At Total Synergy, we recognise that the best ideas often come from the people who use our product regularly. The Total Synergy Community serves as an interactive platform where users can share experiences, exchange ideas, and provide feedback with each other and directly to the Total Synergy team. It also provides Total Synergy customers with a unique opportunity to provide feedback on new products, features and functionality that we look at developing.
SynergyPIM (released in October 2023) is a Project Information Management Add-on which was spearheaded by Head of Product Strategy Paul Hemmings in collaboration with the Total Synergy product team and most importantly with valuable insight and feedback from our Total Synergy customers. The Total Synergy Community allowed for the feedback to be centralised and accessible to the team and customers.
The product team actively engaged with Total Synergy Community members in the SynergyPIM group to understand the unique challenges users faced and to identify areas for improvement in the document and project information management area of Synergy. By tapping into the collective wisdom of the user base, Total Synergy gained a comprehensive understanding of diverse perspectives, ensuring that the SynergyPIM solution caters to the evolving needs of its users.
The included version is a basic file manager, with a simple transmittal system attached (available with core product). The pain points the team were asked to address via the Community included i) the data entry requirements for large drawing sets, ii) ease of updating new revisions, and iii) a more sophisticated transmittal system with a traditional Transmittal Summary grid.
Clients were asked what system they were currently using to manage their project information and how it was working for them. Based on this information, the product team created a development plan for SynergyPIM which was made public in Community to allow for transparency, understanding and trust building which reinforced the idea that Total Synergy values its customers as partners in the journey of product development.
“My ideal system would allow drag and drop of files to send to a contact, a responsive interface, a personal, simple and visually clean email without too much supplier branding received by the contact, download the file in single click, and allow for files to be deleted and/or unshared with a contact. Showing an audit log of all files downloaded on which date etc.”
As our Total Synergy Community expands, more decisions around functionality, features and product enhancement will be made using feedback and suggestions from our Total Synergy Community. For example, the January 2024 release includes custom payment terms for invoicing which was suggested through Community.
Total Synergy acknowledges and celebrates the contributions of its community members. Whether it’s a small usability enhancement or a game-changing feature inspired by user feedback, the team recognises and credits the community and all it’s users for their role in shaping the product.
