STC Usability SIG Newsletter
Usability Interface

How Usable Software Can Liberate Users from the Routine of Boy Scout Administration

by Mike Mullins

When I was asked to share my experiences with the software program TroopMaster2000, I wasn’t sure I was the right person for the job. I am not a software designer or developer and my computer experience is best described as average—primarily e-mail, web-browsing, and word processing experience with the occasional need for presentations and database management. Hopefully my experiences with TroopMaster2000 as a user—both good and bad—will help future software designers.

Like all Boy Scout troops, record keeping is a major but critical job. In addition to basic troop member and adult leader information, data is also required on when scouts are eligible for promotion, what merit badges they earn, when they complete activities, and numerous other detailed requirements. Recording the information accurately and in a timely manner is difficult enough; keeping the information current and accurate as old scouts depart, new scouts arrive, and requirements change makes the job particularly challenging.

For example, a scout must meet very specific requirements before he can advance in rank. Some requirements specify activities that must be completed, others call for time requirements that need to be met, or particular merit badges that have to be earned. These rules and standards are an ideal application for an automated data management system.

We are currently in the early stages of establishing an automated database to help ease the burden of record keeping. While we still maintain and rely on our manual records, TroopMaster2000 now allows us to crosscheck our automated records against our manual ones. More than once, TroopMaster caught minor errors in our manual records. Duplicate postings of merit badges or incorrect data entries are examples of errors that can and do occur with manual systems but are easily detected with an automated system.

Keeping Records Accurate

TroopMaster2000 is a menu-driven, database management program with an online help capability and an informative manual that includes various tips and cautions. The program includes necessary forms to collect data on scouts and the adult leaders. One of the biggest advantages of TroopMaster2000 we discovered is its ability to help prevent the operator from making errors by ensuring that data input is valid. For example, the program checks to ensure all the requirements have been met before the scout can advance in rank. If the operator attempts to promote a scout—and the scout hasn’t met the specific time requirements—the software will automatically challenge the input. This prevents accidental posting errors that would have to be corrected weeks or months later when the scout may have moved on to another troop.

TroopMaster2000 also helps ensure that scouts are recognized for everything they are eligible for. For example, a scout can earn the Wildlife Conservation Award after he completes designated merit badges. In the past, we had to manually monitor the records to determine eligibility. With TroopMaster2000, once the scout earns the last required merit badge, the program immediately reminds you that he is eligible for the award. The first time it happened to me, I thought it was a programming error. After I checked the records and requirements book, I realized that the program was correct.

Powerful Features

TroopMaster2000 was clearly designed with the management of scout records in mind. Basically, the program handles all troop administration tasks, from maintaining a troop roster to identifying when a scout is ready for promotion. The greatest benefit of the program is the ability to generate all the necessary reports automatically. Data can be collated in a number of ways, depending on the information required. Available at the touch of a button are advancement reports, phone listings, leader rosters, group and individual advancement reports, patrol information, and more. Although we’re in the early stages of implementing the automated system, the potential for saving time and work are clear.

One important advantage of the program is that it automatically applies the advancement rules that pertain to an individual scout. As requirements change, the program monitors when the scout joined scouting and then applies the necessary set of rules. For example, if the advancement rules require a scout to earn a certain merit badge before he can be promoted, that rule would apply only to scouts entering after the implementation date. The scouts that entered before the date do not have to earn that merit badge. TroopMaster2000 automatically applies the correct set of rules to each scout—a tremendous burden to manage manually.

A particularly beneficial feature is the ability of the program to support special scout events such as the Board of Review. A Board of Review requires the scout to appear before a group of leaders who ask questions to ensure the scout is ready for his next rank. Before the Board, we print out the required form and TroopMaster customizes the report for that individual scout. It will show the scout’s past promotions, what merit badges he’s earned, and activities that he has participated in. This information helps the board members counsel the scout on his future scouting requirements.

The program has the ability to allow other leaders to selectively input data for their particular areas, reducing the workload on any one leader. These individual files can then be merged into the master database. A very real danger, as the manual clearly indicates, is that if one of the merged files is corrupt the entire database could be irreparably harmed.

An option not in TroopMaster2000 is the ability to e-mail selected data to others. This would allow the user to send specific files to individuals for updating rather than printing out the reports and then reentering the changes. TroopMaster Millenium edition includes this capability, which should help reduce the amount of time needed to update the records. By attaching reports to e-mails, the turnaround time on awards and advancements is also significantly reduced. Another available feature not in the 2000 version is the ability to print labels that can then be applied to merit badge progress cards, saving the time that it would normally take to fill them out by hand.

Ease of Learning

For a relative novice like myself, TroopMaster2000 is one of the easier programs to learn. The software is relatively self-explanatory, menu-driven, and includes an informative user guide and online help. It’s also a fairly common software package in scouting circles, so when I have problems, one quick e-mail and several other users are able to weigh in with assistance. As I become more familiar with the program, I find myself having to refer to the help screen and manual less frequently. I also find myself pleasantly surprised at times discovering new capabilities of the software program that I didn’t know existed. Overall I see great potential for the software program in our troop, and I can see the time in the near future when manual record keeping will be a thing of the past.