**
To those on the List and anyone at BMC, I think ARS is an excellent and powerful product. Yet, every product can be improved. Here is my quick list:

1. Full API support in the .Net API. In addition, with each example in the help guide both C# and VB.Net languages should be included.

2. A button for the $NULL$ keyword throughout the Admin Tool (ie. Run If qualification, Set Fields, etc.) - I use this keyword far more than any other.

3. A button for the $NULL$ keyword in the User Tool for Advanced Searches.

4. Save environment settings in Admin Tool and User Tool as they are changed instead of waiting until the user successfully logs out. Occasionally these programs do crash and any settings are lost.

5. Ability to setup the layout of the Admin Tool and press a button/select a menu option to write these settings to the AR System Administrative Preferences form right then.

6. Larger windows in Admin Tool for developing work flow (Active Links, Filters, Guides, etc.). I have dual 20" monitors and yet I frequently have to scroll or click the ellipsis button to see all the code or objects.

7. Quicker turn-around time for purchasing licenses. Once BMC receives the official request from our vendor it seems to take a very long time to receive the license keys. With almost every purchase our vendor (and sometimes me) has had to repeatedly contact BMC to find out when we would receive the license keys.

8. Single-Sign-On with Windows User Tool.

9. More granularity with installing server patches with the installer program. For example, there should be an option to *only* patch DLLs and other files and *not* update any forms, fields or work flow.

10. Support current version of Crystal Reports - at least with the current version of ARS and User Tool. Within 3 months after a new version of Crystal Reports is released [from Business Objects] BMC should endeavor to put out a new patch of the User Tool that supports it. BMC undoubtedly has access to beta and pre-release versions of Crystal Reports months before it is finally released to the public. This should provide ample time to patch the User Tool.

11. Support for current version of SQL Server. Version 2005 was released 3 months with beta versions available for over a year, yet no word on if/when it will be supported. Chances are that 99.9% of ARS would run fine as-is now.

12. Clarify in writing the exact licensing requirements with ARS on SQL Server. After many contacts with our vendor, and our vendor directly with BMC, there is no consensus on how to properly license SQL Server to run ARS. Is it by the number of threads, by number of Remedy users? This information should be posted on the SupportWeb.

13. Fix the KB search on the SupportWeb. After one or two searches I have to log out, wait an hour and then log back in to be able to search again due to infinite timeouts. This has been going on for over a year. It finally reached the point where I simply wrote a program that downloads every KB and stores it in a Remedy form so I can perform my own queries.

14. Add the IP address of users in log files.

15. Have the option to log to tables instead of text files. This could be a regular Remedy form a direct SQL table. This would provide increased ability to monitor and troubleshoot a system, would allow for filtering (ie. I only want to query for entries that I made between 2:00pm and 2:05pm), could take less time to debug and would allow for reporting.

16. Change licensing enforcement to pre-version 6.3 whereas the same user can be logged into more than one computer. Our technicians are logged into Remedy at their desk throughout the day. They also move around a lot to support our users. As soon as the new licensing enforcement went into effect technicians were now forced to return to their desk to update a Remedy ticket. They used to be able to update their tickets right then - the new Remedy licensing has reduced worker productivity.

17. Provide downloadable training modules and exercises on ARS and other Remedy products. These could be billed by module and/or annual subscription for a set of modules. Microsoft has one implementation that may work (https://www.microsoftelearning.com/default.aspx).

18. Display a message when user has Caps-Lock turned On at the User Tool login prompt. It is relatively easy for a user to get locked out of the network (when pass-through authentication is used). In some companies Remedy/network login IDs are numeric, therefore Caps-Lock could be On and the user may not be aware.

19. Create or help sponsor a Remedy Development Guide book. As far as I know there is no third-party design and development book available for the Remedy administrator or developer. This guide would include topics such as solving particular problems, integration with other Remedy modules, integration with external systems, API usage, best practices, etc.


Stephen





From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Scott Ames
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:31 AM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: What Bugs you about Remedy?


**
What bugs you about Remedy and what would you like to see them fix or change? Sometimes Remedy has the functionality, but it's implemented in such a way as to be quite a pain. Sometimes the functionality is totally missing. What bugs you and what would make your job easier?

For example:

I would love to see a simple single sign on implementation that doesn't require a lot of development.

I would like to see a robust ODBC driver for Remedy that has all the functionality.

I would like an option to generated the record ID in advance when a record is created rather than when it's saved. ...etc...


20060125This posting was submitted with HTML in it
20060125This posting was submitted with HTML in it

Technical Changes:

- Bit based checkbox field
- SSO capable user tool
- Multiple supported versions of Crystal Reports bundled in the user
tool (could be a preference setting?)
- Multiple supported versions of Crystal Reports capable with the
Remedy ODBC driver
- Rewrite the currency field functionality. Conceptually it's sound,
but the concept didn't materialize as well as it could have.
- Add a "(clear)" option to a character field menu field that is set
to have the drop-down properties; make behavior consistent with the
drop-down field type
- Change oracle data-type used for attachment fields to BLOB instead
of LONG RAW. LONG RAW was deprecated years ago and support will drop
for it at some point; not to mention the fact it's a pain to work with
- Allow the administrator to define whether or not to compress
attachment data so that the data can be accessed by apps other than
remedy from the db level.
- Db related tuning/changes to allow better scalability of Remedy
server (bind variables) and better intermingling of db environment for
shared db servers. Nobody likes a resource hog on shared hardware.
We are bound to x number of threads on our oracle server because of
how remedy uses the db; and the memory consumption required because of
the way it uses the db.
- Ability to to correlated db connections to ars threads (thread logs
or somewhere)
- Ability to correlated sql sent to the db via one of the db
connections to a specific Remedy user. This is needed for
troubleshooting (could be incorporated into the sql logs) certain
types of issues
- Ability to incorporate some RDBMS concepts into ARS forms regarding
referential integrity (PK/FK constraints, cascading deletes, etc.). I
hate writing a series of filters to do this for an app that sits on
top of a db but chooses not to use the db.
- Ability to run clients on more platforms (admin, user, import). Did
a good job of keeping the server flexible in it's architecture, but
clients are bound to the M$ platform.
- Ability to define default time for date/time fields (on a per field
basis) instead of always defaulting to midnight.
- Fix the licensing model. The current licensing model severly
inhibits our support staff. Some support staff have two PCs on their
destop where they run Remedy. They are now bound to only using one
desktop for Remedy. Users accessing the mid-tier who have the user
tool open are also subject to interference. It's too restrictive and
inhibits ligitimate use of the product.

Axton


UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org

ARS Fixes I would like to see:

1. If you have an escalation that takes a lot of resources ... it seems to
prevent all of the other escalations from running. This causes a problem if
you are running a one time script and still need pages sent out in a timely
manner.

2. Separate AREA stuff from arplugin. We have had problems with users not
being able to log into remedy. We can't tell if it was the SLA, ARFPerl,
Reporting, E-mail, ARDBC, etc. that caused the problem .... a restart of
the plugin resolved the issue. But to me it is a fundamental flaw in the
system ....

3. No one I know has ever gotten Remedy Developer Plus to work (out of
about 7 remedy developers from 3 different companies).

4. Java API still has to use the native C libraries ... wish they would
create a JAVA API that was not OS specific.

5. I still get complaints about not being able to customize table columns
or do multi-sort by the users. This is especially useful for something like
a "Console" view but obviously isn't needed for some tables ... But nice
to know that ARS 7 is supposed to come out with some sort of Tree like view
....

6. A clock or "Age" field would be nice that would show you that you have
30 seconds ... 29 ... 28 before this thing pages the CEO and the world as
you know it will come to an end :-)

7. The ability to search for Distinct records in a join form. Maybe some
sort of "Distinct" checkbox for fields in the Join form. Sometimes you want
a join to only return one record even though the ticket may be listed more
than once because of the many to one relationship in the join.

9. Can you do a join in 6.x of two forms using the ODBC connector created
by Remedy using Crystal Reports? As far as I know you still can't do it...



Thanks,

Sean

-----Original Message-----
From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList)
[mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Axton
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:47 AM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: Re: What Bugs you about Remedy?

From a non-technical perspective.

I would love to Remedy use their own apps, performing an upgrade for
each version; and in the process document the steps used to perform
the upgrade and generate a white paper

I would love to see Remedy support the versions of ARS listed as
supported; i.e., release bug fixes for those versions instead of
giving the solution of upgrade to the latest version.

I would love to see Remedy upgrade to the latest version of mid-tier
for their support site. They are using 5.0.1, which imho, is
embarrasing and doesnt speak well of their boasted rearchitecture.

I would love to see an RFE process that actually works. The current
process is like a black hole. You toss your request in, never to be
heard of or seen again.

Technical 'I would likes' forthcoming.

Axton


On 1/30/06, Scott Ames wrote:
> **
> What bugs you about Remedy and what would you like to see them fix or
> change? Sometimes Remedy has the functionality, but it's implemented in
such
> a way as to be quite a pain. Sometimes the functionality is totally
missing.
> What bugs you and what would make your job easier?
>
> For example:
>
> I would love to see a simple single sign on implementation that doesn't
> require a lot of development.
>
> I would like to see a robust ODBC driver for Remedy that has all the
> functionality.
>
> I would like an option to generated the record ID in advance when a record
> is created rather than when it's saved. ...etc...
>
> 20060125This posting was
> submitted with HTML in it



UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org


UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org

**
What bugs you about Remedy and what would you like to see them fix or change? Sometimes Remedy has the functionality, but it's implemented in such a way as to be quite a pain. Sometimes the functionality is totally missing. What bugs you and what would make your job easier?

For example:

I would love to see a simple single sign on implementation that doesn't require a lot of development.

I would like to see a robust ODBC driver for Remedy that has all the functionality.

I would like an option to generated the record ID in advance when a record is created rather than when it's saved. ...etc...


20060125This posting was submitted with HTML in it

From a non-technical perspective.

I would love to Remedy use their own apps, performing an upgrade for
each version; and in the process document the steps used to perform
the upgrade and generate a white paper

I would love to see Remedy support the versions of ARS listed as
supported; i.e., release bug fixes for those versions instead of
giving the solution of upgrade to the latest version.

I would love to see Remedy upgrade to the latest version of mid-tier
for their support site. They are using 5.0.1, which imho, is
embarrasing and doesnt speak well of their boasted rearchitecture.

I would love to see an RFE process that actually works. The current
process is like a black hole. You toss your request in, never to be
heard of or seen again.

Technical 'I would likes' forthcoming.

Axton


On 1/30/06, Scott Ames wrote:
> **
> What bugs you about Remedy and what would you like to see them fix or
> change? Sometimes Remedy has the functionality, but it's implemented in such
> a way as to be quite a pain. Sometimes the functionality is totally missing.
> What bugs you and what would make your job easier?
>
> For example:
>
> I would love to see a simple single sign on implementation that doesn't
> require a lot of development.
>
> I would like to see a robust ODBC driver for Remedy that has all the
> functionality.
>
> I would like an option to generated the record ID in advance when a record
> is created rather than when it's saved. ...etc...
>
> 20060125This posting was
> submitted with HTML in it


UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org

Another:

- Ability to define join forms of the type 'union' (goes back to my
'leverage the db' annoyance from an earlier post)

Axton


On 1/30/06, Axton wrote:
> Some more:
>
> - Ability to run Crystal Enterprise server on a platform other than
> M$. Currently bound to M$ because the odbc driver provided by Remedy
> only works on M$.
> - Ability to use the approval server, that is now given "free" with
> the arserver without having to require every user in the system that
> could potentially approve a request to have a fixed or floating
> license. It's nice to have it free, but doesn't do me much good if I
> can't use it. I think we were better off when it was license on a per
> form basis.
>
> Axton
>
>
> On 1/30/06, Sean Garrison wrote:
> > ARS Fixes I would like to see:
> >
> > 1. If you have an escalation that takes a lot of resources ... it seems to
> > prevent all of the other escalations from running. This causes a problem if
> > you are running a one time script and still need pages sent out in a timely
> > manner.
> >
> > 2. Separate AREA stuff from arplugin. We have had problems with users not
> > being able to log into remedy. We can't tell if it was the SLA, ARFPerl,
> > Reporting, E-mail, ARDBC, etc. that caused the problem .... a restart of
> > the plugin resolved the issue. But to me it is a fundamental flaw in the
> > system ....
> >
> > 3. No one I know has ever gotten Remedy Developer Plus to work (out of
> > about 7 remedy developers from 3 different companies).
> >
> > 4. Java API still has to use the native C libraries ... wish they would
> > create a JAVA API that was not OS specific.
> >
> > 5. I still get complaints about not being able to customize table columns
> > or do multi-sort by the users. This is especially useful for something like
> > a "Console" view but obviously isn't needed for some tables ... But nice
> > to know that ARS 7 is supposed to come out with some sort of Tree like view
> > ....
> >
> > 6. A clock or "Age" field would be nice that would show you that you have
> > 30 seconds ... 29 ... 28 before this thing pages the CEO and the world as
> > you know it will come to an end :-)
> >
> > 7. The ability to search for Distinct records in a join form. Maybe some
> > sort of "Distinct" checkbox for fields in the Join form. Sometimes you want
> > a join to only return one record even though the ticket may be listed more
> > than once because of the many to one relationship in the join.
> >
> > 9. Can you do a join in 6.x of two forms using the ODBC connector created
> > by Remedy using Crystal Reports? As far as I know you still can't do it...
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Sean
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList)
> > [mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Axton
> > Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:47 AM
> > To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
> > Subject: Re: What Bugs you about Remedy?
> >
> > From a non-technical perspective.
> >
> > I would love to Remedy use their own apps, performing an upgrade for
> > each version; and in the process document the steps used to perform
> > the upgrade and generate a white paper
> >
> > I would love to see Remedy support the versions of ARS listed as
> > supported; i.e., release bug fixes for those versions instead of
> > giving the solution of upgrade to the latest version.
> >
> > I would love to see Remedy upgrade to the latest version of mid-tier
> > for their support site. They are using 5.0.1, which imho, is
> > embarrasing and doesnt speak well of their boasted rearchitecture.
> >
> > I would love to see an RFE process that actually works. The current
> > process is like a black hole. You toss your request in, never to be
> > heard of or seen again.
> >
> > Technical 'I would likes' forthcoming.
> >
> > Axton
> >
> >
> > On 1/30/06, Scott Ames wrote:
> > > **
> > > What bugs you about Remedy and what would you like to see them fix or
> > > change? Sometimes Remedy has the functionality, but it's implemented in
> > such
> > > a way as to be quite a pain. Sometimes the functionality is totally
> > missing.
> > > What bugs you and what would make your job easier?
> > >
> > > For example:
> > >
> > > I would love to see a simple single sign on implementation that doesn't
> > > require a lot of development.
> > >
> > > I would like to see a robust ODBC driver for Remedy that has all the
> > > functionality.
> > >
> > > I would like an option to generated the record ID in advance when a record
> > > is created rather than when it's saved. ...etc...
> > >
> > > 20060125This posting was
> > > submitted with HTML in it
> >
> >
> >
> > UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org
> >
> >
> > UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org
> >
>


UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org

Some more:

- Ability to run Crystal Enterprise server on a platform other than
M$. Currently bound to M$ because the odbc driver provided by Remedy
only works on M$.
- Ability to use the approval server, that is now given "free" with
the arserver without having to require every user in the system that
could potentially approve a request to have a fixed or floating
license. It's nice to have it free, but doesn't do me much good if I
can't use it. I think we were better off when it was license on a per
form basis.

Axton


On 1/30/06, Sean Garrison wrote:
> ARS Fixes I would like to see:
>
> 1. If you have an escalation that takes a lot of resources ... it seems to
> prevent all of the other escalations from running. This causes a problem if
> you are running a one time script and still need pages sent out in a timely
> manner.
>
> 2. Separate AREA stuff from arplugin. We have had problems with users not
> being able to log into remedy. We can't tell if it was the SLA, ARFPerl,
> Reporting, E-mail, ARDBC, etc. that caused the problem .... a restart of
> the plugin resolved the issue. But to me it is a fundamental flaw in the
> system ....
>
> 3. No one I know has ever gotten Remedy Developer Plus to work (out of
> about 7 remedy developers from 3 different companies).
>
> 4. Java API still has to use the native C libraries ... wish they would
> create a JAVA API that was not OS specific.
>
> 5. I still get complaints about not being able to customize table columns
> or do multi-sort by the users. This is especially useful for something like
> a "Console" view but obviously isn't needed for some tables ... But nice
> to know that ARS 7 is supposed to come out with some sort of Tree like view
> ....
>
> 6. A clock or "Age" field would be nice that would show you that you have
> 30 seconds ... 29 ... 28 before this thing pages the CEO and the world as
> you know it will come to an end :-)
>
> 7. The ability to search for Distinct records in a join form. Maybe some
> sort of "Distinct" checkbox for fields in the Join form. Sometimes you want
> a join to only return one record even though the ticket may be listed more
> than once because of the many to one relationship in the join.
>
> 9. Can you do a join in 6.x of two forms using the ODBC connector created
> by Remedy using Crystal Reports? As far as I know you still can't do it...
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Sean
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList)
> [mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Axton
> Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:47 AM
> To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
> Subject: Re: What Bugs you about Remedy?
>
> From a non-technical perspective.
>
> I would love to Remedy use their own apps, performing an upgrade for
> each version; and in the process document the steps used to perform
> the upgrade and generate a white paper
>
> I would love to see Remedy support the versions of ARS listed as
> supported; i.e., release bug fixes for those versions instead of
> giving the solution of upgrade to the latest version.
>
> I would love to see Remedy upgrade to the latest version of mid-tier
> for their support site. They are using 5.0.1, which imho, is
> embarrasing and doesnt speak well of their boasted rearchitecture.
>
> I would love to see an RFE process that actually works. The current
> process is like a black hole. You toss your request in, never to be
> heard of or seen again.
>
> Technical 'I would likes' forthcoming.
>
> Axton
>
>
> On 1/30/06, Scott Ames wrote:
> > **
> > What bugs you about Remedy and what would you like to see them fix or
> > change? Sometimes Remedy has the functionality, but it's implemented in
> such
> > a way as to be quite a pain. Sometimes the functionality is totally
> missing.
> > What bugs you and what would make your job easier?
> >
> > For example:
> >
> > I would love to see a simple single sign on implementation that doesn't
> > require a lot of development.
> >
> > I would like to see a robust ODBC driver for Remedy that has all the
> > functionality.
> >
> > I would like an option to generated the record ID in advance when a record
> > is created rather than when it's saved. ...etc...
> >
> > 20060125This posting was
> > submitted with HTML in it
>
>
>
> UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org
>
>
> UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org
>


UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at http://www.ARSLIST.org

**
FYI: For #13 (KB on SupportWeb) until Remedy corrects the problem.

After you do a search (before the next search), clear your cache (delete Temporary Internet Files on IE). After I started doing this I could perform as many searches as I needed.

Fred



From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Heider, Stephen
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:59 AM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: Re: What Bugs you about Remedy?


**

...

13. Fix the KB search on the SupportWeb. After one or two searches I have to log out, wait an hour and then log back in to be able to search again due to infinite timeouts. This has been going on for over a year. It finally reached the point where I simply wrote a program that downloads every KB and stores it in a Remedy form so I can perform my own queries.

...

Stephen





From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Scott Ames
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:31 AM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: What Bugs you about Remedy?


**
What bugs you about Remedy and what would you like to see them fix or change? Sometimes Remedy has the functionality, but it's implemented in such a way as to be quite a pain. Sometimes the functionality is totally missing. What bugs you and what would make your job easier?

For example:

I would love to see a simple single sign on implementation that doesn't require a lot of development.

I would like to see a robust ODBC driver for Remedy that has all the functionality.

I would like an option to generated the record ID in advance when a record is created rather than when it's saved. ...etc...


20060125This posting was submitted with HTML in it

**

Folks,



I have to say that I love the direction of this thread! One point I want to remind everyone of is, if you have something you'd like changed, you NEED to go file an enhancement request on it, otherwise Remedy will most likely not even consider it. Yes, we all know that some folks from Remedy watch the ARSList (Hi Doug!), but it is not the correct method for logging these types of enhancement requests.



And, of course, the more people/organizations that request certain changes, the more likely they are to be considered.



Just my 2 cents worth for the day. :-)



Oh, as far as getting SupportWeb upgraded to the latest code set. I know it's being worked on, but you should really push on your sales reps to see if the process can be sped up at all. It's definitely overdue!!!



Matt Reinfeldt
Senior Support Engineer

Entuition Inc.

Email: matt.reinfeldt@entuition.com

http://www.mattreinfeldt.com | http://www.mwrug.com

20060125This posting was submitted with HTML in it

**
I would like the client, (user) to have the ability to move, remove, add, their own list of columns in the result list.

A way to replace the standard error messages with our own , better looking, error messages.

The ability to sub-search any field and find records that have values in the linked sub-table. ( Siebel does this with exists(value) )

The ability to copy a form and have all the workflow, active links, filters, copy as well and rename themselves.



20060125This posting was submitted with HTML in it