Archive for Nikki
I have been working at Four51 since March 2006 as the Business Analyst for the Technology Team. As the sole female representative of the team I take on the daily challenge of keeping the guys in line (just kidding, they’re great). It is my responsibility to gather requirements for the features included in each release. I also manage the release cycle, process customer suggestions and am the gateway for our sales and marketing teams to answer questions they have and get change requests to the tech team (so, maybe the guys are a little scary). I really enjoy the variety in my job and the fact that I get to work with many different people on a daily basis. Outside of work I am passionate about travel. If I’m not on an airplane every few months I get antsy and have to start planning my next trip. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Australia, China and Ireland outside of the US as well as most of the 50 states here at home. Along with travel I have picked up the joy of photography (although I’m definitely an amateur) and scrapbooking. When we’re in Minnesota my fiancé and I keep busy going to concerts, spending time with our friends, attending Twins games and volunteering in our community.
Will you be prepared?
Did you know that the Release 9 Beta Program started last week?!?! You also might like to know that (as my co-worker Vince put it) “Wow, we have done a lot for this release!”
Popularity: 73%
Extra! Extra! Read all about it: Four51 Coupons Coming Soon!
There is excitement brewing in the Four51 Customer base as people anticipate the arrival of Coupon and Gift Card functionality. This functionality will provide a convenient way to offer discounts to buyer users everywhere – both current customers and prospects!
Popularity: 39%
Four51 Application: What’s your order?
Did you know that one of the major factors the Four51 Product Development team considers as we decide what to include in the next major release is customer feedback?
Each week I receive a handful of suggestions ranging from:
“Can you add a report that shows us which users are assigned to a group?”
to
“My customers are asking for coupon functionality. Can you add that to the application?”
After reviewing the suggestions myself, I meet with the Product Development team where we first try to determine if there is a possible way to solve the problem with current functionality.
Popularity: 31%
Four51 Application: R8 Refresher
I know that things get to be a little crazier than usual around release time at Four51 and I’ll bet that may be the case for others of you as well. There is scheduled downtime to announce, training to complete and documentation to update, never mind actually implementing the cool (and helpful) new features!
It has now been about eight weeks since Release 8 was deployed so I decided to take a few minutes to compile a list of some of the features and provide a quick refresher.
Split Billing
Setup a buyer with a spending account and if the order total exceeds the account balance the user will be prompted to select another payment method to cover the difference.
Shipment Report
This report contains all shipping information that is entered on the seller interface including the quantity shipped, date shipped and tracking number.
Product Detail Spec Form
Enhance the buyer users’ experience by customizing some of the information on the product detail page per product.
Themes–Custom Error Page
Buyer sites with custom themes can now have a custom error page as well. Just be sure to include the necessary tokens so Four51 Support can assist you if problems arise!
Click here to find the Release 8 Release Notes which lists all the features that were included.
The technology team at Four51 has jumped right into tasks related to Release 9 and I’ll be back soon with updates!
Nikki
Popularity: 12%
Four51 Application: Release 8 is coming soon!
I am happy to announce that we have selected Thursday, June 19, 2008 as the evening that we will deploy the Release 8 code to production! The application will be unavailable from 10 pm CDT on Thursday, June 19, 2008 until 2am CDT on Friday, June 20, 2008 and when you arrive at work on Friday morning, you will have the latest and greatest available to you!
New features include:
* Split Billing
* Shipment Report
* Supplier Interface Enhancements
* SAP Punchout
* Spec Form Enhancements
If you have not logged onto our Staging environment yet to make sure your current processes still work as expected, please do! Be sure to submit comments, questions and feedback using the beta feedback form found on Access Four51.
Thank you,
Nikki
Popularity: 6%
Four51 App: Why you should participate in the Beta Program
We may be in the final weeks of preparation for our next major feature release, Release 8, but it’s not too late for you to participate in our Beta Program!
Some of you have already logged on to Staging to take a look at the new features but many of you have not. I am sure past participants could list plenty of reasons it is a good idea to take advantage of this opportunity (and please do in the comments if you’re willing to share), but for now I thought it might be helpful if I listed some of the benefits that I see of being a participant in this part of the process.
Why should you participate in the Beta Program?
* See the new features before they hit the live environment
* Identify if anything is changing for you or your buyers and communicate appropriately
* Update or create training materials as needed
* Confirm that your processes work as they currently do in the live environment
* Give feedback to Four51 which may initiate an update prior to the release date
We have created an area on Access Four51 to track all the important information about Application Updates. Once you are on the Release 8 page, you will find a link to logon to the Staging environment (a copy of production that we made so you could test with real data), the ability to download release notes and more detailed information about some of our new features. We even wrote up a sample test script to help you get started!
Also available within the Release 8 section is a feedback form. When you fill that form out, the message will be sent directly to me and I will get back to you with an answer.
Once we have confirmed a release date we will be sending out a communication and will also be updating Access Four51 so please stay tuned.
Thank you!
Nikki
Popularity: 6%
Four51 Application: Join us as a Beta Program participant
As you well know, the technology team works hard year-round to provide new features and enhancements to the Four51 application. At the end of each development cycle, we like to give a sneak preview of the new features to our customers and the time has come for the Release 8 Beta Program!
The beta program exists as a tool for communication about the upcoming changes and also as an opportunity for Four51 customers to take a look at the new features and enhancements before they are made available on the live environment. In the past, we have received valuable feedback during the beta program that has helped improve the final product that goes out on release night.
Do you want to be fully prepared for the new features and add to the overall quality of the release by providing feedback? If so, register for the kick-off webinar at which I will be presenting a demo of some of the key new features and explaining the full beta program!
The beta program kick-off is Wednesday, May 28th at 1PM CDT. Register here.
If you are unable to join the beta meeting on May 28th, a recording will be made available on Access Four51 the following Monday, June 2nd.
I look forward to your participation!
Nikki
PS If you missed the email we sent out earlier this week, check your spam folder and add us to your safe senders list. It’s important that you receive the Release messages in the coming weeks!
Popularity: 7%
Four51 Application: Are you prepared for Release 6?
Did you know that the next major release of features on Four51 is scheduled for this Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 8:30PM CDT? Well, you do now and if you haven’t begun the preparation process I’d like to help you get started!
Prepare for Release 6 by…
…logging on to the Staging Environment to review your current products and processes. Begin by using our test script if you’d like!
…navigating to Access Four51 and reading the important Notices so you can take any necessary action.
…reviewing the Release Notes to learn about the new features.
We have a section on Access Four51 that is completely focused on Release 6 Information. Look there for all the latest information both now and after the release!
If you have any questions, use the feedback form on Access Four51 and we will get back to you.
Thanks!
Nikki
Note: The application will be unavailable from 8:30pm CDT Thursday, October 4, 2007 until approximately 4:00am CDT Friday, October 5, 2007.
Popularity: 4%
Four51 Application: Release Notes are available for Release 6!
Hello everyone,
I wanted to take a couple minutes to make sure you were aware of the latest Release 6 Information. We have recently added Release Notes to the information that is available on Access Four51. Review this list to find out more information about all of the features that are going to be available after the release.
In addition, there is information about the Theme Management change that will happen with Release 6. Themes users are advised to look at this information because your process will change immediately following the release. You are given more control over creating, managing, and assigning themes and we think you are going to really enjoy that.
Not a Themes user? Even if you do not currently manage themes, you should review the notice because we’ve added a library of themes that you can assign to your buyer companies if you find one that you prefer over the standard default theme.
On another note…Do you ever wonder “What should I be testing in the Staging environment?” Well, we have created a one page test script that can be used as a guide to getting started on your testing. Obviously we cannot cover everything on one page, but it is a tool to get started and we hope it is helpful. Go to Access Four51 -> Four51 Application Updates and you will see a Staging Environment section there with a link to the test script.
Always check back to Access Four51 for the most up to date Release 6 Information.
Nikki
Popularity: 4%
Four51 Application: Announcing the Release 6 Beta Program Kick-Off
Do you like to…
* know about the latest and greatest Four51 features?
* ensure that your work process will continue seamlessly after the release?
* have input about how the Four51 application works?
If so, please join me for the Release 6 Beta Program kick-off. I will be presenting a demo on Wednesday, August 29th at 1:00 PM CDT and you’re invited! Come to the WebEx session to learn about new features included in our next major release including new reports, quick order entry, and theme management. After the kick-off demo, we will make an environment available for you to do testing in a copy of your live environment which will help give you peace of mind that the release will not affect your daily routine.
Click here to register for the kick-off and we’ll send you all the information.
Hope to talk to you on Wednesday,
Nikki
Popularity: 4%
