 8:48 PM
Late last year I tentatively started announcing roadmaps for WORKetc.  I say tentatively for a few reasons:
  • We keep a mostly fluid development plan as WORKetc is wide and deep; a full range of business management tools each covering wide spectrum of functionality.  When we update one tool, it will inevitably impact on other areas.  This means timelines will change and priorities shift focus.  I wanted to avoid disappointing people by saying we were working on one feature, only to see that feature delayed because of changing priorities and unexpected roadblocks.

  • We actively encourage everyone to participate on the suggesting new feature ideas, discussing and voting for those features.  As we are updating one area of WORKetc, we’ll also identify a bunch of other ideas from this forum that make sense to implement at the same time.  Obviously it is more efficient to implement one big update project, rather than many little ones.

  • Openness and Competition.  Being totally transparent in terms of product development and direction opens us up to a whole lot of scrutiny, even before we have written a single line of code. 

    Additionally an open road map gives “competitors” clear insight into where we are heading.  I use the word competitors cautiously as I'm really am more focussed on product improvement rather than watching over my back.  However, it would pain me to announce some cool new idea and then only to see someone else get it out the door sooner!
So - with these three concerns at top of mind, late last year I started publishing a brief over view of where our product development focus lays. What has surprised me is that so far there has only been encouragement and excitement around open road-mapping.  People I guess really do want to know what is going on behind the scenese.  They are excited by the possiblities and comforted to know that progress is being made on the features that they want to see.

With this in mind, I've included the liquid roadmap for 2011.  The goal is to keep this updated every 4 to 6 weeks and to encourage more discussion over at the feature suggestion forum and of course this is going to change massively and is definitely not set in stone... please keep this in mind.


What it isWhere it's at today:Expect to see it around:Why it is important
Switch to using sprites on WORKetc interfaceStaging ServerJanuarySprites mean a web browser need make fewer requests to show a page.  WORKetc will load faster and feel snappier to use.
Mail Server UpdatesBetaJanuaryWe need to do everything possible to ensure emails that WORKetc sends on behalf of customers arrive at their intended destination. This is best achieved by leveraging from the experience and technology of a specialist provider. A tangible outcome from this will mean no throttling on email campaigns and the ability to view if a transaction email (ie emailed invoice) was received by your customer.
New project management module.Beta ReleaseJanuaryA whole lot of new features already covered here.
New time sheet module.Beta ReleaseJanuaryA whole lot of new features already covered here.
New calendars module.Beta
Release		JanuaryA whole lot of new features already covered here.
Granualar PermissionsScopingMarchAbility to set with absolute precission what your employees can view. Important because every business has different levels of privacy. WORKetc was originally designed with a somewhat naïve and utopian view that everyone needs to see everything in order to deliver the best collaborative experience. We now know that isn't the case and will be making permissions easier to manage and granualar to apply if required. Awesome - discussion here.
Granualar AlertsScopingMarchAlerts are critical to staying up-to-date with what is going on, but too many alerts quickly manifests into that that horrible drowning feeling we've all experienced at some point. Granualar alerts will provide absolute controlover what alerts are delivered to which people and on what triggers.
New CRM & Sales Automation features and toolsScopingAprilThis is a massive update of the CRM module that will include a number of advanced features such as expanded custom fields, saved views, sales process templates and the ability to choose what data columns you want to see in tables. I'll cover these off in a blog post shortly, but they are a massive advance in terms of functionality.
Web FormsScopingAprilImproved usability, easier to impliment, custom fields, customise the look and feel.
Outlook pluginScopingAprilWork for most people means constant email and a large chunk of that is in Outlook. This add-on will let you interact with WORKetc without ever having to leave Outlook. Synchronise calendars & contacts, update projects, create new sales leads and view a contact's activtiy history.  Outlook Addin discussion here.
At R&D stage, continuing investigation and information gathering from customers.
Contribute @ the Feature Suggestion forum.
Mobile client and/or enhanced mobile interface.  Discuss here.
Usability / User Experience - we have around ~200 small inconsistencies we are working through.
Documents revision
Billing and Finance revision
Customer portal revision
Dashboard and Reporting revision
Customer Support revision
Email marketing revision

5 Comments

  • Jeff Wednesday 19, January 2011 6:42 PM

    Thanks for the update Dan!

  • Charles Thursday 20, January 2011 11:41 AM

    Dan,

    Please do not worry about competitors. The more nimble platforms are also the less complete. As to your actual competitors, they have either implemented some of those features or included them in their own road maps. On the other hand, a road map is a positive competitive differentiator.

    It is important to provide a clear vision in very general terms -- for example, WorkETC may not answer some of my non-critical needs; I may still subscribe to your service knowing that they will be implemented in a near future (within 12 months or so) and that we share the same general vision. It's the icing on the cake.

    Best regards,
    Charles

  • Richard Thursday 20, January 2011 3:01 PM

    Dan,

    the fact that WORKetc is under active development is one of the reasons i have chosen it.

    Even if you didnt add any other features, Its already good enough to do what i NEED to do. yet because its under active development, i know all the features i WANT will soon be available.
    I agree with Charles (above) completely.
    Be encouraged - you're doing good.

  • Rick Tuesday 15, March 2011 7:24 PM

    You guys never cease to amaze me. Really...keep up the great work. I love when a product is easy to recommend!

  • Kristie Wednesday 10, August 2011 11:44 AM

    these loose plans from January look very exciting - I can see some were already implemented.
    any idea on new target dates for those that haven't been implemented? I'm really excited about the Outlook plugin and Granular permissions.

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