Callings by Organization page

The LCR user interface designer is working on some changes to the Callings by Organization page in LCR. We are trying to figure out how to best reformat this to reduce some of the clutter. It would be helpful if we knew HOW it is being used. So... how are you using this page?

There is no guarantee that any suggestions will actually make it into the finished version, but it at least will give him something to work with as he discusses it with the product manager.

Ding. Go.

When I was the stake clerk, I used it to ensure recent "stake" callings had been recorded at the ward level. I would receive an e-mail or a completed personnel action form telling me that someone had been set apart as elders quorum president or whatever. It usually took me about two weeks of nagging the ward clerk before he updated the calling. (Granted, LCR makes this much faster.)
I tried to train the stake presidency and the high councilors to leave a copy of the completed personnel action form with the ward clerk to notify/remind him to update the calling. As happens way too often, the ward clerk is the last person to be informed of ordinations and setting aparts.

I also use Callings by Organizations to look for custom callings that should have been standard callings. I can't tell you how many times I have seen choristers, organists, and pianists in custom callings. I REALLY wish there was a standard calling for Bulletin Editor. I also wish it were easier for the stake council to query either LCR or the Directory for a list of all Bulletin Editors in the stake. The same principle applies for other callings. For example, the stake RS president would like a quick and easy way to print a list of all ward and branch RS officers in the stake.

Real questions during bishopric meeting:
1. Who is teaching CTR <n>?
2. Who are the children in that class?
3. Was Bro. So-and-so set apart?
4. How long has Sis. So-and-so been in her calling?
5. Did you record the calling for RS music director?

A big drawback with the current scheme is the method to see members of an organization (especially primary and youth SS classes). It's clumsy. Also, every time I switch from one org to another or open or close an org, the UI seems to have to redraw everything over again. I'm running behind answering the bishopric's questions...

mfmohlma wrote:1. Who is teaching CTR <n>?
2. Who are the children in that class?
3. Was Bro. So-and-so set apart?
4. How long has Sis. So-and-so been in her calling?
5. Did you record the calling for RS music director?

Are you expanding and contracting organizations when doing this or using the "View Organization" links? (This doesn't apply to #2, which requires you to go to the organization to see the member list.)

scgallafent wrote: Are you expanding and contracting organizations when doing this or using the "View Organization" links? (This doesn't apply to #2, which requires you to go to the organization to see the member list.)

I am expanding and contracting orgs. I think eventually I just used "Expand All" because I got tired of the double-clicks for each individual primary class - it might be a good idea to lump all primary teachers under one drop-down instead of having to have more clicks to see the info.

Looking at it again, I thing the "redraw" comment was after I had gone to an individual record to look at something then came back to the Callings by Organization. It seemed to take a relatively long time to load each time. Maybe I was submliminally expecting some caching or the page to only load the data as the orgs were expanded (in order to expedite the initial screen).

• As was mentioned by drepouille, as a stake assistant clerk I frequently use Callings by Organization to look at the ward callings – I wish I could do this in less clicks. Maybe each ward's "Callings by Organization" could be listed as separate lines in the menu?

• This may be out of scope, but as a member of a Young Single Adult Stake, I'd like to be able to just hide organizations that aren't applicable (such as youth and primary organizations). That would declutter the list a lot for us. This is possible using the checkboxes on the right, but the problem is that my checkbox "preferences" don't stay the next time I load the page (see below).

• The "filters" (Vacant Callings, Callings Not Set Apart, Time in Calling, etc.) and the "display settings" (Expand All or Collapse All, show only certain organizations, etc.) should be grouped separately, instead of jumbled together on the right. They are different types of options (see below).

• "Display settings" I chose should be saved, so if I select "Expand All" for example, everything remains expanded the next time I visit the page. "Filters," on the other hand, don't need to be saved.

• I wish the "other" organizations weren't buried as subcategories to Other Callings.

• "Time in Calling" should have smaller increments for Young Single Adult student wards – measured in months rather than years. It's not really useful in terms of years because very few people in my ward have been in the same calling for a whole year.

• "Expand All" and "Collapse All" should be radio buttons, to make it clear that only one or the other can be chosen (not both or neither).

• There should be a third option in addition to Expand All and Collapse All – that is, Expand Only One: When you click to expand an organization, the other organizations are collapsed automatically.

• There should be a "Show All" checkbox above the filter checkboxes to make it clear that when no box is checked, everything is visible. Usually if no boxes are checked it means that nothing is visible. Alternatively, you could have the "Filter By" controls be collapsed when you load the page, and when you click to expand the controls, all of the callings disappear until you start checking boxes.

We use it to view who has been serving in their primary callings for an especially long time.