And which of these technical advisors actually makes changes. We keep
hearing the tech staff is too small or overworked to make the kinds of
changes volunteers have requested for well over eighteen months now, long
before John or Jennifer came on board.
E. At 01:32 PM 10/21/2006, you wrote:
Bookshare.org was sending us all that stuff about hiring Jennifer and what an impact her hiring would have on tech problems, but I fail to see that she has done anything.
Sue S.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerald Hovas" <GeraldHovas@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 12:15 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Step 1 Issues (was Re: very confused)
Monica,
The Tech Advisor group also includes Kelly and Carrie who you know from the list and Debbie Stein who's not on the list. Allison Hilliker, who I believe used to be on the list, is supposed to be joining us. Then there's Jake, Rui, Guido, and myself. So the group is well balanced, including a mixture of less technical people to go along with those of us with technical degrees.
As Jake mentioned, the problem seems to be that Bookshare has done a very ppor job of prioritizing their needs. They tend to focus on their strategic goals and overlook fixing known bugs and minimal effort high impact requests despite asking for help identifying them. We're hoping this will change with the hiring of a new product manager for the literacy programs, which includes Bookshare, along with Route 66. Hopefully we're be hearing on the list soon that they've hired the new product manager and will be doing something about the problem.
In the mean time, I'd suggest sending complaints like this to John since he's the advocate for volunteers, as well as being the Customer Support Manager. That way the staff will be hearing about the problem from more than just the few of us in the Tech Advisor group.
Gerald
-----Original Message----- From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Monica Willyard Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:59 AM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Step 1 Issues (was Re: very confused)
Hi, Elizabeth. You're right about control end, and thanks for pointing it out to us. The thing is that new books and kicked back books are appearing in the middle of the list, not just at the top or bottom. I'd be happy with either the top or bottom, but not this randomization and reshuffling every couple of days. If one of my books is kicked back, I'd like to have a reasonable idea of where to look to find it so I don't have to browse through the list each time I visit step 1. I want to know, for example, that I should be watching the bottom third of the list for kicked back books. I also want to know where the oldest books are because I make a point to take at least one each week to validate. This new system is making my work more difficult and wasting time I could be using in more productive work for Bookshare.
The thing that bothers me most is that whoever made this change to the system seems remote and anonymous so that I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall. Explaining it to John doesn't seem helpful because it won't change the thinking of the person making these kinds of changes. Complaining without reaching the stage of understanding is just unpleasant for everybody involved.
I'm curious about something related to this. The Bookshare advisory group is supposed to represent our needs to Bookshare. From what I understand, the group is made up of several fine men with a lot of computer skills. I wonder if there are any advisors who are women and/or who are not programmers. I'm wondering about this because I believe that women and men process information and use computers differently because of how our minds operate. This isn't an issue where I think one is better than the other. I do wonder how things might be designed if women and our usage patterns were represented in the development of Bookshare. Maybe they would be different, or maybe they'd be the same. I don't know. What I do know is that the interface between volunteers and Bookshare staff does not appear to be working very well because several of us have expressed feelings about not being heard or understood by the developers at Bookshare. Since most of the people expressing these feelings are women, I am wondering if that is where part of the disconnect is taking place. I can easily handle a disagreement, a difference of opinion. It's the belief that I cannot be heard or understood that drives my frustration. I want to give Bookshare my best efforts and believe in our mission. This disconnect between developers and users in an area that, if dealt with effectively, could allow Bookshare to grow well without adding more strain to the system.
Ok, I'm done now. I'll climb down from my soap box. Please give what I've said some thought. If you know of a way to improve this situation, please share it. I want to make things better, not tear anyone down.
Monica Willyard
At Saturday 10/21/2006 08:14 AM, you wrote: >Control-end takes you to the bottom of the list quickly. Hope this is useful. > >E.
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