Roadmaps

Al_NN4ZZ

Steve,
Good thoughts.   I'll bet many of us would sign an NDA or NCA (no complaining allowed) to have some idea of what is coming.

I hope Tim replies to clarify whether or not they are considering an effort to update the idea statuses.  I'd like to see that regardless.

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 - HW......... V 1.5.1.70
SSDR / DAX...... V 1.5.1.152
CAT................... V 1.5.1.0
Win10

Ned K1NJ

        Sure would like to know how that 4o3a collaborative amplifier is
coming along.
        If a ham friend asked me what would be in 1.6,  I'd have to say:
"I don't know- something to do with contesting I think, and maybe fix
 a few things, but I don't know what."
       I like my radio and I don't need a deadline-fixated roadmap, but
 knowing what the near and far goals are would be nice.


           Ned,  K1NJ

rfoust

I like Al's idea - I would have no problem signing a NDA to see a roadmap.

KY6LA_Howard

The issue with Al's idea is that it would be an enabling tool for the whiners to start whining again. I for one enjoy the relative peace and quiet without them

Steve K9ZW

That is why they can just tell me <grin>.

Seriously this the price we all have paid for a few undisciplined folk who most likely snuck into their parents' closet to unwrap presents days ahead of their birthday or the holidays.

There is no winning position - no clean end to pick this one up from.

Hence the paradox.

73

Steve K9ZW

Jon_KF2E

In the past most of the belly-aching was over dates of updates not so much their content. I think there needs to be a middle ground between specific updates on defined dates vs. having no clue what's coming next. Will there be a 1.7? 

I'm not a contester and I probably won't operate remote. It would be nice to know if there was anything in the future for folks like me. Band markers would be nice. How about improved S/SWR meter readability or maybe the automatic AGC-T that has been discussed.

Bill -VA3WTB

They have been telling us in advance what to expect in new updates. Such as they said 1.5 would be mostly noise mitigation long before it came out. And we know what should be in this next one 1.6,,Tim has mentioned many things that are being fixed in it.

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Howard,
What do you think about the idea of asking FRS to update the statuses on a periodic basis?  And also the request to be more consistent about providing updates to all of the ideas, especially the most popular ones?

Maybe that question should be asked in a new post since this post was originally about the roadmaps and has been marked as answered.  

I'm not trying to "beat a dead horse" by asking but I do think it would encourage more people to vote and increase confidence in the voting process. 

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 - HW......... V 1.5.1.70
SSDR / DAX...... V 1.5.1.152
CAT................... V 1.5.1.0
Win10

KY6LA_Howard

No other radio manufacturer tells you about planned improvements. They just bring out new models to sell you. I think Flex got shell shocked by the whiners and they visibly hurt sales with all the ill will and complaining spread all over the Internet. My fear is that any future prognostications will only serve to re-enable the whiners. I do not want to see that start up again. So I would recommend that Flex keeps their mouths shut until they actually have stuff to release

KF4HR

I definitely agree.  Try writing ICOM, Yaesu, or Kenwood (or most any manufacturer) and ask them for a Roadmap. :^D

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Howard, Just to be clear, I'm not asking for the roadmap to come back, just for the idea statuses to be updated consistently. Regards, AL / NN4ZZ

KY6LA_Howard

Yes I understand that. There is little to be gained by announcing status. They need to keep their mouths shut unless it's an imminent announcement of something that improves sales

Al_NN4ZZ

So then for consistency do you think they shouldn't update any of them? Currently some of the ideas are updated and others are not.....that leads to questioning the strategy. Regards Al / NN4ZZ

KY6LA_Howard

Wiho knows

Jon_KF2E

I don't know Howard, sounds to me like you want Flex to operate just like the other big three.

I still can't help but think there is a middle ground where updates don't have to be surprises yet they don't make commitments that the whiners can complain about. Flex has gotten a great reputation for engaging its customers, I hate to see that go away.

I'm not asking for a lot...just a hint at where we are going. Something more than saying this problem or that will be fixed in the next update. 

Al_NN4ZZ

@Tim E,  @Steve H.

What is the FRS position on updating the idea statuses?   Should I repost this to a new topic since this one is marked answered?

From above -- and not asking for a roadmap since that is water under the bridge, only about idea statuses.


I do think it's helpful to see the status updated so members know if an idea is being considered, planned or even not planned.  And to do that for all of the ideas in a consistent way.  Some of the older and very popular ideas don't have a status and some of the newer ones with few votes do. 

FRS has to consider a number of factors in deciding what to implement and when.  
It's all about selling radios and providing the features that help get that done.  Of course that includes features users consider to be basic or deficient as well as innovations.

But again, voting is one way the customers can show what they feel is important  if they believe in the system, take the time to articulate the ideas, and vote. 

Currently 99% of the ideas get votes from less than 1% of the community
 
I think there would be more confidence and participation in the voting process if there was feedback.  Updating the status is a step in that direction.  Seeing an idea move from "no status" to  "under consideration" to "planned" would provide that feedback and no dates or promises need to be made.   

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 - HW......... V 1.5.1.70
SSDR / DAX...... V 1.5.1.152
CAT................... V 1.5.1.0
Win10

Steve K9ZW

@Al NN4ZZ - Doubtful whether votes are a viable measure of interest given the small sub-sample actually voting from an already biased community participant sample.  With any exception of a runaway support for an idea shown by votes there is weak utility in saying much about one vote compared to another. 

Do agree with you that having a FRS sketch of some of the SmartSDR forward vision would be helpful.  I've previously mentioned that if a sketch of what the partnership with 4o3a was intending ot produce I would have saved time & money by not trying to stretch other hardware/software to do what is a breeze now.  (BTW the 4o3a Antenna Genius Switches are shipping - tracking number in hand as I type.)

How to balance sharing vision as a positive with the inherent negative of some hams' unrealistic expectations it the question?

73

Steve K9ZW

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Steve, Agree that vote counts should not be the deciding factor. Although the counts are a small percentage they do provide some indication of interest. And IMHO if the statuses were updated regularly there might be a higher level of participation in the process. Updating all of them in a consistent way is another step that might help increase confidence in the process. From the company perspective, updating the status to show progress would provide some feedback without any committment or delivery date promises. A forward looking sketch sounds like what might be called "roadmap light.'" Agree it would be welcome but I wouldn't be surprised if FRS doesn't want to do that either. So while I think many of us would like to see it, I am not very hopeful. In my IT career we did both (request status and roadmaps) and while it did result in some questions and even some disagreements, overall everyone agreed that it was a good process and well worth the trouble and effort. It seems like updating the idea status is a step in the right direction to provide more customer feedback without the risk of a lot on negative comments that they dont want to deal with. Regards, Al

W9OY

Unless one knows the product design limitations intimately, I can't see ANY advantage to this kind of list. It presumes all outcomes are possible and it's just a matter of doing them. In a closed system this is not the case, and in a system with 3 different radios it becomes very complicated to commit resources for one radio while making the same commitment for another would run you out of resources. At that point your platforms dramatically diverge in features and function and that becomes a nightmare. Also a list like this makes the radio into a kind of political system where stuff gets "promised" but can never be delivered on. I think it's a bad idea. 73. W9OY

Jon_KF2E

Well, that's a pretty negative view. If you are going to deem the members too ignorant to understand what they are asking for, perhaps they should save time and stop accepting suggestions? 

I don't think it is unreasonable for users to want to know where the system is headed. We use to have the roadmap and we all know what happened to that. I think Al deserves credit for trying to workout a way the community can have a feeling that their wishes are listened to. He is also right that the current system where suggestions get a status of planned or under consideration only to never change again is probably lacking.

I personally think the only thing wrong with the roadmap was the inclusion of dates. Flex could publish a new roadmap with no dates and a disclaimer that plans are subject to change. At least then the user community would have a sense of where things are headed.

Jon...kf2e

Walt - KZ1F

This, truly, is bizzaroland. I, pretty much, agree with Lee. And i, kind of, don't agree with Al. I don't think the expectation of a vendor bending to the will of a handful of customers is realist. Nor do I think it is a realistic expectation that any vendor will reveal where they plan to take their product(s) over time. That is completely antithetical to competitive advantage. For some to say, well Flex is different, they are special, in an historic league of there own. I understand the desire for folks to feel they have an 'in' with executive mgmt. In my experience, the only time that happens is either through control of ridiculously large volume of shares or marriage. It's wonderful Flex makes people feel special. I believe it is a mistake to think that special-ness extends to every place you might wish it to.

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Lee,
To be clear, I'm not referring to a new list.  As you probably know, the idea list is already in existence and has been since the community started.  This is a core feature of the community and the GetSatisfaction software.  Each idea starts out with no status.  Some of the ideas get updated to "under consideration" or "planned" or  "not planned"  or "implemented."   

But the status updates are not applied consistently.  

• Many of the most popular ideas don't have any updates
• Some of the less popular ideas do have updates
• Some of the newer ideas have updates (even with few votes)
• Many of the older idea have no updates (even with many votes)
• Some ideas progress to "implemented" status
• Some ideas that are implemented never get an update at all.

The current process for what gets updated does not seem logical.  Maybe there is a reason, maybe there is some other factor.  But it's not obvious what controls which ideas get favor.   Lack of consistent feedback could be one reason why so few people  participate in the voting.   As was mentioned by someone earlier, why provide any feedback at all if they are not going to be treated equally. 

Not every idea can be done.   Not every idea should be done.  One way to convey to the customers the feasibility of an idea is the status.  If the idea is not practical, feasible or doable for whatever reason then mark it "not planned".   A brief comment explaining why is helpful.   
  
Moving an idea to under consideration or even planned does not commit to a delivery date,  And at some later time it may be decided that something can't or won't be done.  Status can move both directions.

It's really just a communication tool to provide feedback to the customers without requiring a commitment by the vendor.  The idea list is not a roadmap.  The idea list does not commit to delivery dates. 

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 - HW......... V 1.5.1.70
SSDR / DAX...... V 1.5.1.152
CAT................... V 1.5.1.0
Win10

KF4HR

Lack of consistent feedback could be one reason why so few people  participate in the voting.

There is another reason to consider.   Perhaps the majority of Flex owners are spending their free time on the air, and not so much on forums. 

Steve-N5AC

This is an interesting thread.  There is a natural ebb and flow of ideation/design/delivery here at FlexRadio.  We are currently almost exclusively in the delivery phase.  We are working to get v1.6 and Maestro to market.  In January, most of the team will be transitioning from delivery to ideation and design again.  On the design front, we will be working out the details of v2.0 and what we will put in the release.  We will be looking at our backlog of defects and features, the community and we will be looking to key thought leaders and influencers to see what are important things for us to do next.  Then we will once again go into design/delivery mode and get all these things done and to market.

I once read an article in Writer's Digest written by a famous author -- I think it was Dean Koontz -- on the topic of ideas.  He said that when he is recognized in public, often people will tell him about a great idea for a book.  He said that the approach tends to communicate to him that most people believe that the story ideas are the "hard part" of writing and that the writing itself is the "easy part."  In other words, the assumption is that what the writer needs most is generally a new, good story idea.  The opposite is, in fact, the case.  Stephen King has also written an excellent book on the topic, "On Writing," where he discussed the labor of writing.  If you've read this book you also see that writing is serious work that requires serious time and investment.  The idea is important, but most writers have a long list of ideas they could turn into a book.

So it is with software.  If we could turn half of our ideas for software into reality quickly it would be truly amazing.  The truth is that I have a list of ideas so long that there is no way we will ever get to them all.  When I share this list with our advisors, they get really excited because I can tell them that everything on the list is possible with the existing hardware platform -- all we need is time to execute on the ideas.  This is really an exciting thing to internalize.  We have built a platform that makes amazing things possible, but we have to decide what to do first and then do it.  We look at what benefits the most customers and what generates the most sales.  For those of you that own a FlexRadio today -- our current customers -- it might be easy to scold us for doing things that benefit a new class of customer to buy into our product line instead of working on a specific feature that is of interest to you.  But we reinvest in the company heavily and with that long list of ideas, the more customers we have, the more of those ideas get brought to you quicker.  We have to strike a balance between the doing things that respect and enhance your investment and those that continue to grow the company for the benefit of all of us.  Often things are on both of these lists and we don't have to choose.  But sometimes we do.

I've said before that an organized customer base is our best friend.  We did this when I was at Digital.  We had a customer group called DECUS (Digital Equipment Corporation Users' Society). DEC engineers and marketing types flooded the show to tell customers what was new and to ask what they should be doing next.  Individual products had champions that would organize the customers and tell the company what they wanted and needed from DEC next.  I would love for there to be something like this for FlexRadio.  A customer base that voted on what we should do next and handed that to us on a silver platter would be golden.  We'd always come up with new things that customers might not have told us about, but we'd know for sure which things customers wanted us to focus on next.  We do look here at the ideas from the community.  We pull things from the list and we do them.  But with only a fraction of customers voting on them, we have to apply some judgment.  Also some things that are suggested are much harder than they appear. Conversely, some things that may appear hard are easy.  We do listen and regularly discuss what we believe customers want and that factors heavily into what we do next.

Even if you're not voting for ideas on the community now (or even participating in the community), you will soon get to vote with money! And I can guarantee you that we will be watching and carefully planning around that.  When v2.0 comes out and there is a charge for the software, if we didn't do what you want and you don't upgrade, it will certainly be discussed.  This is good for you and good for us.  For you, there is a decision around whether you are satisfied with what you now have in your radio or whether you want what we're offering -- is it a compelling upgrade?  How many times have you been able to get a "new radio" for a small fraction (less than 10%) of what you paid for your existing radio?  For us, the revenue sharing for new features across customers will allow us to build more software and bring more capabilities to market for you.  We will be, in a sense, facilitating a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar enhancement project for your radio for a small fee.  AND we don't want anything up front.  We do the work and if you like it, you get to buy-in.  If not, you still have a great radio and nothing has changed.  We do listen (I think you guys know this), but we can't do everything nor take the path that each individual recommends as the best path forward.  It is still useful to hear the ideas as the roll around in our brains as we make decisions and are routinely factored in, even if the decision isn't exactly what was recommended.

James Whiteway

Well stated! I will buy into the next version to keep my radio updated, so I can more fully, play with the next version of Flexlib! ( some might not want to be "alpha" testers of my code otherwise!) Thanks for all you do! James WD5GWY

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Steve, Appreciate your comments about the ideas here on the community..... "We do look here at the ideas from the community. We pull things from the list and we do them. But with only a fraction of customers voting on them, we have to apply some judgment' But I still would like to know why the statuses are not updated in a consistent fashion. Why update some and not others? If you want more voting feedback treating them equally could help. Regards, Al

Peter Bentley

No problem with any of that Steve, I agree and understand, you are all doing a great job, thank you.

P.S. Don't forget the 'Pure Signal'

Best wishes

G4BIM

Reggie

Will v2.0 offer the capability to connect multiple clients (Maestro, PC, tablet, etc.) simultaneously to the Flex 6000?

Reggie

N3OP