Woopra Forums Topic: Frustration level growing

Woopra Forums Topic: Frustration level growing http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Woopra Forums Topic: Frustration level growing en Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:11:44 +0000 James on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3507 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:18:03 +0000 James 3507@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Thank you John and Lorelle for your posts, although they still leave me with questions it is nice to see you taking the time to respond to us as users whether we've been around from the start or joined the party only recently. I understand that your development team is small and that you have limited resources but communication should be a priority. IMHO I would rather see lots of short posts from you guys supporting us in the forums than a few long blog posts promoting use of Woopra. (I know you have to indulge in a little self promotion now and again though!) I hope we will see more activity from you both in these forums in the future and look forward to seeing some persistant bugs being ironed out :) All the best and keep it going medalia on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3484 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:38:30 +0000 medalia 3484@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ John P, thanks for your response. Please understand that we want Woopra to succeed!! But understand also that the lack of communication between Woopra and its beta testers is the main reason for the "doom and gloom" and negativity that you mention in your post. Take a look at my post (3 posts up). I mention 7 things that are not working at the present that were working when I first signed up on April 9th. That's frustrating enough. But, put yourself in my position...how would you feel if the program appears broken and no one answers your posts. John, communication...that's all we ask! Medalia PS I would like to know when these issues will be addressed. jhuebel on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3483 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:21:32 +0000 jhuebel 3483@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ I appreciate the response John P. It would be nice if you guys implemented something similar to Twitter's Status Page: <a href="http://status.twitter.com/" rel="nofollow">http://status.twitter.com/</a> Basically, setup a blog specifically for providing status information about the service. Add to your downtime procedures to post a quick note about what's going on and when, what parts of the service will be effected, etc. It doesn't have to be particularly detailed, it just needs to be posted to consistently so everyone knows what's going on. I think this would go a long way toward combating the discontent. People are more than willing to accept outages since Woopra is a beta. They just need to know why the service is out. John P. on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3480 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:05:35 +0000 John P. 3480@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ In addition to Lorelle's comments I wanted to chime in and provide additional feedback. Since everyone has been open and forthcoming with their commentary I hope you will indulge me in the same manner. I think its important that we stop for a moment and recognize that Woopra has been in closed beta now for only 90 days. The service was originally destined for only 200 people, and we are now monitoring for 25,000 with somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 million page views per day. Very few applications in history have grown at this rate. I also notice that of the 10-15 folks who have provided feedback here, all have been using Woopra for less than 60 days, and that means that you guys are all in the batch of people who were eager to gain access to the system. So, we’ve put a lot of our limited resources into scaling the architecture up to accommodate you guys. At this time, we have a healthy list of bugs that are currently being worked, in addition to a long list of feature requests. Meanwhile, we have been working on bringing the team together, handling legal, financial and organizational tasks... all while continuing development and testing. Just to respond to a few of the previous comments: <blockquote>"the bugs in the program seem to be multiplying instead of decreasing"</blockquote> I assure you, the number and severity of bugs has decreased. Out of hundreds of features in the application there are some that certain people use more than others, so when a particular component you pay attention to is messed up I understand that it leaves this general impression. Remember, the Woopra you are using now is very different from where it is going to be in 60-90 days. (Or where it was 60-90 days ago.) <blockquote>I don't know how much work would be involved in responding to the forums but a half-hour a day does not seem unreasonable.</blockquote> I agree that we need to step up the responses a bit, but it takes a lot longer than one half hour per day. A response to a single thread can sometimes take a half hour of research and response time. This time comes out of our development and bug fix “bucket”. As we work through some funding issues we hope to add resources to help handle client support and responses. (Like the community manager idea previously mentioned.) We are way over the number of Beta testers we originally expected, so we really need a little patience from you guys as we work towards resolution in all of these areas. By the way, we are also receiving 50-100 e-mails per day in addition to the messages on the forums, and these compound our issues with responding. <blockquote>Woopra may be beta, but it's not free! This will be a PAID subscription program!</blockquote> This is not true for the vast majority of users. As I've stated repeatedly, the service should be free for most users as we go forward. Upgrades will be available. <blockquote>They were too busy enjoying Las Vegas, promoting a product that doesn't quite work.</blockquote> There was no promotion of the service involved in the trip. We were meeting with our primary hosting provider, and Elie and Jad just arrived in the US for several months of meetings. Development, bug testing and support issues have continued as much as possible. Finally, I must add that I take exception to the comments that portray Woopra as “broken”. 99% or more of the feature functionality is working at any given time for 20,000 plus users. I recognize that the additional 1% is frustrating, but the temporary pain will all be worth it as the service matures. So, we will have some internal discussions as a team and take all of this constructive feedback into account in order to see if we can make a few changes to the way in which we are communicating with you guys and rolling out updates. (Which I think is what you're looking for, right?) In return I’m just going to ask you for a little more positive, constructive sort of feedback, and a little less “doom and gloom”. Come on guys, keep the faith! We’re working hard to bring you the finest analytics application the world has ever seen. Cheers, John P. medalia on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3479 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:52:00 +0000 medalia 3479@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Lorelle... Thank you very much for your feedback, but I honestly think that you're missing the point (at least from the vantage point of a beta user). I am trying to evaluate your program. Over the last 2-3 weeks, many things have gone wrong with no feedback or explanation from Woopra... 1. sometimes, I can't log in 2. for 2 weeks I could not see "recent visitors" in search (somehow that started working again last week) 3. I still cannot search for "recent tagged visitors" 4. About 2-3 weeks ago the numbering system for visitors went haywire and remains that way 5. a few days ago, I started getting many visitors called "visitor 0" 6. a few days ago, I started getting many visitors with 0 actions 7. as of today, my dashboard is empty (except for today's entry) I am not alone with these problems and since the program is still in beta I accept them...to a point!! What we need from Woopra is someone constantly reading the forum and when Woopra sees several users with the same problem to make a forum entry first acknowledging the problem and secondly giving the user an idea of when the problem will be fixed (or at least that it is being worked on). Right now you are not answering the entries on the forum and leaving us hanging and therefore frustrated and angry. It is almost a joke to us beta users when you tell us that you have "exciting things planned." Your core users will not be around by then unless you acknowledge the problems we are having right now! Lorelle, I hope you take this reply in the spirit it is meant...as a constructive criticism and nothing more. Thank you... Medalia Matthew on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3478 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:13:04 +0000 Matthew 3478@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Appreciate the feedback Lorelle. In order to avoid hijacking this thread, I began a separate one for a tangential discussion. <a href="http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/any-specifics-on-what-we-should-be-doing" rel="nofollow">http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/any-specifics-on-what-we-should-be-doing</a> Lorelle VanFossen on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3474 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:13:48 +0000 Lorelle VanFossen 3474@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Wow. Well, the seeds of discontent are clear here. Currently, we have only one person working on the forums and trying to stay focused on feature recommendations and bugs. We're very aware, thanks to you, of the things that are wrong with Woopra, and where we need to put our energies towards improving it. It's always a balance between directed energies towards bug fixes and feature building, and the small development team is working overtime on trying to do both. Finding time away from the code to assure you all that all is well and on track is part of my work, and I've just returned to work after major surgery, so forgive the delay. I feel like I'll be catching up for ages. :D We'll be reporting on details on the blog soon, but here is a brief summary. Woopra is continuing the move to new and better servers - on the <a>Cloud</a> by <a>Layered Tech</a> for those interested in new technologies and where the Internet is going - which is the backbone of Woopra and your ability to access it. This will mean some downtime and problems during the migration and as we improve our server technology to help Woopra run even faster. Once on the cloud, our ability to expand and be more flexible and responsive to user needs, thus better able to increase the traffic limits imposed currently. The whole Woopra team met for the first time in Vegas, which allowed us time to sit down and figure out the future of Woopra, from the business side and programming side. Let me tell you, there are so many exciting things we've got planned for Woopra, what you see now is just the tip of the iceberg, folks. Elie Khoury is totally rewriting the underlying code of Woopra to make it better and faster, and more modular and flexible, than it currently is. This just takes time. Be patient with us during this fragile server and programming phase. Now that we have more beta testers than we know what to do with - over 20,000 - the input has been extraordinary! We're so grateful but we're also overloaded. Give us time to process all the forum posts, emails, and feedback we are getting. It's all good stuff but we're inundated. We're looking at ways to help you, the beta testers, help us more efficiently, and your input is welcome. All along, some of us have wanted to cut off beta testing approvals at 200, 500, 1000 - just to control the input levels and keep our energies focused. Now that we have so many, energies have to shift and change. While it seems like forever to you, Woopra's been out only a few months and we're working overtime, often days without sleep, to meet the needs of the many. We're working to do better, but we're only a few people. Your support means a lot to us, and your input is necessary to help Woopra improve. Thank you for all your support, and your encouragement, and the amazing willingness to give so much to help Woopra to succeed. THANK YOU and virtual hugs to all. jkliza on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3467 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:19:10 +0000 jkliza 3467@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ I'd like to see some kind of acknowledgment as well. I understand it's beta, and hopefully these issues will be fixed soon. I was loving Woopra until now. If there is anything I can do to help please let me know! Jesse Lazy on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3461 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:14:52 +0000 Lazy 3461@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ i just can agree to the most points and looking forward to the next beta which (i hope) fix the most heavy bugs like losing data, loading loading domain.. and so on. medalia on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3460 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:43:15 +0000 medalia 3460@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Came back from a 5 day vacation and the program is worse than ever...MANY visitor #0's, 0 actions for many visitors and most of my data has disappeared. I've gone from a strong supporter and "recommender" to a very frustrated user. Unless we get responses from Woopra, I will very shortly become an ex-user and a "non-recommender." Woopra, wake up! Respond to our complaints!!! bgrier on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3438 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:31:19 +0000 bgrier 3438@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ From my experience managing public betas, the Woopra team really need to add a community manager to their team. Someone who can: - acknowledge responses - provide canned responses to common problems (see FAQ # 23323..etc) - represent the community to the development team - take the pulse of the community - liaise with other community leaders..etc. iTwins on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3392 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:10:56 +0000 iTwins 3392@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ They were too busy enjoying Las Vegas (http://www.woopra.com/blog/2008/06/27/woopra-in-las-vegas-at-ltpact-2008/), promoting a product that doesn't quite work. Kinda reminds me of Bill Gates' strategy back in the old days: "...if it doesn't work, make it look good!" James on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3381 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:23:13 +0000 James 3381@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ It is a shame that after 4 days we still don't have any feedback from Woopra. hoboken411 on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3379 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:37:58 +0000 hoboken411 3379@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Agree with all the points, really. 1. yes, it's frustrating, interest might be dwindling 2. it's beta, free, etc., "we shouldn't complain" etc. etc. etc However, communication and feedback is key.. A sign that the Woopra folks care about how the users feel.. A sign that XYZ is "in the works" or what is coming up down the road... or at the very least "we're overwhelmed, appreciate your patience, it's gonna take longer than expected" or "come back in 90 days, etc... I for one was excited, and thought that development would be fast and furious, the 10,000 limit would be lifted, and more. I just really can't truly test anything if in the morning, I've reached the max... you shrug your shoulders and say "maybe soon"... So my level of excitement has died off a bit, but I'm not giving up hope. Just checking in less often.. medalia on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3370 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:18:53 +0000 medalia 3370@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Woopra may be beta, but it's not free! This will be a PAID subscription program! Right now I subscribe to 3 PAID analytics programs and I was hoping that Woopra would replace all of them. It seemed that good! The first beta showed so much promise. Since then it has gone downhill. More errors have crept into the program (which I can tolerate) and the support is almost non-existent (which I cannot tolerate). I expect errors in a beta program, but for the past 2 weeks I cannot search for tagged visitors. For the past week, the visitor numbering system is messed up. For the past 3 days I cannot search for ANY visitors. Can I even evaluate the program with such errors. No. Has anyone acknowledged there is a problem? No. Would I consider paying for this program with support the way it is? No. Beta-testing is a two way street. The user tells the developer about problems with the program and in return the user gets to evaluate the program at no cost. Without communication, this is impossible. Woopra, please wake up before it's too late! dajad on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3368 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:22:50 +0000 dajad 3368@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ It's beta, its free, its terrific for what it is so far ... if you aren't happy then go elsewhere!! iTwins on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3365 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:38:43 +0000 iTwins 3365@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Personally I really don't have much to complain mainly because this is a free service and when push comes to shove, there is always the more reliable Google Analytics to lend a hand. However, so far seeing this level of support from woopra's team, I certainly will NOT be subscribing to it if it becomes a paid service; I really don't feel like logging a problem and the support staff comes back a month later: "Sir, did the problem fixed itself...?" or "...we have 10,000 of our support staffs upgrading the server and we really don't have the time to reply to you to at least say we are aware of the problem and we will fix it asap...." Jardel on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3353 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:29:11 +0000 Jardel 3353@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ older versions are working, new ones new bugs. Thats ok, it's beta, but why did you downgraded? There are many bugs in newer versions that in older ones (at least for me). I was in love with woopra, but i think the love is ending... Please do something! Fen on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3346 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:45:36 +0000 Fen 3346@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Why Woopra'ers do not use bug tracking software? Using forum to track bugs is stupud ;) James on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3344 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:48:37 +0000 James 3344@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ I would have to agree. This is made worse when someone posts an issue in the comments of a blog entry just to be told that it needs to raised here. Yet when it is raised here there is no response. I don't know how much work would be involved in responding to the forums but a half-hour a day does not seem unreasonable. medalia on "Frustration level growing" http://www.woopra.com/forums/topic/frustration-level-growing#post-3333 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:49:27 +0000 medalia 3333@http://www.woopra.com/forums/ Hi... I would like you to be aware of what is going on in the "Woopra Community." I realize that you guys have put in tremendous time and energy into making Woopra a better program and I realize that it is still in beta. However, I want you to know that the frustration level of Woopra users (including myself!)has been growing recently. There is simply not enough contact between the "powers that be" and us users (beta testers). I started using Woopra approximately 2 months ago, and instead of periodic updates that improve the program, the updates are few and far between (at least as far as I can see) and the bugs in the program seem to be multiplying instead of decreasing. There are many entries in this blog regarding parts of the program that are not working...most times there is no response from you guys and that is increasing the frustration level. Other times the response is "we'll fix it in the next beta." When is the next beta??? Yesterday, the "search" stopped working for me...all I get is "loading." The numbering system for visitors (which worked until about a week ago), is way out of whack. Some tags are remembered, some are not. These are major problems that are making the program just about unusable for me (and many users). Please, your program has such incredible potential...don't blow it by turning off the users....keep us in the loop! Thank you... Medalia