Monday, March 07, 2022

tried the Workgroup

Tested the new RASC forum Workgroup feature. This was proposed as an alternate to Dropbox or Google Drive.

It's a hot mess.

  • unusual interface, very unlike Google, Dropbox, etc.
  • the add form is rich, a tad complicated, the TITLE field is not tagged as mandatory
  • unclear what document status does: draft | published
  • unclear what document visibility does: private | public
  • unclear if any file type is permitted
  • for some new files two edit buttons appear, a pencil, one with the word, confusing at first
  • folders deployed as tabs arranged horizontally, atypical, what happens with 20 or 30?, not tested...
  • EDIT button disappeared on Google Doc file preventing me from editing the original content
  • EDIT button appeared for Visio drawing, why? completely confusing
  • creating folders is obtuse, only done when added a file
  • same file icon used for all file types, with acronym DOC showing, for Excel, Google, Visio, doesn't matter, and that will be very confusing
  • similarly the icon does not indicate if a native or Google-based file
  • delete is permanent, i.e. no recycle bin

I quit testing. It's not usable. Not ready for prime-time. No point in probing any deeper at this stage.

I asked for training. I was told that the person who could train me has limited experience. Ah. So there's no expert... Great. Shouldn't the committee Workgroup owner require training from a SME?

I asked for a user manual. No response. I bet there's no manual.

Some of these are show-stoppers. I will not inflict this on my committee. It will not work for us. 

I asked, again, for a new Google Drive.


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