A pair of recommendations / concerns regarding MBC’s in Scoutbook+.
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Would request that the search functionality operate with less required information. Picture below, but unless you know FIRST + LAST + EMAIL + BSAID, you have to just pull the ENTIRE list. If I want to just type someone’s last name in, it refuses to search, requiring all the rest of the information. That’s an unusual restriction to require upfront in a search box.
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I am an Admin on my Troop. But in my Troop Roster, when I pull up other adult leaders who are MBCs, why am I not able to see on their profile which MBs they are counseling for (like I can see on my own profile).
Thanks!
Dave
@DavidCummings
Scouting America security has mandated searches require Firstname, Lastname and either e-mail or Member ID. This is not going to be relaxed.
I confess that is not obvious to me what that restriction accomplishes when the search function will give me the full list and then I can do the refined search for people with first name “David” myself from the dataset. All that restriction seems to accomplish is making it less user friendly…
Any thoughts on the other point?
@DavidCummings - on your second one you can use the roster builder to show that
Thanks Stephen. I definitely know that there are ways to build custom reports (and run and export them with 15-20 clicks). My suggestion on the second point was to include this handy little window in the profile page when I look at my adult leaders in my troop. Seems like I should be able to see a dashboard on the registered adult leader’s profile page that shows things like their trainings, registered positions, etc. without having to go run a bunch of other separate reports.
This handy little box shows up on my profile page, so the code must be built…
@DavidCummings - why is this necessary ?
Hi Stephen - I’m a customer of this system and this would be helpful. I’m not sure what your role is in Scoutbook enhancements, but if you’re part of that team, I would welcome the opportunity to hop on a call and talk about it if you’re interested in constructive customer feedback. Would prefer a conversation to a one-liner back and forth on a faceless forum.
YIS,
Dave
@DavidCummings - I am a “customer” as well and do not see any particular value n your request. But if you feel strongly about you could work with your council to have them submit a member care ticket requesting this and the justification.
@DavidCummings it is an interesting question -
Registration would be simple as it is a clear list - how that effects another unit would be my question
Training is rough: what would you show? All, Absolute minimum for the position, the suggested for the position in the unit (which some councils/districts demand before you have the position)
SB+ is a unit tool, to help the unit move forward - other registrations would be a stretch to achieve that, training - yes there could be something there but other than a show all make big page or show SYT and Weather not sure if there is a universal answer.
Also, some people have taken hundreds of training courses.
And some charter orgs require training outside of scouting america training and there are also jurisdiction mandated clearances that leaders must also satisfy.
Thanks Donovan. Agree there’s an art to what is shown. But similar to the Unit Dashboard in my.scouting, or other places where drill-down info is available, there are ways to serve up more of the info that a unit leader might want at those different levels without boiling the ocean.
Training thoughts - yes, red/green for SYT and hazardous weather would be good (maybe with expiry date). Maybe a Wood Badge icon? Troop positions held w/ dates… similar to how shown for leadership positions for scouts? And maybe a “Trained” icon next to the leadership positions held for which the person is trained. Agree that you wouldn’t want the laundry list of courses taken because there are many dozens.
The MBC request is significant though because I suspect we are like many mid-sized troops where we try to have adult leaders trained to cover the key badges without having to go to other units, and it would be helpful to be able to look at this directly as a clock from the roster page without having to run a whole separate report.
Thanks for listening, understand there’s not an “Easy Button”.
Dave
MBCs showing on roster page will not happen - there is just not real estate for it.
@DavidCummings
No unit has any registered MBCs. MBCs are registered through the Council or District. One of the methods of Scouting is adult association. It is good for Scouts to work with MBCs that are not part of their unit. This teaches them to work with someone they may not know.
I frequently send Scouts outside the troop, even if I know we have a MBC for the MB the Scout wants to work on.
Ed, seems like we’re getting off topic and you’re missing what I proposed. Talking about adding better information on the currently-barren profile pages that are reached when I click down from the roster page onto a registered adult in the troop. There is real estate, and the code is built because the window in question is visible on my own profile page.
@DavidCummings - I have a saved report for that purpose. Possible after all bugs are worked on and migration completed then perhaps it could be something to look at but it is up to the dev team to set a priority. If it is considered something to be worked on.
"It is good for Scouts to work with MBCs that are not part of their unit. This teaches them to work with someone they may not know.
I frequently send Scouts outside the troop, even if I know we have a MBC for the MB the Scout wants to work on."
While point #1 may be true, it often slows down a scout’s advancement. I’m not sure I see the benefit in that. I don’t think I would ever send a scout outside a unit when there is a MBC in the unit they could work with.
I tend to agree that visibility is good. Even within the unit, There might be a committee member who recently registered as an MBC but the SM doesn’t realize it. By being able to see who in the unit is registered for which badges, they can better spread the load around. That said, I feel like the roster builder report is the best way to see everything at once instead of clicking into each adult.
The current fix in our troop is that we maintain a google sheet with who in our troop can teach what MB. One of our dedicated Asst. Scoutmasters spent a lot of time compiling the info and maintaining it. That’s where we start when a scout needs something.
Which in and of itself is a comment on the system. SB+ should be a tool to help the Scoutmaster, troop leadership and support volunteers to help maximize a scouts experience in scouting. When those same people have to spend their time building secondary tools to meet the need, then the primary tool isn’t working.
How is that doc superior to the roster builder?
