This note addresses 3 things:
- the booking system
- a proposed 'brochure' website
- a more fully featured website
The Booking System
According to Sean Burke the FP Tennis system is a customised version of the OpenPlay system.
Judging by the look and feel I think the PP system may be as well (or it may be played.co contact Tom Marley)
By comparison the FPSP system is embarrasingly dysfunctional.
I think this is an urgent project which can start immediately regardless of how the website turns out. Whatever website materialises at the end of this having an integrated booking system surely must be the goal.
I rang Sam Parton at OpenPlay - they are rolling out a new system to Support GLL/Better called Flow(?) which is on a much grander scale than what they have at present.
Sam thinks A2S may spend £50 per month with OpenPlay while the new system will be £1000 p.m.
It may be that OpenPlay could integrate FPSP into a bigger picture, but probably the software is too complex and expensive.
OpenPlay has a big CSR aspect, which may lend support to PP for instance.
A brochure website
One vision for the new website is that it simply be a brochure for FPSP track and gym. A relatively simple description of the facilities with descriptive words and photographs.
a more fully featured website
An alternative view is that a brochure would be underselling the partnership.
The website needs elements of dynamism. The partnership is not a static thing. FPSP needs programme of changes which could well be reflected in an auto refreshing header on the home page.
Each week there is news from one or more of the clubs. Blitz may play a match, LH will certainly take part in something, A2S may be putting on activities somewhere. There should be scope to reflect these on the website. Any organisation that has hired the facility will have done something. The dynamic nature of the clubs and the events taking part at the site should be reflected in the dynamic nature of the website.
Certainly the site should be built ready to accommodate a booking system. Future proofed as it were.
What mechanism do we want to provide content management. The Wordpress approach is very widely, and there are plug ins to achieve the dynamic home page. Other mechanisms are available. But a statement of what we want should be made.
There is also the question of look and feel. I have written 'dynamic' several times. Is this a part of the FPSP mission statement? Do we want a macho look and feel suitable for well built heavily muscled young men wearing armour and crash hats, involved in frequent high speed collisions. Or are we going for something cuter. 9 year olds hopping over little yellow hoops, for instance. The
Pedal Power website has a very clear look and feel and is utterly engaging from the first glimpse. FPSP must set out what it wants to achieve.
And then there is the question of connections to social media. I'd propose a two way flow of items between the website and whatever is in fashion at the time might well be desirable. We should get this set out and signed off with the other trustees.
None of these questions relate to the coding and construction of the website, nor to details of its design, but to what its users want out of it. That is the functions that the partnership wants to achieve.
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Replies
Hi Adrian
Pedal Power and A2S being there are the same time is not a booking system problem, it's a personnel problem.
I have alerted Trustees constantly to Pedal Power's bookings on Openplay being different to when they say they are actually there, and its down to Louis to take bookings and put them on the system accurately. He's just not responding adequately. Even the best designed, best functioning system is only as good as the people operating it.
The volume of bookings isn't actually that large, we currently have a mass of block bookings from core users and beyond that about 30 bookings tops for summer school sports days and perhaps another 30 one-offs the rest of the year. This should only average out at a day a week's work if even that.
This low level of bookings doesn't just justify an elaborate booking system. A hire of the track is a completely different undertaking anyway to booking tennis courts where you have very large numbers of people booking to do the same thing for however many hours the courts are open. The only variation being whether its singles, doubles or mixed-doubles which may not affect the charge . There are more bookings of the tennis courts on a single day than for the track for a whole year.
By contrast, every track booking is potentially different, involving some degree of evaluation, discussion with the hirer, establishing numbers attending etc. Some groups might be small others might be larger, some might want infield but not the track or vice-versa, and it may not be possible to have simultaneous overlapping bookings of track and infield. For eg. A2S have had archery on the infield, and might only book the infield, but for obvious safety reasons one can't have a simutaneous track booking. And sometimes one has to make commercial judgements, for eg if someone wants a track only hour 11-12 in late June, that can have the effect of blocking a whole day, as there too little time either side for a school sports day, from which we earn £100 an hour currently.
For instance if you want to hire Lee Valley for a fixture, a sports day etc. One has to email them, one can't book a hire online. https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/lvac-venue-hire
All we need is a basic calendar, which the current Openplay does provide, though its clunky and imperfect.
At my day job at the art gallery, they have a theatre space, a club room space and after-hours the gallery itself which they hire out. And a much higher volume of activity than the track, they use this system. https://www.skedda.com which is available internally for all staff to view.
John, YOu have in large part answered my question https://trackbusters.ning.com/fpsp-lh-discussions/what-s-the-differ...
Zac reports
For the record this morning all the athletes arrived by 8.05am and their
times are attached. As we were leaving Access to Sport and Pedal Power
were both setting up at the track. Neither knew the other group would be
there. It was starting to rain. No doubt they will all be a little less
satisfied because they compromised.
This sort of proceeding is just nonsense.
Most of the fault here lies with the inadequacies of the booking system, these being
1) it is not possible for Mark Lawrence to make an actual booking,
2) but must rely on the manual intervention of someone who is off sick
Though Zac's involving other clients does not help