| Version | 4.1 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Davallia Technology |
| Release date | Aug 24, 2012 |
| Date added | Aug 24, 2012 |
| Os requirements | Windows 2003, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows XP |
| Requirements | None |
| Total downloads | 3,100 |
| Price | Free to try |
Description
With Smartroster, define your events and roles, add your people and specify when and how they wish to participate by nominating their events, roles, availability/absences, and work association preferences. Then set the period you wish to schedule and hit the AutoFill button to create the schedule. SmartRoster will cycle through many different schedules and automatically choose the best one, balancing the workload as evenly and fairly as possible, while respecting work association preferences. You can schedule completely manually, using the drag-and-drop interface, completely automatically, or any combination in between. SmartRoster offers a number of features to make sure people get their schedule, and remember when they are on duty, such as individualized reports, direct email to your volunteers, and automated email reminders. SmartRoster eliminates clashes and mistakes. It maintains a knowledge-base about your people, their skills, absences and work constraints, as well as your organizations requirements.
Review
Designed for church personnel, this complex program offers the tools to help you create and manage church schedules. Because of the various events, people, and other things it tracks, setup may take some time, and less experienced users might be overwhelmed by the program's busy interface. We also found some problems for those running Vista on their computers.
The program's main interface is busy and little has been done to dress up this database-driven program. On first run, a menu gives you the option of creating a new file with or without the help of a wizard. Some testers using Vista reported that the wizard didn't appear for them regardless of which method was chosen. They also received a pop-up window that revealed that the Help feature isn't supported by Vista. For a simpler program, that might be fine, but SmartRoster involves setting up four main areas to come up with the desired roster: People, Schedules, Events, and Roles. Without guidance, less experienced users could be overwhelmed with the setup. For those on other operating systems, the wizard and Help file make the process easier, but it will still take time to get all of the necessary information added to make an accurate roster. For example, there are seven tabs for the various types of data you can capture for a single individual in the People section. Information ranges from contact details like address and phone to specifying a person's roles in the church.
You have 30 days to give SmartRoster a try, and while this is the standard trial period, those new to scheduling programs might not find this to be enough time to fully get the hang of this app. We recommend this program for those who have experience working with database programs and are willing to put in the time getting it set up.
