Staff Database
The staff database stores basic staff information, and serves
as a useful quick lookup device for contact details.
Editing is performed through a simple forms interface.
SMaCS
System for Management of Casual Staff
Features
Gareth Cronin – g.cronin@auckland.ac.nz
Valuable management time is being consumed planning rosters and collating the hours worked by staff to produce pay schedules for Human Resources. Hours are being planned and recorded in many different forms, making statistical extraction and reporting difficult.
SMaCS has been and is being developed using the lightweight software engineering methodology knows as “eXtreme Programming” (XP). XP is based around a requirements elicitation system called the “planning game” where users write “stories” that each detail a feature they would like implemented. These stories are prioritised by the business and the stories are implemented in short iterations (3 weeks in this case) with user-written automated acceptance tests carried out after every new feature is implemented.
XP carries with it a set of development values, principles and practices that together produce a discipline that ensures that the simplest possible solution is always used. XP relies on refactoring to keep code consistent and provide a working production-quality system at all times, regardless of how embryonic that system is.
Web site: http://casualstaffhr.sourceforge.net
Mailing-list subscription: http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/casualstaffhr-announce
The staff database stores basic staff information, and serves
as a useful quick lookup device for contact details.
Editing is performed through a simple forms interface.
The staff view of the roster is a simple way to manipulate shifts for a particular staff member, or for staff members themselves to view their roster.
The roster is provided with audit trail facilities.
There are various views of the centre roster, the overview shows the number of people working in any given hour.
From the overview, the user can drill down to a particular day. The roster is colour-coded to indicate absence, sickness or lateness.
Changing shift details is performed with a single click on a particular shift.
A pay schedule produces all the information required for Human Resources, including overtime calculation.
Reports showing a breakdown of overtime by centre and the use of time are available.
A built-in backup system with a user-friendly interface is provided for automated daily/weekly etc backup and restore.
A comprehensive security model provides fine-grained control of access to the various features.
All transactions are carried out over secure http (HTTPS – not shown in these illustrations) with 1028-bit encryption, so snooping is virtually impossible.
The online user manual provides a walk-through of a working day with links to guides on the features encountered along the way.
This feature is currently under development, but will eventually generate a roster based on staff member’s indicated availability and the centre’s requirements.
