Tazzman
02-06-2003, 09:24 PM
Hi everybody,
a few days ago I was approached by Inverseflow to try out their helpdesk product. I was kindly asked whether I would be willing to post my findings on WHT, to which I agreed. I assure you this review is objective. It is based on the opinions of myself, my fellow administrators, staff and my users at section5.net. We have only been using the product for a few days, but due to circumstances, I have decided to write this review a few days earlier than I originally intended.
PRODUCT DELIVERY
It was delivered in a single zip file containing all the files for the script itself, as well as a manual and a changelog. I personally would have liked to have seen the content of the zip file devided into 2 folders, 1 containing the files to be uploaded to the server and one containing the manual and changelog. This would in my humble opinion make it more obvious where to find the installation information, though this is but a small detail.
DOCUMENTATION
The manual (included as a html file) has a clean layout. The information provided is straight to the point, yet easy to understand and quite complete. It contains all the necessary information to install and set up the helpdesk. There is one section in the manual that could use some more detailed information, this beeing the section that deals with email processing and piping. The information is there, but could use a more detailed explenation for less experienced users.
INSTALLATION
I found the installation of the helpdesk surprisingly easy. Set up a mySQL database, edit the one settings file and execute the setup file from your browser. It didn't take me 2 minutes to install. After the installation is done, you can configure the helpdesk from within the administator interface. An explenation to what everything does can be found above each setting in the interface or can be looked up in the manual.
ADMINISTATOR/STAFF INTERFACE
The layout of the interface is clean and easy to navigate and seems to be quite extensive compared to other ticket systems I have used. I like the fact the system also allows the creation of surveys, something none of the other systems I've used in the past has included. The integrated help desk backup solution also caught my eye.
Departments can be set up very easily. Assigning users to certain department is also a piece of cake. Adding staff members is a question of entering their email address, their name and clicking on a button. All the information they need is then automatically sent to their email address.
Email messages can be edited, there is even a possibily to send seperate email messages to SMS services, also something I had never seen before in a helpdesk. Auto-replies can be added per department and are triggered by a key phrase. Received emails (i.e. to the email address assinged to a certain department) can be imported into the helpdesk system in 2 ways. You can use the traditional email piping, which requires setting it up via SSH, or, and I really like this option, you can set it to log into pop3 mailboxes, retrieve and convert the emails into tickets and then delete them from the pop3 account. I found this option ideal as it keeps mailboxes clutter-free.
The admininstator interface has a built in editor for the end user interface, so it is very easy to customise it. I found this to be a very usefull utility. It could do with some more features, like editing the order fields are displayed in etc., maybe this will be added in a later release.
My staff seem pleased with the staff interface. They like the look and feel and say the interface is well organized. One thing I don't understand is why the 'jump to ticket #' box is present in the administrator/staff interface. I don't know how many people can remember ticket numbers like 3E45B5D2, but I'm not one of them. I'd also like to see more status options, rather than just open, held and closed.
END USER INTERFACE
Again easy to navigate. My users seem to like that fact they don't have to log in to post a ticket, yet still are able to access it afterwards to check the progress and add information. It seems to work faster this way. The users can also include attachments to their tickets, though none of our users have tried this feature yet.
Though users can close their own tickets, they don't have the option to change the status. This could be a handy feature if a problem escalated. A searchable knowledge base is also available for end users, though we haven't started adding to it yet, so again I can't give much comment.
SUPPORT
I've only had to contact support on one issue, beeing that I was having some problems setting up automated email processing. Initial response took only 10 minutes, with a resolution time of 8 hours.I would call this a good response time.
CONCLUSION
We find the Inverflow helpdesk to be a very solid product. It is clean, easy to use for administrators, staff and end users and has a very powerfull aray of features. The only problems we have noticed are superficial and hardly worth mentioning. I thank Inverseflow for giving us a chance to try this helpdesk, we certainly do not regret it.
a few days ago I was approached by Inverseflow to try out their helpdesk product. I was kindly asked whether I would be willing to post my findings on WHT, to which I agreed. I assure you this review is objective. It is based on the opinions of myself, my fellow administrators, staff and my users at section5.net. We have only been using the product for a few days, but due to circumstances, I have decided to write this review a few days earlier than I originally intended.
PRODUCT DELIVERY
It was delivered in a single zip file containing all the files for the script itself, as well as a manual and a changelog. I personally would have liked to have seen the content of the zip file devided into 2 folders, 1 containing the files to be uploaded to the server and one containing the manual and changelog. This would in my humble opinion make it more obvious where to find the installation information, though this is but a small detail.
DOCUMENTATION
The manual (included as a html file) has a clean layout. The information provided is straight to the point, yet easy to understand and quite complete. It contains all the necessary information to install and set up the helpdesk. There is one section in the manual that could use some more detailed information, this beeing the section that deals with email processing and piping. The information is there, but could use a more detailed explenation for less experienced users.
INSTALLATION
I found the installation of the helpdesk surprisingly easy. Set up a mySQL database, edit the one settings file and execute the setup file from your browser. It didn't take me 2 minutes to install. After the installation is done, you can configure the helpdesk from within the administator interface. An explenation to what everything does can be found above each setting in the interface or can be looked up in the manual.
ADMINISTATOR/STAFF INTERFACE
The layout of the interface is clean and easy to navigate and seems to be quite extensive compared to other ticket systems I have used. I like the fact the system also allows the creation of surveys, something none of the other systems I've used in the past has included. The integrated help desk backup solution also caught my eye.
Departments can be set up very easily. Assigning users to certain department is also a piece of cake. Adding staff members is a question of entering their email address, their name and clicking on a button. All the information they need is then automatically sent to their email address.
Email messages can be edited, there is even a possibily to send seperate email messages to SMS services, also something I had never seen before in a helpdesk. Auto-replies can be added per department and are triggered by a key phrase. Received emails (i.e. to the email address assinged to a certain department) can be imported into the helpdesk system in 2 ways. You can use the traditional email piping, which requires setting it up via SSH, or, and I really like this option, you can set it to log into pop3 mailboxes, retrieve and convert the emails into tickets and then delete them from the pop3 account. I found this option ideal as it keeps mailboxes clutter-free.
The admininstator interface has a built in editor for the end user interface, so it is very easy to customise it. I found this to be a very usefull utility. It could do with some more features, like editing the order fields are displayed in etc., maybe this will be added in a later release.
My staff seem pleased with the staff interface. They like the look and feel and say the interface is well organized. One thing I don't understand is why the 'jump to ticket #' box is present in the administrator/staff interface. I don't know how many people can remember ticket numbers like 3E45B5D2, but I'm not one of them. I'd also like to see more status options, rather than just open, held and closed.
END USER INTERFACE
Again easy to navigate. My users seem to like that fact they don't have to log in to post a ticket, yet still are able to access it afterwards to check the progress and add information. It seems to work faster this way. The users can also include attachments to their tickets, though none of our users have tried this feature yet.
Though users can close their own tickets, they don't have the option to change the status. This could be a handy feature if a problem escalated. A searchable knowledge base is also available for end users, though we haven't started adding to it yet, so again I can't give much comment.
SUPPORT
I've only had to contact support on one issue, beeing that I was having some problems setting up automated email processing. Initial response took only 10 minutes, with a resolution time of 8 hours.I would call this a good response time.
CONCLUSION
We find the Inverflow helpdesk to be a very solid product. It is clean, easy to use for administrators, staff and end users and has a very powerfull aray of features. The only problems we have noticed are superficial and hardly worth mentioning. I thank Inverseflow for giving us a chance to try this helpdesk, we certainly do not regret it.