The Award Tracking Application

Introduction

The Award Tracking Application (ATA) was designed and developed in 2015 by Glyn (Wirrin) Bartlett as his Wood Badge project. Initially the ATA was for use by his Cub Scout Unit. The ATA was presented to the Moocooboolah Seeonee and, after favourable comments, Glyn expanded the ATA for use by all Cub Units. After requests from other Units Glyn expanded The ATA to cater for all Units throughout Australia. The ATA was then presented to Scouts Australia who subsequently encouraged Glyn to inform other Leaders about the ATA through the Scouts Australia Facebook page. The ATA has been under constant review and development ever since.

In 2018 Glyn received a Meritorious Service award, in part for his work on the ATA.

The ATA is an online application that allows Leaders, parents and youth members to record and track, through a number of reports, the Award progress of youth members. It also has functionality to assist in the running of the Group (e.g., Quartermaster, Treasurer).

The ATA caters for both the previous and the current award schemes.

The application is web based and therefore does not need the installation of any special software and is compatible with all operating systems. Being web based, special consideration has been given to security to ensure our youth members’ privacy.

Security features of the ATA are:

The application is designed to be easy and intuitive to use.

Features

The functionality includes a wide range of administration and reports including an Peak Award progress chart (showing the number of elements to be completed by the awardee against the number of elements that should have, ideally, been completed to date):



And a Membership Progression report:



Most reports can be copied to the clipboard, exported (csv, MS Excel, PDF) and printed.

The functionality available depends on your role (access level) and Unit. The ATA allows an individual to have more than one role (e.g., Leader and parent, GL and Leader, Rover and Leader).

The roles provided are:

Youth Member / Rover

An overview of the Youth Member / Rover functionality:

Parent (or other family member/guardian)

An overview of the Parent (or other family member/guardian) functionality:

Treasurer

An overview of the Treasurer functionality:

Quartermaster

An overview of the Quartermaster functionality:

Joey Scout Leader

An overview of the Joey Scout Leader functionality:

Cub Scout Leader

An overview of the Cub Scout Leader functionality:

Scout Leader

An overview of the Scout Leader functionality:

Venturer Scout Leader

An overview of the Venturer Scout Leader functionality:

Rover Scout Advisor

An overview of the Rover Scout Advisor functionality:

Group Leader

An overview of the Group Leader functionality:

District, Region, Branch and National Leaders

District, Region, Branch and National Leaders can perform functions and produce reports according to their level. For instance; a District Commissioner can report on Groups within their District.

Frequently Asked Questions

# Q&A
Q.1   How do I get access to the ATA (create an account)?
A.1   Select "Create Account" on the login page.
Q.2   What is the difference between the ATA and Scout Central / Pioneer Tracker?
A.2   While Scout Central / Pioneer Tracker is a very good application and meets many peoples’ needs, some people require more flexibility, granularity in recording Award dates and reporting. This application provides this extra flexibility. This application also provides functionality to assist in the running of the Group (e.g., Quartermaster, Treasurer).
Q.3   What manuals are available?
A.3   Manuals are no longer available. In their place searchable help functionality has been provided.
Q.4   How do I report issues (e.g., bugs, incorrect information, incorrect spelling), request extra functionality and request new reports?
A.4   When logged in, select "Help" in the menu bar then "Report Issue/Request Functionality".
Q.5   Can I bulk add members (i.e., Joey, Cub, Scout, Venturer or Rover) to my Unit?
A.5   Yes, please select "Administration" in the menu bar then "Bulk Import Youth Members".
Q.6   Can I bulk add member's Awards?
A.6   Yes, please select "Bulk Update" in the menu bar then "Award Bulk Update".
Q.7   What is the difference between an Account and a Member?
A.7   An Account provides you with access to the application and its functionality, including limited member’s records. A Member has records in the application (e.g., Awards, personal information, activities).
Q.8   Does the ATA cater for Branch based Awards?
A.8   Yes.

Questions I Wish Were Frequently Asked

# Q&A
Q.1   How do I contribute to the development of the ATA?
A.1   Contact the Administrator via the Login page. We are always looking for people with any of the following skills:
  • Java development
  • HTML5
  • JavaScript
  • jQuery
  • JSON
  • Apache Tomcat
  • MySQL
  • User experience
  • Web page design
  • Documentation (e.g., technical, user, review)
  • Web security