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Road map or update release dates with possible features?

Os M 7 years ago in Documentation Issues updated by Terry (ActionTiles) (Co-Founder) 7 years ago 1

i recently implemented Action Tiles into my echo system, i personally like the idea of Action Tiles and ease of use.


it seems either ive already out grown its simplicity and am looking for a more mature experience or my home echo system has been in place for awhile and maybe my system just needs more options to help its overall integration growth.


so that leaves me to the question i think many have been asking but either i missed it (my bad if i did) or there isnt a clear answer on the topic other than "not sure of the time table"


so my question is


is there a place i can go to and follow the conversation for any updates that provides some in site  to either a road map, info on release cycles, features coming soon, or anything that would help me stay engaged in wanting to continue the platform.


this isn't a complaint but i could see how it may seem that way but it seems there hasn't been an update in awhile and since im new to the site and am already looking for additional options/features to make my dashboard pop instead of having 30 tiles on a page and its all green with no options to change colors that im aware of, ide like to know if i should continue with the hours of time i invest worth it knowing im just waiting for a feature that is said to be released ect ect.


like i said this isnt a complaint but since its a service that i did pay for and is not freeware thats posted on github i thought the question was fair game.


any information that can help me towards an answer would be great, like i said if i did miss the discussion in the forum then i spend a whole lot of time typing this up and i apologize for posting another one :)

Answer

Hi Osberto,


We respect your question and appreciate your excitement about the future directions of ActionTiles. This Feedback Forum has given us lots of ideas we never would have come up with on our own - as well as making us feel brilliant about the stuff we have been thinking about for a long time and are getting validation from y'all 😁. Our Facebook Reviews rating stands at over 4.9-Stars and we cannot express enough gratitude for that!


Well: Policies and practices for publication of plans - "roadmaps" - varies from company to company, but many (most?) these days decide to keep them secret, except for meticulously-timed official announcements. For example, consumers aren't told what features are going to be in the iPhone 11, Android Q, the next Amazon Alexa update, new SmartThings Hub or next versions of the SmartThings App.


Of course there are both pros and cons to keeping plans secret. There's plenty of stuff we're planning that might help hesitant trial-users take out their credit cards! But: we have decided that it's best for us and ActionTiles to maximize our flexibility and integrity by not implying any "promises" that later we can't - or decide not to - honor. And a published roadmap is inevitably considered a "promise" by somebody. Security and reliability of the app are paramount. We don't want to rush just to meet a self-imposed published deadline. We decide when a feature is "good-enough" for release, even as we may be internally planning the iterative evolution of that feature in future updates.



So...

  • For some additional important info, please see our official relevant Knowledge Base Article: When are Feature Ideas in the Forum going to be implemented?
  • Stay tuned to this Feedback Forum, as we are somewhat influenced by popular Topics and that's one way you can get a clue as to what might be coming up. We do mark some Features & Bugs as "Planned" or "In Progress", etc., from time to time when we're confidently in agreement with the Topic.
  • Don't forget to Like our Facebook Page. There are plenty of Customers (and the curious) who don't use this Forum, so that's an important communication channel for us. The more Likes we have, the more weight that Facebook gives our promotions:  https://www.facebook.com/ActionTiles
  • You can also follow us on Twitter (@ActionTiles), Google Plus (+ActionTiles), YouTube (/ActionTiles) ... heck, we also have Instagram and Pinterest and, well, too many channels for me to remember 🙄.


And...

  • Please be sure to whitelist "ActionNews@ActionTiles.com" as we will sometimes use this for direct important announcements like major update releases and discounts for you or friends.
  • From time to time we send out Surveys to more accurately assess Customers opinions and desires. Prompt and honest responses are super important.
  • We have an invitation only continuous "Beta Programme". Invitations are based on Survey responses and other criteria to ensure diversity. We love our Beta Participants, so they get to experience new features a bit in advance - and we give their feedback some extra weight in refining those features.
  • Growth is essential. ActionTiles is not a subscription based service: The only way new development can be funded is if we keep getting new Customers. The more the better, of course! You can help by spreading the word to your friends (in person and social media ... FB posts, retweeting, linking to our website in your smart home user groups, asking your favorite tech bloggers to write us up, post your fabulous Panel designs to Instagram and Pinterest tagged @ActionTiles, ...)
  • And: Reviews, reviews, reviews!!!: Encouraging enthusiastic endorsements posted to our official Facebook Reviews tab are priceless. You are welcome to include a wish-list item or two in your review, but I'll be clear: Using a positive tone and 4 or 5 Stars is not just appreciated - it is critically and mutually beneficial to all of us.

Everyone is welcome to write to Support@ActionTiles.com with any issue, ideas, or questions. We might sometimes be a little more revealing in private; but, really, we're pretty careful to be fair and stick to our official announcements.


Thanks again!

...Terry (& Alex).