Problem solving update
Latest news: This update to Moneyscope is taking a bit longer than we originally expected. We don't want to rush the detail for the sake of launching something so we are going to take a bit more time to dot the 'I's' and cross the 'T's' and are aiming to update Moneyscope in August.
Back in December we unveiled our plans to add problem solving to Moneyscope. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that we predicted this would be ready early in 2012 and it hasn't made an appearance yet, so we thought we'd put you in the picture with progress.
We have spent considerable time working out how to incorporate problem solving without compromising on the ease of use you like. We've also had a busy few months with the addition of updated reports and the ability to specify inflation rates for individual items within Moneyscope.
As part of the problem solving development, we've made a big decision to move to a new operating system. This enables us to deliver a better solution for problem solving and future developments. It offers more flexibility and stability for Moneyscope.
The downside is that it means that problem solving is longer in the making than originally anticipated. We now estimate that this will be ready in July (update: now August) and between now and then we will keep you updated on progress. We think it's worth the wait to do the job properly.
What's all this about a new operating system?
Good question. It is the software that Moneyscope's built on. Our decision to move to a new operating system won't affect you in any way. You won't notice anything different. It will just mean that behind the scenes Moneyscope is more flexible for future changes.
When we make the switch to the new operating system, we will take the site down for a few hours so that we can test thoroughly but this will be 'out-of-hours' so disruption will be kept at a minimum.
The switch to a new operating system means we are also able to include a few tweaks to Moneyscope at the same time as implementing problem solving. These are usability changes. We'll publish a full list closer to the time but it includes:
- Improved reports which we blogged about here; and
- Improved on screen charts with values appearing when you hover each bar with your mouse.
The new operating system also means that we will be able to add new features such as specifying different types of saving and investment pots (with different growth rates for each), and a new pension planning feature. These are developments which are in the 'pipeline' and we will start development once we've completed problem solving.
We will keep you posted on progress.