Compass Update

Since our last update in mid-April we have been working to introduce some standard reports that show adults disclosure status and a directory of all adults in a Group, District, County/Area or Region.

We have made good progress to produce the reports and we are now refining them to ensure they support your needs. Access to the reports is anticipated to be released to Appointment Secretaries and Regional, County/Area/Region (Scotland) and District Commissioners (and all acting Commissioners) next week.

The disclosure reports will help you identify who has a disclosure due to expire in the near future as well as those for whom a disclosure has been started. This report will also enable you to identify those adults whose roles should be closed. The Member Directory report lists the core details for adults in your local area and will enable you to review member details. With access to adult core details you’ll be able to email UKHQ with your data updates, where a team is ready to help update your details. Further details about these reports and how to access them will be shared shortly. We want to manage expectations upfront in this respect as this will take some time to make the changes requested. We are experiencing unprecedented volume of enquiries in to the info centre and have recruited additional staff but our priority is to support people with disclosure checks.

Interim Compass arrangements

The full list of interim processes can be viewed at scouts.org.uk/compass. Currently you are able to upload records for new adults to be added to Compass to request a disclosure check. We are also automatically requesting disclosures for those adults who are on Compass and their disclosure is about to expire. Wood Badges are now being issued to those whose records on Compass show they have completed their Wood Badge training.

Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation. If you have any questions please contact the Scout Information Centre.

Please do share this email with any local members you feel would benefit from receiving this update direct.

Yours, The Scout Association

Update from Alexis Cheshire

As Matt and Wayne outlined on 14 April, the work to restore Compass continues. Our focus is to deliver the functionality that was provided by MMS in the first instance (Managing Adult Members, Disclosure & Vetting Processing, Training Records and Reports) as these are the things that you have told us are critical in supporting you in your roles in scouting.

As has been previously described, that scale and scope of the works required to restore a secure portal are not insignificant and we have an extremely detailed plan in place to ensure the technology delivers a safe platform for managing our data online. In order to bring a greater element of confidence that we can deliver what is required with our partners, we have agreed a more agile approach to the way we develop and test the software. As some of you may be aware, the Digital world is built predominantly using Agile software development methods as these processes are often quicker to deliver tools to the users that more traditional ‘waterfall’ methods. Given where we are currently in the project, I felt that an Agile way of working was an appropriate approach to resolving the challenges we face.

I personally have worked using Agile for over 10 years in many different organisations from Global Enterprises through to SME’s and Public Sector, however this approach to working is new to both TSA and our partners.

Our approach to this way of working has been to break down the work required into a long list of specific tasks and plan a series of ‘Sprints’ with our partners that will deliver an agreed number of these tasks during a fixed-time period. At the end of each sprint, the software is delivered to us, tested for security and core functionality and any changes or fixes required are then fed into the next Sprint. We will keep this rolling pattern of Sprint then Test until we have completed all the required tasks to the right level of quality.

We have now completed 2 full sprints to date and the progress we are making is almost exactly in line with where we hoped to be at this stage.

Reports
We are very close to releasing the Reports described by Matt and Wayne below. I would personally like to thank those of you who have contributed your time testing these reports and given us your valuable feedback. The feedback received on the reports has been incorporated and we will be undergoing the final round of testing imminently with a view to going live shortly after.

As I have said in previous Blogs, we need your support in the testing and feedback of the tools and services Compass provides in order to ensure it meets your needs. In the coming weeks I will be making a more formal request for volunteers willing to commit to testing Compass in readiness for its return to service as I believe that your voice is critical to the success of any Digital service we provide.

Again, I would like to apologise for the continued disruption and pressure placed on you by the lack of access to Compass. I believe we have a clear plan to move forward and the right approach to ensure we can deliver what is needed. I thank you for your continued support and patience and will be back in touch shortly with further updates.

Compass Update

Firstly we want to say again that we know the transition to Compass and especially the past three months have been extremely difficult to carry out many Scouting tasks without a functioning database. Your feedback and support during this period is greatly appreciated.

We are now in a position to be able to give some clearer information on the plan for Compass going forward.

We have said throughout this offline period that we are not going to restore Compass until we are confident the system is secure. As you know we conducted thorough testing on the system during this offline period which identified the security challenges, but also other matters that need to be addressed before we go live again. All this has meant that it has taken longer to restore Compass than any of us would have liked.

Many of you have additionally fed back that we should not go live again until we are confident the system works and also that we should stagger releasing functionality bit by bit, rather than releasing it all in one go.

Taking into account the range of views expressed, going forward we will restore Compass in several stages, testing at each stage as we go. This will provide ‘MMS’ (the previous membership system before Compass) equivalent functionality from early autumn.

This date is a best estimate of what can be achieved as we write this note in April. As dates firm up we will be tighter and more specific on timeframes. We will communicate this as soon as we are able.

Later in April we will give Appointment Secretaries and Commissioners (Regional Commissioners, County/Area/Region (Scotland) Commissioners, District Commissioners and all acting Commissioners in the same roles) registered on Compass the ability to:

  • Run a standard report listing adults with their disclosure status. This means you can identify who has been through the disclosure process. This list will also enable you to identify those adults whose roles should be closed.
  • Run a standard report listing the core details of all adults in a Group, District, County/Area or Region; the data contained in this report can be exported into many formats, such as Excel.

Further details about these reports and how to access them will be shared with members who are able to access the reports shortly.

Looking to the medium and longer term we are considering a range of options to ensure we have a digital platform that is future proofed and makes the delivery of Scouting easier.

What are the interim arrangements while Compass is offline?

Currently you are able to upload records for new adults to be added to Compass to request a disclosure check. We are also automatically requesting disclosures for those adults who are on Compass and their disclosure is about to expire.

From last week we have been issuing Wood Badges for those whose records on Compass show they have completed their Wood Badge training.

You can see the full list of interim processes we have put in place at scouts.org.uk/compass.

It is worth being aware that as part of our work to get a system back online as quickly as possible, we are looking at the possibility of turning Compass back on for a limited number of users so that there is at least one person in each Scout District and County/Region/Area who can access and update the system. However, this does require a full assessment of this potential solution taking external advice and a full assessment of the security risks. Once we have completed this assessment we will communicate with you letting you know the outcome. This will be investigated in parallel with the work to restore Compass as mentioned above.

How will we learn from this experience?

We are instigating an external, independent review of the Compass project over the last five years to ensure that we have learnt all the lessons we can. Clearly your input and feedback to date will be fed into this process and has been incredibly helpful in this work to date.

Census 2016

We are proceeding on the basis that the Census for 2016 will be carried out using the same online system that has been used for the last ten years.

DBS (England and Wales only)

We are also very aware that there are problems with the whole DBS process and we shall be reviewing this, listening to the feedback we have been given, with a view to making improvements. This will not be possible in 2015, but we wanted to assure you that we will act on concerns that have been raised.

Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation. If you have any questions please contact the Scout Information Centre.

Wayne Bulpitt                             Matt Hyde

UK Chief Commissioner            Chief Executive

The Scout Association

Update from Alexis Cheshire

10 April 2015 – Update from Alexis Cheshire

Since Compass was taken offline at the end of January 2015 we have been acutely aware of the impact this is having locally to administer the tasks required for day to day Scouting.

We are prioritising all work that provides interim solutions for processes that should be done on Compass, as well as developing the right long term plan for restoring Compass for members.

You can view more on the interim solutions advice on the Compass Offline Support area of this site and the Appointments and Disclosures area.

A full update on how these plans are progressing will be posted here on 14 April 2015.

Alexis Cheshire