It seems I received a lot of feedback. Please allow me to go through the points made and explain the ones I disagree with or clarify what I was trying to say.
Please don't take my comments as intending to dissuade, discourage, or contend against any ideas, suggestions, or comments. My comments are intended to inform.
My comments as well. My comments are just form the point of view of an Elder's Quorum President suggesting what would make him more effective in his calling.
As a comparative between developing a church hymn app and a HT/VT app, we do know this. The added difficulty for a HT/VT app lies in the need to develop the infrastructure to get HT/VT data from the local MLS to back-end data hosting. Hosting HT/VT data on a back-end while at the same time maintaining it on local MLS is necessary to accommodate all Church units and all Church members needing access to HT/VT data. Not all Church users and Church units have access to the Internet. Accommodating HT/VT on both the Internet and in local MLS is more complex than the more simple app development for church hymns.
I don't think you are listening. I am talking about dropping MLS completely within the realms of home teaching. I don't see a reason why it's needs to be on MLS. Doing a simple back-end website with a nice front end it what I am suggesting. That is not to hard to implement.
The ability to do, calling and releases, Custom reports, record ordinances, finances, just to name a few. This would decrease the time clerks have to spend at the church working as well as ensure a much more accurate data base.
I am afraid that is somewhat vague. What do you mean the ability to do callings and releases? Or custom reports? I hate to say, but the last few items are things I think MLS actually does do well and is relatively simple inside of MLS.
What matters is what can help the clerks the most in their calling as they are the ones who use the system the most.
If you are referring
only to MLS than yes. But I don't think the ideas and suggestions forum is for MLS suggestions alone. And if it yes, it should probably be more clear. I don't think it's only about the clerks here.
If the HP Group Leaders and Elders Quorum presidents learn to use their secretaries more efficient they would have much more time to minister because the secretary and ward clerks would do all the administering.
I feel like you may be suggesting that I am not using my secretary efficiently. You may not understand what I am suggesting at all. I am suggesting a drag and drop type program to
organize home teaching(see discussion title). I think it would be great to bring reporting into that. But as far as organizing that is NOT the secretary's job.
Having use many data bases over they years of desk top computers coming into reality MLS is a very good program in comparison.
MLS is not just a database. I am saying the front-end(client-side, UI or user experience or what have you) is the part that needs to be improved.
The purpose of these forms the way I understand it is to help clerks and other members in working through problems they may have with the church technologies. Its not a place for making technological suggestions or feed back. At least that's my understanding.
I guess I am confused about the board entitled "Ideas and Suggestions" then.
With HT/VT, the content is at minimum to the ward level. If teachers are to be allowed to enter their report, then access needs to be sliced even smaller. There are likely a number of questions that have to be run by both legal and the Brethren.
All you have to do is set up different roles within the system.
Bishop(can view home teaching assignments for entire ward),
Elder Quorum President(can view and edit home teaching assignment for entire quorum)
District Leader(can view assignments for his district only)
Home Teacher(Can view his assignments ONLY).
Having worked on web sites that are very role-dependent, I can say, I don't think it's that hard.
Overall the basics vibe I gotten from your responses has been this:
1) This forum is made primarily for Ward Clerks.
I sure hope people with other callings are welcome to participate here too.
2) The Ideas and Suggestions is more of, "wouldn't it be nice if" forum.
I made the mistake of thinking that actually software developers and managers for the church view these forums and make priorities bases on those suggestions. Perhaps it should be clear that even though this is a church sanctioned forum(meaning it's on tech.lds.org)-it's not by the portion that makes the decisions.