When Nate Aune says “I don’t know everything that’s included in Open edX”, you know mere mortals can’t be expected to know everything either. At some point, everyone at Appsembler has a question about Open edX features and functionality.
TL;DR
- Open edX Feature Matrix is the first step toward a comprehensive listing of all features and capabilities within Open edX
- Eventually this will be public facing, but for now it is an internal doc only
- Go to Open edX Feature Matrix v1
- Read the “start here” tab
- Read the “definitions” tab
- Use CMD+F or CTRL+F to search for features
- Please add any of these and more to the Inbox list on the Feature Matrix Trello board
Open edX Feature Matrix v1
Open edX is complex and complicated even further by Appsembler’s use of the platform:
- The Appsembler fork and Open edX fork may have differences
- Appsembler Tahoe and stand-alone versions have differences
The Open edX Feature Matrix v1 was created to provide a reliable, up-to-date resource for internal use only.
Notes:
- Virtual Labs and Tahoe management features are not included.
- Our prospects and customers need a reference as well (but this is not an external reference yet!)
How to use the Feature Matrix
The Feature Matrix is a simple Google Sheet currently. Search capabilities are limited to CMD+F or CTRL+F.
The first time you view the FMv1 (had to introduce a new acronym), please read the “start here” tab:
Jobs to be done
The Feature Matrix was developed to address the following Jobs to Be Done (JTBD).
General Appsembler
- I want to know that there is an up-to-date, single source of truth for all Open edX features segmented by Tahoe subscription tiers and Enterprise
- I want to be able to provide our prospects and customers with a reliable single source of truth about features that enable them to decide on a subscription tier and/or use the platform to its fullest
Sales
- I want to be able to efficiently and accurately provide answers to prospects and customers who are asking about the availability of specific features
- I want to be able to easily communicate which features are available in Tahoe subscription tiers and Enterprise
- During a discovery call, I want to be able to align customer needs with available features
- During any conversation with a prospect or customer, I want to be able to tell if a feature requires an upsell or not in order for it to be deployed
Marketing
- I want to be able to create an online feature matrix to make it clear what features are available in Tahoe subscription tiers and Enterprise
- I want to make it as easy as possible for prospects to identify the features they want to use in Open edX
Customer Success
- I want to be able to efficiently and accurately provide answers to customers who are asking about the availability of specific features
- I want to be able to easily communicate to customer which features are available in Tahoe subscription tiers and Enterprise
- During an upsell or expansion initial discovery call, or during a support shift, I want to be able to align customer needs with available features
- During any conversation with a customer, I want to be able to tell if a feature requires an upsell or not in order for it to be deployed
Product Manager
- As an Appsembler product manager, it is important to be able to have an overview of what is available and what is required, to identify gaps in order to direct the product roadmap
Prospective Customer (future JTBD)
- As a prospective customer I look at feature matrices on products that i’m not familiar with to get a “lay of the land”. it gives me a good sense of the maturity of the product, and how well they’ve thought through the needs of the customer
- (If I don’t see a feature matrix, then I’m left guessing, and usually it implies that the product is weak and doesn’t want to expose that it has these missing features)
- As a budget holder, I want to be able to compare and contrast the features available in Tahoe and Open edX against other LMSs
Appsembler Customer (future JTBD)
- I want to easily find what features are available for me to use with my my learners
- I want to be able to determine if I need to upgrade to another subscription tier to maximize my usage of Open edX
- I want to improve my use of the Appsembler knowledge base by being more clear about the names of features for which I’m looking for support
Broken, never tried, not going to do any longer until we fix it…
The “things we can’t do (yet)” tab is a place for adding features that are broken, never been used before, or we have decided not to use any longer until we either fix the feature or decide to deprecate it.
Please check this list prior to adding missing features, etc., to the Trello board.
Definitions
There are two sets of definitions that you’ll want to be familiar with. (Eventually, the definitions will be more obvious directly within each feature listing.)
Difficulty to Enable
1: Enabled by default
2: Can be enabled by customer
3: Must be enabled by Appsembler in <= 2 hours or can be enabled by customer, but requires additional customer technical expertise to use
4: Must be enabled by Appsembler in > 2 hours, but less than a day
5: Must be enabled by Appsembler and is a huge, expensive and significant effort requiring multiple days of work
Mobile apps
- Black: not available in mobile app because it is in the Instructor tab on LMS or because it is in Studio (CMS)
- Yellow: mobile developer doesn’t have enough information to make a determination: feature hasn’t been tested; wasn’t aware of its existence; doesn’t know what feature is or does; or, not 100% certain feature is unavailable on mobile
- Green: know it works in mobile or high level of confidence that it works
- Red: feature not enabled in mobile and aware of the effort involved to enable it
- Red-dark: feature not enabled in mobile and unaware of the effort involved. No code exploration has taken place
How you can help
- Add missing features, content edits, missing JTBD, UX/UI suggestions and more to the Inbox list on the Feature Matrix Trello board
- Provide usage feedback when requested via questionnaires from CS team
- Do NOT share the feature matrix outside of Appsembler until further notice