HT/VT Reporting Website Overview

[brado426]

Mr. M.,

I really liked your suggestion to have a checkbox for scheduling an HT/VT interview. I liked it so much that I added that feature tonight. If you check this box, it now e-mails the Presidency so that they know to schedule the interview with you.

To keep the application flexible, this option can be disabled in the "System Settings" menu.

I like the ideas about shading, colors, and "Phone" and "Letter" contact options that don't count, but I think enhancements such as these would require some more discussion.

Brad O.

[thedqs]

Really! No one would believe that. It needs to be set to the 30/31st.

Actually you need to implement a little uncertianity here because there are those that will get it done at the beginning of the month (low probability) and as the end of the month approaches the probabily increases until the last day you get 80% done. And of course Sunday's have higher probabily then weekdays.

[scion-p40]

Given that some wards cover many square miles and some are in areas where transporation & communication are not as readily available as in most US metropolitan areas, it seems to me that tracking all types of HT contacts is important. Although I have never lived in a very rural place as an adult, I can see the need for this. When I lived in a military ward letters were considered contact for servicemembers who were away for most or all of the month. My understanding is that those letter contacts were included in reports as contacts. Perhaps they included a note indicating these special circumstances, but I don't know for sure.

[brado426]

With the design of this application, the logic contained within the report is the only thing that determines whether a visit-type is counted or not. This can be changed to abide by whatever rules were decided upon by the church. If the church allowed some variance to these rules, we could easily add a configuration option that allows the Presidency to change the behavior of the report.

As it is currently,

For Home Teaching:

Visited - Counted
Appointment Made - Not Counted
Not Visited - Not Counted
Not Reported - Not Counted

For Visiting Teaching:

Not Contacted - Not Counted
Visited - Counted
Phone - Counted
Letter - Counted
Not Reported - Not Counted

Teachers have the ability to report multiple times a month. So for example, if a Home Teacher reports on the 8th or 18th of the month and marks one of his households as "Appointment Made," he is supposed to go back in at the end of the month and specify whether or not they were able to visit that household. If the teacher does not return to update this status, it is up to the Presidency to acquire that information.

Teaching companions also have the ability to report. So if a companionship has to split up during one month due to scheduling issues, each can report for the household that they have visited.

Brad O.

[WelchTC]

Tom: since this borders on policy, some general guidance on the subject would be appreciated. To what extent should the technology we develop follow or not follow the guidelines? In a worldwide church which experiences a wide range of conditions there may well be exceptions. I'm guessing that it will have to be reviewed on a case by case basis, but some general statements would still be appreciated.

Well I would suggest that people review their handbooks and talk with their leaders about how things should be counted. As far as the software is concerned, I believe that it should stick with what the handbook states and if there are exceptions programmed in, it should be clearly marked as exceptions and again refer people to their leaders and the handbook. The fear is that if people see an option on software then they believe that the option is to be used...even if the feature was meant to be an exception.

Tom

[russellhltn]

The fear is that if people see an option on software then they believe that the option is to be used...even if the feature was meant to be an exception.

Exactly.

Thanks!

[rmrichesjr]

Really! No one would believe that. It needs to be set to the 30/31st.

What about February? Would you really want your percentages going to zero every February?

[thedqs]

What about February? Would you really want your percentages going to zero every February?

Hmm, thus the probabilistic approach would be most effective.

[russellhltn]

What about February? Would you really want your percentages going to zero every February?

Ok, ok. So one would have to come up with the number of days left in the month function so that it would trigger on the proper day. :rolleyes:

[thedqs]

Hmm how about straight submission to the clerk's computer. If the computer is on a dedicated line you could use a free dynamic dns provider like DynDNS or another one (DynDNS is not affiliated with the church and I haven't personally used it very much either) and set up the computer using the free personal web server that comes with Windows XP. You would only have to open port 80 and then the data would stay only on the computer that is was suppose to be on.

Personally this is just an idea being put out there, I don't know what church policy is on this and this might cross the border of having sensitive information "out of church control."