Experience.FellowshipOne.com

I know innovation is good, but I am starting to get a few compaints from our users about all the changes.  It seems like they get use to one look and then it gets changed.  Has anyone else experienced this concern?  Just wondering.  I know God made us very recilient so we can change.  Is this something we should just get use to.  Will the look change as frequently as it has this past year?

Nola    

Nola,

We appreciate your concerns. As you know, we've been working our way through various areas of the application to make them easier to use and more functional. However, that resulted in some areas looking inconsistent with others. We needed to bring consistency in the look-n-feel of the application, the way data is displayed, the location of actions (add, delete, export, etc), and much, much, more. In addition, a very key element was the movement of the menu to the top to free up some space on the pages. Over the coming months you will begin to see key data elements displayed on the pages that you previously had to get through a report. We believe this will help to raise visibility to the underlying data, increase adoption, and simply make it easier to use.

While we will continue to bring new and innovative features to the application after this release but we will not be changing the look-n-feel in dramatic ways. We understand that constant changes could fatigue the users.

Hope that helps, thanks again for the feedback.

God Bless,

Curtis Simmons

NO complaints from our users about all the changes- a lot of positive comments on the look-n-feel changes and functionality that you all continue to deliver.  Keep pushing the product forward!  Thanks

I've gotta say, I'm pretty excited about the new look. Looks really clean.

Like Nola, I hear users complaining about the changes. There are some folks who are apt to complain even if change is good for them. You can't put too much stock in those comments.

Then there are your key people, you know to listen to them because they are effective in their work and open to change. Even my key people have complained about the changes. I have to agree with them in that the changes have made it harder for the average user to find information (most users are just viewing and editing people records and maybe running some queries—which they’d like to be able to save :).

Everyone has a bank account of credibility points. You make deposits when your expertise turns out good work. You make withdrawls when you make mistakes or make changes. Here is what I'm telling my people: F1 has made some great deposits in their credibility bank account over the years. They have made withdrawls in the recent past with a lot of additions/changes to the user interface, but their account is still positive and they deserve the chance to show that their changes will be good for us. So far the troops are following my advice.

My advice to F1 is, stick with your new ground-up redesign and make fewer changes moving forward. If the redesign is good, it will make new deposits in your credibility account.

-Jim

These are positive changes... Keep bringing them on!

Lee

There is something disconcerting about two user interfaces as we have had with 1.0 and 2.0 looks. Once you are familiar with the two you get efficient. I applaud getting to one user interface that you can add functionality through menus, gears, and sub-menus. While it will be a little challenge at first release our users will function much better.  Looking forward to the staging and the release.

Thank GOODNESS! This has been a long time coming and is much needed. This will definitely bring F1 back up to speed and help make the whole thing more intuitive. From the start, what I have heard from staff is that F1 doesn't "make sense" and that they "don't get it". It looks to me like this update will fix some of that and I applaud your efforts.

Thank you guys for pushing ahead! It's updates like this that show that you guys care about us, the users!

I think the changes will be good overall.

I have to agree that some existing areas have been counter intuitive.

A consistent look and feel with more data available makes sense.  It appears to me that this is an important step to adding functionality and needed streamlining.

There is elegance in simplicity.

Now let’s fix and update WebLink!

I love the changes. I was wondering why the existing home page was getting no love. F1 seems to be pretty "hip" on design, and the existing home page is well ... a little GeoCities if you know what I mean.  ;^)  Keep up the good work guys.  The new look is clean and modern.

The changes look great.  When will the training videos be updated?  We are planning group training sessions for new users and this will be key in determining when to schedule them.

Well, I just last week entered in our data base.  We're a new customer.  I chose to save the money and input the names and information myself.  I took the time to find, crop and upload pictures,  THEY ARE ALL GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I spent 6 hours working on this and it's simply all gone!  My portal users are in the system with errors and no pictures!  Also, it would have been nice to know this change was taking place so that I could have put off the training a couple of weeks and not just get used to the old style to have to relearn it all over.  It's double frustrating though to look in to find someone's information to see it's  all disappeared!  So I'm not too happy to say the least.

Ginger

And yeah, all that time on the training videos??? I would have like to have been notified that they were to be changed so I didn't waste hours of training on the newly out dated system...

Ginger

OK on a POSITIVE NOTE I DO like the new look and think that it IS much better at being USER FRIENDLY!  Just thought I would find something good about it. :-)

Ginger -

I'm so sorry for the confusion. Your data is NOT missing. We have 2 different ways to access Fellowship One. Your data is stored safely at www.FellowshipOne.com, this is our PRODUCTION system. When we have a major release, we put the code onto our STAGING (aka, preview) area for you to play with the new system in a production-like environment so that you can provide us feedback prior to updating the production system. So that you have some data to use in the STAGING system, we take a COPY of your date at a point in time. It's a one-time copy, we don't re-sync each night from Production to Staging. So we made the copy over a week ago, long before you entered data into the PRODUCTION system. If this isn't clear, or you would like further assistance, please contact me at csimmons@fellowshiptech.com

Curtis Simmons

EVP, Customer Effectiveness

Thanks Curtis and Jeremy for getting back to me so quickly!  Ahhhhhh, I now see what has happened and when the "construction" is done this morning, I will ease my pacing mind by getting there.  This look IS much easier to understand.  I like to be able to use programs that you can use common sense to run and not have to rely on going back and forth to training videos and I believe y'all have accomplished this with the new design.  MUCH BETTER!

KUDOS!

Ginger

I'm working in the sandbox, reviewing posting attendance.  It's not posting (won't move person from search screen to the attendance roster).  Are you still working on this funcationality?  Is this just a "look and feel" sandbox, or can I test functionality?

ggaines -

Everything "should" work properly in the Staging environment. However, there may be bugs introduced by the changes to the look-n-feel. We have a broad series automated and manual quality assurance tests being performed by our team; however, getting the code into the hands of our users often highlights some new things. I will report this as a bug to our QA team to investigate. You can also submit them directly by emailing staging@fellowshiptech.com

Curtis Simmons

Rose -

We're still working on the training videos. We will be releasing them as we complete them, so hopefully we'll have some out soon.

Curtis Simmons

I like the changes. Though I know a large percentage of my users will complain about the vast redesign, it's probably for the best in the long run. However, what frustrates me is that the entire time I've been involved with F1, it seems like mostly cosmetic things have been fixed, and really core, missing functionality has never been addressed... IE saved queries, the mythical "report builder", true contact list management (ability for users to unsubscribe from lists rather than unlist their email completely), etc. I like the changes that have been made, but it makes me wonder when they're going to get around to the other stuff. I find that for most of my users, most of the things they want to do end up being far too complicated for them. So either they just find ways to do what they need to do without using F1, or they just bug me to do it for them ;)

I love it!  I think it looks great!  People are inevitably going to complain.  Keep up the good work!  Progress is on the horizon!  

I like the new look and feel, and have found that most of the functionality works.  I received a few error messages something to the effect "oops wasn't supposed to to that will report to the Administrator" I like the advance notice so we can start becoming familiar with the changes, Can we get a commitment to a date for release so we can effectively prepare for our adoption.  It takes time to make this type of change on our end as well as yours and a date we can hang our hats on would be much appreciated.

Paul Lloyd -

We're targeting mid-November for the release.

Let us know when/where you experience any errors by emailing staging@fellowshiptech.com

Curtis S

Yes the new look is nice, but not having to navigate to another page to get to a specific item such as Query Builder or "People Query" is way nicer. So the menu system is a PLUS!

Curtis I tried out the "Compose an email" and I have to assume there is more work to be done. I really hope the WYSIWYG interface improves. Could we have a "LIVE" interface with a split PREVIEW/HTML CODE option that is similar to Dreamweaver? For example, when I click on a word in the preview the word in the code would highlight or jump to it? How about multi-colored text for the HTML code? Full Screen mode? or wider window area for the body? Thanks and keep up the good work!

Rich Lee

I'm loving it!

For those of you who did not attend the 2009 Dynamic Church Conference these changes may appear to be confusing and merely cosmetic. To those of us who were in attendance (especially those of us who took part in the Groups 2.0 presentations), these changes are a very exciting step towards what will soon be a much more user-friendly F1. The F1 staff is doing a phenomenal job of tackling the task at hand (an astronomical task) and ensuring that their customers experience minimal side-effects. Kudos to the F1 Team!

Continue to make suggestions and communicate your needs to the F1 staff. Our team left DC09 with a lot of good information--but most importantly that WE ARE HEARD! They hear our needs, they evaluate our needs, and they strategically develop systems and processes to meet the needs of a plethora of very diverse churches. As F1 Administrators it is our responsibility to get "in the know" and communicate the big picture to our teams.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now!

Mickala            

There is a user inconsistency in the editing and viewing of addresses. When a people search displays the list there is a link "map" under the address. This is a good positioning as many web sites position the word "map" in the same place.  When viewing either the Household or the Individual the view is then not consistent.  The word changes to "View map" and it is placed in the right column where other links show "Edit". Instead of "Edit" the words "Edit this address" are shown under the address. In the current UI and this new UI we experience many mistaken clicks because the portal user is used to different placement (particularly for editing information) and words.  Recommend that in the Household and Individual view the "Edit this address" and the "View map" positions be exchanged. Also recommend only using the words "Edit" and "Map"

We use household email to extend the reach of our communications to all household members. When adding a household there is no place to add a household email or another communications value. Consequently it takes an additional four to five clicks to add the household email. To improve our efficiency for adding household email recommend adding Household email as an input below the Household phone or adding a button to allow an additional communication value to be added before saving new household.

On the groups view all page the right hand has a "+new group" button.The top banner has a people symbol with "Add a group". Are these the same action. If so please make words the same.

To get to the list of online forms to manage one clicks, Weblink, Form Builder. This is not intuitive. The word "Form Builder" should be "Manage Forms" the same as under Volunteer Application. Then when in the Form List there is this small icon on upper right "+". This is not very obvious. Please change to "+ New Form".

Under Ministry menus for consistency and clarity I recommend changing "Assignments" under Particpant to "Participant Assignment" and changing "Move Assignments" to Move Participant Assignments". Also change the heading "Volunteer" to "Volunteer/Staff". We use Volunteer & Staff interchangeably. I am not sure all churches do.

You use "People Search" in the upper right winow. On the People Menu you use "Find a Person". In the Find a Person window you use "Search for an individual". Please make these three the same words.

At the upper right you have "Add a group". When I click to the page I see "Create Group". Please change both to "Add group" or "Add a group".

Dan,

Thanks for taking the time to provide your feedback.  We'll be reviewing each of these items and updating as possible and appropriate.

Mark Lindsley

Business Analyst, Product Management

Please clarify:

I have granted Admin access to those needing to create Volunteer forms. When this new version rolls out these people will no longer need the Admin tab and I can remove this permission, correct?

Will the permissions under weblink mean that users may create Weblink forms, Volunteer forms or Small Groups or will there be specific, more granular permissions for each?

Thanks!

Debbie,

Yes, when the new version is released, you can remove the Admin permissions.  If an individual has WebLink permissions, they will be able to create WebLink forms, Volunteer forms, and Small Groups Questions.  There are no plans at this time to create granular permissions for the WebLink permission.

Mark Lindsley

Business Analyst, Product Management

Any plans to create a fund accounting tool like quickbooks and integrate it into F1?  Cause then it would just be perfect!!

Thanks again for all you do!

Joanna Meek

Financial Assistant

Life Spring Church

I like the new look and thank you for adding a "printed" last update date for addresses.  I do have a major concern which is that while in the Individual or Household view the basic information in the right hand column that I need to view constantly is in a muted grayed out font and is hard to read.  To me, this information should be in a bold black font that is very clear to read. Is there a particular reason for the gray font??? In our current "new" household  update that important information is in a black font and is much easier to read.

I also need to occasionally print an "Individual" or "Household" page for certain staff, and, from past experience, anything in the gray font is barely readable in printed form. If left in the gray font in the new update, it will be extremely hard to read when printed. Also, I tried to print an "Individual View" page in the "staging" environment and it only printed the left column, even when I printed it in the landscape format. The information I actually needed in the right column did not print..it was totally blank. I must be able to print pages from the database that are complete and easy to read.

I also totally agree with Dan Lott about making things consistent throughout.

Thanks for all your hard work on this.

Blessings,

Kay

In Admin, Portal Users, the + on the right is not obvious for adding a new user. Please change to something like "+ new user"

In Admin, Portal Users, + there is no ability to Cancel if one has made a mistake or decided not to add the new user.  Please add a Cancel button.

There are a number of pages where there is only a "+" to indicate adding something. For the daily user this can work because they remember the function.  For most of our users it is confusing to only see a "+". Please add at lease one word with the "+" on those pages. i.e. "+ User"

Dan,

We have changed the "+" to "+ Add" to each of the pages that had just the "+" to indicate adding something. I definitely think this will make it more intuitive in knowing that this icon indicates to add an item on that page.  This is a metaphor that we'll be using throughout the application.

Blessings,

Mark Lindsley

Business Analyst, Product Management

Thanks for all of the great feedback! We've reviewed the feedback and have placed the following suggestions in Staging:

- In the Individual View and Address section on the right, we have changed the location and naming of the Map and Edit links.  This will help with consistency from the different areas that this is displayed.

- We have made sure that all of the Page Titles match the changed Menu Items.  There were a few that were inconsistent.

- We have changed the WebLink > Event Registration > "Form Builder" menu choice to WebLink > Event Registration > "Manage Forms".

- In the Individual View, we have changed the color of the font for the Basic Information, addresses, etc. on the right hand side to black instead of gray.  This should allow this information easier to be viewed.

Thanks again for the feedback,

Mark Lindsley

Business Analyst, Product Management

Thanks, Mark, for changing the Basic Information font to black.  That will really help.  

While looking at the Post Attendance section today, I noticed that when you get to the page where you actually enter the names of those attending a specific activity, the "instruction" information in the right hand column is not correct.  The numbers are all ones "1." and don't match the copy. Also the "Return to Attendance History" line that was at the top of that page in the past and in our current environment is missing. This has been very helpful to my attendance volunteers when they get ready to set up the next service. (I know using the back arrow works, I just like the "instruction line". :)

Also when you click on Post Attendance the "Current Ministry" line "blends" into the actual "ministry" showing. To me that line should be moved up a space. It looks like a "mistake" right now.

I really like the new "merge" options!!  Keep up the good work.

Blessings,

Kay

Excited to see the upcoming changes!

Will small groups be updated during this phase?  Do you know when it will be released?

I love F1's User Groups on the experience site - and hope that the small group manager can get a "facelift" and would be able to look similar to the user groups, plus allow small group leaders to update the content on what their group is teaching/studying doing etc...

(it seems you guys are working on it) :-)

With this new release, do you have a projected date for when we will be able to create our own reports instead of pulling from F1 reports already set up?

psmith

In this new look, when I do a query, if there are more than one page of results I can't find the total number of results without going to the bottom of the page. It is much easier to have the result number at the top (and bottom if possible) and also the page numbers at the top and bottom. Otherwise it is difficult to navigate through the results. Thanks for letting us give comments!

Has anyone noticed that you can't Alt +S and get to the people search anymore?  I really used that instead of having to use my mouse to get to quick,easy people search. Is there another shortcut for this?

Working with the Merge Individual area - the text box needs to be longer for the household giving. Also, wondering why the Merge Button is moved to the left side of the page instead of staying on right side. All of those radials on the right are automatically clicked - so my mouse wouldn't be on the right side at all. Seems ineffient for me.

I cannot understand the change on the move individual screen.  It seems difficult to view and I'm afraid moving a person from one household to another will become much more complicated. My screen doesn't show it in 2 columns anymore - instead it is underneath the other household.  Is that the way it should be or is my screen incorrect?

In the current view and in the new view it's not possible to see the date that a contact was added to a record from the individual or household view.  We had the ability to see that date when we intially launched F1.  Will that be coming back?  It's a big issue for us. Sometimes it's impossible to identify that date without running some kind of report and guessing at the time frame.

Thank you,

Gail Gaines

Find a person search results displays good contact information except for MOBILE phone.  There is space for this most frequently used data.  Put it under the less frequently used "home phone" add (h) and (m) after each appropriate number.  Otherwise the mobile phone is 1-2 clicks and a scroll away... depending on how you navigate to individual.

Active Person (top right of page) When pop up appears the action gear does not include "Add a Contact" Seems like it should also be a basic action there.

I like the new look.  :o)  It reminds me a bit of Facebook or Tangle.com, the Christian video website.  It's cool!  I hope it will work smoothly and will be easy to re-learn.  I'm also hoping that the new design will make it easier to tap into some of the more advanced features more easily.