Improvement of the product
Where improvements come from, how a print shop can propose one, the criteria by which proposals are evaluated and planned and how new functions reach users.
Updated:
The product is developed continuously: new functions appear, existing ones are extended, speed is optimised and the interface is updated. Improvement is not a separate project but a permanent process that feeds the planning of every version (chapter 01, 1.2).
4.1. Principles
- We build what we use. The developer is itself a print shop: a new function is first used in its own production, on real orders, before being offered to the other users.
- A single version for everyone. Improvements reach all print shops; there are no separate code variants for individual stores. Specific needs are met through configuration from the admin panel — settings, statuses and rules, widgets, styles, roles — not through code changes (Functional characteristics, 8.2).
- Compatibility. Existing data remains valid after any improvement; a function that changes the workflow is, as a rule, disabled by default and switched on by the print shop from the admin panel when it is ready.
- Documented, not merely delivered. The User guide and the Functional characteristics are updated together with the function, in all the languages of the interface.
4.2. The sources of improvements
- Requests from client print shops, sent through the support channels, formulated at launch or discussed with the dedicated manager.
- Recurring questions to support: a function that is asked about often is a function that needs to be clarified or simplified.
- The developer's own operation of the platform in its print shop.
- The market and competition: the evolution of web-to-print solutions, the expectations of end customers in online commerce, new payment and delivery methods.
- Legislation and external providers: changes to the rules on VAT and invoicing, to data protection, to the interfaces of payment processors and of couriers — these take priority, because failing to apply them stops sales.
4.3. How a print shop proposes an improvement
The proposal is sent through any support channel (chapter 06). It is useful for it to describe:
- the problem, not only the desired solution: what cannot be done today or what takes too long, how often it occurs and whom it affects (end customers, managers, operators, accounting);
- how it is dealt with today, if a workaround exists;
- the expected result: what should happen after the improvement;
- concrete examples: a product, an order, a screen.
The print shop receives confirmation of receipt and, after the evaluation, one of the following conclusions: accepted and planned (with an indicative estimate of the period), accepted without a deadline (it enters the plan, but after higher priorities), solvable through configuration (with the explanation and a reference to the relevant chapter of the Guide) or not accepted, with the reason.
4.4. Evaluation and planning
Every proposal is evaluated against the same criteria:
| Criterion | The question |
|---|---|
| Usefulness | How many print shops and how many end customers would benefit? Does it address a need of the printing business or a unique one? |
| Fit | Does it fall within the purpose of the product — the online sale of printed products and the management of orders? |
| Effort and risk | What do the development, the testing and the subsequent maintenance cost? What could break? |
| Compatibility | Do existing data and flows remain valid? Can it be switched on optionally? |
| Obligations | Is it required by law or by an external provider? Then it takes priority. |
Accepted proposals enter the development plan with a priority; those specific to a single print shop are met, whenever possible, through configuration. Bespoke developments, outside the common plan, are discussed separately with the print shop and are delivered only if they remain compatible with the single product.
4.5. Delivery of improvements
Improvements go through the stages described in chapter 01: development, testing, demonstration, release. At release, the store administrators are notified of the changes that affect the way of working, the updated documentation is available at the same moment, and the print shop that proposed the improvement is informed that it has been delivered. Functions that change the workflow (a new integration, a new service for customers, a bonus programme) are switched off by default and are switched on from the admin panel.
4.6. Permanent directions
Without constituting a commitment to any particular functions, development constantly pursues:
- the price calculator: new types of operations, materials and calculation methods required by the print shops' production;
- the integrations: payment processors, couriers, messaging and email services used by the print shops in the markets served;
- the automation of the order flow: fewer manual steps between the order being placed and the handover;
- the public site: content, SEO, speed, accessibility;
- security, performance and documentation, including translations.