[bromcom] UI mismatch (feedback)

[Alis_Klar]

New Bromcom user here.

 

Why is the user interface elements for Bromcom different for nearly every part of the system?

 

I think I've counted 5 or 6 different different designs for buttons. Looks like over time a different developer has created a section and then another developer has come along and made the next part.

 

 

Not great for a new person coming along and learning the system.

 

Also the Training onboarding is way too complex.

[3s-gtech]

Does it look something like Bootstrap? If so, the versions have shifted over time so elements that haven’t been updated for a while may use older versions of the library.

I had to go through that with our in-house stuff to update it all, and it’s not the work of five minutes as it can affect things like containers and nav elements.

[Synkrox]

I am a Bromcom user, and am actually a fan of it overall, but I went through this a couple of years back and found exactly the same.

 

The onboarding for a new school really isn't particularly great and the guides and webinars on different modules tend to start from a system which is already set up, rather than detailing all the prerequisites and how each bit links to another to help you actually understand the workings of it.

I emailed the boss Ali about this at the time and suggested that they could actually offer a "support plus" package with assistance on getting stuff set up. Ideally they need to hire someone to present walkthrough videos for each modules getting set up from scratch and stick them up on Youtube.

 

The bromcom helpdesk is very "tech" focused and only really want to deal with problem tickets rather than user assistance and TBH the speed and efficiency of these tickets being resolved has not been great if they don't see it as important (still cant use a double quote in a comment in the teacher app, nearly a year after reporting).

If it's an obvious gap in functionality (seeing a childs date of birth or medical info when looking at emergency details for example) you get bounced to the "ideas portal", which then just get deleted after a while.

The bromcom community page isn't much use either, a lot of questions on there go unanswered.

I feel very much like a passenger just sitting by watching whetever Bromcom choose to do when they choose to do it which is a shame.

 

The people employed by Bromcom that do interact on there are decent enough and seem to try, but I think spread too thinly.

 

We ultimately went with a third party support company to fill in the gaps for us and help us onboard and work with our staff to get systems how we want them.

Hoople in Herefordshire if you are wondering (we are across the border in Worcs) They will jump into a teams call/remote session or in person and guide us through whetever it is.

 

We are a couple of years in now and it's becoming more comfortable with the system overall, and as I said at the start still like the system, but I can totally relate.

[supportman]

Why is the user interface elements for Bromcom different for nearly every part of the system?

Mostly because they have recently been upgrading areas to improve the performance.

 

The MCAS user list is a great example of this, it was ok looking before but very slow to load the lists of parents.

 

They changed it now and its much faster but looks like it uses a different UI .net toolkit.

 

They use Angular and Kendo UI and AG Grid I think, if you look at their job postings.

 

Overall it is pretty nice UI for the MIS as a whole, they are constantly updating it which I don't think is a bad thing at all with the speed improvements that come with it.

Edited November 27, 2024 by supportman

[Bromcom_Darren]

I am a Bromcom user, and am actually a fan of it overall, but I went through this a couple of years back and found exactly the same.

 

The onboarding for a new school really isn't particularly great and the guides and webinars on different modules tend to start from a system which is already set up, rather than detailing all the prerequisites and how each bit links to another to help you actually understand the workings of it.

I emailed the boss Ali about this at the time and suggested that they could actually offer a "support plus" package with assistance on getting stuff set up. Ideally they need to hire someone to present walkthrough videos for each modules getting set up from scratch and stick them up on Youtube.

 

The bromcom helpdesk is very "tech" focused and only really want to deal with problem tickets rather than user assistance and TBH the speed and efficiency of these tickets being resolved has not been great if they don't see it as important (still cant use a double quote in a comment in the teacher app, nearly a year after reporting).

If it's an obvious gap in functionality (seeing a childs date of birth or medical info when looking at emergency details for example) you get bounced to the "ideas portal", which then just get deleted after a while.

The bromcom community page isn't much use either, a lot of questions on there go unanswered.

I feel very much like a passenger just sitting by watching whetever Bromcom choose to do when they choose to do it which is a shame.

 

The people employed by Bromcom that do interact on there are decent enough and seem to try, but I think spread too thinly.

 

We ultimately went with a third party support company to fill in the gaps for us and help us onboard and work with our staff to get systems how we want them.

Hoople in Herefordshire if you are wondering (we are across the border in Worcs) They will jump into a teams call/remote session or in person and guide us through whetever it is.

 

We are a couple of years in now and it's becoming more comfortable with the system overall, and as I said at the start still like the system, but I can totally relate.

 

Good morning and thank you for your feedback,

 

If you have time i would like to pick your brains via a quick teams call as to how i can improve the community and your user experience.

 

Thanks

Darren Moody

Community Manager

Bromcom