1. 02/26/10
IEEE vTools
March, 2012

2. Key Messages Communicate what vTools is Review available tools
Encourage use
2/24/2019

3. vTools Mission Statement
Providing tools to the
volunteers and staff
who support our members.

4. Terminology: vTools Team vs Products vs “Brand”
We develop some products
Meetings, WebInABox, Voting, etc.
We buy some products
Web Conferencing tool, Survey Tool
We use Free software, Open-source software, etc. when appropriate
WordPress (GPLv2 (or later) from the Free Software Foundation)
Volunteers have one place to find tools and support for them
2/24/2019

5. How does a project work? Intent of pilots: Receive the idea
Many channels
Refine the idea
Reduce to a “sound bite”
What’s significant for volunteers?
Write requirements
Committee + staff
Build – buy decision
Best lifecycle cost/benefit
Pilot – build and learn!
Student team-built
Volunteer-built
Carefully selected commercial product
Supported by IT staff
Intent of pilots:
Maximize results from limited development $$$
Mature quickly to production
Learn more from QC checks by staff
Focus vTools developers on moving forward.
Maximize IT staff for routine refinement and maintenance
2/24/2019

6. Present Portfolio In Production: Pilot (Beta) Recommended Tool
Production means SLA-based support after an IEEE QA acceptance process
In Production:
Meetings
WebInABox
Voting
Web Conferencing - WebEx
Blog and CMS tool – WordPress (staff, branded)
Survey tool – Chide.it Inc. (branded)
ReviewRoom – Chide.it Inc.
Pilot (Beta)
Officer Reporting
Student Branch Reporting
Recommended Tool
Doodle (just documentation, not branded)
2/24/2019

7. 02/26/10
vTools.Meetings
Form for entering meeting info: (who/what/when/where/registration)
Displays meeting list online (anywhere)
Handles registrations (start, end, limit)
Credit Card registration payments for R1-R7 with deposits to Concentration Banking (support for R8-R10 is being investigated)
Provides registration list and nametags file
Various feeds: RSS, XML, iCal
L31 report filing and flexible search with export to CSV (MS Excel compatible)
Integrates with myIEEE

8. 02/26/10
WebInABox
Basic web site “WebInABox” with Wizard-like interface for creation
Data driven with auto updates from central IEEE database
Enables a common look and feel compliant with IEEE web presence guidelines
Integrates with Meetings tool
No webmaster involvement required
Supports Sections, Chapters, and Affinity
groups.
Not meant to compete with or replace
complex content management systems such
as WordPress 8

9. Voting Electronic Voting for local units
02/26/10
Voting
Electronic Voting for local units
Piloted in 2007 & 2008 using a commercial tool
In parallel, started internal development to save $$$
IEEE Product Piloted in 2009
In Production Spring of 2010
Currently supports all sections, chapters, and affinity groups
Flexible and full featured
Secured via SSL and web accounts 9

10. Teleconference tool WebEx
02/26/10
Teleconference tool
WebEx
Web Conferencing service to Geographic Organizational Units for online meetings, webinars, training, demos and presentations.
Multiple meetings at the same time via virtual meeting rooms
Contact us to setup a WebEx session: registration/

11. Advanced CMS and Blogging
02/26/10
Advanced CMS and Blogging
WordPress - a content management system with blogging features.
This service is intended to meet the needs of IEEE Organizational Units that want to develop, create and maintain their own websites on an IEEE host.
The general philosophy is that posting Organizational Units will be responsible for their contents, their maintenance and their conformance to IEEE policy.
Organizational Units are expected to choose a single webmaster who is skilled in managing web contents. This webmaster will be the Organizational Unit contact.

12. 02/26/10
Surveys
Vendor tool to quickly create online surveys using intuitive interface
Integrated with IEEE web accounts for volunteer login
Available to MGA Board members and MGA Board Committees as well as Region and Section EXCOM officers.
Collected results can be easily analyzed and graphical reports can be shared with others.
Contact us for more information.

13. 02/26/10
ReviewRoom
Tool to collect, organize, and evaluate online applications and submissions quickly and efficiently.
Use for Awards & Nominations, Competitions, Scholarships & Grants applications. 
Contact vTools team to learn more and get access

14. Officer Reporting Pilot (Beta)
02/26/10
Officer Reporting Pilot (Beta)
Automated tool for officer reporting
Automated eligibility validation and immediate feedback
Instantaneous data updates when submitted by authorized volunteers
Quick review and approval process for submissions by non volunteers 14

15. Student Branch Reporting Pilot (Beta)
02/26/10
Student Branch Reporting Pilot (Beta)
Tool for collecting and searching reports submitted by student branch volunteers such as annual plan and report of activities. Simplified reporting
It is a web based tool
Merged 2 reports (Report of Activities and Plan of Activities) into one
Reduced number of fields that need to be filled out
Introduced electronic signatures by Chair and Counselor

16. vTools usage in Region 10:
02/26/10
vTools usage in Region 10:
Meetings tool was used in 30 different sections to schedule section, chapter, and affinity group meetings
L31 tool was used by every section!
WebInABox is used to host 33 active sites for sections, chapters, and affinity groups
Officer Reporting tool was used to submit for officer changes in 32 sections and counting!
Voting tool was used to hold two elections
Surveys tool was tried by 10 sections, chapters, and affinity groups
Student Branch Reporting was used by 138 student branches to submit yearly reports
2/24/2019

17. Contact info
– contains project
status, blog, contact information, FAQ, and
training information
– contact for any
questions related to the project

18. 02/26/10 18