MIS System

[Guest L3o]

MIS Systems

 

Love them or hate them, you gotta use one.

 

I was wondering which one you use and your most favourite feature... and most hated feature!

 

I've used SIMS (was a few years ago) and found it easy to use but a pain having to install it on every machine - of course the gateway has made this a lot better..

 

Using Facility I have found it brilliant how it can be customised completely to trailer the schools needs... I don't like it how an upgrade can lose a few of the XML changes in ePortal - so just keep comments recorded.

 

So what about you guys and girls?

 

Leo

[Sivadam]

SIMS - Brilliant!

And you don't have to individually install on each workstation!

Solus 3 is now with us!

[Hecate]

I'm happy with SIMS. I like the ease of upgrading -- I hear of people having problems but for me I run SOLUS and it works and I have a script which runs workstation upgrades automatically with hardly ever a problem. The biggest annoyance is when an upgrade 'breaks' something which previously worked. My feeling is though that the best application for any job from word processing onwards is the one you know best. When my users have problems it is usually because they don't know how to get the result they want rather than it not being possible.

[Mcshammer_dj]

SIMS - Brilliant!

And you don't have to individually install on each workstation!

Solus 3 is now with us!

 

solus 3 is still in it's infancy and does not easily handle different domain but should do in the future.

 

SIMS generally does what we ned it do and the support team will try to fix issues as they are identified.

[Guest L3o]

Yeah, the one you know best always works better but have found that staff hate any system they have, be it SIMs or Facility... but then we used to get grumbles from staff having to start doing electronic registration... now they love it.

[matt40k]

solus 3 is still in it's infancy and does not easily handle different domain but should do in the future.

 

Hear they might be doing msi's as well...

[Sivadam]

Yeah, the one you know best always works better but have found that staff hate any system they have, be it SIMs or Facility... but then we used to get grumbles from staff having to start doing electronic registration... now they love it.

 

But we ALL love SIMS here - and if they don't then I soon re-educate them!

Edited January 15, 2010 by Sivadam

[dave.81]

We use PASS here, never really had a major problem with it, simple to use and i rarely contact the supplier.

[Guest L3o]

Used to use SIMs years ago and it depended on the user, think its improved over the years like any MIS. The data manager used to train any new staff to get the best out of the system.

 

Now working with Facility and works wonders.. again educating the users has helped see the real potential of the system and we get so much from the data we put in. Think it helps if a school has a data manager who can make sure the data is managed correctly.

[Sivadam]

Nah!

Data managers don't know usually enough to maximise the system. (Apologies to all data managers out there!). You need somebody who knows far far more than that!

Obviously depending on what you mean by a data manager!

[Guest L3o]

lol... Data manager to manage the data going in and out the system. Would normally have a technical person for the infrastructure side of things. Server clusters, SQL, performance

[Sivadam]

Yes we need the Technical experts too! But the SIMS Manager is the main guy and without that person having a thorough working knowledge of every section of SIMS (or any other MIS I assume) then it is impossible to get the most from the system. Neither Data Manager or Infrastructure Manager would normally have this breadth of detailed knowledge.

 

I cannot fault either our Data Manager or our ICT Services Manager - they are excellent. But it is somebody like myself that needs to coordinate the show!

Edited January 15, 2010 by Sivadam

[john]

But we ALL love SIMS here - and if they don't then I soon re-educate them!

I love Serco and you won't re-educate me I love my Serco system, but as with any major software purchase its all about what is best for the client. The MIS's fine all do the same thing when simplified IE reporting and storing data, but they all do it very differently, so it needs full and proper evaluation of the products and what is best for the individual School / College and not just you used SIMS or Serco or Integris in the past and that is what you should use.

 

When spending thousands of pounds you need to make sure you get it right and think it through before wasting a lot of money and time.

[MattMitchell]

Nah!

Data managers don't know usually enough to maximise the system. (Apologies to all data managers out there!). You need somebody who knows far far more than that!

Obviously depending on what you mean by a data manager!

 

I'd have described *you* as your school's data manager, and the other guy as an analyst, Sivadam!

[Sivadam]

What's in a definition .......... ?

I would not describe myself as a data manager! I reckon I manage people more than data!

I am line manager for our Data Manager, Exams Officer, Attendance Officer .... etc etc etc.

Then again I am responsible for producing the most importamt bit of data - the timetable (as well as other such nuggets!).