Well... What happens? Does ever a pair of real eyeballs see your error report?

I know myself, that in Windows Vista, WHEN an error occurs and I'm prompted to report it to Microsoft, I find myself thinking "As if anyone is ever going to read this! It will probably just get added to the pile of millions of errors they get, and I'll never hear about it. If I'm lucky, a robot will read it and laugh at my poor spelling, or poke fun at my usage of the word 'thingy' or 'doodad'..."

But is that how you feel when a HelpMaster Pro error report prods you to fill in the little box and click "Send to PRD"? I hope not. We haven't hired any robots, although some of us do chuckle at the descriptions of thingies and doodads that come in!

Here is the general breakdown of what goes on when we receive an Unexpected Error report.

It firstly lands in the PRD Support Inbox.

Then, Email Manager, like a good and faithful slave, does the following:

• Reads the Subject line to establish that it is an Error Report
• Checks which version of HelpMaster Pro it refers to.
• Logs it as a job in HelpMaster Pro.
• Assigns it to the relevant support or development personnel.
• Emails the sender in some cases to let them know a job has been logged.
• Emails the new Assignee to let them know they have a new job.
• Marks the email as read and moves it to a "Processed" folder.
• Makes a double-shot flat white for me. (Not really...I made that up!)

Phew... I'm glad the Email Manager does all of that for us! This would take hours to handle just a few emails!

Next, the new assignee will gleefully go through the error report with a fine-toothed comb, then check any details against our database of previous jobs to see if this has been reported before, and if so, if it has had a resolution.

Lastly, the resolution is provided with a smile by email or phone. This is also logged as an Action or Progress Notes in HelpMaster Pro.

If no resolution can be found, we may ask for further details of what lead up to it, along with any screen shots of 'thingies' and 'doodads'.

We will try to reproduce the error by testing on various operating systems, SQL Server setups, Mail Clients (don't worry, we do this for femail clients too!) and other system variables. When we find a way to reproduce the error, it will be assigned to the development team to be sorted. They will take the bug into a small dark room with a big, bright blue light, and... you know the rest. (read Peabeau)

By dutifully filling in the little box and clicking send, you ensure that any bugs are sorted out, you keep our Support staff busy, and you keep the Email Manager... well... Managing Emails!

If you actually like the idea of robots reading your emails (and laughing at your grammar... and grampa too), then make sure you read the thread "A Robot Read My Email!" under the "Email Manager" heading in the discussion board.