Update leadeship directory automatically from MLS

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crislapi
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#11

Post by crislapi »

Doughy wrote:One thing that I find odd is that the leadership directory in the ward website system requires manual updating. Is there any reason why this information can not just be pulled from MLS?
Even if HQ had the list, I imagine another issue would be mapping the information. I know we use many custom organizations, and withing even standard organization, many custom positions. Which ones should get mapped, and to which field/committee? I could imagine that being pretty challenging.
net_runner wrote: I was wondering why the Stake MLS database didn't contain any leadership information from the individual wards.
If you are not getting the leadership positions listed below on your Ward Leadership report on the Stake MLS it is because your ward's are not filling that information out. You should be able to see names and phone numbers for these positions:
  • Bishopric (counselors, secretary, clerk, asst finance & membership clerks, and 1 assistant clerk)
  • High Priest group leader, 2 counselors and secretary
  • EQ & RS presidents, 2 counselors and secretaries
  • Young Men & Women presidents, 2 counselors and secretaries
  • SS presidency
  • Ward Mission Leader
In that case, train your ward clerks to utilize the organization section in their ward MLS.
boomerbubba wrote:Does the ward MLS menu item that sends data to the stake -- distinct from the general send/receive menu item that transmits transactions to/from CHQ -- include either a full set of callings or a subset of leadership callings, including unique member IDs, to populate the stake MLS? My understanding is that at least some subset of callings is sent to the stake somehow.
It sends at least the info listed above to the stake.
russellhltn
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#12

Post by russellhltn »

crislapi wrote:If you are not getting the leadership positions listed below on your Ward Leadership report on the Stake MLS it is because your ward's are not filling that information out. You should be able to see names and phone numbers for these positions:
  • Bishopric (counselors, secretary, clerk, asst finance & membership clerks, and 1 assistant clerk)
  • High Priest group leader, 2 counselors and secretary
  • EQ & RS presidents, 2 counselors and secretaries
  • Young Men & Women presidents, 2 counselors and secretaries
  • SS presidency
  • Ward Mission Leader
In that case, train your ward clerks to utilize the organization section in their ward MLS.
Or they've been using a custom position in place of the standardized ones. For example changing the names for the RS counselors.
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jtwitchell
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Suggestion for MLS

#13

Post by jtwitchell »

Doughy wrote:One thing that I find odd is that the leadership directory in the ward website system requires manual updating. Is there any reason why this information can not just be pulled from MLS? Having to store the same exact information manually in more than one place usually leads to discrepancies, errors, and confusion. Pulling info from MLS for the directory would solve that.

Updating callings in MLS is a regular part of a clerk's workflow, so why not leverage that work. Currently, ward website admins have to continually check or be notified of any changes, and it's not a smooth workflow.
So here is a thought for a future feature on MLS. If there was an export tool that would export a file that can then be uploaded to the LUWS, that would be a great help. Maybe even include options on the upload to show just the presidency (teachers change a lot) or even the ability to not upload certain names (people that have been entered, but not called). That would help keep things synchronized between MLS and LUWS.
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mkmurray
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#14

Post by mkmurray »

net_runner wrote:So here is a thought for a future feature on MLS. If there was an export tool that would export a file that can then be uploaded to the LUWS, that would be a great help. Maybe even include options on the upload to show just the presidency (teachers change a lot) or even the ability to not upload certain names (people that have been entered, but not called). That would help keep things synchronized between MLS and LUWS.
Yes, but posts right before you just enumerated the problems with keeping MLS and LUWS in sync, regardless of the method done. One major difficulty are "custom callings"; if you don't use the standard ones for leadership positions, then there's no way to know which position should be used. Of course, the Church could just say custom leadership positions aren't supported, and you need to switch to the standard ones in order to reap the benefit of the syncing.
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jtwitchell
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#15

Post by jtwitchell »

Okay, I can see what you are talking about now. I was still thinking about just automatic pulling of data from MLS.
I guess I am not familiar with how the data is stored in the MLS or LUWS. I would have guessed that every position (regardless if it is a custom calling or not) would have a relationship to a category (i.e. Bishopric, Relief Society, etc...) it belongs to listed somewhere. Custom categories aren't supported by LUWS right now, so that would need to be changed so that MLS data could be synchronized.
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mkmurray
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#16

Post by mkmurray »

net_runner wrote:Okay, I can see what you are talking about now. I was still thinking about just automatic pulling of data from MLS.
I guess I am not familiar with how the data is stored in the MLS or LUWS. I would have guessed that every position (regardless if it is a custom calling or not) would have a relationship to a category (i.e. Bishopric, Relief Society, etc...) it belongs to listed somewhere. Custom categories aren't supported by LUWS right now, so that would need to be changed so that MLS data could be synchronized.
Right, and some wards will make a custom calling because they don't like the wording of the default built-in one. Something like "2nd Councilor (over EQ and Primary)" or something crazy like that. There's no automated way through code to know if that is a leadership position and which one it is, or even if it should be mapped to a LUWS calling or not. It's very difficult to guess the user's intention with that custom calling with the current setup. Then can just opt not to use the built-in, default calling and not say which custom calling is suppossed to be its replacement. I'm not really saying that's the answer either, because really everyone should just use the built-in callings to avoid problems.
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