Launch!

Posted by Brett Folkert on Tuesday, November 06, 2007  
Category:

The countdown to launch today began early, with many people up at 3:00 a.m. preparing the servers for cutover.  My day, along with many other devs, began at a more leisurely 4:30 a.m. as I logged in remotely to troubleshoot a caching issue.  By 7:15 a.m. I went to the "war room", which is the launch ops center deep in the bowels of Quixtar. Everyone was busy testing, troubleshooting and fixing, often all three. We're actually running two shifts today : 4:30 a.m. --> 1:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to midnight to ensure we have sufficient support to handle any issues.

Approximately 7:45 a.m. approval was given and the request was made to cut the servers over.  Last minute (literally) comments were shouted back and forth about the status of various issues as everyone huddled around their laptops or watched the screens on the walls.  Shortly after someone called out to "clear your host files" so the DNS (domain name servers) could point to the new site. We all refreshed our browsers and there it was at last. A brief moment for applause and muted congratulations and then everyone went right back to troubleshooting and monitoring.

Thus far we haven't encountered any critical issues (we had four a mere 30 mins prior to launch) and the site overall seems to be running smoothly.  We'll be ironing out the kinks for weeks to come but after all that time looking at the site in dev, it's finally out in production for the world to see.

So what do you think?  Please let us know your feedback once you've had a chance to play around with the site.  A lot has changed so it may take some time to get used to it, but at least the wait is over. We launched!


Comments

# Ross Hall said on November 6, 2007 at 2:51 PM:

Got a live goosebump..when it came up..Truly a grand launch for us all..Thanks you for the massive time, energy, investment and passion.

So simple..So simple on our end..So complex..so complex on your end...RH

# Craig Eddy said on November 6, 2007 at 3:05 PM:

One issue I've seen: on /home/ibo/ in the PV/BV box I see my BV listed in APV and my APV listed in the BV:

MY PERSONAL PV/BV   MY AWARDED PV

PV:                 APV:

BV:                BONUS:

# tman said on November 6, 2007 at 3:43 PM:

Site looks great. I am having a hard time getting to partner stores and my pv/bv inquiry seems to be a little out of wack. I have more pv than bv.

# Erik N. Toth said on November 6, 2007 at 3:51 PM:
Hey everyone thanks for the kudos and bug feedback! Since this morning we been frantically trying to address issues and get fixes out while making sure the site is as stable as possible. Specifically to address the the wonky PV/BV: that fix is currently queued to be pushed out and you'll see it before long. Thanks again and keep the feedback coming!
# Jeffrey said on November 6, 2007 at 5:01 PM:

I think the new look is great. I also think the navigation is very easy. The only problem I am having, and it's probably just my computer, is in PV/BV Inquiry, I cannot see my orders or the orders of my downline. When I click on the invoice number, nothing happens. I'll give it a day or two and see what happens. Otherwise, I think it's pretty neat.

# Craig Eddy said on November 6, 2007 at 6:38 PM:

PV/BV fixed. I just realized as I looked at my earlier comment that despite being an HTML code I still went ahead and put "less than" and "greater than" characters in my comment (and they didn't show up) -- should'a chosen something else.

Different topic: haven't received an e-mail acknowledgement from an order we placed a few hours prior. In the past they've been almost immediate.

And I must add my kudos as well. The new look & feel is fantastic!

# Bill Millios said on November 7, 2007 at 9:48 AM:

The new site rocks.  As someone with a background in computer science, software engineering and software development, I admire the achievement, and do not envy you the job.

Are you planning on making a career out of that?  Up until 3 a.m.?  If you're looking for ways to put time and money in the same place, we should talk.  (laughs)  Just kidding!

Great job all around.  *pat on back*

# cw3062 said on November 7, 2007 at 10:07 AM:

Hello,

I am concerned about the fact that now, anyone can order on Quixtar.com even if they don't have an IBO referring them.  There has always been a sense of protection that nobody could order by going around us, the IBO.  

# Chuck Lia said on November 7, 2007 at 10:49 AM:

Brett,

Again, kudos to you folks for a terrific new site!  

Separately, I noticed that under the "Start A Business" heading on the main page if you click "Products," and then click the "Ribbon" program, the site shows the three Ribbon getaway albums as still being part of the program even though they were discontinued a few weeks ago (unless they were reinstated, but I think that is unlikely).  It would probably be best to delete them from that page and any other place they are listed if they are no longer part of the Ribbon program.

# A Kline said on November 7, 2007 at 11:05 AM:

Great launch!

# Josh said on November 7, 2007 at 1:09 PM:

Hi Erik or Brett,

Site looks great, and very easy to use.  

A bug that is happening for me, and this was before the launch as well, is the completion of modules at Quixtar University.  It will not allow to write down my thoughts after each module.  It comes up with an error window and to forward that onto the IT people.  I did that several times a couple weeks ago, but it is still persisting today.

Hope that is clear enough.  Thank you!

# Dennis Marshall said on November 8, 2007 at 12:42 PM:

Is it possible in the Blog format to have the answers to the questions print on the blog right after the question?

Answer from blog administrator - David Prescott 

-Yes! It's entirely up to the individual blogger how they answer questions. Usually they (the blogger) note the individual's name and answer their questions. Sometimes they address several questions all at once so they write it in a new comment. We haven't established any guidelines yet but thanks for bringing it to our attention.

 

# George said on November 8, 2007 at 1:21 PM:

Hi Brett-

You had talked in a previous post about a code change you were making that would most likely cut in with the release.  From your post:

"we are in fact cutting code on a fix for that this very week. Basically you will be able to give your customers a Url to our site(s) with your information embedded that will automatically credit you if the customer makes a purchase, even if they never login or register."

Did this get cut into the release and is it now available?  If not, any idea when it will be available?

Thanks a bunch and great job with the new site... It looks AWESOME!

# George said on November 8, 2007 at 1:29 PM:

I read cw3062's comments above and didn't believe it so I went and tried it.  I was able to go through and submit an order without being referred to the Quixtar site by an IBO number.  Is this an error?  I sure hope so, otherwise, what's the incentive for customers to link up to an IBO?  Takes a lot of value away.

# Josh said on November 8, 2007 at 3:24 PM:
George, A random can order products through the website. As far as I understand it, they have always been able to do it. It just wasn't as easy as it now. That being said, we IBO's are not out of the loop. The customer's information and PV goes to a local Platinum or above. That Platinum or above then has complete discretion to distribute that customer and associated PV to anyone in their group. Same applies for the Simply site. The goal is get Platinum done sooner than later, so you can partake in free PV..as I call it.
# Jackie Dangl said on November 8, 2007 at 5:15 PM:

Quixtar has accepted orders from customers for quite some time-this is not something new with the redesigned site.  But...the customer and all PV/BV from customer orders is assigned to an IBO (randomly selected from active Platinums in geographic area w/ valid emails.)  If the customer doesn't grant approval to share his contact information, then Quixtar honors that and the customer shows up as 'anonymous' volume for the IBO.  You can read more about this on the Inside Quixtar blog post: http://insidequixtar.opportunityzone.com/2007/09/24/Does-an-IBO-make-a-difference--Yes-they-do-one-customer-at-a-time.aspx

# R. Casey said on November 8, 2007 at 9:55 PM:

I reviewed CW3062 and George's comments above and wanted to try this myself.  They are correct.  Anyone can order products without having an IBO.  Please explain.  There is no incentive for a customer to have an IBO.  The personalized websites that we use become non value added if our customers realize that they can just order directly from the website.  All the work that we do to establish and service our customers could be jeapordized with this new functionality.  What is the business driver that is allowing this functionality?

The overall appearance and functionality of the site is great...thanks for all of you hard work.

# Utah said on November 8, 2007 at 11:33 PM:

I like the site generally. Looks good. One of the things for walk-ins - the simply nutrilite site and the quixtar.com assume an ibo referral with an ibo number and an ibo key. I like that. The simply nutrilite free sample doesn't do that. If they don't have the ibo number or key, or weren't referred by one, yes, give marketing the info as to where they came from, but what is more important? The IBOs or the marketing information?

# Utah said on November 8, 2007 at 11:39 PM:

George,

Unless you are getting a free sample, you have to tell someone you either were or were not referred by an IBO, provide the ibo number and key. If not, there is a place for you to let Q/A know if you are OK with the IBO they assign knowing about your and your orders. That seems to be working. I disagree with the open website vs password protected. That is not a technical decision. I am complaining to Alticor blog for that.

# Arul Mudaliar said on November 26, 2007 at 1:20 PM:

Hi Brett,

The new site looks great!!

Just have one comment though. When we login to the site, the PV/BV tab is expanded by default. Was wondering if it would be a good idea to have it  collapsed by default and then we could expand it if we wanted to. The reason being that some prospective IBOs want to see the site after being logged in and it might not be a good idea to show our personal PV/BV even before they have registered in the business! Hope this makes sense.

# rdknyvr said on January 13, 2008 at 10:49 AM:

Brett,

The five links at "Learn about..." related to Personalized Health all bring up a default page that says, "Sorry, this page is not available." It's been this way since the re-launch of the website... I thought I'd wait a bit to see if it got corrected, but so far not. Could you guys look into this and re-connect the links?

At this link once you're logged in: https://www.quixtar.com/products/thumbnail.aspx?pid=9851&ctg=16260

With appreciation,

# rdknyvr said on January 14, 2008 at 1:48 PM:

Hi Steve,

I'm logging in as an IBO and via the Canadian site. The above sequence should get you there if you go in that way. The US site is a bit different now, and I do prefer the simpler way it's set up... just two links: Health Questionnaire, and Learn About Personalized Health.

With thanks and appreciation in advance,

# rdknyvr said on January 18, 2008 at 11:08 PM:

Excellent!!! Thank you, the links work now :)

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About Brett Folkert

Occuption
I am a Software Architect at Quixtar. The nature of my job and our environment means I have to be fluent in many disparate technologies on a daily basis. I like to think of it as "controlled chaos". I constantly strive to improve our architecture and ensure that wherever possible the underlying technology is transparent to our users. You probably won't notice my handiwork unless you look at the system design, but behind the scenes a lot of thought and hard work goes into making the site perform to our standards.

Background
My IT experience prior to Quixtar was primarily in consulting. I have worked with the U.S. Navy, dotcom startups and Fortune 500 companies. I consulted for Amway in years past (technical lead on GBISLink) before joining the team here at Quixtar. I hold both Master's and Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science. My thesis on neural networking/satellite imagery was published in the International Journal of Remote Sensing.

Interests
I have passions for wine, mountain biking and ancient history. If you want to discuss Cicero over a fine Bordeaux, look no further. I'm also married with two precocious daughters whom I adore. As if work and family weren't enough to keep me busy, I'm also attending law school in the evening.

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Disclaimer

The authors of this blog are Amway Global employees. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily reviewed in advance by anyone but the individual authors. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the view of Amway Global or any other person or company.

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