SDSHOWTO:Survey 2011 Responses - Revision history

Chris.kloosterman: /* Multiple Choice Questions */

2011-05-31T16:43:32Z

Multiple Choice Questions

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	Responses: '''62'''		Responses: '''62'''

	Other than our maintenance period (Fridays from 4:00 pm until 5:00 pm), we try to ensure that all sections of the SDS are available at all times. We have set up several monitoring systems to alert us whenever anything goes wrong (services go down, errors are encountered, etc.) to help get things up and running again as soon as possible if something does break.		Other than our maintenance period (Fridays from 4:15 pm until 5:00 pm), we try to ensure that all sections of the SDS are available at all times. We have set up several monitoring systems to alert us whenever anything goes wrong (services go down, errors are encountered, etc.) to help get things up and running again as soon as possible if something does break.

	''' The * section is easy to use '''		''' The * section is easy to use '''

Chris.kloosterman: /* Yes/No Questions */

2011-05-30T22:37:21Z

Yes/No Questions

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	Instructions are difficult to write if you do not use the page for its intended purpose. A programmer accessing the attendance page, for example, isn't going to operate the page the same way as a teacher accessing the attendance page. It is most beneficial for peers to write the help contents.		Instructions are difficult to write if you do not use the page for its intended purpose. A programmer accessing the attendance page, for example, isn't going to operate the page the same way as a teacher accessing the attendance page. It is most beneficial for peers to write the help contents.

	UPDATED INFORMATION (May 30, 2011):		'''UPDATED INFORMATION (May 30, 2011)'''

	<s>Help documents are easy for us to publish. If you send any help content to [mailto:sdshelp@smus.ca sdshelp@smus.ca], we will put it onto the help page as soon as possible.</s>		<s>Help documents are easy for us to publish. If you send any help content to [mailto:sdshelp@smus.ca sdshelp@smus.ca], we will put it onto the help page as soon as possible.</s>

Chris.kloosterman at 22:36, 30 May 2011

2011-05-30T22:36:33Z

@@ Line 217: / Line 217: @@
 Instructions are difficult to write if you do not use the page for its intended purpose.  A programmer accessing the attendance page, for example, isn't going to operate the page the same way as a teacher accessing the attendance page.  It is most beneficial for peers to write the help contents.
-Help documents are easy for us to publish.  If you send any help content to [mailto:sdshelp@smus.ca sdshelp@smus.ca], we will put it onto the help page as soon as possible.  This is a great way for you to help your peers accomplish their SDS tasks.
+UPDATED INFORMATION (May 30, 2011):
 ''' Do the problems you experience eventually get fixed? '''

Chris.kloosterman: /* If there was one feature you could add to the SDS that is not currently present, what would it be? */

2011-05-30T16:41:02Z

If there was one feature you could add to the SDS that is not currently present, what would it be?

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	Brentwood has a checkbox to indicate that even though the absence is unexplained in SDS, the student had already arranged to be away, but we removed it at SMUS. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that, but it should be pretty trivial to put it back.		Brentwood has a checkbox to indicate that even though the absence is unexplained in SDS, the student had already arranged to be away, but we removed it at SMUS. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that, but it should be pretty trivial to put it back.

	UPDATE FROM GISELE:		UPDATE FROM GISELE (May 30, 2011):

	The problem with this is that I will not know the reason the student gave for not being in class. Some teachers excuse students for reasons that the Ministry will not accept as an excused absence, so it must remain in the system as not excused.		The problem with this is that I will not know the reason the student gave for not being in class. Some teachers excuse students for reasons that the Ministry will not accept as an excused absence, so it must remain in the system as not excused.

Chris.kloosterman: /* If there was one feature you could add to the SDS that is not currently present, what would it be? */

2011-05-30T16:40:39Z

If there was one feature you could add to the SDS that is not currently present, what would it be?

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:40, 30 May 2011
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	Brentwood has a checkbox to indicate that even though the absence is unexplained in SDS, the student had already arranged to be away, but we removed it at SMUS. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that, but it should be pretty trivial to put it back.		Brentwood has a checkbox to indicate that even though the absence is unexplained in SDS, the student had already arranged to be away, but we removed it at SMUS. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that, but it should be pretty trivial to put it back.

			UPDATE FROM GISELE:

			The problem with this is that I will not know the reason the student gave for not being in class. Some teachers excuse students for reasons that the Ministry will not accept as an excused absence, so it must remain in the system as not excused.

			She prefers the textbox approach, but it would still mark the student as absent (unexplained) until the reason has been reviewed.

	=== What web browser do you use to access the SDS ===		=== What web browser do you use to access the SDS ===

Chris.kloosterman: /* Introduction */

2011-05-28T00:05:34Z

Introduction

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	As you may or may not know, the SDS started as a collaborative project with Brentwood College School. We recently ended the collaboration agreement, meaning that everything we add and change in the SDS is now SMUS-exclusive. We have updated the copyright statement and credits on the SDS footer to reflect this as well.		As you may or may not know, the SDS started as a collaborative project with Brentwood College School. We recently ended the collaboration agreement, meaning that everything we add and change in the SDS is now SMUS-exclusive. We have updated the copyright statement and credits on the SDS footer to reflect this as well.

			62 people filled in our survey. We believe that this is a representative sample of the staff and faculty of the school. We did not collect personal information, and so do not know how many faculty vs. staff filled in the survey, or whether each campus was proportionally represented.

	== Multiple Choice Questions ==		== Multiple Choice Questions ==

Chris.kloosterman: /* Overriding Request Prioritization */

2011-05-24T22:15:09Z

Overriding Request Prioritization

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	=== Overriding Request Prioritization ===		=== Overriding Request Prioritization ===

	If you have submitted a request and it has been rejected, has been assigned a priority that you think is too low, or has been inactive for too long, we now have an avenue to request a priority override. Please send requests through your department head or manager to Rob Przybylski, who has the final say (after consulting with his superiors) in prioritizing SDS requests.		If you have submitted a request and it has been rejected, has been assigned a priority that you think is too low, or has been inactive for too long, we now have an avenue to request a priority override. Please send requests through your department head or manager to Rob Przybylski, who has the final say (after consulting with his superiors if necessary) in prioritizing SDS requests.

Chris.kloosterman: /* Procedural Changes */

2011-05-24T22:14:59Z

Procedural Changes

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	=== Maintenance Window ===		=== Maintenance Window ===

	In order to make SDS outages more predictable, we will perform ~~all~~ routine maintenance on Fridays from 4:15 pm - 5:00 pm. This includes putting new SDS versions live, applying updates to servers running the SDS, and anything else that could result in the SDS being unavailable. The SDS could be unavailable for any portion of that maintenance window each week. We do not need to apply maintenance every week, so the SDS may still be available during the maintenance window.		In order to make SDS outages more predictable, we will perform routine maintenance on Fridays from 4:15 pm - 5:00 pm. This includes putting new SDS versions that require data migrations live, applying updates to servers running the SDS, and anything else that could result in the SDS being unavailable. The SDS could be unavailable for any portion of that maintenance window each week. Not all updates take 45 minutes, and we do not need to apply maintenance every week, so the SDS may still be available during the maintenance window.

	Emergency maintenance will continue to be applied whenever it is necessary. We ~~already~~ try to keep the occurrences of emergency maintenance to a minimum. Any emergency maintenance will be accompanied with an email to all faculty and staff, so check your email if you are unable to access the SDS outside of the maintenance window.		If maintenance will be performed outside of the maintenance window, we will communicate the outage time and estimated duration at least 48 hours before the event. If the window creates critical timing conflicts, please let us know at least 24 hours before the outage starts so that we can reschedule it.

			Emergency maintenance will continue to be applied whenever it is necessary. We try to keep the number of occurrences of emergency maintenance to a minimum. Any emergency maintenance will be accompanied with an email to all faculty and staff, so check your email if you are unable to access the SDS outside of the maintenance window.

	If the SDS is unavailable and think you should be able to access it, please [mailto:sdshelp@smus.ca email sdshelp@smus.ca].		If the SDS is unavailable and think you should be able to access it, please [mailto:sdshelp@smus.ca email sdshelp@smus.ca].

Chris.kloosterman at 21:56, 24 May 2011

2011-05-24T21:56:06Z

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	''' A more user-friendly interface design such as the LearnNowBC website. '''		''' A more user-friendly interface design such as the LearnNowBC website. '''

	~~Brentwood was planning on doing~~ this ~~over~~ the ~~summer~~, ~~but~~ we ~~have since broken collaboration and will no longer be receiving their changes~~ to the ~~system~~. ~~I am not~~ a ~~graphics designer~~, ~~and so~~ we ~~would need some external help here~~.		As I am not a graphics designer, the marketing department has been asked to assist with this request. Restyling the SDS is a difficult task, as there is a very large amount of information to present, and we need to maximize the amount of space available to present that information. In the past, we have tried to take a minimalist approach to layout and design to ensure that the page content is the focus, but we will be revisiting all assumptions when looking at a graphical redesign.

	''' give parents the ability to look up contact info for other families '''		''' give parents the ability to look up contact info for other families '''
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	=== What hardware platform do you usually use to access the SDS? ===		=== What hardware platform do you usually use to access the SDS? ===

	It appears that there is a good mix of desktop and laptop use. A few people mentioned tablets, and very few people use smartphones. I do know that using the SDS on a smartphone is particularly aggravating~~, and that is one thing that Brentwood wanted to fix~~. Of course, the most aggravating part is that the screen is very small and there are way too many options, so we looked at creating a reduced functionality SDS (such as just attendance and show student info sections) to access through the smartphone. Unfortunately, it would have taken a lot of work, and the number of smartphone users at SMUS means that we probably won't be implementing that in the near future.		It appears that there is a good mix of desktop and laptop use. A few people mentioned tablets, and very few people use smartphones. I do know that using the SDS on a smartphone is particularly aggravating. Of course, the most aggravating part is that the screen is very small and there are way too many options, so we looked at creating a reduced functionality SDS (such as just attendance and show student info sections) to access through the smartphone. Unfortunately, it would have taken a lot of work, and the number of smartphone users at SMUS means that we probably won't be implementing that in the near future.

	=== Please provide any additional comments you might have ===		=== Please provide any additional comments you might have ===

Chris.kloosterman: /* Maintenance Window */

2011-05-24T21:47:06Z

Maintenance Window

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:47, 24 May 2011
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	Emergency maintenance will continue to be applied whenever it is necessary. We already try to keep the occurrences of emergency maintenance to a minimum. Any emergency maintenance will be accompanied with an email to all faculty and staff, so check your email if you are unable to access the SDS outside of the maintenance window.		Emergency maintenance will continue to be applied whenever it is necessary. We already try to keep the occurrences of emergency maintenance to a minimum. Any emergency maintenance will be accompanied with an email to all faculty and staff, so check your email if you are unable to access the SDS outside of the maintenance window.

	If ~~you cannot access~~ the SDS and think you should be able to, please [mailto:sdshelp@smus.ca email sdshelp@smus.ca].		If the SDS is unavailable and think you should be able to access it, please [mailto:sdshelp@smus.ca email sdshelp@smus.ca].

	=== Overriding Request Prioritization ===		=== Overriding Request Prioritization ===

	If you have submitted a request and it has been rejected, has been assigned a priority that you think is too low, or has been inactive for too long, we now have an avenue to request a priority override. Please send requests through your department head or manager to Rob Przybylski, who has the final say (after consulting with his superiors) in prioritizing SDS requests.		If you have submitted a request and it has been rejected, has been assigned a priority that you think is too low, or has been inactive for too long, we now have an avenue to request a priority override. Please send requests through your department head or manager to Rob Przybylski, who has the final say (after consulting with his superiors) in prioritizing SDS requests.