We want your feature requests!
Help determine the future of MindTouch! Great releases happen when we have an open dialogue with users of our software - given the endless applications of MindTouch, understanding how it is being utilized helps us define the path forward.
In the past, our process for capturing feature requests was split across a multitude of channels: forum postings, the “feature” categorization in our bug tracker, and also through touch points with our sales reps and support team.
Starting with the Minneopa release, we implemented a new internal process for feature development: the functional spec-driven process. While this isn’t anything new, it’s the first time we’ve formalized it internally for the engineering team. Starting with the Minneopa release, all features had to be vetted through a functional spec before it hit the development phase. At our weekly engineering meetings, developers who have been working on functional specs present them to the rest of the team for feedback. These functional specs evolve over time, and they become better features for it. The functional spec allows us to take a user-centric (rather than a dev-centric) approach to a problem, and it also keeps the feature development process transparent.
As engineers, we oftentimes get blindsided by the technical details that leads us to forget asking the most important question: why should this feature exist? We’ve been victims of this approach in the past, and since the process’ implementation, we’ve been largely successful with delivering use-case driven features.
You can participate in this process. And you don’t have to be technical to do so!
If you haven’t already done so, register an account at our Community Portal, then simply go to our primary specs page, and click the “Add functional spec” button. This will load up a template which contains all the questions and sections you need to fill. You don’t need to fill out the whole spec at first - fill in whatever portions you can, and ask people for feedback!
Here are some active functional specs which are being fleshed out right now:
- User profiles and people search inside MindTouch (built on top of LDAP)
- Interactive Comments
I hope to see more contributions in the near future - I’ll be keeping a keen eye on things in that area (and helping nudge specs to completion) - see ya there!