1. ConPortal Use Cases Why we use it, how we use it… and why you might want to use it, too!

2. I am A “Technology Support Specialist” A 2002 BS Comp Sci grad from Bucknell Former student employee of Bucknell’s Resnet and Techdesk programs Currently trying to manage 40 student employees in addition to the other organizational hats I wear An “INTP” in Myers-Briggs typology

3. Bucknell Is A highly selective, liberal arts + management + engineering undergrad institution in Central PA Home to about 3500 students, and 100-200 grad students Hungry to join the Ivy League Close to America’s agricultural roots Very pretty, especially in the spring

4. My Organization is ISR – Information Services and Resources Library & IT – Library and Information Technology A merged library/IT organization of 90 people Recently under “new management” Housed in the Computer Center & the Library

5. The Techdesk is Responsible for front-line support of students, fac/staff personal equipment, fac/staff issues after 5PM, retirees, campus visitors, and incoming students. Contacted via walk up, phone, IM, email, web form, voicemail, regular mail Responsible for dorm issues, personal computers (PC & Mac), BUTV, passwords, dial-up triage, and first-point- of-contact for many other workgroups Full complement is about 40 students. Rougly 1/3 female, 1/3 international students, 1/3 non CS/Engineering majors

6. ConPortal – an Introduction Scheduling Time clock Automated Notifications Meeting scheduling/attendance Web-based Flexible Open Source

7. The Problem 40 student employees, constantly wanting to change their schedules A service desk open 19 hours a day most days of the week (7am-2am!) Less than completely “user-friendly” payroll system

8. One Solution Email/Excel for scheduling PHATClock for time clock

9. Several Issues Imprecise emails Lots of work for staff members to keep schedule updated PHATClock quirks

10. A Search for Something Better Needed a better scheduling system – ideally one students can use themselves Simplify filling out timesheets, if possible Keep punching in & out as straightforward as possible ISR “Black Ops” mission!

11. Enter ConPortal Began searching for a replacement in March, 2007 Found commercial products that sort of did what we wanted, in exchange for LARGE PILE$ OF CA$H Found ConPortal

12. But Wait! ConPortal had a tremendously promising looking scheduling system, but didn’t have time clock functionality Some administrative functions required manually tweaking the database, and setting up lots of shifts could be time-consuming Hey, source code! In languages I know! If you have a hammer… *hack* *hack* *hack* *check in* *test* *curse* *revert changes* *hack* *hack* *check in* *test* *curse* *revert changes* *etc*

13. What We Added Time clock features, including reports, punch editing, and mass punches Users can edit their own contact info Easier shift creation/administration features Some more automated messages

14. “All the Popular Kids are Using It!” Other groups in our department noticed what we were doing, and asked to participate Admissions department was willing to volunteer as well Turns out different groups wanted to use it in differing ways!

15. Let’s take a look! http://www.linux.bucknell.edu/~conportal

16. Different Use Cases “Classic” – Small, frequently changing shifts plus time clock “Time clock only” – just the time clock, for small numbers of employees & 1-at-a-time staffing “Static schedule” – time clock + visual reference of who works when “The Circ approach” – time clock & schedule for people who work service desks; just time clock for flexible work, like shelving books

17. Just a Time clock

18. Just a Time clock (OH NOES!)

19. A Static Schedule

20. Time clock & Scheduling

21. Features We’d Like To Add Week-at-a-time view More statistics/reports Printer-friendlier output More flexibility in differential hours & seniority system Tardiness point system “Click heading to sort” views

22. How Could it Help You? If you could benefit from a web-based scheduling system that lets your students modify their schedule from anywhere in the world, and can automatically notify your students of changes If you could benefit from a web-based time clock system that only lets users punch in from certain machines, and produces easy-to-read punch accounting If you’re looking for something that is free (in multiple senses of the word!) and can be run inexpensively If you’re looking for an open-source project to contribute feedback, testing or development

23. How Can I Start Using ConPortal? You’ll need a webserver which supports PHP and MySQL – we used Ubuntu and XAMPP for our initial environment, and a RedHat cluster for our production server You’ll need LDAP/Active Directory to authenticate users You’ll want a few hours of setup time You’ll want a few days or weeks of testing first, and you’ll want to review your attendance policies! Some Unix/Linux and PHP & MySQL background is nice to have for the initial setup, but unnecessary once you have it going

24. How Can I Start Developing ConPortal? Cocky one, ain’t you? I admire that! Come see me afterwards, though.

25. See also: Presentation 6A: “Homegrown Payroll and Office Management Applications” by Bradlee Edmondson Give a shout out to Matt Walker, representative of the College of Pomona, without whom this would be a very different presentation!

26. Useful Links PHATClock: http://www.liquidbinary.comhttp://www.liquidbinary.com ConPortal: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/casperhttp://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/casper

27. Questions? Limitations? Implementation Details? Feedback from other ConPortal users?