what do you think of RM Integris ? we have SIMs at the moment !

[psydii]

You don't want to go round in circles too long, or end up with a vote for Excel and Paper. Seriously, last week I heard an argument for doing reports in Word, like the good old pass a floppy disk around days, and the only argument against was that after the teachers have done their bit, the office would spend a week having to manually upload them into the MIS!

 

I wonder if anyone has done a cost/benefit/time-and-motion study to justify the constraints and complexities of writing reports in text boxes vs cracking through them in Word/on paper and having and admin assistant chop them all up into report booklets/scan them into the MIS?

 

This is actually a serious point: figure out what your teachers need to look at / enter into the MIS most often, and ensure that is a streamlined as possible. Teachers should be teaching, not using the MIS system, the MIS should support them, not be an obstructive technical process to be endured.

 

Look at what your admin team do most often. Again make sure that what ever MIS you are using has that streamlined too.

 

There must be Minimal clicks/presses/screens to enter data and view most common information.

 

Then check the big occasional time consuming tasks, such as report writing, class membership management, time table building, mark sheet design, behaviour management design. Make sure you understand what is required in a prospective system vs your current one. Some MIS designs make somethings exponentially harder than in others. Some MIS systems are highly flexible, enabling choice on how you run operations at your school. Others are rigid, and basically mandate process.

 

What do you need? Would integris improve your school's performance or hold it back.?

[Bromcom_John]

You'll also do yourself a big favour internally if you consider the exams team closely in you evaluation.

Exams entry, scheduling, seating and not to mention results, it's almost the definition of the big occasional time consuming job! It also comes with the added bonus of being massively deadline dependent.

I have no idea what the above process is like in Integris, but it is one of the areas you should investigate.

 

John

(who "also" has his company represented in his profile, his location and hopes that @vikpaw is only inferring the alliterative nightmare that is "john condon @ bromcom")

[michael2k6]

*slides in waving*

 

I can echo what @JohnCondon said and also add that the exams team will speak to just about everyone for one reason or another (in my experience of working in schools rather than my current post), and so if they're on board and positive, they can make a great advocate to ease the change.

 

I also agree with what Christine said and think she was probably just speaking from experience; the simple way I'd put this is that it's safe to assume each of the MIS available will cover the basic criteria else quite frankly they wouldn't be in business.

 

How they achieve that, what they look like, the processes, and the strengths, will differ from one product / supplier to another. The requirements and priorities of each establishment will also differ. It's important, therefore, to assess the market using measurable criteria, which should be set out based on your own needs. Alongside that, take opinion from trusted and respected colleagues from reputable sources, such as those available here; just ensure you do both.

 

On a slightly separate note, I did just discover that my company name isn't in my profile anywhere. I also have a fairly unprofessional username. That's because when I created the account, I was 17, and working in a school!

Since then I've been in and out of a couple of businesses, including schools, but I've now added my current employer just in case! I do make abundantly clear the business I work for and my role on any relevant posts though, but I only do this when it's relevant; I use the forum as a point of interest and also to seek help where needed for things unrelated to my work (but still on topic), and help out generally where ever I can - I've been known to help with SQL before with users experiencing issues with other MIS systems (with appropriate caveats and transparency) because ultimately, we're all here (hopefully) for the right reasons; we're trying to be helpful, regardless of whether there's something 'in it for us'. That's certainly how I operate, at least. If I can help, I will, and I've been fortunate enough to receive plenty of help in return over the years, and also met some great people.

 

Michael Sanderson

UK Account Manager, Advanced Learning

Director, Horbury Academy

Car enthusiast

Yorkshire lad