How & Why We Retire Functionality

As a product team, it’s our responsibility to deliver the most valuable product to the market, which means we’re always looking ahead and planning for the future. A common misconception is that the only way to increase the product value is by adding features. However, we also have to be aware of the decreased value that the product delivers when duplicate functionality exists in the system, which must be maintained and slows the pace of improvements. Additionally, there are scenarios where features don’t provide the value they should and aren’t in line with the direction of the product.

One of our values here is Always Improving, so we take that approach with both our Platform and our Customer's Success. When we do retire functionality at Administrate, there are two stages that are communicated to our customers so they understand what is being retired and what action they may need to take.

Deprecation Announcement

This is the date we communicate to customers that a feature has been marked to be retired. We will accompany this with an explanation of why the decision was made and what you, the user, need to change in order to prepare. Sometimes this is simply “use the new version”, but other times there may not be an exact one to one replacement, so we will provide an explanation of what you may need to change. Our Support Team will be prepared to answer questions and walk you through the transition.

Removal From the Product

The initial announcement will also contain a date on which the feature will be entirely removed from the product. You must be fully transitioned to the new version, alternative solution, or revised workflow as described by the preparation instructions in the announcement by this date.

In this way we will be Always Improving, and Reliable (another of our values) while striving for a truly excellent experience for our customers.