[Ovmsdev] How can I help

Tue Jan 8 13:38:17 HKT 2019

I agree 100% with Michael here. Far too much time is spent hand-holding very inexperienced users, and it is incredibly frustrating. About half of the people who ask me for help turn out to have a simple typo in the username / password. Half the remaining have a more complicated typo.

Perhaps when the v3 product has matured some, we can look at how to look after more novice users, but for the moment I think we should keep the material targeted to experienced users. I.T. literate.

Regards, Mark.

> On 4 Jan 2019, at 10:13 PM, Michael Balzer <dexter at expeedo.de> wrote:
> 
> Rob,
> 
> maybe I'm too pessimistic (realistic?), but if you're targeting users within that category, your spec lacks "doesn't like reading manuals or searching the web for answers" and "likes watching short videos", so working on the manual with these users in mind is futile.
> 
> My last App support: the App told the user it can't connect to the server, he should verify the server address and vehicle ID. I sent him the data he should use. He insisted in having entered exactly that. After four or five mails I finally got him to send me this "screenshot":
> 
> <glkolgejahicndjc.jpeg>
> 
> 
> Many current users (even v2 users) I have supported fit into that category, none of them would (could) read anything longer than a few sentences. The manual introduction section is already too much for them, they normally just jump into using the system and they normally fail at things like entering a server name or password correctly.
> 
> Of course we should generally try to further simplify the UIs, e.g. provide a select option for the standard servers and an account registration API.
> 
> But the manual IMO is meant for the capable / advanced user trying to get specific jobs done with the system.
> 
> For the "low end" user target, a single (!) page "first setup" sheet is needed, and a series of 3 minute feature introduction videos on Youtube.
> 
> Regards,
> Michael
> 
> 
> Am 03.01.19 um 16:05 schrieb Robert Sharpe (Electric Vehicle Consultant):
>> Hi Mark/All,
>> 
>> Sometime ago I did lots of obvious updates of the User Manual to help readability, etc as a first stab.
>> 
>> Now doing a second stab, there is one thing that has come to light and that is the definition of a user.
>> 
>> In order to check the documentation I need to know what the user is capable of off.  I appreciate that the definition of user has probably changed over the development of the project and the product has matured enough that it can be operated by non-technical users opening up its usefulness.  
>> 
>> Assuming that what were the original users would how fall into the category of Developers, does the following draft specification accurately reflect the minimum capabilities of a current/future User?
>> 
>> User Definition
>> a general household DIY capable person.
>> can mount and plug things into the vehicle
>> cant
>> create connectors/leads
>> modify the OVMS hardware
>> don't know about internal or technical terms, such as Nissan Leaf GIDs, WiFi SSID, etc
>> User Expectations
>> the unit fully supports the listed features under all reasonable conditions
>> reliable in operation
>> error messages are non-technical and help the user solve the problem
>> should be plug-n-play where possible, eg
>> automatically detects vehicle type and year
>> automatically detects battery capacity, etc
>> Please let me know if this is accurate or what changes/clarifications need to be made.
>> 
>> Rob
>> 
>> 
>> --- On Tue, 07 Aug 2018 03:30:33 +0100 Mark Webb-Johnson <mark at webb-johnson.net <mailto:mark at webb-johnson.net>> wrote ----
>> 
>> Robert,
>> 
>> Thanks for the offer to help out.
>> 
>> Perhaps you can look at it from the user’s point of view, and try to improve our documentation and approach for that?
>> 
>> Regards, Mark.
>> 
>> On 3 Aug 2018, at 4:01 PM, Robert Sharpe (Electric Vehicle Consultant) <robert.sharpe at evergreen-consulting.co.uk <mailto:robert.sharpe at evergreen-consulting.co.uk>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> I like where OVMS project is going and would like to help if I can.
>> 
>> Where I can possibly add value is
>> make things easy for people to use (eg documentation, etc)
>> experienced on UI/UX design, etc.
>> as an ex developer, good at testing and finding problems.
>> Some initial thoughts on activities are
>> to make it easier for non technical people to use OVMS, help doc author pull out user only specific content to a user manual and make it non-technical (renaming current user manual to developers manual) 
>> to help people see roadmap, provide a mechanism to see who wants what and who is working on it.
>> to allow developers and users to display problems with their vehicle only, add Labels to the github issues list or group by project (I am not an expert on GITHUB so please be patient)
>> update GITHUB readmes to better direct people that find GITHUB first.
>> Please
>> let me know if anyone is dealing with any of these areas
>> add and/or vote for what things you think I can help with by putting a comment next to the activity above.
>> Regards,
>> Robert Sharpe
>> Electric Vehicle Consultant
>> 07711 252971
>> 
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