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News on National/Council software development


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OK.. Anyone with more news please add to this.

 

Years & years us at the district council level have heard about new software development to replace the outdated, crappy, 3 systems that don't talk to each other, buggy...(need I go on).. system that is in place..

 

For years we heard This year (early in year), Next year (late in year).. So when my DE said "This year".. My response was "Yeah, Right"..

 

He said "No, No.. it is complete and being tested out in (some council).." News is that it will be all inclusive, Our DE can give us at need to know District levels access to areas where we can extract the info we need to monitor the needs of the district, with dashboards and what not..

 

I had always heard Training would be the first module implemented being rushed to handle manditory training goals.. Now I hear that this should be a complete system, so Advancement & Membership & what not will get their needs met also..

 

I normally hear this dirt from this forum, long before I hear it from my council.. You guys sleeping on the job or what... My DE was gloating because he was "in-the-know" and I was not..

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True.. I hope there is more then just dashboards. Dashboards summarize, and it may not be a summary of what you feel is important, but rather what someone else feels is important.

 

Probably since they are assuming most will be non-technical the best I can hope for is some user friendly report writers.

 

But maybe I can get some ability to pull data into excel, and then organize the data to my needs that way.. One can only hope.

 

A few comments in the last few months sounds like they may not allow us to view names & contact info.. Somewhat understand, but somewhat don't.. Like, don't ask me to figure out who needs training, and make a personal connection with them to invite them to training, but refuse to give me the names and contact info of scouters who need to be trained.

 

Husband had this hit him bad, when council demanded that districts use the Councils list of meritbadge counsilors rather then their own, (although the software bugs makes the accuracy of their list totally inaccurate, even if the data entry people are trying to do a good job.).. So hubby asks to have their MBC list so he can see how messed up it is.. They could not release that info... So how am I to use your list of MBC's if I can not have that list to work off of... "Ohhhhhhhhhh"... "Don't know....".. "But use it anyway..."..

 

 

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Haven't heard anything. We had an Area meeting the first weekend of February. In the break-out session with the Program folks, I basically told the National Rep that they need to &^*& or get off the pot about mandatory training. I explained that the annual "you will need it" is becoming the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome and will become more difficult to implement. Volunteers will give the "yeah, right" answer because it's been handled poorly the last 3 years.

 

I'll wait until the software is functional before I ever have the training committee tell people that it's mandatory.

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Excellent Basement.. If you run a strong enough program that people WANT to belong, and add some expectation that training is expected. Then I am confident training will take place.. I know you Basement run and excellent program.. I am pleased you pushed training as something expected even though I know you think your district/council staff are a bunch of clowns.. (I am sure that includes people on your training staff..).. Yet still you were able to impart a sense of the importance of training with the Bozos, to your adult leaders.

 

Tokala - we will see if once the software is up. National will re-ignite the desire for manditory training.. A newsletter or so back, it seemed that flame was dieing.. Sort of a "we might not make it manditory at National level, but your councils should think about making it manditory..".. If it is left to the council, I don't think our council will push for it. They fear to much the loss of adult Leadership.

 

When I took the position I planned to keep it for 3 years, and go through the manditory implementation helping my district. Well I just completed 2 full years in the position, and I don't think it will even start before I hit year number 3.. Not sure if it every will.

 

But if I get to play with the new software a bit this year, that will be exciting.

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There is no way that all of 'my leaders' will be trained. As VP of Program we try to offer training at times that it's needed and often enough so people don't have to travel as much. When National came out with the mandatiry training, we (the Council) announced it and stepped up training opportunities. People were buying in. When National delayed, I refused to announce the delay. I knew that if we did, we would have a tough time convincing people a 2nd or 3rd time. My staff adviser felt we were being dishonest and made an announcement in the Council newsletter.

 

I guess I'll see how it goes. Heck, at National's rate of getting the software functional I probably won't be VP any more.

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Last thing I heard was that BSA has a new guy in charge of IT who is an outsider with heavy, stressing HEAVY, IT experience. If memory he's been in place less than a year.

 

 

This is good news since BSA has usually hired management folks from within, i.e. former SEs and other professional positions. For example, the guy in charge of giving us SCOUTNET, had so little IT knowledge, that a brand new "Executive Trainee" ( that's the technical term for a DE before PDL-1) had more expereince in the IT field.

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Last thing I heard was that BSA has a new guy in charge of IT who is an outsider with heavy, stressing HEAVY, IT experience

 

Yah, didnt I hear just recently that they had fired the fellow? :p

 

B

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I understand the plan to replace the membership and financial systems is in progress. But be patient as it can take a long time to successfully upgrade a large system. Also, as far as what you have heard what is coming, remember this is from council staff seeing presentations on possibilities and not what is being done immediately.

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"I understand the plan to replace the membership and financial systems is in progress. But be patient as it can take a long time to successfully upgrade a large system. Also, as far as what you have heard what is coming, remember this is from council staff seeing presentations on possibilities and not what is being done immediately."

 

I hope they are having more luck than we are having with a new and promised Logistics System the Army has promised us for the past 12 years. The answer we always get is "Its in testing"!!

 

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