HOW TO REQUEST AN ENHANCEMENT (PENDO FEEDBACK/RECEPTIVE)

How to request a new feature for the ZIMS application and how to search for and vote on improvements (enhancements) suggested by other members.

Contact support@Species360.org

Topics Covered

Bug versus Enhancement

A Bug is something that is wrong in the ZIMS application. Typically, Bugs mean:

ZIMS does not function as designed
You cannot get part of your work done
The data appears to be incorrect
Submit these to support@Species360.org
They may decide your request is an Enhancement and ask you to submit as such

An Enhancement is an idea or suggestion that will help make ZIMS work better for you by:

Making data entry faster
Making data entry easier
Adding desired functionality and data fields
These are submitted right through ZIMS!

Pendo Feedback (formerly called Receptive) is a third-party software created specifically for feedback management. Pendo Feedback allows ZIMS Users to submit enhancements, vote for their favorites and prioritize those they have voted on. It allows the ZIMS Enhancements to be transparent for all Users to view and lets Species360 know what is important to our members.

To get into Pendo Feedback simply select “Suggest Features” under the Start menu or…

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Click on “Suggest Features” on the right-hand side of the ZIMS dashboard.

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Mini Dashbaord

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Full Dashboard

We selected the arrow to open the full dashboard.

There is a Search box that allows you to search for Enhancements that have been submitted.
You can filter by Husbandry/Aquatics, Studbook or Medical requests. Above we have selected to filter by Husbandry/Aquatics
If a filter is selected, you have the option to Collapse it. If Collapsed the filter (2) no longer displays but filtering continues. If Collapsed, you have the option to Expand the filter to view it again.
Selecting Reset Global Filters will clear any Product Area filters selected.
You can submit an Enhancement suggestion here. But wait!
The most recent released Enhancements will display here. To see a list of all released Enhancements, select All Releases. The list will also display when it was Released.
The Enhancements you have voted on display here. You can view the details by selecting the Title hyperlink. The current Status also displays. Use the slide bars to set your desired Priority. Remember as you increase the Priority of one, the others will decrease. They cannot all be top Priorities. Selecting to See your previous choices lets you look at Enhancements you had voted on where you may have changed your mind or may have been released or declined
Here you can view the Enhancements Suggested by others. You can vote on them here (thumbs up), note you are not interested (Zzzz), view the details (more on that later) and note the current Status.
Whenever you want to get back to the Dashboard select this icon.
To see a list of released Enhancements, select this icon. The list will also display when it was Released.
To see what is planned and what is being built select this icon. Once opened, you can view the details by selecting the name hyperlink, vote for it or say you are not interested.
To get back in to ZIMS select this icon.

If you want to view all the details of the Enhancement select the Title hyperlink.

The Enhancement title, number, submitter and detailed description displays at the top
You can add a comment in the Discussion box.
View the comments that others have added.
The current status displays
You can vote on it, indicate you are not interested in it and subscribe to it. Subscribing means you will receive emails if the status changes.
You can see how many people have voted on it.

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Making a Submission

Now you are ready to make a suggestion. Below is an example. This User would like to be able to add floor plans to an Enclosure record, so they submitted a new request with their single vote.

However, if you had first searched for related requests, trying various terms, you would have found a request for “Add Image to Enclosures” has already been submitted.

Once you confirm that your idea has not already been suggested, select the Make a Suggestion button. When you start typing, Pendo Feedback will look for possible matches. Only the top 3 will display here, that is why you should use the more detailed Search first. If your idea happens to be one of the top 3 found, select the “I Want This” button – no need to submit a new one!

If it is not one of the top 3, complete the title and scroll down.

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Enhancement Review

When your request is submitted it is reviewed by Species360:

• Duplicate? If so, you will be notified that your vote was added to the original submission

• Is the request clear? If not, you will get an email asking for clarification

• Should it be Accepted or Declined? (more on Declined later)

Sometimes it may be Accepted but the title changed. Having looked at over 2,500 suggested Enhancements, we have an idea what terms are commonly used. Your title may be changed to use terms that will allow other Users to find it quicker.

The following are definitions for the various statuses:

• Not Reviewed - This is the default status of new submissions

• Awaiting Feedback - The request has been reviewed and accepted

• Planned - The request has been approved for future development

• Building - The request is in active development

• Released - The request has been released!

• Declined - The request will not be done

Submissions may be Declined for various reasons:

• It breaks a ZIMS Business Rule and may not be logical

• ZIMS already does it and we will let you how to do it

• Already Submitted, we will add your vote to the initial request

Please resubmit if you believe the request was misinterpreted or if you feel strongly enough and can justify the need.

How we decide which Enhancements to develop:

From User Feedback – Popularity is the number of User votes a submission receives. Take the time to Vote for your favorites! Priority is pulled from User prioritizations. It is important to prioritize your requested features because that helps us determine what requests are of the most value to our Users.

There are two reports that we can run – one on Value and one on Popularity. The results are seldom the same. Reviewing both of these reports will help guide us for any future Enhancement development.

From Developer Feedback - Effort is the amount of time/number of developers needed to develop the feature. Value is the benefit the Enhancement would be to our members. The best-case scenario is the Effort is low but the Value is high. If it is a high Effort but determined to be of low Value, it will probably not get done.

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Revised 5 March 2025