[bromcom] New look UI coming Friday 14th Feb 2020

[timbo343]

Those of us using Bromcom could be in for a little change on Monday morning or after half term - cue the phone calls. They are updating the interface on Friday 14th Feb 2020 between 22:00 and 23:00.

 

Here's a twitter link to let everyone know -

Edited February 13, 2020 by timbo343

[ITGURU]

Are they training all the users before they make the change lol

[Bromcom_Hus]

Hi All,

 

New User Interface can be TURN ON by a switch at the top of the page. By default is OFF, and users can choose to switch themselves ON whenever they feel it's the right time, unless School Admin Team enforces the option for all their users, as there is a global option to turn it on.

 

This New UI Switch Option will be available for next 2 release.

 

Any questions, please feel free to contact.

 

Thanks

Hus

Edited February 13, 2020 by Bromcom_Hus

[timbo343]

Are you able to give a date when will the new interface be mandatory for users to use as "available for next 2 releases" is a bit vague.

[Bromcom_Hus]

It's planned for end of April

[deshills]

I have had a play with the new system and done a short review on what things are good and what things are missing if anyone is interested (https://tinyurl.com/wo7rnvu). Would be keen to know what others think? I think it's a good time for customers to have a real say in how this new system turns out to deliver something that works for us all!

[DODICT]

Can help laughing at the contrast in this forum - here we have a user exploring the new intuitive interface of one MIS that is help making genuine insights more accessible and usable and then we have people still faffing about with connect.ini in SIMS

 

Two worlds people, two very different worlds . . .

[supportman]

New interface looks great! As a potential new customer this has been an impressive upgrade.

 

Any ideas what is coming in the next UI upgrade stages?

[EduTechSLT]

connect.ini - there's a blast from the past! Many happy hours spent getting them working...

[Bromcom_Hus]

New interface looks great! As a potential new customer this has been an impressive upgrade.

 

Any ideas what is coming in the next UI upgrade stages?

 

I can provide you our development road map if you need it. Please send me your email in PM.

[jslate1980]

Anyone else having issues with the new interface. Specifically the modules menu showing blank. I have large number of staff who are having issues. But not everyone.

[EduTechSLT]

Have you contacted the help desk? What was their solution?

[jslate1980]

Have you contacted the help desk? What was their solution?

Contacted them this lunchtime. It's been escalated up the chain, but no resolution yet. A member of the helpdesk team tested one of the staff members accounts and could reproduce the fault. So it's not a internal filtering issue. Edited February 25, 2020 by jslate1980

[timbo343]

So far the issues we are finding are:

- staff dont really like the new layout, they were used to the old layout (finding things that used to make sense are now difficult to find)

- things that used to fit nicely within screen limits now don't fit correctly

- the blue left menu is on top of other page items - i guess this will be fixed in time

[Bromcom_Hus]

So far the issues we are finding are:

- staff dont really like the new layout, they were used to the old layout (finding things that used to make sense are now difficult to find)

- things that used to fit nicely within screen limits now don't fit correctly

- the blue left menu is on top of other page items - i guess this will be fixed in time

 

- Sorry to hear that, generally users initially they do not like things changed, and they can be negative sometimes, however please do not hesitate to send your specific feedback to me via PM

- Screen limits not fitting correctly: Can you please make sure they use minimum 1280 x 1024 resolution - as all pages are tested with that minimum resolution - and please make sure "ZOOM" is not set in BROWSER - sometimes users do not realise they turn on ZOOM without them realising.

- blue left menu is on top of other page items: This is a BROWSER CACHE issue - which Google does not clear cache sometimes for some machines, we suggest you advise the users to press "CTRL + F5" which forces latest CSS and JS files downloaded.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Bromcom_Hus

[timbo343]

- Sorry to hear that, generally users initially they do not like things changed, and they can be negative sometimes, however please do not hesitate to send your specific feedback to me via PM

- Screen limits not fitting correctly: Can you please make sure they use minimum 1280 x 1024 resolution - as all pages are tested with that minimum resolution - and please make sure "ZOOM" is not set in BROWSER - sometimes users do not realise they turn on ZOOM without them realising.

- blue left menu is on top of other page items: This is a BROWSER CACHE issue - which Google does not clear cache sometimes for some machines, we suggest you advise the users to press "CTRL + F5" which forces latest CSS and JS files downloaded.

 

Thanks for coming back so quick.

 

I understand that users don't like change and appreciate that it is just frustration especially when we have only been using the product for a few months moving over from SIMS but i guess its just bad timing that's all but hopefully they will start to get used to it. If they have any issues i will ask them to email me and pass on any feedback to Bromcom.

 

 

The main majority of our screens are 4:3 17" with 1280 x 1024 resolution as we dont have the funds to replace the teacher monitors to decent wide screen monitors but this is an ongoing battle. The machine i was called to yesterday was set to the default zoom. I told the user to zoom out of the page. Some staff don't like the larger gaps in the register layout, having it more condensed made it more readable.

 

Will ask the user(s) to force a clear of the browser cache. It was doing it on my machine but has cleared it's self.

[DODICT]

Its definitely a significant change which always takes some getting used to. Its a lot better use of the screen and is a lot cleaner but having just launched to 2 primaries on the old interface it definitely takes some getting used to when you've just got used to the old one.

 

I used to like the routines - config - report approach to the modules but on reflection that was as an admin - in reality most people are just using the 'routines' so it does make sense to make the interface fit the majority of users rather than just your data team etc. Your now getting a lot less to choose from in the menu's for the majority and many functions have been consolidated. Its a good step but I was lost looking for assessment config earlier till I realised it had been condensed into assessment components.

 

I've actually found the global search really useful and just jump to known screens and reports from there and I didnt think I would use it at all but it means you're bypassing the menus all together.

 

The old '9 blue dots' and the confusing home icon that didn't return you to the dashboard (!) will not be missed and I think its a job well done but it is a leap forward so there is definitely a familiarisation piece to be done with users especially those who arent tech savvy.

 

I haven't officially launched it across our trust yet and will get some preemptive guidance out this week and then force a switch in a few weeks methinks.

[noelmm]

I've been looking at the new interface and it's going to take our staff some getting used to. What I don't like is the new look for Analysis, to me it makes using it more time consuming as you have to find the filter/option you're looking for rather than having them all on the left hand side.

[timbo343]

@HuseyinGuryel what would be nice to see is the option to click on a module and it shows the sub menu of the module in a web page, like before.

 

For example, clicking on Modules > Census and it then displays the sections of the module on a page. When on hover it also shows the sub menu too which is what is shown in the new UI.

 

That way those with particular poor eye sight or those who like buttons can easily navigate to each section.

[Bromcom_Hus]

@HuseyinGuryel what would be nice to see is the option to click on a module and it shows the sub menu of the module in a web page, like before.

 

For example, clicking on Modules > Census and it then displays the sections of the module on a page. When on hover it also shows the sub menu too which is what is shown in the new UI.

 

That way those with particular poor eye sight or those who like buttons can easily navigate to each section.

 

Hi timbo343, Previously we had a logic, if user has access to 50 menu items or less, we show them in one page, I think we can bring that back. I will discuss with the teams internally.

[supportman]

Couple of minor things I noticed while browsing our test site:

 

- Clicking the Bromcom logo does not return to the main page as I would expect

- Some icons Don't really fit in with the new look such as the plus and minus icons. They are round when the other buttons are square with rounded edges. Would be good to get the add and minus made to look more modern.

- Most icons on for example the student details page look blurry on my 4k screen

- It would be nice to add more menu colours and be able to default to that, our school colours are dark blue

- When I type into the global search something like "attend" and press return it seems to select a field on the student details page even though I have the universal search focused. Might be a small bug.

 

Overall though I really like the new look.

Edited February 26, 2020 by supportman

[timbo343]

@HuseyinGuryel

 

Some minor things from me - more navigation than anything else.

 

- It would be nice to see the sub menu of Modules in a left menu like when you click Config > a menu item. Example here:

 

 

 

- Should the "Setup" menu be in Config rather than Modules? It would make more sense for all setup items to be in config that's all.

 

- On each page show where the user is, for example a line on each page to show Config > Setup > DMS Settings. This would be required as when we are looking in "Setup", the menu on the left shows that we are in "Modules". Also, if we were to search for "Reports" and select "List Reports", having something to show where this page is would be ideal. I spent about 10 mins trying to find the AdHoc reports but if the page showed Reports > AdHoc > List Reports would have been useful. Also, if we are asking others to look at a specific page we could easily direct them to the page.

 

 

- Would it be possible to show a notification once all the emails have been sent? Currently there is a message to say Do Not log out the system, but having a progress bar / notification to let the user(s) know that message delivery is in progress /completed would be great.

Edited March 5, 2020 by timbo343