Roadmaps

Each roadmap is presented as a visual Kanban-inspired board organized into columns containing features. Each column represents a different stage of development of the feature.

Incoming:

Items in this lane mean the enhancement/change has been fully understood (by Hornbill dev teams), has been documented, and is ready for inclusion in active development. These items are not yet under active development. In effect, these items are the pipeline of changes for the development teams. It takes quite a lot of effort around any feature request before it is ready to be added to the roadmap (see Requesting enhancements or features for inclusion in the Hornbill Roadmap). There is no specific time assigned for when an item in this lane will be moved to the 90-Day Commit lane; timing is dependent on numerous factors discussed in the Roadmap Inclusion Policy.

90-Day Commit:

Any item in this lane means the item is in the Hornbill development team’s planning window. Beyond scheduling, other things that happen in these 90 days include development team discussions, adding detail to design specifications, and development of prototypes. However, as the title of this lane suggests, what we are committing to is getting actual development work underway within 90 days of the item entering this lane.

In Progress:

Items in this lane are under active development. This means one or more developers are working on code, integration, testing, and iterative cycles of the same. In general, items here are likely on beta instances, are in some form or another in the product (pre-customer release), and are under active development. Sometimes it is possible for items to remain in this lane while we make the feature available to customers in preview. Being in preview means that a feature has been developed and is made generally available for customers to try out, typically by enabling it through a feature flag/option/preview button. For some changes, especially those that involve significant UI changes that will likely impact customers’ day-to-day use and/or workflows, we like to provide early access; this allows us to solicit feedback and suggestions that may help improve the change before we finally commit it to production.

Completed:

For items in this lane, the work has been completed by development and is now in the product. Items are kept in this lane for 90 days after completion, after which they drop out of the lane automatically. Keep in mind that, depending on the roadmap you are looking at, items in this lane shown as complete may have other dependencies, or require other applications or components to surface this capability. For example, we may implement a feature in the Hornbill ESP Platform that enables an application to implement something, say, a feature added to Email templates editor. But for you to see this feature, another application may also need to have changes made. We do not include internal items on customer-facing roadmaps so that customer-facing roadmaps remain meaningful; but it’s sometimes unavoidable that these things can bleed through from time to time.

Roadmap timelines for feature development

After asking for a roadmap, the next question is almost always “When will I get the things I asked for?” As is the case for any software company, there is no simple answer to that question. The official position is that we never apply — and we advise our customers NOT to expect — any service-level commitments on feature/enhancement requests. Of course, with our Customer First value held close to our hearts, we do our best to include as much, and develop as quickly, as we can. Hornbill is a broadly scoped solution, with complex and deep capabilities serving a wide range of our collective customer’s needs.

Technology and security landscapes are moving targets that we have to continuously adapt to. We have strategic, commercial, and competitive imperatives that we must meet, security posture evolution, and continuous improvements in terms of reliability and scalability. As well as all of those considerations, we also focus on delivering as much as we can to support individual customer needs.

Times between releases can be anything from days to months, depending on what we are doing, although we aim to keep release cycles for each product and application as small as possible. Once a week is a typical release cadence we prefer. So, the answer to the question, how long does it take to get my feature in the product is really “as soon as we can, given all of our other priorities”. Ultimately, if you have a business-critical need for something that is not in the product, then you should speak to us and we might be able to help, but in all honestly, we do not allow individual customer needs re-prioritize our roadmaps because it would be irresponsible and unfair on other customers to do so. So we are likely to respond with something along the lines of “in that case, perhaps Hornbill is not fit for purpose for your needs at this time”.

Roadmap Inclusion Policy

FAQs

I have asked for something to be added to the product on the forum and I have not had any response from Hornbill.

We do not commit to any specific service-level agreements for product enhancement requests. Please know that even if you do not get a response, by asking the question you will have raised awareness of your requirement internally at Hornbill. Try to follow the guidance above to improve the likelihood of getting a response and/or getting your ask included. If your issue remains unanswered and you feel it is business critical, then please talk to your account manager; we may need to recognize that Hornbill is not able to meet your specific business needs at this time.

Why is there no movement in the roadmap items?

The latest roadmap for respective products is distributed to your instance each time the product or application is released to the ‘live’ stream. It is possible for the delivery of features to be one release out of sync, simply to do with a combination of timing and general roadmap content management. The roadmap provides insight as to what’s coming, and what’s already been delivered. The timestamps on the card indicate the date/time the card makes it into its current lane.

I noticed that a card not seen before appeared in the Complete column.

This can happen when a request doesn’t start on the left-most lane. It is common that, as we are developing our strategic roadmap or addressing usability issues, security issues, or other unplanned changes, that encounter items that we consider “roadmap noteworthy”. In such cases, we will add a card to the roadmap, implement it, and move it to Complete before the next release of that product/application. What want all “roadmap noteworthy” changes to make it into the Complete column so you can see what has been delivered.

As a significant Hornbill client, we’ve encountered a critical business need that isn’t currently addressed by Hornbill. Is it possible to adapt the product to meet this requirement?

At Hornbill, we value feedback and the needs of all our customers, regardless of size. We strive to balance individual requests with the overall strategic direction and benefit to our entire customer base. While we carefully consider every request, including those from our larger clients, our commitment is to ensure that any modifications or enhancements we make to our product are in the best interest of all our users. We’re always keen to explore how we can meet your business-critical needs and invite you to share your requirements with us. Together, we can discuss potential solutions or workarounds that align with our product roadmap and serve the wider Hornbill community.

If our organization is open to funding specific development of product features, can Hornbill accommodate tailored development of product features to meet our specific/urgent needs?

At Hornbill, we’re dedicated to meeting our customers’ needs and are open to discussions about how we can support your unique business requirements. While we primarily focus on delivering features that benefit all our customers and align with our strategic roadmap, we do offer bespoke development and consulting services. These services are designed to address your specific needs either directly through Hornbill or via our extensive partner network. Our aim is to find the best solution that aligns with your goals without deviating from our core product strategy. In cases where bespoke development can contribute to the broader utility and customizability of our platform, we might integrate such enhancements into our product. This approach ensures that we continue to evolve Hornbill in a way that benefits all users while addressing specific customer needs through tailored solutions.

I’m quite busy and don’t have the time to participate in the Hornbill user community. Is it possible to contact my Hornbill account manager to submit a feature request instead?

We understand that your time is valuable, and we aim to make our support and feature request processes as efficient as possible. For feature requests, we encourage using the Hornbill Forums. This approach ensures that your ideas are openly discussed and thoroughly evaluated by both the community and our product teams. Direct requests to account managers or through support tickets are redirected to the forums to ensure transparency and to foster community engagement. This method helps us in gathering comprehensive details and understanding the context of each request accurately. We’ve found that this collaborative approach significantly enhances our ability to make informed decisions about product development. For guidance on effectively submitting a feature request and increasing its chances for inclusion, please refer to our Work with us section. Our goal is to maintain a clear and open channel of communication with our users, ensuring that every suggestion is considered with the attention it deserves.

Why do roadmap items in the Complete column not show which release each item is associated with?

Our roadmap is designed to showcase the progress of engineering tasks, both ongoing and completed. Due to the nature of our release process, which is carefully structured through a four-stage pipeline, it’s challenging to assign a fixed release number to each completed item immediately. This is because any given build in our pipeline might be delayed or revised if it encounters testing or validation issues. Such delays can vary, affecting when a completed item is officially released. To find out precisely which features or updates have been included in a specific build or version, the best resource is our product release notes. These notes (also available in our Solution Center) are meticulously updated to include details on the features, changes, and fixes in each build. They serve as a comprehensive guide to what’s new and improved in every version of our product, ensuring you have the most accurate and up-to-date information. We understand how important it is for you to stay informed about the latest developments and enhancements to our product. That’s why we’re committed to providing clear, detailed release notes alongside our roadmap, helping you navigate and make the most of our evolving solutions.