Just another WordPress Enthusiast
Minimize prep time for testing.
WordPress lives in a very complex ecosystem with many different setups and scenarios. When an issue is reported it is of course impossible to recreate the exact same environment for testing, and likely it is not even necessary. Having different test setups though can decrease the testing time, actually the setup time by minutes.
Unveil the mystery…Because the devil is in the detail.
Providing a good summary and and details of the issue can be half the solution. Here’s what helps.
Reveal the truth…Use the keyboard as much as you can.
Did you know that using the mouse slows you down? The moment you lift your hand from the keyboard to do some mousing you lost about one to two seconds. This is about the time you need to reach your mouse and then get back to your keyboard.
Reveal the truth…Sharing is caring. Even if it is only data.
Automate whatever you can! This will save you the most time.
If you want to adopt only one thing from this series, then I would recommend this one. Automating processes, replies, and basically whatever you can is probably the best time saver. In this post I’m focusing more on what can be automated in a support exchange. Of course if you zoom out and take a look at support processes for example, there is a wide range of opportunities there as well.
Unveil the mystery…Best way to resolve a conflict is finding the roots first.
After being up-to-date this is probably the second thing the support agent will ask you to do.
It will help you get closer to the source of the issue. You can find out whether the issue is actually with the plugin in question, is the issue caused by another conflicting plugin, the theme you are using, or maybe some custom code in the theme.
Uncover the secret…You better know what you are doing.
A lot of support exchanges start with some kind of a conflict testing.
“Switch of all plugins, switch to a default theme, yadda yadda yadda”.
But sometimes it is totally useless and does not and will not produce results.
Unmask the monster…Make sure that WordPress, your plugins, and your theme is updated to the latest version.
Know what you are working with so you can refer to it faster.
This is the first set of tips for Support Agents in the Faster Support – For Both Sides series.
Uncover the secret…This year (2019) in September I participated at WordCamp Switzerland in Zürich. I applied with a talk about how a support exchange, and thus reaching a resolution can be made faster. And I thought it would make a great blog series.
Uncover the secret…