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MetaQuest adds Web support to popular Technical Support Toolset
- Triage 1.1 automatically packages client application for technical support Web sites
- New features facilitate easy integration with vendor applications
- Expanded control of data collection and analysis improves diagnostic process
MONTREAL, Canada, May 26,
1998 -- MetaQuest Software, Inc. today announced
general availability of Triage 1.1, a significant upgrade
to its popular Diagnostic Software Environment. Designed
specifically for software vendors, Triage automatically
collects all the information needed to correctly diagnose
technical support problems, including installation or
configuration problems. Introduced to the technical
support market earlier this year, Triage is a
customizable toolset that enables developers to bundle
an application-specific reporting tool
with their software products. Among the new features is
the ability to automatically package the Triage Client
application for web-based technical support. From the
vendor's web site, this self-extracting package enables
customers to automatically run an audit of their system
when a software problem occurs. Based on a profile
specified by the vendor, Triage collects only the
information relevant to the vendor's application. Triage
1.1 runs on Windows 95 and Windows NT. Commercial and
trial versions may be downloaded from the MetaQuest web
site at www.metaquest.com. Quantity-one pricing is USD
$795 per user license. Contact MetaQuest directly for
more information.
"Accurate reporting tools
play an important role in problem management and in
keeping technical support costs down," said Ralph
Akhras, president of MetaQuest. "By automating the
process of gathering diagnostic information, these tools
circumvent the need to spend hours on the phone to
accurately identify problems, and therefore cut support
costs dramatically. Many software vendors, however,
defeat this purpose by relying on in-house tools that are
time consuming to develop and maintain. With Triage,
vendors have the unique opportunity to buy a powerful
diagnostic software environment that is easily customized
for their product lines rather than build one that is
specific to a single application. In doing so, they save
valuable time and money both from an internal and
external technical support perspective."
What's New
in 1.1:
- Facilitated
Web Support. New Save option in Triage Wizard
automatically packages the client application for
web distribution. The self-extracting client
package is compressed to less than .5 Mb. In
addition, a generic HTML download page for Triage
is automatically generated for the vendor, which
can be customized as needed. A single click on
the vendor's support site is all that is required
for a customer to provide the configuration
information needed. The Triage Client package is
automatically downloaded, extracted, and run. An
audit report is then e-mailed to the vendor for
analysis.
- Command-line
Argument Support in Triage Client. This
feature enables easy integration with vendor
applications. It also allows vendors to invoke
Triage automatically, whether remotely or from a
script.
- Expanded
Data Collection. Vendors can now specify
drive information, loaded modules, running
applications, and memory usage in their profile.
In addition, vendors can also specify whether
network drives or CD ROMs should be searched for
dependent files.
- New
Filters for Data Analysis. Triage Analyzer
now contains filters to screen out information
that is unlikely to have caused the reported
software problem - for example, the customer's
file location for the main Windows directory may
be on a different drive than that of the vendor.
This file location attribute can be filtered when
viewing differences between a working
configuration and a problem one. Individual
filters may be set permanently, used on an adhoc
basis, or turned off completely. This speeds the
analysis process significantly, and provides more
control over the relevant data.
- Performance
Improvements. Large Triage audit reports now
load faster in Triage Analyzer.
- Support
for Compressed Triage Files. Triage Client
can automatically compress audit reports for
email distribution, while preserving the original
ASCII format for those systems that need it. The
analyzer automatically loads and decompresses
compressed audit reports.
- Print
Enhancements. From the analyzer, Triage now
supports the printing of reports in a familiar
tree format. Also new is the ability to print the
current screen display.
- Miscellaneous
Enhancements. Among several miscellaneous
enhancements is the ability –within the
analyzer - to ignore files residing in the
non-active operating system, as well as the
ability to customize color schemes for
highlighting discrepancies found during the
analysis process.
Background Information -
How Triage Works:
The Triage Diagnostic Software Environment includes three
components: a wizard, a client application and an
analyzer. Each serves a specific purpose in streamlining
the problem diagnosis process.
Triage Wizard:
Triage Wizard enables vendors to build a profile for
their application quickly and easily. This profile is a
simple ASCII file that specifies everything a vendor
needs to find out about a customer's machine
configuration in order for the application to install and
run smoothly. Typical specifications include operating
system, hardware configuration, environment variable
settings, registry entries, and the system and
application files installed. The application profile is
bundled with Triage Client, and distributed to the
customer as part of the vendor's product offering.
Triage Client:
Triage Client is used in two ways:
- Vendors
use Triage Client to prepare reference reports
for all the configurations that their application
supports, i.e., US English Windows 95, French
Windows NT, etc. These reference reports
represent working configurations that will later
be used by Triage Analyzer. Reference reports can
be created in advance, or on the fly when needed
to solve a problem.
- Customers
run Triage Client to automatically perform an
audit of their machine configuration when a
problem occurs. Triage Client returns an audit
report containing only the information requested
per the criteria in the application profile. From
the vendor's web site, customers need only click
a single button to initiate a download of the
self-extracting client package, which then
automatically performs the audit and returns the
report to the vendor. If Triage is accessed from
the vendor's distribution CD or diskettes,
customers are prompted to e-mail the audit report
to the vendor for analysis. This is the extent of
the customer interaction required to facilitate
the information-gathering process.
Triage Analyzer:
Vendors use Triage Analyzer to pinpoint problems quickly
and easily. Triage Analyzer works by comparing a
customer's audit report (problem configuration) with the
reference report for the appropriate working
configuration for the application.
Triage Analyzer scans the report
data, and displays any discrepancies found in a familiar,
graphical-type browser. Problem areas are highlighted,
and may typically include items like a missing DLL, the
wrong version of a particular file, etc. With problems
quickly identified, vendors can then move on to determine
the best course of action to fix them.
Motherhood
MetaQuest Software, Inc. develops and markets solutions
for software development and technical support. The
Company's products are targeted at software development
organizations that require the flexibility to customize
tools to meet their unique development needs. Products
include Census, a defect tracking system for the
Microsoft Windows environment, and Triage - an innovative
solution to reduce the prohibitive costs associated with
technical support.
MetaQuest, Census, and Triage
are trademarks of MetaQuest Software, Inc. Microsoft,
Windows, Windows NT and Access are either trademarks or
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries. All other company
or product names mentioned are the trade or service marks
of their respective owners.
For More
Information Contact:
MetaQuest Software Inc.
416 de Maisonneuve West, Suite 401, Montreal, Quebec H3A
1L2
Tel: 514-341-9113
FAX: 514-341-4757
Internet: info@metaquest.com
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