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If You're Only Going to Read One Chapter - Taking Off With Reporting
OK, now that we have your attention... Before diving into the tools let's start with a discussion on strategy. It's tempting to want to start writing your first report. But trust us - this chapter will save you countless hours and the embarrassment that comes from delivering conflicting and incorrect reports. The usual workflow for application reporting goes something like this: Get a request for a report. Write the report per the request. Seems pretty logical, right? This is actually a great strategy if you only get one report for the lifecycle of the application. Well, that's never going to happen! We all know you'll need to write hundreds of reports over the lifetime of the application. The problem is that many of these reports will have lots of similar requirements, with just small differences. Eventually, you'll end up wasting a good amount of time writing almost the same reports. If you're not careful, some of them might even conflict with each other. So why not slow down and create a strategy of re-usable reporting components? Ok, that sounds like a plan! When designing Rock, we resisted the urge to rush and make a traditional ad-hoc reporting tool. We looked back at the years of lessons learned (embarrassingly enough there are many of them) and designed an architecture that allows you to build a reporting strategy. What Makes Up a Report? There are two facets to any report: filter and display criteria. Consider this example. Your organization's leader walks in...
Metrics - Taking Off With Reporting
"What’s measured improves." -Peter Drucker Using metrics can help provide your organization with a framework for improvement by tracking key performance indicators. Metrics describe what’s going on under the hood of your organization. Rock includes a full set of features for tracking and displaying metrics. First let's walk through how we define metrics and then we'll look briefly at how we can present metrics in some useful ways. Example Metric Anatomy of a Metric Metrics are defined with categories, very similar to data views and reports. This allows you to organize them in a way that makes sense for your organization. One thing that is unique about metrics is that they can be linked to more than one category. This allows you to re-use them in several areas of your metric hierarchy. So how do we create a new metric? Administrating metrics is done under Tools Metrics. For our example we'll create a new metric that displays the number of adult members and attendees we’ve had each week. Here are the details of the completed metric with callouts for each field. Metric Edit 1 Schedule and History At the top of the page, you can see the current schedule this metric is running on, and the last time the Metric was run. 2 Title Be sure to provide detailed titles for your metrics that not only make sense to you, but also to those who will be using these metrics in the future. 3 Icon CSS Class The CSS class...
Group Viewer - Rock Your Groups
The Group Viewer page can be accessed by navigating to People Group Viewer. This is the primary page for viewing and editing groups. Below, we will discuss each section of the group viewer in detail. Group Viewer 1Group Tree This control allows you to drill down through your group hierarchies. You’ll want to plan your hierarchies to achieve a good balanced approach. Too deep of a hierarchy will lead to too many clicks to drill down. However, if your hierarchy is too broad, then you will have to scan through long lists of groups to find the one you want. 2Group Details Displays information about the group including adding tags. 3Action Bar Options to edit, archive or delete a group. 4Group Maps The viewer will display maps for each group location that is able to be mapped. You can click on the map to see a larger interactive map. You can also click on the map marker button directly below the map to see the interactive map. 5Actions Below the maps you'll find buttons for a few key actions. Takes you to the group RSVP List page (see Group RSVP). Takes you to the Group History page (see Group History). Allows you to manually enter in attendance for the group. Takes to you an interactive map where you can view all the people who are members of the group. Using the security button, you can control who has access to view and edit this specific group. See the Securing Groups...
Group Types - Rock Your Groups
As you start to customize Rock for your ministry, you'll want to define new group types to match your various ministry areas (small groups, ministry groups, etc.) Tip Once you realize the power of group types, you’ll be tempted to start creating many custom types to fit each of your ministries. Don't do it! Resist this temptation at first. Less is more. Look for common points within your many ministries. This will help you reduce the number of group types that you’ll need. In general, it’s easier to add new group types later than it is to merge group types in the future. Group Hierarchy One of the most important concepts to understand as you create new group types is the relationship that groups have to each other. There are two basic hierarchy types to choose from: Structured Hierarchy: In this configuration, the levels of hierarchy are defined and limited. For example, you may want to define the hierarchy of your small group ministry to have a single leadership team, under them a level of lay leaders who act as coaches to the groups, and then the groups themselves. In a structured hierarchy you can be sure that this structure is enforced. Example of Structured Group Hierarchy Flexible Hierarchy: For some ministry types, you want your groups to have a more unstructured hierarchy. An example of this might be how you set up serving teams. You may want serving teams to be able to have sub-teams that might have additional...
Group Blocks - Rock Your Groups
By now you've seen the power of groups in Rock. Hopefully, you're starting to see all the different ways they can bend and flex to meet the demands of your organization. The real power is when you break free to see what is and start to comprehend what could be. While we've attempted to pre-configure groups with some standard best practices, you shouldn't limit yourself to what is configured out of the box. The best way to see what's possible is to understand what group blocks are available in Rock. Start thinking of these blocks as your own box of Legos®. How you arrange and build with these blocks is limited only by your imagination. If you're unfamiliar with blocks and how to add them to a page, take a minute and read about them in the Designing and Building Websites Using Rock guide. Group List As its name suggests, the Group List block lists all groups that match a specific filter. The power of this block lies within its block settings. They allow you to: Include Groups Of Type: Specify which group types to include in the list. Exclude Groups Of Type: Specify which group types not to show in the list. Detail Page: The page you would like to navigate to when someone selects a group from the list. Limit to Security Groups: Remember that security groups are a bit special. While there is a group type for security groups, any specific group can be configured to act...
Group Attendance - Rock Your Groups
Whether you're following the leadership principle of inspect what you expect or you simply want to keep a pulse on the health of a group, the group attendance feature can simplify the process of gathering participation details of your group members. Configuring a Group for Attendance Before a group can take attendance, its group type must first be configured to enable attendance tracking under Admin Tools General Settings Group Types. From here you should select the group type you'd like to configure check-in for. Under the Attendance / Check-in tab enable the setting Takes Attendance. While this one setting is all you need to enable the attendance features, there are a couple of other settings that help improve the attendance tools: Group Schedule Options: While a group schedule is not required to take attendance, having a schedule will simplify the attendance entry because it will guide the user to enter attendance on those dates when the group meets. Schedule Exclusions: While each group can set its own schedule (including exclusion dates) you may want to set exclusion dates for every group of this type. This is especially helpful when using the simple schedule option where you only specify the day of the week and the start time for a group. Adding these group type schedule exclusions helps to keep email attendance reminders from being sent. Send Attendance Reminder: This checkbox will enable the sending of an attendance reminder email or text message to the group leader the day the group...
Group Leader Toolbox - Rock Your Groups
The group leader toolbox can be found on the external site under My Account. The toolbox is made up of just a couple of pages and blocks that provide a ton of options. The out-of-the-box configuration is meant more as a sample of what's possible rather than a one size fits all model. Let's look at each of the blocks in detail to give you an idea of what you can achieve. My Account - Groups Along the right of the My Account page is a listing of groups to which the person belongs. The individual can also see their role within the group. Through block settings you can configure which group types to show or hide. Using Lava, you can adjust the look of this block to your heart's content. Group List in My Account Clicking on any group in which the person is a leader will open the group leader's toolbox. Group Toolbox Group Toolbox This is the money block. With this block, you have access to every detail of a group that's accessible in a Lava template. It also has some special Postback Commands that allow you to enable editing of the group details and its members. If enabled in the block settings, you can even allow individuals to set their communication preference for the group. The sky is really the limit when it comes to customizing the look of this block. Note on Security When adding a person to the group the default view allows you...
Group Finder - Rock Your Groups
The group finder is another very powerful block that allows your website visitors to search for a group and register quickly. The group finder has been configured on the external website under Connect Small Groups. If configured in the block settings, it allows for searching by the day of the week that the group meets and the study topic. Selecting your criteria and clicking Search returns all of the groups that match those criteria. From there you can choose to register for a group. Public Groups Only groups that are marked as Public can be viewed in the group finder. You can change the public setting by editing the group. Group Finder While this default configuration should work for many organizations, there are a number of ways you can alter the experience by modifying the settings of this block. Let's take a look at what's possible in the block's settings: Group Finder Block Settings 1 Group Type Start by choosing the Group Types you would like to be available through the group finder. 2 Hide Overcapacity Groups If the group is full, then you may not want to show it in the Group Finder. This setting lets you hide groups that have reached (or exceeded) their maximum capacity. 3 Load Results on Initial Page Load When this is enabled, a person coming to the page will see the group map and the available groups, even though they haven't searched for anything yet. When this is disabled, the person needs to...
Group Members - Rock Your Groups
Group members are a key component of groups. Like groups, they come with a ton of options for customization. Group Member Roles People often have special roles in groups. Some are leaders; others have unique duties. To help differentiate the members of a group, you can give each a Group Member Role. The list of possible roles is defined on the group type. Each role has the following configuration options: Is Leader: Determines if the individuals in this role are considered leaders within the group. This option enables additional functionality within Rock. Receive Requirements Notifications: Individuals in this role will receive notifications of group members who do not meet the group's requirements. This only applies if you've configured the Send Group Requirements Notification job. Can View: This gives the members of this role the ability to view the group information in various group toolbox blocks. Can Edit: Allows members to edit group information in various group toolbox blocks. Can Manage Members: Individuals with this role will be able to manage group members (e.g., change their role, status, etc.) regardless of the security settings on the group itself. Minimum Required: Rock allows you to have rules on how many individuals can have certain roles. This setting configures the minimum number of individuals who must have this role. This will keep you from deleting a group member if the deletion will drop the number of individuals with this role below the minimum. Maximum Allowed: This setting is like the minimum but limits...
Group History - Rock Your Groups
As you work with groups—adding and removing members, adjusting schedules and member roles, etc.—there may be times when you want to get a 40,000ft view to see how they're doing. Rock's Group History feature allows you to do just that. Group History takes all of the configurations and changes made to a group and compiles them into timeline and table views that let you easily view the life and health of that group. Here's an example of a Group History timeline view. Group History Rock ships with Group History enabled for small groups and serving groups. You can enable and disable Group History for any group type. However, because a lot of data can build up quickly, we recommend using it only with your more regular, stable groups. For example, enabling Group History for a Sunday School group where different children are in attendance each week would lead to crowded (and potentially messy) timelines and tables. Enabling it for a security team or other serving group that experiences fewer fluctuations makes a lot more sense. OK, let's take a closer look at how to set up and use Group History. Enable Group History To enable Group History for all groups of a certain group type, begin by locating the group type in: Admin Tools General Settings Group Types. In the General section of the Group Type Details screen, check the Enable Group History checkbox. You can customize the group type's display options in the Display Options section by assigning it...
Group Scheduling - Rock Your Groups
This chapter delves into the administrative setup and management capabilities of the Group Scheduling feature. In the prior chapter we covered what volunteers are empowered to do themselves. Now, we’ll show you how that all gets set up, and what Group Scheduling looks like on the administrative side. Before starting to scheduling volunteers, you’ll need to configure things like locations and schedules. Locations ensure volunteers know where they're needed, while Schedules pinpoint when their help is required. Then, the Group Scheduler is used to place volunteers into those positions at those times. Configuring Group Scheduling There are two critical pieces of the puzzle you need before starting to schedule volunteers. It’s simple to get these pieces because when it comes to asking for help, people are hardwired to know when and where they are needed. So, we are going to make sure our Named Locations and Schedules are configured. Be sure to check out the Checking-Out Check-In user guide for more detail about adding locations. For Group Scheduler, however, you will be adding more than rooms. Perhaps you’ll be adding sections, areas or positions. These might be used to schedule specific areas of your lobby for the greeters to be stationed. Or, if you’ll be using Rock to schedule your band and technical teams, add a location named ‘Audio’ or ‘Piano’ and change the location type to be a position. Adding Location Types Location Types (Campus, Building, Room, etc.) are Defined Types. To add more, open the Defined Type Location...
Schedule Toolbox - Rock Your Groups
In this chapter, we'll explore the power that the Schedule Toolbox puts in the hands of each volunteer. You'll learn how volunteers can easily manage their schedules, set preferences, and stay organized. From choosing serving frequencies to setting blackout dates, the Schedule Toolbox streamlines the volunteer experience, empowering individuals to contribute effectively to your organization's mission. But before we delve into the capabilities of the Schedule Toolbox, keep in mind that it's just one part of the larger Group Scheduling framework. In the next chapter, we'll cover the administrative configuration and the Group Scheduler, which is how Group Scheduling is set up and managed internally. And remember, while many of the examples may revolve around weekend serving schedules, don’t feel limited to that. Group Scheduling extends far beyond typical weekend service coordination. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box! For instance, Group Scheduling can be used to: Organize VBS staff and volunteer schedules Coordinate summer camp volunteers Set up a rotating schedule for monthly campus potlucks Keep youth groups on track and engaged Seamlessly manage special events The Schedule Toolbox can be accessed from your public-facing website via the My Account page. Let's explore the details, starting with the person’s Current Schedule. Current Schedule The Current Schedule is exactly what it sounds like. It shows the person's currently accepted, declined and pending serving engagements. But there's more to it than just glancing at a list of dates and times. Let's break down the features in this area of the...
Integrations - Communicating With Rock
Email: Mailgun We've already touched on just how great we think Mailgun is, but let's dig deeper into the benefits of their service. Note: We are not in a business partnership with Mailgun, nor do we receive any form of compensation from them. We are just passing along helpful tips about some quality products and services we’ve discovered along the way. While Rock ships with the Mailgun transport, other integrations and plug-ins may be available in the Rock Shop. Mailgun is an email delivery service that provides several advanced features. Mailgun is operated by the popular web hosting company Rackspace and is used by numerous online businesses like Stripe, GitHub, Lyft, Slack and many many more. We think you'll find that using a service like Mailgun is more than worth the small cost. The main benefits of Mailgun are: Improved deliverability of your emails through advanced reputation features like SPF records, domain-keys and reputation monitoring. If all of this sounds Greek to you, don’t worry, they handle all of the technical details. You just need to know that they know what they're doing so you don't have to. Whew! Email analytics that help you keep track of trends. Through Mailgun, Rock can show you how many of your emails made it to their destination and, even more importantly, how many were opened, and internal links clicked. All of this happens for you behind the scenes so you can just sit back and view the reports. Not all email addresses work....
SMS in Detail - Communicating With Rock
Before you can start using the SMS features Rock has to offer, you need to set up a phone number. This chapter provides the information you’ll need to get started. Boosting Engagement with SMS In the modern era, SMS messaging has become the predominant means of communication, surpassing phone calls and emails in popularity. SMS messages are typically read promptly and are more likely to elicit swift responses. However, it is not permissible for any organization to send an SMS message to an individual unless the recipient has explicitly given their consent by opting in. As a result, Rock has incorporated an SMS Opt-in Checkbox in most areas where mobile phone numbers can be entered. Furthermore, we recognize that every organization is unique and may have distinct legal requirements. Therefore, the verbiage for the SMS Opt-in checkbox can be completely customized to meet your specific needs. You can customize the SMS Opt-in message at Admin Tools System Settings System Configuration under the UI Settings Tab. Add SMS Phone Number You need to have a phone number before you can start sending and receiving texts. We recommend Twilio, and have a whole section for setting up Twilio in a later chapter. Even if you don’t have a phone number set up yet, it’s important to be familiar with the System Phone Number settings because they are referenced later in this chapter. These settings can be accessed and maintained from Admin Tools Communications System Phone Numbers. System Phone Number 1 Basic Settings...
General Settings - Rock Admin Hero Guide
To make Rock a configurable and flexible tool, we’ve added a lot of settings you can tweak to make it work for your organization. While these settings may seem intimidating at first, once you learn more about them, you’ll become more and more comfortable. Let’s look at each of the major configuration sections and we’ll briefly explain what each one does. All of these areas can be found under the Admin Tools menu item. General Settings Rock Update Updates are one of Rock’s best features. Many systems require tedious software updates only the vendor can complete. Not so with Rock. When an update is made available, all you need to do is visit this screen to check the details. When you’re ready, simply click the Install button. Rock will then download and install the updates for you. How easy is that?! Global Attributes Global attributes (Admin Tools General Settings Global Attributes) are the basic configuration settings that are used to customize Rock. Each has a default value that you can override. Many of these are set up during the installation process. Below is a list of some of the core settings and descriptions. Setting Description Organization Name The name of the organization that's running Rock. This was set for you during the install, but you can modify it at any time. Organization Abbreviation There will be times when you want to refer to your organization in a less formal manner. Enter an Organization Abbreviation to provide this value. Organization Address...
Power Tools - Rock Admin Hero Guide
Tools that are not used very often, or that need to be used with caution, can be found in the Power Tools area. Power Tools SQL Command The SQL Command page is very powerful and should therefore be used with great caution. Rock is built on top of Microsoft’s SQL Server database. While for most people this is a detail they don’t need to know, at times administrators may want to use SQL to get direct access to their data. The SQL Command block allows you to write SQL statements and have them executed directly in the database. When used with a SELECT command, the results of your query will be displayed in a grid below the command. Warning! Whatever SQL command you type in this box will be run on your database. Treat it as a loaded gun. Both DELETE and UPDATE commands will run, regardless of the Selection Query? setting. If you're unsure of SQL, you might stay away from this page. SQL Query You can also enter UPDATE and DELETE commands if you wish. To see the results of these commands, you’ll need to flip the Selection Query? toggle. External Applications We've worked hard to make as much of Rock available through a web interface as possible. Some functionality, though, requires interaction with devices, like check scanners, that don’t work through today’s web browsers. Other times there are situations, like creating giving statements, where the processing of a request could take a while to complete. In these...
External Authentication Services - Rock Admin Hero Guide
Rock allows individuals to log in using several different authentication services. The only one active after an install, however, is the Rock database provider. This provider gives individuals their own Rock username and password. For many organizations this will be the default service they’ll use for authenticating an individual, as no additional configuration is required to enable it. Each of the additional services is discussed in more detail below. Active Directory Many organizations already have a Microsoft Active Directory (AD) infrastructure in place for their employees to log into the network, email and other resources. Rock can use this as an additional authentication source once configured. You can set up Rock to use your Active Directory under Admin Tools Security Authentication Services Active Directory Active Directory Setup 1Activate Be sure to activate the security service by selecting Yes. 2Server Provide the server name of one of your Active Directory Domain Controllers. 3Domain Configure the AD Domain on the server to authenticate to. Once the service is configured, you're ready to create logins in Rock. Active Directory logins can't use the normal Rock registration process. Instead, you must add the login manually to the user on the Person Profile page. Facebook Authentication Password fatigue is a common problem with sites that require registration. In fact, a recent study found that 92% of shoppers abandon a website rather than go through the process of recovering a lost or forgotten password! However, if the website has a social media login option, they are...
Background Checks - Rock Admin Hero Guide
Background checks are an important requirement for most organizations these days. They involve the coordinated efforts of staff, security teams, service providers and other resources. Because of all these points of contact, it can take quite a while for background checks to process. Using workflows to expedite the process helps prevent delays and maximizes the efficiency of your organization. Rock seamlessly integrates with two background check providers, Checkr and Protect My Ministry. The procedure is similar for each, but we'll look at them separately beginning with Checkr. Configuring Checkr The first option for running background checks on individuals is Checkr. Once configured, Rock will default to using Checkr for background checks. You can easily change this default, however, which we'll look at shortly. First, though, let's look at the steps to set up your Checkr account. Step 1: Sign-up The first step in the process is to sign up for a Checkr account. You'll start from your rockrms.com account. Log in at www.community.rockrms.com, and then click on the menu in the top right corner with your picture on it. Click on "Your Organizations". In the center you'll see the organization(s) with which your account is associated. Click on the organization you wish to set up with Checkr. Then, beneath the organization logo in the Integrations section, click the "Checkr" option. Click the Create New Checkr Account button. Once your account is set up, your organization page in the Rock RMS site will update with an Account ID and Access Token....
Things You Should Not Do - Rock Admin Hero Guide
Learning from the mistakes of others is a painless way to avoid making mistakes of your own. Based on real-life experiences within the Rock Community, we have some suggestions for things not to do. Creating Lots of Fake People There’s no denying that it can be useful to have fake person records in your production Rock instance. There are times when you want to try something out, but don’t want to risk changing or damaging a real record. That’s understandable, and fairly common. However, having too many of these records can negatively impact things like reporting, communications and system performance. Eventually you’ll want to clean up, and that’s where you’ll run into some challenges. If you must have fake records, then we strongly recommend that you keep the count as low as you possibly can. Adding even a single person impacts many different tables and data throughout Rock. From attributes to addresses, think of all the things you associate with people and families in Rock, and then consider having to identify and undo all those things. It’s like shooting a shotgun into a bale of hay and then having to find and remove all the pellets without missing any. It’s a manual process; we don’t have a magnet for you. Need Some Help? Removing fake records is very challenging, to the point where you might need to hire outside help. If you do, our partners are ready and able to assist you. However, even for Rock experts this is a...
Rock Captcha - Rock Admin Hero Guide
Captcha adds an extra layer of security to certain tasks, helping to ensure the actions are performed by real people and not bots. This secures your online transactions from spam and fraudulent activities. In this chapter we’ll walk you through the simple steps to use Captcha in Rock. Rock Captcha Using Captcha There are several blocks that support Captcha, and more may be added in the future. Pictured above is an example workflow entry block with Captcha enabled. Keep in mind that the person will not always need to check that box. Often, the validation occurs behind the scenes and the person won't have to do anything extra. We'll look at different ways to configure this in the next section. Use of Captcha is optional, though it is turned on by default. You can disable Captcha by accessing the block settings for any block where Captcha is used. Rock Captcha Block Setting Below is a list of blocks that have Captcha support. Please note that this list may expand to include other blocks. If you don't see Captcha on one of these blocks, you may need to switch to the Obsidian version of the block or to a more recent Rock version. Blocks with Captcha Support: Workflow Entry Transaction Entry v2 Utility Payment Entry Account Entry Forgot Username Change Password Family Pre-Registration Registration Entry Configuring Captcha You’re going to need a free Cloudflare account to use Captcha in Rock. Luckily the signup process only involves providing an email and creating...
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