Perch is a PHP and MySQL content management system. Customers install the software on their own local development servers and live hosting, often as the very first time they have installed something like this. When we describe this to other developers the first thing they will say is, “support must be a nightmare!”
In this presentation I will share some of the things we have learned in almost four years of supporting the product. Names have been changed to protect the baffled, however in these tales from the trenches are useful tips for all of us.
If you need support, how can you write a request that will get you help fast? What things might your web host be doing that should cause you to run away fast? What should you know to make using third party code easier?
For those who have a product or service for which they offer support, how can you set up processes that make support easier? How can you reduce support issues by identifying the pain points and designing them out? How can you make the support you offer your best marketing and market research tool?
Recorded at Industry 2013: http://industryconf.com/