CMGT/410: Project Planning – Discussion

Reply to a classmate’s feature request in 200 words minimum explaining whether the request is clear and complete enough for you to understand how to implement the request if you were a programmer at VitalSource.

Has your colleague described the situation(s) in which the new feature should work?
How the feature should work? What the program should do if the feature does not/cannot work in a given instance?

If your colleague’s request is not clear or complete, explain what information is lacking. Be constructive and professional in your responses.

Collegue Request 1:
 
“Introduction:
Traditionally, feature request collection is a tedious, disorganized process with varied results. A common method of keeping track of requested features is to store these suggestions in a spreadsheet. While this technically stores your requested features, it creates a few problems, particularly when it comes to organization. The longer the feature request list is, the more likely it is to have repeated or similar suggestions causing clutter in the spreadsheet. After a few months, the spreadsheet of suggestions becomes more like a bin to too in potential features, making it completely ineffective. Usersnap is a feature that can be used to streamline request collection for example.
Summarize Request: 
The Vitalsource Bookshelf should have a new feature request button.
Current Situation: 
Presently, there is no feature request button in the Vitalsource application. The closest feature is a support request submission which allows you to share links to pages in the course and uploads any documents or images related.
Desired Outcome: 
Please add feature request button in your VitalSource support section.
Benefits of The Change:
The tool brings together the different elements of feature request collection (customer communication, organization, simplicity, integration) into a single, easy-to-manage application. Integration is fast as well; in a few seconds, you can start receiving feedback, bringing you closer to your customers then ever before. This tool for example will give access to a project list page, where teams can quickly organize all the feature request using custom labels and filters.”

Collegue Request 2:
 
“In my view, the VitalSource systems has a search capability for the course material. However, it does not have the ability to find related information from different reading material, and I think that will be a feature that I will request.
Background:
In essence, the textbook assigned by the class might not be enough for a particular reading, and as student, it could be cumbersome to find acceptable sources. Therefore, having a list of similar and acceptable sources could be a great feature. In addition, having different point of view for a subject can spark class conversations, and it will be easier to generate debates about subject.
User story
As a student, I want to search for class-related topics in similar or related material to the assigned textbook of the class, so that I could find different points of view when investigating a subject.
COS
Given: The student needs to research for a topic.
When: The student search for the key words.
Then:  The system returns with highlighted text from the class assigned textbook as well as returning highlighted text from different but related textbooks.
Given: The student needs to research for a topic.
When: The student finds other than the assigned textbook references.
Then:  The system allows to access the material, or it allows to pay for any associated premium due to copyrights.”