What improvements are coming in MyRoute-App?

[Gary France]

I read some time ago that MRA were going to produce a list of features they were going to include in the future, based upon users suggestions. Did that ever happen and where can I find it?

Also, I think I signed up to get the newsletter, but I don't recall seeing one. Does that exist, or did I dream I signed up for it?

[Hans van de Ven MR.MRA]

@Gary-France said in What improvements are coming in MyRoute-App?:

features

Hi Gary,

Behind the scenes, the developers are working hard on the new features, some things just take a bit longer if there are unexpected things planned.
Yes there is a newsletter, it is sent regularly, I believe 4 times a year.

So please be patient.

[Gary France]

Hello Hans. Thanks, but that answer really didn't help me. I run a motorcycle tour company and I am about to plan 98 whole days of riding for 2022 and as you can imagine, that is a huge amount of work. I need to urgently make a decision if I should carry on using Basecamp, or wait until the new features being discussed are added to MRA. But my problem is MRA said it would publish a list of future changes, so we could see what was coming. That was very encouraging, but either that list has not been published, or I cannot find it. Being told to be patient is not helpful when some of us have critical business decisions to make based upon what MRA has said it will do. So, please, if you could answer my question, that would help me greatly. "I read some time ago that MRA were going to produce a list of features they were going to include in the future, based upon users suggestions. Did that ever happen and where can I find it?" If it has not been publish, just say so! Thanks, Gary.

[Drabslab]

@Gary-France Hai Gary, I am a regular visitor on this forum and I haven't seen any list either, so it is not there yet. I do know that an improvement (Height indicator) has been released lately and I was told that MRA is planning regular improvements and updates from now on.

However, that doesn't help you a lot, I realise.

Man, planning 98 days of riding ... that is something!!!

[Gary France]

@Drabslab It is getting to be a bit frustrating. Currently planning a days touring in MRA takes about three times as long as in Basecamp, due exclusively to having to work out the timings of all the stops points by manually. Then, if you make a change, you have to work it all out again. I am having to type out in a spreadsheet - all the waypoint names, the days start time, all the riding times, all the stopped times at various waypoints, to arrive at real times of day (you know, the thing that all of us use all the time). The software could do this in nano-seconds! It is such a basic feature missing from MRA that I am beginning to wonder if this software was ever meant for anyone other than a casual weekend rider just out for a simple days ride. Gary.

[Drabslab]

@Gary-France I perfectly understand.

At least I know for sure it is on the suggestion list: https://forum.myrouteapp.com/topic/225/the-great-suggestion-list?page=1

MRA started as a hobby project by a single hobbyist programmer and was called Tyre. over the years it grew to become MRA, web based instead of PC based, multi map instead of only google... I must admit, there were some features in Tyre that, at least in my memory, were better in Tyre than today in MRA (but then that's memory which often contains a part of fantasy).

All together, if I look what MRA does today and compare it to Tyre, Basecamp, TomTom Mydrive ... and several web based routing systems I can't but conclude that MRA is the best and I can't but admire the massive progress made over the years.

Which doesn't mean it is perfect!!! I have my own pet missing feature (the ability to download all my routes to my pc once a year for backup purposes) that stops me from bulk transferring all the routes I drove over the last 20 years or so. I admit that your missing feature is also high on my list.

Honestly, with my experience in IT, I would not wait and put my work at risk of that any feature being ready on time. Usually, it will not be available on time (IT development always largely exceeds whatever is budgeted).

I would start on my 98 days (My god, that sounds like an awful lot) in basecamp if this is the only realistic option for now. Perhaps you could first do a rough, easy to transfer, work set first so that if the miracle would happen soon enough, the rest could be done with MRA?

[Gary France]

Yes, I have already decided to plan the 98 days of touring in Basecamp, which is a real shame, as I like the look of MRA, but without the real time calculations, it takes too long to be continually making those time calculations manually. Basecamp too has its faults, but they are mainly centred around its ease of use, especially for new users. That is where MRA has an advantage, but at present it isn't comprehensive enough to be considered a serious player. Maybe one day it will, but when I read things like you said "the ability to download all my routes to my pc once a year for backup purposes" that is extremely worrying, as without a backup, if MRA fails and shuts up shop, big users could possibly lose years of work. I therefore feel your pain. My routes are so valuable to me, I back mine up every week.

All of this is a real shame, as just producing lists like the one you pointed to is just a suggestions list, with no real indication about what will or wont be included. Sure I get it that the developers don't want to make promises they cannot deliver, but that doesn't really help the most important people - the end users. By saying 'Show and possibly edit times for each waypoint' on the suggestions list means to me waiting for something that might or might not happen at some future point in time is, well, to be honest, completely useless. What we need is a commitment, not a vague 'maybe'.

It must be just as frustrating for MRA themselves, because they must see that many riders have lots of time recently and at the moment, due to not being able to ride much, but they can plan future rides - there must be a lot of that going on, but MRA must realise they have already missed this opportunity to get the next version out there to please users, instead of possibly driving them away onto more complete products.

Hey ho, they must know what they are doing, but the recent price lowering must be a concern for many, as it indicates MRA might need income at speed. It is silly really, but all MRA have to do is give some confidence back by actually saying what their plans are / what is coming in order to restore confidence in their users. It would give us all such a boost. In the meantime, I am starting my 98-day task on Basecamp.

Okay, all of this might sound a bit negative, but believe me, I really want to support MRA and use their product, but there are too many unknowns at the moment, which is a real shame, as it did look at one stage as they had an approach that was refreshingly new.

[Hans van de Ven MR.MRA]

@Gary-France

Hello Gerry,

I just want to respond or your story, which I find a bit negative ...

I too am an end user, one of the first hours, and I have also submitted wishes in recent years and some of them have been implemented and some (not yet).
The reason, MRA is set up in 1st insancy as a general route planner that is suitable for every navigation system.
With the associated benefits of:
-the route calculations of the 3 different map suppliers (Here, TomTom & OSM),
-have Google streetview directly available in your route editor,
-Creating groups, very suitable for clubs and tour operators,
-Creating events (open and closed) to which you can immediately invite a group,
-Creating a travel story / blog as a reminder of your travels

Of course there are always wishes about each user has his own wishes and working method, I was also a Basecamp user who used the Waypoints and the calculation method behind it, and yes I also submitted a ticket for that.

I have learned a different way of working that is completely based on MRA, yes I have to calculate how long we are on the road, taking into account a number of stops, but Microsoft Excel helps me with that. And by making a TourGuide of the POI (waypoints in BC) these are also neatly displayed on the screen of my Zumo XT and because I also attach an MP3 file, they are also properly called when I am within a certain distance of the POI come.

An inventory has also been made among the users about the wishes to be available in MRA, resulting in the "The Great Suggestion List" and the points on the list have been given a priority by the users. On the basis of this list, the developers go to the drawing board to see whether something can be developed within the existing concept or whether adjustments need to be made to the concept, and how many hours / costs this entails.
Believe me all questions and wishes are discussed by the Team and if an item is being developed, the "Mentor - RouteXperts" will be the 1st to test it.
In addition to the "The Great Suggestion List", MRA also has regular maintenance activities and is currently testing MRA video, so that it can also be used in the production environment and that the end users can use it.

So I find it a bit unfortunate how you translate your feelings, because it seems negative to me.

Kind regards

Hans van de Ven.

[Drabslab]

@Hans-van-de-Ven-MRA-Master

Hoi Hans,

i would not call it negative, critical maybe, emphasizing strongly what is very important for this particular large scale user (98 days of riding in a year... with clients ... phew) certainly .Yep, it may seem a bit strong that a user quite openly criticizes MRA despite the huge evolution and progress it has gone through in a few years time .

MRA can only learn from this, and get better!

[Gary France]

Hello Hans,

Wow. My main criticism is so simple to resolve. Instead of just publishing a 'Great Suggestions List' (with no indication at all of what will be worked on or not) MRA should actually produce a list of what they are working on and when it might be available, so users have some indication of what we can expect to see in the future. A suggestions list is just that - just suggestions and with no indication if they are working on these things. A 'suggestions list' is no use at all to us who have to try to make decisions on what systems to use. Is it really that difficult for MRA to say what they are working on? Yes, you can say I am being negative but unless users really say what they are thinking, MRA will not know just how much their actions, or in-actions) affect users. You personally might be prepared to find slow temporary fixes to the basic things that are clearly missing, but I am not. That is exactly why we should make our feeling and wishes known because we are different. MRA need to know how people are really feeling about their product!

The things that you list as benefits are only nice things to have (apart from 3 different map systems) but are not at the core of a great mapping system. But, knowing what time you will arrive somewhere most certainly is. Without that, a mapping system cannot even begin to be described as good. It is such a fundamental requirement!

Regarding the things that have been recently developed or are currently being developed (heights of roads and MRA video), I really have to question why these things are even needed right now, when it seems to me that having a route planning system that can actually say what time you will arrive seems much more important to me.

So, in summary, I am sorry you found my post to be negative, but that was exactly what I meant it to be. How can you expect users to be positive when something so fundamental is missing?

[Gary France]

@Drabslab said in What improvements are coming in MyRoute-App?:

MRA can only learn from this, and get better!

Thank you. MRA learning from this is exactly why I took the time to say what I did. Sometimes, important things need to be said. Gary

[Hans van de Ven MR.MRA]

@Gary-France

Hi Gary,

Basically, there is no lack of MRA, because it is so much more than a route planner.
I understand that you want to use via waypoints as "Hard" points, so you can see what time you will arrive somewhere and use the times you stop to calculate the total time you are on the way.
With my method I also know exactly what time I am at a planned stop.
Believe me from the The Great Suggestion List, because it lists the things the users have indicated, things are picked up to be developed as soon as the resources are available. And this is also communicated.

[MyRoute-app community]

First of all, all criticisms are always welcome as long as they are constructive. Additionally, the tone of a message should not convey direct hostility. I'm happy to see that this discussion remains productive. Please keep it that way.

I see a lot of concerns, caused generally by not really much more than "the feature I suggested isn't in MRA yet", which is a bit silly really. Based on the input of users we decided to open up, provide a transperant and visible area for people to post suggestions. We've made the commitment to come up with a Roadmap of features to come. Once again those dates may be subject to change due to unforseen circumstances. This happened just a few months ago after a trend of not doing this for 7+ years. In fact, until 2019 we did not have a well functioning community forum. The past few months MyRoute-app made continuous improvements to communication, products and services. Please don't simply assume "we're not doing well" because changes aren't lightning fast.

@Gary-France speficically for you, since you seem concerned that MRA doing special offers is some kind of indication that the company is not doing well. This is not the case. MRA is doing summer offers because summer is a very popular time for recreative motorists and motorcyclists.

Additionally, we've heard your comments about route timing, which in all honesty is a very specific feature for limited applicability. I want to point out that I do understand the importance in professional usage, but the larger sergment of MRA users simply won't use it. This has also been researched, as the suggestion for route timing was added to the list of surveyed features.

We'll clearly communicate the exact survey results as well as the list of features that will be on the RoadMap in the near future. We'll also tell you if, and why, MRA might decide to prioritize non-surveyed features. This is the level of transperancy that you have seen from us in the past and will continue to see.

[Gary France]

Thanks Timo. I don't think anyone is saying MRA are not doing well because changes aren't lightning fast. What is being said is it would be useful to know what is coming in the future, rather than just a suggestion list. I look forward to seeing the RoadMap.

I give talks online (28 so far in the last 2 months, each to up to 80 participants) to riders and one of the subjects I am often asked is to recommend mapping software. You will be pleased to hear I recommend MRA if people are going to be doing this for the first time. For me though, I need something more, so I will look back here in a year to see what progress has been made. Gary.

[MyRoute-app community]

@Gary-France Thanks Gary, I understand that concern. Next week we'll push out a newsletter with some updates regarding the RoadMap. I've also talked with several of our ambassadors about this: we want the RoadMap to be actively used by not just the community, but the dev team as well. This means that not only do we have to prioritize member-facing updates (such as the features from the suggestion list) but company-facing updates as well (software refactoring, bugfixing, technical support and procurement support).

Please do not mistake the intention of my post, I'm aware you're a contributing and supportive member of MRA. I also like that you're passionate about the things that are of concern to you (such as waypoint timing). I'm happy that you're here to contribute and share your thoughts even if this means that in the short term you'll not be using MRA that often.