|
Gosh
Jun 14, 2020 21:12:09 GMT
Post by benziger on Jun 14, 2020 21:12:09 GMT
On facebook Eliot M. Camarena writes how he reported a bug during the beta test, which now reappears on the new page. He also stated that templates are not accepted by Lulu even when uploaded: Why? Apparently a format is now a quarter of an inch higher and wider than before. A link on Facebook is probably not very useful, because it will be deleted in no time. But there is also the backup: lulu.freetzi.com/Lulucom-6-12.html
|
|
|
Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Jun 14, 2020 22:42:46 GMT
I was reading that post yesterday, and it was basically a confirmation that the upgrade was rushed, with a known bug [apparently one among many judging by issues doing the simplest things on the site] well before it was ready.
The point of Beta testing software before a rollout is to identify and weed out buggy software issues before an upgrade, not take weeks or months after an upgrade "patching" issues that were identified during testing.
Ce la vie.
|
|
sirram
Senior Printer
No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money
Posts: 269
|
Gosh
Jun 17, 2020 19:07:50 GMT
Post by sirram on Jun 17, 2020 19:07:50 GMT
Having an IT background, I would say that firstly comes alpha testing. It's that stage which is meant to iron out basic bugs. There are numerous stages of testing during the alpha phase - which would be well understood by the IT community. Beta testing should just be to pick up unanticipated issues.
In Lulu's case, alpha testing should surely have tested whether customers' basic data (e.g. sales & revenue) was coming across to the new platform OK.
Yet, from the numerous posts on this forum (and elsewhere), that basic testing was negligent. How nice if someone from Lulu could give an honest explanation. Our projects have been corrupted and we no longer have access to our sales / revenue data.
|
|
|
Gosh
Jun 17, 2020 19:28:03 GMT
Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Jun 17, 2020 19:28:03 GMT
Having an IT background, I would say that firstly comes alpha testing. It's that stage which is meant to iron out basic bugs. There are numerous stages of testing during the alpha phase - which would be well understood by the IT community. Beta testing should just be to pick up unanticipated issues. In Lulu's case, alpha testing should surely have tested whether customers' basic data (e.g. sales & revenue) was coming across to the new platform OK. Yet, from the numerous posts on this forum (and elsewhere), that basic testing was negligent. How nice if someone from Lulu could give an honest explanation. Our projects have been corrupted and we no longer have access to our sales / revenue data. Alpha testing as you state should weed out the most egregious issues as well as some unforeseen issues, while Beta testing picks out unanticipated issues that include how end-users can take the most bug-free software and still find an issue.
Having done some conversion work I have the feeling an overly optimistic project manager who never had a project of this magnitude told the people at Lulu Press not to worry because it was going to be easy.
After many hours of running queries years ago to compare before conversion and after conversion databases, I know it isn't easy.
This far into what should have been a two day system changeover, I'm not holding my breath that anyone at Lulu Press is going to be particularly honest about what went wrong. Even though doing so might help the company regain the trust of its clients, it's easier for people in management positions to do CYA if the blame is shifted as far away as possible.
|
|
sirram
Senior Printer
No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money
Posts: 269
|
Gosh
Jun 17, 2020 20:25:31 GMT
Post by sirram on Jun 17, 2020 20:25:31 GMT
Having done some conversion work I have the feeling an overly optimistic project manager who never had a project of this magnitude told the people at Lulu Press not to worry because it was going to be easy. Agree with what else you said but, more likely, the poor down-trodden project manager was forced into a project that he or she knew from experience wasn't feasible in the available time-frame. Corners cut etc. - Result? Customers mightily pi**ed off and likely to walk away. Result? Company forced into administration. Lulu was a great company. Our local history society has nearly 20 books published with them and couldn't be more pleased with the platform, let alone the print quality and price. But, Now, I am frightened even to place an order.
|
|
|
Gosh
Jun 17, 2020 21:24:11 GMT
Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Jun 17, 2020 21:24:11 GMT
I was thinking the project manager for the IT company contracted to do the work was overly optimistic while those on the Lulu Press side wanted it done on the cheap.
Same end result though.
|
|
|
Gosh
Jun 17, 2020 21:56:22 GMT
Post by adrianallan on Jun 17, 2020 21:56:22 GMT
"Done on the cheap", but undoubtedly the most costly mistake ever made in the entire the print-on-demand industry.
It could well push the company over the edge.
So bad, that a case study could be made of the whole sorry exercise, examining what went wrong and how the company seemed to dig itself into a bigger hole as time passed.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Gosh
Jun 18, 2020 4:14:00 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2020 4:14:00 GMT
On facebook Eliot M. Camarena writes how he reported a bug during the beta test, which now reappears on the new page. He also stated that templates are not accepted by Lulu even when uploaded: Why? Apparently a format is now a quarter of an inch higher and wider than before. A link on Facebook is probably not very useful, because it will be deleted in no time. But there is also the backup: lulu.freetzi.com/Lulucom-6-12.htmlBenziger I went to the link you gave and then clicked on the link there bit.ly/3cPVDSs and this is what I got------ We protected you from a malicious siteThe website that directed you here was likely attempting to perform a malicious action on your account. We have prevented it from doing so. Please fill in this form if you think we made a mistake. Note that we don't provide personalised support for this issue right now, but we'll use this information to identify any bugs in our system.What were you doing when this form appeared?Hoever when I put it here it works ----very strange.
|
|
|
Post by benziger on Jun 19, 2020 18:25:30 GMT
I was reading that post yesterday, and it was basically a confirmation that the upgrade was rushed, with a known bug [apparently one among many judging by issues doing the simplest things on the site] well before it was ready. Do you need an other proof? Two hours ago, Luludotcom wrote at facebook on its own site:
"We are currently in the final testing phase to make historical revenue data visible in user accounts. We hope to complete testing next week."
|
|
|
Gosh
Jun 19, 2020 18:45:50 GMT
Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Jun 19, 2020 18:45:50 GMT
Hmmm, the full post is interesting. ********************************************** Lulu.com 2 hrs · June 19th Update Our team continues to work through the remaining cases submitted over these last few weeks. We have a small in-house support staff, and some of the reported issues require extra attention - know that we are not ignoring your requests for support and will respond to your case as soon as possible. For faster resolution on any of these specific issues listed below, please submit the form to this link: bit.ly/3cPVDSs- missing or incorrect cover thumbnails - missing projects - unable to download files - unable to Add to Cart - previously approved projects incorrectly requiring proof purchase Please note - If you need to speak to a member of our support team, please submit a ticket at the link shared below. - We are currently in the final testing phase to make historical revenue data visible in user accounts. We hope to complete testing next week. - At this time all creator sales revenue that has accrued since the site update is reported accurately in your accounts. All revenue payments are being paid out on time and in full. User accounts also now reflect a distinction between self-purchases and public purchases. - Users recently reported an issue that caused some files to get ‘stuck’ right after they were uploaded. This has been fixed, so If you have experienced this issue please try uploading your file again. - Many of you have reached out about deleting or retiring projects; we are expecting to restore this functionality in the coming week. - Our developers are hard at work on a brand new tool for book cover and calendar design! We are excited to launch this new feature, and will share more information about when we can expect to see this new tool as it becomes available. Any remaining issues not listed above are on a case-by-case basis. If you are still experiencing any problems, please report that issue through our email case submission form at this link: help.lulu.com/s/contactsupport. ********************************************** You might note that many authors have reached out about retiring and / or deleting projects and they plan to add that functionality back next week. Why? It's likely because Lulu Press Support Staff is small in number and pretty much can't begin to keep up with requests to delete / retire projects. Coupled with the historical data being "currently in the final testing phase", retire / delete functionality being added back after many weeks, and all the other issues end-users have encountered over nearly two months, it looks like Lulu Press has almost finished its live Beta Test of its new site. Most companies would have taken care of the testing before a roll out.
|
|
|
Gosh
Jun 19, 2020 19:55:05 GMT
Post by Rob on Jun 19, 2020 19:55:05 GMT
Very interesting , but given Lulu`s "flexible" timeframes, when they say "should be ready next week" I would think the reality is more likely to be at least four times that
|
|
|
Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Jun 19, 2020 21:28:05 GMT
Very interesting , but given Lulu`s "flexible" timeframes, when they say "should be ready next week" I would think the reality is more likely to be at least four times that Lulu Press sounds like it's on Moscow time, where 08:00 Monday means any time between the following Wednesday and sometime next decade.
|
|
|
Gosh
Jun 26, 2020 23:16:33 GMT
Post by Winter on Jun 26, 2020 23:16:33 GMT
I think Lulu is on Kung Fu time. When we say we will be there at 4:00Pm, we really mean we'll get there when we get there
|
|