- Customer Name or Reference
- Priority
- Description of the problem and behavior
- Examples of the problem (Input, Output, and Desired Output)
- Countries, languages and processes/functions that are impacted
- Level of impact of the issue (percentage of affected records)
- Option settings
- Operating System, version
- Loqate API release version
- Loqate Data release version
Definitions
Type
A Defect is:- A failure of the software to perform to a documented functional or performance standard
- An unexpected termination event
- A degradation of the supplied input data with report codes that indicate correct output
- A failure to verify correctly formatted and standardized input data which exists in the reference dataset
- A request to process particular input data, unless the output to that process for the given input data falls under the definition of a defect
- A request to process particular input data where that record does not exist within the reference dataset
Priority
Critical Priority is used to identify a critical defect in a production environment. The customer cannot use the Product and there is a critical impact on the customer’s operations which requires an immediate solution. High Priority is used to identify a major defect. The customer can use the Product, but an important function is not available or the customer’s operations are severely impacted. Medium Priority is used to identify a minor defect. The customer can use the Product with some functional restrictions, but it does not have a severe or critical impact on the customer’s operations. Low Priority is used to identify a minor defect that is not significant to the customer’s operations. The customer may be able to circumvent the problem.Other Definitions
Reference Dataset - The integrated third-party data set used to provide a definitive source to verify input data. For address verification this is often sourced from the relevant Postal Authority. Different reference datasets have different strengths and weaknesses, fields such asOrganization, PostBox, PremiseNumber, Thoroughfare, SubBuilding, Building, PostalCode, etc., may be either unavailable or only partially populated.
Acceptance Level - Required since, as an expert system, it may be necessary to make a determination to have more common input data structures process successfully at the expense of less common structures. This applies to data processing changes, and requires that at least 80% of the changes due to a particular update are improvements.
Case Handling
| Stage | Actions |
|---|---|
| Investigation | Determine whether the submitted information is correct, internally consistent, and complete. Update case subject if relevant to provide a meaningful description of the issue. Determine the type of the submitted case (Defect, Enhancement, or Question). Set the Support Engineer. If Defect or Enhancement, make an initial determination of Category and communicate results of investigation with customer. If Question, gather required information and respond to customer, then update status to Closed. |
| Replication | Attempt to replicate the reported issue. Communicate with customer until such point as replication is possible. If Enhancement, record in Development Project Planning system and update status to Future. Communicate stage findings with customer. |
| Defect Research and Workaround (if applicable) | Research the background to and reasons for the Defect, re-categorizing as necessary. Determine whether a workaround for the Defect can be provided. Communicate stage findings with customer. |
| Determination of Defect Solution | Determine a solution candidate to the Defect. Communicate candidate solution with customer if desired. |
| Testing of Defect Solution | Test the candidate solution against the test acceptance level. Communicate test criteria and results with customer if desired. Determine whether the candidate solution is satisfactory, or whether another candidate (and possibly re-categorization) is required. If so, return to previous stage. |
| Supply of Defect Solution (Patch if applicable) | If the selected solution does not completely solve the reported case(s) then a new case should be created from the unsolved items and the case number reported to the customer. Communicate with customer whether a patch is possible or an upgrade to a newer version of the software is required. Update case status to Closed. |
Case Responses
| Case Type | Response Time |
|---|---|
| Question | As soon as possible |
| Critical Priority Defect | Refer to your Service Level Agreement |
| High Priority Defect | Refer to your Service Level Agreement |
| Medium Priority Defect | Refer to your Service Level Agreement |
| Low Priority Defect | Refer to your Service Level Agreement |
| Enhancement | Integrated into product development plan to be made available in a future release based on prioritization. Completed enhancements requests will be reported in the release notes accompanying each software release. |