ServiceDesk 4.4.49 Update 02/09/10

You asked, we listened (okay, I was sloooowwwwww to listen, but I did). 

We've long had a suite of "powerful" technician performance reports (five in all).  They've been subject to occasional incremental improvements over the years, though nothing since their initial inception to (as my dad used to say) "write home about."  Please notice, I put the word "powerful" in quotes.  It's because these reports were drab, all textual, mono-color and with no graphics.  Sure, they worked great if you happened to have the kind of mind that can look at a large quantity of raw numbers and easily divine real and substantive meaning from them -- but most minds don't work that way.  So, not everyone celebrated these reports. 

I took a first step toward major improvement with Rel. 4.4.43, just a while back.  But that was tiny compared to what I've now accomplished.  This release includes a true and major overhaul.  It will produce tech-performance reports that, finally, are designed for the every man.  The basic set of reports has not changed, nor has the data (with some few exceptions) that goes into them.  What's really changed is the presentation. 

Here, for example, is a Tech's-Revenue report as generated in SD Ver. 4.4.48:

And here is the very same report, Ver. 4.4.49 style:

As you can see, it's the same raw numbers at play, but the revised version presents them with a whole lot more pizzazz.  And the pizzazz is much more than mere fluff.  Color differences, between the first section and others, make much more intuitive the distinction between company-wide figures (i.e., "ALL" in the top section) and the figures in following sections that pertain to specific techs.  The colorful and integrated graphs are even more powerful. 

In such regard (and using this particular report as an example for potential analysis), please notice the four graphs in the top section provide company-wide (or �par�) geometries for each key measure, and each tech's graph is purposely arranged to allow easy direct comparison.  Glancing at the green graphs, for example, you can see that three of the techs in this report are performing well above-par in regard to total sales (CP looks particularly impressive).   Their average totals-per-work-day (yellow graphs) mirror the same fact.  However, one of the techs who's strong in total sales, is not so strong in average total-per-ticket (AV, blue graph).

The leftward purple/violet graph is particularly interesting in its ratio-type comparison between labor and materials sold.  Glancing at this graph in AV's section may give an immediate clue as to why his average total-per-ticket is below par.  It appears, simply, that in comparison to others he is underselling on parts.  Perhaps that is all he needs to amend. 

Anyhow, the general concept is that with the addition of such integrated graphs and other enhanced visual cuing, these reports can now be a joy to peruse, literally thrusting large elements of meaningful analysis into your brain (and at a mere glance), rather than making you toil to scavenge small elements of meaning. 

All five reports in the Tech-Performance series (those reports in the F11-form and under that title) have been similarly upgraded, though the particular visual scheme in each is unique to its purposes.  I urge you, please, explore these reports.  I think you will be positively delighted by what you find.  Please know, too, I have updated the corresponding On-Line Report-Handbook.  There is a button to load this handbook in the bottom-right corner of the F11-form, but here also is a link.  Discussion about these particular reports begins in that Handbook on page 14. 

In regard to two of the upgraded reports (Technician Recall Rates, Unit-Info Method and Technician Recall Rates, Key-Word Method), I did much more than enhance the resulting visuals.  In regard to those in particular, I totally re-did the underlying infrastructure.  Formerly, these were reports that could take (depending on circumstances) a long, long, long time to run.  They are now at least ten times faster.  Better still, they're much more logical in their underlying methodology.    I'm betting you're now going to be very fond of these reports.  For details of what's different, please read in the appropriate section of that On-Line Reports-Handbook. 

Now that we have truly outstanding visuals in regard to these reports, I'm betting people are going to want corresponding upgrades on other reports.  Alas, my work never ends!