1. Methodical Accelerator Design
Improving support
1st December 2016

2. Project context Service-centric open project Resources
web site:
mad support: (~1100 s in 30 months).
issue tracking: trac system (~400 tickets), fixed several hundred bugs.
development: svn trunk (~3000 commits), tags and branches, automatic tests.
unprecedented level of support.
Resources
support and bug fixes: team full load, tedious endless tasks.
new request: rely on “best effort” and/or motivation.
open project: consumes more time than “closed” project.
service-centric: feel less concerned? motivated?
Next releases (max 2-3 / yr)
opportunity to improve the situation.
improve the manual: fast and cheap.
improve the change log: feel concerned!
improve the communication: contact persons.

3. Can we improve the support?
How to improve customer support?
use mad account: backup the facts, forward/share/discuss information.
follow the protocol: clarify questions, ask for minimal scripts, avoid homework.
reply professionally: short delay (~24-48 hrs), open ticket, stay gentle.
optimise support: stay precise, avoid promise, review pending questions, avoid lengthy threads, bug tracker problem.
ask for feedback: make user concerned, evaluate the situation, report problems.
achievable with available resource.
How can we improve team efficiency?
do we need a reference person to follow-up support within hrs… … or just need to feel more concerned?
improve the users’ manual (faster than fixing bugs). time to resurrect the projects info webpage?
how to deal with bug report/tracker? very time consuming (20 min to 3 hrs just to confirm). open ticket, inform the customer, ask for importance, report in meetings.
how to deal with tickets open? reviewed in meeting (feel concerned). many tickets are beyond the resource and/or the knowledge of the team. how to inform users? how to find collaboration and external help?