Ward Use of LUWS
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:49 am
I often see excited, new ward-website administrators asking for tips on how to get people to use the LUWS. The reality is that the LUWS are not very usable in its current state, which is the state it has been in for about 7 years. Please, turn back now! Save your effort, ask for another calling, move on... there is nothing to see here.
The limitations of the current system are so great, that trying to get more than 5-8% of the ward using the site is going to leave you crying in the corner. If you hit 10% you will be translated.
Our new bishopric wants to use the LUWS and our ward has spent a massive amount of time pushing to get it used, but we run into limitations at every turn.
The latest has pushed me to the point of recommending other wards avoid the LUWS until a new version is available at some unknown, vague, yet-to-be-determined point in the future.
When having a problem with broadcast emails, some of the emails went to the wrong people. When talking to SLC about the problem, our admin reported that the support person "chuckled and said that that function had never really worked properly." The support person said the new website may be available in the Fall of 2010.
(I know, I say vague point in the future and then I list Fall 2010. The Church's group working on the jobs.lds.org site were one year behind schedule to get it into beta, so "Fall 2010" is definitely a vague date.)
SLC's approach to the LUWS seems to be leaving it as is. Save yourself the effort, wait until the new site, at some unknown point in the future, in a galaxy far far away, is up and running before spending your precious sanity on trying to use the LUWS.
Chris
(My post is a little sarcastic and a little facetious, I know. I'm concerned that the dev group doesn't understand the frustration level of those using wanting, longing, hungering to use the site. I've worked in IT, I know how easy it is to lose visibility of the actual pain being suffered, even endured, by the users of a project, while IT waits until it hits their to-do list to work on it.)
The limitations of the current system are so great, that trying to get more than 5-8% of the ward using the site is going to leave you crying in the corner. If you hit 10% you will be translated.
Our new bishopric wants to use the LUWS and our ward has spent a massive amount of time pushing to get it used, but we run into limitations at every turn.
The latest has pushed me to the point of recommending other wards avoid the LUWS until a new version is available at some unknown, vague, yet-to-be-determined point in the future.
When having a problem with broadcast emails, some of the emails went to the wrong people. When talking to SLC about the problem, our admin reported that the support person "chuckled and said that that function had never really worked properly." The support person said the new website may be available in the Fall of 2010.
(I know, I say vague point in the future and then I list Fall 2010. The Church's group working on the jobs.lds.org site were one year behind schedule to get it into beta, so "Fall 2010" is definitely a vague date.)
SLC's approach to the LUWS seems to be leaving it as is. Save yourself the effort, wait until the new site, at some unknown point in the future, in a galaxy far far away, is up and running before spending your precious sanity on trying to use the LUWS.
Chris
(My post is a little sarcastic and a little facetious, I know. I'm concerned that the dev group doesn't understand the frustration level of those using wanting, longing, hungering to use the site. I've worked in IT, I know how easy it is to lose visibility of the actual pain being suffered, even endured, by the users of a project, while IT waits until it hits their to-do list to work on it.)