UserFeedback

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Summary

Feedback from all end users (and not only those on the forum) is important in order to localize the problems that newcomers may have with Ubuntu and also see which are the features they like the most, which should make it easier to the developers to make of Ubuntu an even more appealing experience.

Because of the previous believe, this specification proposes to create an application to make it easier to submit feedback on Ubuntu to the developers. It could be located on the System menu, with the other Help / Support options.

Use Cases

  • Bill installs Ubuntu on his computer but there's something he really doesn't like with it. He wants to remove it again, but before he does he notices a "Feedback" option on the menu and uses it to send a kind explanation of his problem. He decides to wait for the next version and try if it suits better his expectations.
  • Stefan is a non-techie user that was convinced to install Ubuntu on his system. Some days after he installed it he is prompted to send feedback, and a nice assistant asks him some question about what he likes or dislikes. One morning someone tells Jim, an Ubuntu developer, that he found an interesting review on the archive; he checks it and finds that one of the improvements suggested by Stefan is really worth to be worked on, so he does.
  • James has a problem with his iPod. He tries the feedback option and sees a message there sending him to the forums.

Scope

  • Develop the program
    • and the notifier
  • Create the web (/mail) backend
  • Organize a triagers team

Implementation

Desktop Application

The program, written in Python and Gtk, should be easily visible on the System menu and allow to select one of two options: complete review and single comment.

Both modes ask for the email address of the user (to have a way to group all feedback from the same guy) and offer an option to "accept responses to my messages by email" (but explaining that probably nobody will answer).

Complete Review

This option is like a more guided mode, and is made available some time after the installation, like 1 or 2 weeks for example, so that the user really had time to check it out. It will ask some general questions about what he likes and dislikes with Ubuntu. It can only be used once.

Single Comment

This is always available and allows the user to freely send a comment. To avoid bug reports or calls for help being submitted, first it will ask to select which type of comment it is, and if it is one of those he will be redirected to Launchpad / Forum / IRC (perhaps a button to launch the Online Help application, which is described in another Blueprint). After that, if the intended use is valid, a form will be shown with a big field to write the comment and some options to allow to automatically classify it later.

Web

All the comments / reviews are send to a website (via POST) which stores them in a database and allows to others to read them (perhaps just sending it to a mailing list would be enough, but this makes it possible to group them by author / topic, mark related ideas, delete crap messages,show them as already read, etc).

A group of bored people (_) checks them out and forwards the interesting conclusions to the developers, in form of bugs or specs (a bit like the Forum Ambassadors).

Outstanding Issues

  • Write 'em here.


CategorySpec

UserFeedback (last edited 2008-08-06 16:31:57 by localhost)