We have introduced a new feature to the admin interface of FixMyStreet Pro, enabling members of staff with the correct permissions to set a “closed to updates” timeframe to reports on a per-category basis.
The purpose of this is to prevent users providing updates on old reports to alert to a new occurrence of the same issue, which could impede resolutions and may impact your report data when analysed.
The setting can be applied to any subcategory as needed. This allows you to automate the closing of reports to updates for individual problems within a category sooner or later than others.
For example, if a problem is something you know is likely to reoccur in the same area, such as fly-tipping in a known hotspot, you may want to set a shorter timeframe within which updates can be applied to an existing report.
That way, when a new instance of the issue occurs, you can help to ensure a new report is made instead of a user updating an existing report because they haven’t realised it’s not the same problem.
If no individual timeframe is applied to a subcategory, reports will be closed to updates within the default timeframe of six months, unless you have requested an alternative default timeframe to be applied to your instance of FixMyStreet Pro.
This feature complements FixMyStreet Pro’s duplicate report suggestion tool, which suggests existing reports to users within the same category and location, the radius for which can be modified per category.
Why updates are important
Updates to reports on FixMyStreet Pro come in a number of different formats:
- The authority that received the report can update it to share what’s happening next;
- The report-maker can update the report to say, for example, that a problem has become worse since they reported it;
- Other members of the public can update the report to add their own information, such as to say that an instance of fly-tipping is perhaps no longer there.
Timely updates from the authority are the best, most effective way to keep feedback loops closed and mitigate follow-up calls or emails. Updates are made easy by using response templates, which enable pre-written responses to be sent to report-makers according to the status of the report.
Meanwhile, having the option to keep reports of unfixed problems open to updates from members of the public for a while can help you to monitor a problem’s priority without needing to carry out continuous inspections.
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If you’re a client of FixMyStreet Pro and you would like any support using this new feature, please open a ticket on the helpdesk.
If you’re from a local authority or other public body not yet using FixMyStreet Pro and you’d like to understand more about how it works, please get in touch.