On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 2:11 AM, Martin Markovski <[email protected]> wrote: > Looking for a ticketing system that is preferably open source. > I've been looking into RT and OTRS but they were rejected as a solution. > > The requirements are the following: > - ability to have multiple queues > - have a web fronted where customers can create new and check the > status of their tickets > - able to create reports based on time and % of answered/closed tickets > - ability to interact with the tickets via email
These requirements sound like you are describing RT exactly. I realize that the decision was "not a technical one" and is not something you can discuss publicly, but maybe consulting with http://bestpractical.com/ can help resolve the issues (perhaps purchasing a support contract would ease fears, etc) On the other hand... I've heard good things about: -- SugarCRM Open Source -- Zentrack Since open source wasn't a requirement (just a preference), have you considered Remedy? I believe they have a pre-packaged configuration that is a good basic helpdesk solution. If both RT and ORTS were rejected then I get the feeling that there is more to the picture. Is there a ticket system in place right now? Often the non-technical push-back is against the entire concept of ticket systems and nothing will be "good enough". In that case, don't bring a knife to a gun fight. In fact, find a way to avoid the fight entirely. The Art of War would suggest alternate strategies: -- Confront the primary dissenter directly: talk privately with the person to find the reasons behind their actions and settle those issues. -- Go around the dissenter entirely: set up RT or ORTS for a project they are not involved in, when it is successful it will be politically difficult not to expand its use to all projects. -- Go over the dissenter's head: get the dissenter's boss on board. -- Leverage influential people: If there is someone that the dissenter feels walks on water and can do no wrong, get an endorsement from that person. -- Act faster: install something and put it into action before they can push back. -- Act slower: are there benefits to putting off the decision? For example, will the dissenter retire or change jobs soon? (You may not be allowed to know that they are on the way out) -- Produce more data: Gather data and produce charts that show undeniably you are right (throwing away the charts that disagree; if the dissenter doesn't have the raw data, they can't make those charts). -- Produce less data: Work in secret to build the system. -- The power of crowds: Can you get a lot of other people on board such that the dissenter is outvoted? -- The Power of the Demo: Are they rejecting a system they haven't actually used? Install your preferred solution on a VM and give demos to likely supporters. -- Divide an conquer: Find out where the opposition isn't in agreement with each other and play one side against the other. -- Isolate dissent: Identify the dissenters and exclude them from the process (find a politically viable justification for this). -- Overload the dissenter: Give them so much other work to do that they don't have time to dissent; or put so much of the research on their shoulders that they ask to be taken out of the decision process. -- Make the dissenter think they are making the decision: If you ask a child "what do you want for dinner?" they'll ask for ice cream. If you tell them, "Should we have hamburgers or hotdogs?" they'll think they're making the decision even though you've already made it for them. (Worst of all: don't list choices one at a time, they'll keep saying "no" until you run out of choices: "Do you want hamburgers?" "no" "Do you want hotdogs?" no "Umm... well, we have ice cream" "yes!"). -- Take advantage of emergencies: In an emergency the normal decision process goes away. Can you create a situation (or wait for a situation) where you can get permission to install RT or ORTS "just for this one emergency" and then take advantage of the fact that "nothing is more permanent than a temporary solution"?) -- Bullies only respect other bullies: Declare that your solution is the ONLY solution and brow-beat anyone that disagrees. -- Discredit the enemy: If the dissenter is always going to find reasons to reject something, don't try to deal with the points they bring up; discredit the dissenter's opinions. ("He isn't a real stake-holder, why should we listen?" "He rejects anything new, remember the time....") -- Running code beats vaporware: All I can say is a running system beats the theory that it won't work. -- Avoid the issue: Find another project to work on that will make you a success; leave this "can't win" situation to co-workers that are suckers. If done right, these strategies could work. If done wrong, you could be fired. Proceed with caution. Tom _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list [email protected] http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
