First Impressions

[callumd]

I think SugarCRM has some serious usability issues:

* Scrap the "Edit Layout" for each module. Editing should just use the Detail Layout, and each field should then have a property of "Can edit?".

* Get rid of "Page Style" in the top right-hand corner, and put it in the Layout options in My Account.

* The navigation should be set by the administrator - which tabs to show, whether to use sub-tabs, etc.

* Merge the Developer Tools "Configure Tabs" and "Configure Tab Groups". Put it all in to a single drag-and-drop display.

* One field should equal one field. I lost hours trying to figure out why extra fields were showing up in editing mode that were not present in my Edit Layout. Turns out "Primary Street Address" is some special field that automatically pulls in the additional fields of City/Postcode/State. Ba-bow. Mystery, non-obvious functionality is not a "feature".

* When I go in to the studio, and select a module and look at the "fields", I should see every single field used by the module (whether a reference point or not).

* When I select two or more records and click "Merge", I should see every single field belonging to the module (forget about reference points, "Merge" doesn't even show all the actual fields). This is just downright baffling why it's not already happening, and I have an active thread in the Help forum asking why I can't see all my fields.

* Admin->Configure SubPanels. Anybody's guess how this works. SubPanels are displaying all over the place that don't even appear as a configurable options in this area, while other modules appear to have their own subset of subpanels that they'll show regardless of what is set here. It should be obvious clicking in to "Configure SubPanels" **exactly** which modules this is going to be affecting, and if it's not going to affect some modules, show WHY.

* When I rename a module, I should only have to change one value in one place. The old name of the module should then become a phantom. If that name still needs to exist in a database somewhere for purposes of referential integrity, so be it. But neither the administrator nor the system users should ever see it again inside SugarCRM.

[callumd]

* Duplicate Merge should not be set to Disabled by default on custom fields. More wasted hours trying to figure out where my custom fields were when trying to perform merges.

[salesagility]

While I agree that SugarCRM has some usability issues, primarily in some protracted processes such as rescheduling calls and meetings, from a user perspective it's one of the best CRM's on the market. It's consistent and logical.

I would not categorise the impact on users from your observations, which are primarily from a sys admin viewpoint, as being "serious". Yes, a pain in the nether regions ... but "serious" ......... mmmm .... no