Veson Nautical Support Process

View Working with Veson Nautical documentation in the Help Center.

This document provides the guidelines and details on the Veson Nautical Support Process by which Software Support Analysts will perform their responsibilities and service clients.

Accessing Help

It is preferred that a client follows these steps before sending an issue to Technical Solutions:

1. Search help articles and tutorials provided in the Knowledge Base, which you can access in several different ways.
2. Release Notes are published regularly to detail improvements being made to the product. You can review by a specific date range or product area to see what's being improved.
3. Verify the issue with your local Project Owner, System Admin, Business Process Owner (BPO), or Super User.

Reporting Issues

We recommend submitting Veson Nautical support tickets through the Help Center, including all relevant issue details and attachments.

The Technical Solutions team will respond to support inquiries. If a case requires escalation, Veson Nautical follows the escalation protocol below.

Veson Nautical uses Atlassian Jira Service Desk as an issue tracking platform. During your implementation, our Project and Support Team personnel will provide an introductory training on how to best interact through this issue tracking platform.

Using the Help Center

Veson Nautical offers a centralized Help Center, through which clients can self-service with help articles and tutorials or contact support. For more information, see About the Help Center.

Using the Client Center

IMOS enterprise clients can log in to the Veson Nautical Client Center to access IMOS release, Distances release, and license file downloads. A reminder that all support issues and Knowledge Base materials are managed through the Help Center and not the Client Center.

Calling Veson Nautical Offices

As a full service support team, our doors are always open. If necessary, a phone call may be required. Please note that this is a secondary method of contact due to the absence of a tracking number. If this method is used, the customer still needs to submit a ticket via the Help Center or email. It is preferred that the customer sends this notification to ensure we have all the issue details necessary from the business. This ensures accountability and a documented communication path.

Issue Details

It is essential that Software Support Analysts gather the proper information necessary to resolve a customer inquiry. Below outlines the suggested criteria that all customers should provide to reduce resolution time for a given issue:

1. Category: Inquiry, Defect, Feature Request
2. Priority: 1, 2, 3, 4
3. Prod/Test: Is this a production issue or a test issue.
4. Version/Product: IMOS Version where issue exists or Veslink IMOS Platform
5. Frequency: How often does the issue occur? Does it occur across multiple scenarios? How many users?
6. Current Result: Briefly describe the issue and what the current result is.
7. Steps to Reproduce: Include vessel/voyage if possible, step by step list of how to reproduce the problem from a user perspective.
8. Expected Result: In addition to steps to reproduce, how does the customer expect the product to behave?
   *Screenshots: Preferred method is attaching or copy/pasting images into the Help Center. Another method is sending a MS Word or MS Excel document explaining steps to reproduce.
   *Special Instructions: Any extra detail regarding communication sent from Veson Nautical regarding the reported issue. Also, include any previous correspondent or discussions with another Veson Nautical employee (such as a consultant).

Processing & Resolving

Defects

Resource time for defects is not billable and falls under maintenance agreement.

• Priority 1: An Critical defect is an error that renders the software inoperative or causes such software to interrupt business processes. Such errors require immediate attention.
• Priority 2: A High defect is an error that substantially degrades the software or restricts a customer's use of the software. Emergency fixes for such issues are released to the customer as soon as possible depending on the severity expressed by the customer. There is typically no reasonable workaround.
• Priority 3: A Medium defect is an error that causes a minor impact on the customer's use of the software. A temporary workaround typically exists for a minor defect. Items are assigned for fixing in the next scheduled release and the client is notified.
• Priority 4: A Low defect is something simple such as a spelling error or a field name change. These, like minor defects, do not need immediate fixes. Items are assigned for fixing in a future release and the client is notified.

A defect is assigned to Development only after being evaluated by Software Support Analysts. Priority is set initially by the client in the Help Center and further discussed between Technical Solutions and the client. Once a defect is fixed, the case is assigned to Quality Assurance for testing.

Release

Clients are notified of the fix when it is available through the corresponding support ticket.

IMOS: Clients can use the Client Center to download their maintenance release.

Veslink IMOS Platform: Clients using VIP will see the changes directly within the platform per our Continuous Release process. See more here regarding Veson Nautical Policies.

Project Requests

As we plan our investment in new functionality, our Product Team evaluates feature requests against the following criteria – general applicability, size and complexity, and alignment with our existing strategy and roadmap. A Project Request would include a scenario where a client has a desire to collaborate with Veson Nautical resources extensively. This more robust collaboration requires additional requirements gathering & SME discussion. These can be reported through the Help Center.

• Redesign of major workflow
• New module or major functionality idea
• Interest to start collaborative project with Services (Project Management, Consulting) & Product (Design, Engineering).

Support and Suggestions

Resource time to examine Support and Suggestions are typically not billable. If issues indicate material time to research and respond, or the need for additional training or consulting, Technical Solutions may request permission from the client to proceed with billable efforts. For this process, reference the Veson Nautical Client Engagement Process.

• Support from a customer is regarding general use of IMOS, Veslink, or other products. If an inquiry transforms into a defect or feature request then they are processed as such. If an inquiry is identified as an opportunity for larger training investment, then Veson will request permission to discuss as a Project Request.
• Feature Suggestion We greatly value and appreciate feedback from our community. Please add your suggestion to our Feature Board where your idea will be visible to the public community for voting and comments. Click here to access the Feature Board
  While submission to the Feature Board does not guarantee or represent a delivery commitment, the Veson Product team reviews the most popular items on a regular basis. New features are selected and scheduled based on a number of factors, not just popularity.

Priority Setting

When the customer provides a suggested priority, the item is reviewed by Technical Solutions and priority set appropriately. Direct communication with the client ensures the expectations are correct. The below table provides common examples and mandatory response times.

Escalation Protocol

For Priority 1-A issues we recommend the normal issue submission process is followed including additional priority information to help us better handle your escalation. During non-business hours, after you submit your issue we recommend calling our 24 Hr Support Line and noting that you have submitted a critical issue. Our 24 Hour Support Line will escalate your issue according to priority and provide direct phone access if necessary. If you call our regional offices, you will be routed through our automated escalation system.

24 Hour Support Line: +1.617.723.2727