[163] in ad-lib
what is up?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (perkins@MIT.EDU)
Wed Mar 15 15:24:12 1995
From: perkins@MIT.EDU
To: advancecirc-lib@MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 15:23:54 EST
Greetings to the Advance Circ group. It occurs to me that it's time
for an update. We have lots of activities; here's where some things
stand.
TRAINING
--still continuing. Everyone has been through the "Part I" circ
training session, and most people have experienced "Part II." I'm in
the process of scheduling another Part II session. Also, I'm
available for individually-scheduled one-on-one training sessions;
I've done several of these so far. Many thanks to our trainers. So
far the sessions have gone well. I hope everyone is practicing!
Please read and use the Advance Circ User's Guide and our own cheat-sheets.
More cheat-sheets available soon.
TESTING
Well, we've all been doing informal testing just by using the system.
Formal testing is something we need to discuss. That's one agenda
item for a meeting of our group which I'll schedule ASAP. We'll need
to have scripts (remember Horizon?) so we are sure every function gets
tested. Then there's the testing of the migrated data. The "method"
I've used so far is really just spot checking. I've asked Grant for
advice on other ways (i.e., more structured) to test the data. So
far, it looks like normal transactions migrated fine; we know about
the problem with reserve data; and patron records were somewhat
screwed up (zip code field, I think). Please see the BOG minutes for
March 8; these minutes should be sent out on Friday. There's
information in there about testing. Each group will have a "testing
coordinator" who will interact with the testing coordinators of the
other groups. For our group, I'll do it.
QUICK REFERENCE DOCUMENTATION
Cheat-sheet writers have an editorial meeting scheduled for March 23.
Please send me any comments you have on the sheets done so far, all of
which are drafts. I'm sure we'll be working on this for the months to
come. [Back in January, I had asked for volunteers to do cheat sheets
and a number of people volunteered. But in February, when Matt
Goldner was here to do the initial training, it became clear to me
that the best approach was for documentation to be written by people
who were included in his training sessions. At this time, we have
Finigan, Mazor, and Eastman working on basic applications and Such,
Weinland, and Kahle working on reserves.]
RESERVES
Matt Goldner returns later this month to go over reserves again. The
probable time slot for the reserves follow-up session is MONDAY, MARCH 27,
all afternoon. Attendees: same group as last time. [You know who
you are!] We will have
our questions ready. Kahle, Weinland, and Such have been studying
Advance reserves and trying to fathom its mysteries. I'm sure our
next session with Matt will be productive. Once we have reserves
figured out, we'll need to do training sessions on it.
OPEN LAB
Remember: if you can get away from your workplace, open lab hours
(for uninterrupted perusal of the system) are every Wed., 10-12
(hosted by me) and Thur., 12-2 (hosted by Eric).
WEB PAGE
Just a reminder of the Advance web page which Eric Celeste has put up.
It includes training information, the training room schedule, info on
training sheets, the BUG LIST and bug report form, and probably lots
more. The URL to get to this treasure-trove of information is:
http://macfadden.mit.edu:9500/advance
A WORD ABOUT BUGS
We all know about reporting bugs to Grant, using the trouble sheet.
(If you don't have copies of the trouble sheet, let me know.) But
what about a "feature" of the system that, while Geac may think it's just
fine, it's a "bug" to us!? (For example, that cumbersome
procedure for placing a recall with a change in the default due date;
I sent out a message about that recently. The system works as it is
designed; however we really don't like the way it's designed in this
case.) In cases like this, please do send in a bug report, but write
FUTURE, as in "desired future enhancement", somewhere on the form.
I'm sure I could go on and on, but these are the main things. Let me
know if you have any questions or problems. Thanks everyone. -AP
