Tech Forum

I would suggest that we as leaders would also have access to home and visiting teachers

rollinalvaspencer wrote:I would suggest that we as leaders would also have access to home and visiting teachers

In what venue?

So far, that data exists in local wards' MLS systems, and leaders certainly have access to that.

If you are talking about the new online system at lds.org, I am not aware of any technical solution yet to capture that data in the central Church databases that drive that website.

yes that is what I was wondering if on the website http://www.lds.org/leader if there is a possibility to get access to that information online, i know that would be helpful to our unit

rollinalvaspencer wrote:yes that is what I was wondering if on the website www.lds.org/leader if there is a possibility to get access to that information online, i know that would be helpful to our unit

I am not privy to the latest plans, but there is a long history of trying to get HT/VT data captured in an online system somehow. Right now it is perhaps the biggest hole in the new leadership web site. I think I saw someone here recently mention some tantalizing message to the effect the HT/VT data there would be forthcoming, but I have no idea when or how. Searching the forum just now, I couldn't find that reference. So maybe I just dreamed it.

RossEvans wrote:I am not privy to the latest plans, but there is a long history of trying to get HT/VT data captured in an online system somehow. Right now it is perhaps the biggest hole in the new leadership web site. I think I saw someone here recently mention some tantalizing message to the effect the HT/VT data there would be forthcoming, but I have no idea when or how. Searching the forum just now, I couldn't find that reference. So maybe I just dreamed it.

There has been little discussed over the past four or five months about the HT/VT application. At the community development wikithe last piece of information posted for the Home Teaching / Visiting Application stated that the project was put on hold back in May 2010 while the Priesthood department works on other priorities.

RossEvans wrote:I think I saw someone here recently mention some tantalizing message to the effect the HT/VT data there would be forthcoming, but I have no idea when or how. Searching the forum just now, I couldn't find that reference. So maybe I just dreamed it.

Perhaps you were thinking of the Leader Portal Roadmap?

aebrown wrote:Perhaps you were thinking of the Leader Portal Roadmap?

Thanks for that deep link. I had not seen that page. And as a ward finance clerk, I don't yet have any access to the leadership functions themselves. I think what I saw must have been someone quoting or paraphrasing that overview page with the roadmap verbiage. At least it is known that online HT/VT functionality is planned "in 2011 and beyond," which is another way of saying someday.

In some of the Wards in our stake we are using a "3rd party" program called "Return and Report" to report Home Teaching. It's an excellent program written by a couple of inovative EQ presidents. You can see it at ReturnandReport.org

kirt1 wrote:In some of the Wards in our stake we are using a "3rd party" program called "Return and Report" to report Home Teaching. It's an excellent program written by a couple of inovative EQ presidents. You can see it at ReturnandReport.org

I've never used Return and Report, but I'm pretty familiar with it from historical threads here. (There are several.) The application offers several advantages. But one thing it cannot offer is integration with official Church databases.

The Community project jdlessley mentioned above (the one that is "on hold") was loosely inspired by RandR, albeit by design without the functionality of grass-roots reporting online. That project is designed for leaders only. However, I suspect that even the Church project was designed in a standalone silo, without integration to other Church membership data online. There certainly was no integration with desktop MLS. So my bet is that some of the "on hold" work will need to be refactored to achieve online integration.

So for the original poster's request for HT/VT data integrated online, that is pretty much where things stand.

As a footnote, I should note that one other platform that still offers integrated HT/VT assignment reporting is the class of applications that are based on the MLS export files. (The most popular of which is probably Ward Tools on handhelds. There are others, including PC platforms.) Much of the functionality of Ward Tools is supposed to be superseded by an expanded version of the Church-sponsored LDS Tools apps, populated by online services. But since they ultimately depend on the same central databases that the lds.org leadership website does, LDS Tools can't match Ward Tools' reporting of HT/VT until that integration problem is solved.

RossEvans wrote:I think I saw someone here recently mention some tantalizing message to the effect the HT/VT data there would be forthcoming, but I have no idea when or how. Searching the forum just now, I couldn't find that reference. So maybe I just dreamed it.

When I log onto Leader and Clerk Resources Website I get a welcome message explaining the purpose and things planned for future releases. I quote the future section below. That is the best timeline I've seen. 2011 and beyond.

This website will continue to develop throughout 2011 and beyond
Examples of features planned for future releases include:

1. Access for quorum and auxiliary leaders
2. Remaining MLS reports
3. Home and Visiting Teaching assignments and reporting
4. Official Communications from Church headquarters
5. Leadership Training Library
6. Mobile tools