Our 33-Point Inspection Every Add-on Goes Through

Every SugarCRM add-on on SugarOutfitters goes through an extensive review process. One part of that process is inspecting the quality of the add-on and ensuring it does what it claims to do. For this step, we follow our Add-on Review Template which you can download for yourself to view. Below are the 33 different points that get inspected:

Initial Upload Review

This is where we do our preliminary checks to ensure that this add-on isn’t doing anything malicious, that it installs correctly, and the features work as claimed.

• Ensure that the files are available for download
• Check the results of our auto scanner
• Inspect the install to ensure nothing affects the integrity of the system
• Compare supported versions in manifest to that on SugarOutfitters
• Test the licensing to ensure that the process is smooth
• Test the feature set on a version in the higher end of the supported version range
• Test the feature set on a version in the lower end of the supported version range
• See if the pricing structure makes sense for this type of solution

User Experience Review

We check to see how easy (or hard) an add-on is making it on the user. Simplification of the product and testing usability is the goal here.

• Test the install process to see if it is as smooth as possible
• Does it follow SugarCRM UI principles and feels like it is a natrual extension of the product?
• Check for any features that the user would expect to be there

SugarCRM Best Practices Review

This section is a bit technical but it is the bread-and-butter of the review where we look to minimize the potential of this add-on conflicting with your current customizations and installed modules along with any future ones.

• Avoids adding schedulers via custom/modules/Schedulers/_AddJobsHere.php
• Auto adds schedulers via manifest instead of requiring the user to create a new scheduler job
• Does not override core beans - uses logic hooks instead
• Uses the Ext framework whenever possible to avoid core file edits and steamrolling other customizations.
• Avoids editing core metadata def files directly
• Avoids editing core module language files
• Avoids editing logic_hooks.php directly
• Avoids editing vardefs directly
• Avoids editing core module views
• For entry points it uses the Ext framework and not a custom MVC version
• For action view maps it uses the Ext framework and not a custom MVC version
• Check for outputs that may cause AJAX calls to fail
• Uses sound coding practices - great indicator of what to expect in quality and support

SugarCloud Support

The biggest thing we want to test for is SugarCloud support and then suggest ways on how to accomplish that if it doesn’t.

• Run through SugarCloud package scan for the most recently supported version.
• Ensure that features are compatible with Sugar Sell and Sugar Serve

Storefront Review

The add-on may be great, but it doesn’t do any good if no one understands what it does. Here we help to determine how best to communicate the value to prospective users.

• Identify key target/market audience
• Determine and list targeted keywords
• Review value proposition on the listing
• Review sales copy on the listing. Does it focus on how it solves a problem and why a user needs this instead of a laundry list of technical features?
• Are there relevant screenshots and demo videos?
• Is the documentation cleaned up and ready to go? Easy to follow?

Only the add-ons that have passed this review, along with the rest of the review process, get accepted and made available. This means that when you come to SugarOutfitters you know you are getting the best solutions out there.

Are you a developer that's created some amazing SugarCRM solutions? Learn more about listing your products with us.