How bout an Update?

[johnshaw]

Any news that can be shared? We see changes being made from time-to-time, anything major/minor on the Horizon.

[PartridgeRM]

Here's what we can share at this point.

• We have been working closely with CDOL to comply with the updated standardized organizations and positions. Clerk Resources recently released a quiet update to support these changes. Enhancements to the user interface are expected to be released the beginning of next year when we add calling and class management functionality.
• In the next few weeks will add another quiet update to begin showing the class assignments in Clerk Resources. We will also provide accurate class rolls at that time.
• We are planning to release in mid-November the capability to move records out of the unit, and to manage household structures.
• We hope to release at the end of this year functionality to record and manage priesthood ordinations, as well as the ability to record a baptism and confirmation for children of record.
• We hope to have the ability to beta test our new functionality in a few weeks. This new capability will mean that participating units will sign into Clerk Resources and be able to use the new functionality prior to making it available to all units worldwide. We hope this will allow us to address usability concerns before it becomes a challenge for all users.

One last item we should mention. A new policy was recently made for Clerk Resources and other membership products which require that any new major release must first be translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese before it can be released to all users. This requirement may initially delay our planned releases slightly, especially around General Conference, but long term will be a great benefit to our users.

Hopefully this information has slaked your thirst for information, at least for the time being.

[williamjackson]

• We hope to have the ability to beta test our new functionality in a few weeks.

Do you have any guidance on how units will be chosen to participate in the beta testing? Will it require an entire stake to participate, or can individual wards join in?

[zaneclark]

I didn't see any mention of the problem of stake clerk positions shutting out ward clerk functions when a person holds both positions. I am having my name taken off the assistant stake clerk list so I can use functions available to ward clerks. I was hoping this would be fixed before I had to do this.

[johnshaw]

zaneclark, While I can understand the frustration you must feel, I doubt this particular issue faces even a tiny portion of the user population out there, it is difficult to prioritize that kind of fix over functionality that will benefit 100% of the user population. I'd personally rather see Priesthood leaders, RS, YM, YW, Primary, etc.. access to their portions of the data... my clerks still have lines at the door asking for these things that could be self service.

[williamjackson]

I'd personally rather see Priesthood leaders, RS, YM, YW, Primary, etc.. access to their portions of the data... my clerks still have lines at the door asking for these things that could be self service.

I am slowly teaching the leaders in my ward to make requests for reports, attendance rolls, birthday lists and the like by email during the week, because it is becoming more and more likely that I (the clerk) can get the information from Clerk Resources immediately and email them a PDF. This greatly reduces traffic in the clerks' office on Sunday. Can't do anything about home and visiting teaching yet, though.

[dfchamplain]

Please let us know how the beta test is going to work. We would like to participate as well.

[johnshaw]

I am slowly teaching the leaders in my ward to make requests for reports, attendance rolls, birthday lists and the like by email during the week, because it is becoming more and more likely that I (the clerk) can get the information from Clerk Resources immediately and email them a PDF. This greatly reduces traffic in the clerks' office on Sunday. Can't do anything about home and visiting teaching yet, though.

I hope that works, for 3 years as a ward clerk I sent data proactively to the leaders in my ward, I was continually bombarded on Sundays with requests for data that I'd sent them. The point is that Clerks still have to do something that a leader could do themselves. We already have a security matrix, they already make reports available by role... I'm at a loss to know why this isn't out there already....

[Gary_Miller]

We print rolls out at the first of each quarter and but it in the leaders mail box. We print monthly HT and VT reports at the beginning of the month and the leader return them filed out NLT the second sunday of the following month so we can update MLS.

As clerks we decide our responsibility was to serve the leader by providing them with what they needed. It also has helped because leaders no longer compete for the computer on Sunday. We do all the work for them.

When leader wants a report all they have to do is ask one of us when they see us or send us an e-mail. We then print the report durning the week and put it in thier box. This type of service has allowed our leaders to be able to concentrate on the ecliasitical part on thier calling instead of the administration part. Thus see that the ward members are better cared for.

[russellhltn]

As clerks we decide our responsibility was to serve the leader by providing them with what they needed. It also has helped because leaders no longer compete for the computer on Sunday. We do all the work for them.

That's the way I did it when I was a ward clerk. It seemed faster for me to do it then wait on others.