‘Why are there bugs in your software?’ is one of my least favourite questions

It’s not really a bad question and as a rather heavy user of software myself, I completely understand it. It’s just a little bit frustrating and tends to nag at me – sort of like when your mother keeps asking when she can expect her first grandchild.

I like to dream that we have faultless software that installs and runs like a finely tuned automobile. This lets me live on a beach and check my email which only contains suggestions for new features and enhancements. My computer never crashes, slows down or beeps at me for no apparent reason and my blender only makes perfect lime margaritas. Ahhhhh!

Back to reality – All software has bugs. Our software has some. Multi billion dollar corporations with hundreds of programmers and quality assurance staff have some. They are as inevitable as ants at a picnic. Even the software we use to write the RoomKey PMS software you use has bugs. We try very hard to create programs that work perfectly but it just doesn’t happen. I think it all boils down to the fact that people (who I think can also have software bugs) design software and people are not perfect.

Most of the random program features in our software are now due to the complexity of the RoomKey program. Some would argue that as a piece of software ages it should have fewer bugs. This is probably true to some extent. Programs written in prior years that have been in use for a while and have had most of their bugs removed, work pretty much as advertised. We run into some speed bumps in this theory when the software changes.

Change is a good thing. It keeps the software current and relevant. Change is necessary. Computer hardware changes constantly and the software must keep up. Business practises change over time and software must change to match. The more knowledge people have available, the more they want their software to keep track of it. Change presents some challenges to the programmers (which is also good).

Let’s look at RoomKey specifically. It was originally written a number of years ago. At first, it made reservations, checked people in and out, posted charges to their accounts and reported on all the above – Simple. Over time, it’s gotten a bit more sophisticated. A reservation alone now takes many factors into account. If you merely examine the rates portion of a reservation we need to look at:

1. client type
2. number of adults
3. number of children
4. date
5. number of nights
6. occupancy
7. room charge
8. Is it a package?
9. minimum nights restrictions on the rate
10. maximum nights restriction by date range
11. Groups…

The list goes on. As you can see, it is no longer a simple process and this is only one part of a reservation which is also only one part of the program. A calculation error in any one of these parameters, a typing mistake like ( or [ instead of {, an error in compiling thousands and thousands of lines of code or a sneezing fit while typing and bumping your keyboard (true story) leads to…. you guessed it…. a bug!

When you look at how complex the program has become, you can see that there are many ways for bugs to creep in there. The more complex the machine, the more things can go wrong with it. Luckily, there is a very dedicated team of programmers and support people here at RSI whose job it is to try and make sure the bugs go away and your experience is pleasant and productive.

Do we do a good job of debugging? I think so. Is it perfect? No, not yet but we’re working on it. The dream lives on.

Stay tuned for future posts including: Why does it take so long to fix some of these bugs?!

Do you feel that RoomKey PMS is running slow? Here is a list of things to check that may address the issue:

1. Check their Reservation Display: Systems Configuration > Property > Contacts / Preferences  (7 days is a good benchmark)
2. Reset your router
3. Install any Window’s updates
4. Inquire about any new anti-virus programs that may have been installed on the computer recently
5. Speak with your Internet Service Provider to verify if there are any issues at your specific location
6. Do you share your internet connection with guests?  If so, during high usage time your internet connection will run slow.  Consider setting up a separate internet feed for the Front Desk to prevent this from happening.
7. How old is your modem?  Sometimes older version modems, although connected to an excellent service provider, will run slowly.  Newer modems sometimes have functionality that helps enhance the features offered by your service provider, thus, helping maximize your speed.
8. Are you on wired or wireless?  If you are on wired, check the cable connected to your computer; is there any damage to the wire or frayed ends?  Damaged cables can affect you speed as well.
9. How old is the computer you are using?  Older computer are sometimes incapable of attaining the speed you want to reach.

Consult your on-site IT person or third party IT provider – they should be able to help you find the answers to all these questions.

Image Credit: PhotoMonkey

To ensure accurate billing upon check-out, always make sure a Folio Number is selected when creating a group using the Group Wizard.

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Therefore, if you need to create a guest reservation for a Group after the Group arrival date has passed, you must use the “New Res” button to create the reservation.

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To ensure you are capturing the data you need for this report, you can set up Mandatory Fields such as Address, State/Province, Zip Code/Postal Code.  This will stop the agents from leaving those fields blank when making a reservation.