Customer-Centric Software Development

At WebTMS we’re proud to say that customer service is in our DNA. We’re always on hand with help and advice from a friendly team that thrives on building and nurturing relationships with all our users. However, the benefits extend beyond satisfied customers – our open client feedback approach informs our product roadmap, ensuring the long-term evolution of WebTMS aligns with our clients’ needs.

We’ve recently launched several exciting updates to our flagship IP management software, so this is a great time to catch up with the team behind them and learn more about how client ideas become product features.

Richard Crookes is WebTMS Support Manager and Senior Software Developer, and you can see immediately from his job title how customer support and product development are closely linked. Richard has been with WebTMS from the start, so few people know the software and its users better. We talked to Richard to learn more about the latest update.

What’s new in the latest WebTMS release?

The latest release includes a range of additions and modifications. Clients can view the full list of enhancements by visiting the Manuals section on their dashboard and searching for ‘Latest Features.’

We’ve upgraded our Patent Module to the WebTMS Infinity interface to improve usability and customisation, so users can browse, search and edit records even more seamlessly. We’ve also added a ‘Batch Extend’ Wizard allowing users to select Actions within records and extend their dates by the required amount in a single click. Another new feature is the ‘Create from’ button in several modules, meaning users can create new records from existing ones that automatically link to parent records.

Importantly, in this release, we’ve made some accessibility adjustments to improve our customer experience.

In the User Profile settings, under User Details, you can configure new settings to improve your experience while using WebTMS.

The Overlay Colour is the first of the new settings options (along with overlay strength) which allows you to apply one of eight new overlays to the screen. These overlay colour options have been chosen to allow you to adjust the appearance of the WebTMS screen, enhancing colour contrast and making it easier for you to read. The list of colours can be expanded, so if you feel a specific colour would be particularly useful, reach out to us at [email protected].

The Scrollbar Width Factor option allows you to adjust the width of every scrollbar on WebTMS by up to 4x. This setting will be particularly useful to those who find the scrollbar to be too narrow and difficult to use, and those on high DPI screens where the width of the scrollbar just isn’t enough.

How will these benefit WebTMS customers?

These updates help our clients work easier and faster, while supporting their day-to-day workflow. For example, the “create from” change means that when you need to create a new dispute from an existing trade mark you can create the dispute and fill the basic information in one quick process. Previously a user would need to leave the trade mark module, click into Disputes, click Add, enter the basic information, click to confirm, and then go down and link the trade mark to that record. The new approach saves a huge amount of time, but it also automates the process ensuring that the correct trade mark is linked and other basic information copied over, reducing the chance of errors.

Another change that is in this patch allows users to move selections of actions forward by an amount of time. This is useful in modules like disputes, where you may have to move several such actions at once. Making this a batch function means our clients no longer have to enter each action separately and move them on one at a time.  

The changes in this patch improve the day-to-day experience of using the system, reducing clicks, making workflows more intuitive and efficient. All our patches are included free of charge for any users that have an active subscription to the WebTMS system.

How does the WebTMS team decide which new features to focus on in each release cycle?

We have a hybrid approach to how we prioritise the new features for the system. We have a roadmap of items which we are intending to improve or add. In conjunction to this roadmap, we have a list of client-proposed new features. As we are preparing the patch development list, we review the proposals to see if any of the suggestions are in sections of the system we are intending to improve or are linked to them. If so, they are promoted to development.

We also look at if there are particular improvements being requested by different clients over the patch period, as this usually is the best indicator of an improvement we can make. In the latest release, both the Batch Advance, and the CSV Import were requests we had received from a number of clients.

How can clients get in touch to suggest new features or changes they’d like to see?

The best way to contact us in almost any case is using the [email protected] email, as this ensures that it is seen by all our support staff. If there is already an option or method in the system that meets the client’s needs the support staff will be able to advise them of this; if there is not, then the suggestion will be entered into our internal proposal list.

Why is the WebTMS-customer relationship so important to the product’s success?

It is a point of pride in the company that we are considered to have some of the best support and best client relationships in the business. We listen to what our clients like about the system and what they believe could be improved, and by doing so we are able to better meet the needs they have from the software. Our clients trust us to look after them, and because they trust us, they are happy to tell other people about their experiences with us. They know that while we may not be able to include every request in the system, we will listen to every request and try our best to incorporate them where possible.

How do you help customers get to grips with new features?

We always kick off a new patch release with a direct customer communication and at least one webinar to explain what is coming. The webinar is then broken down into sections, recorded, and placed on our manuals site, which is accessible from the manuals link in the system. We also add any new manuals we have created to the site at this time. Finally, our support staff are available to provide help and advice if a client has further questions.

Have you got an idea for a new WebTMS feature or improvement you’d like to see? Richard and the team would love to hear from you. Just get in touch via [email protected].