Hi all, we’re looking for assistance to develop an app that any of our volunteers can use so we can manage our race data, records, handicaps & pointscores.
The app will pull in member data from a web source with available APIs. The app will be able to have multiple instances running at the same time ie. a user using a timing function to time races and a data entry point at the registration desk where participants would bring barcode identifiers so we can match the times, to the member and the place they finished.
Happy to discuss further with anyone who is interested, probably looking at a 3 month dev period, focussed on functionality over user experience as app will only be used by volunteers on the day, end goal is to service members by updating results and data on our website in near real-time.
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Ben Scollary
Hi Matt, thanks for your comments!
Is this a Irish running organization that you are a part of?
– Australian, http://www.kemblajoggers.org.au
Is there an existing back-end component (website, with APIs) for your services? I ask this as you mention a member API?
– there is a service which we are looking to incorporate that will manage our memberships
https://dev.tidyhq.com/api_docs
It sounds like there are different volunteer roles?
– yes, only a few associated with our ‘race days’
If there an expectation that this “bar-code” identifier is the phone or is manual data entry okay in this instance?
– barcode is the manual data entry, or assistance to manual data entry, eg. instead of typing into a lookup field, scan the code off a key ring tag
What is the value in providing “near real-time” information to members?
– more for the volunteers, if the set-up is ‘near real-time’, in the sense that the data integrates and gets displayed without further manipulation by committee members or volunteers, than we’ll be able to reduce volunteer time required
– we’re also competing to keep members with for-profit events which have event management systems in place that release results in near real-time, so has become an expectation
Is that concept so that when I as a member, finish a race checking at the registration desk that I would be able to know my position from the volunteer staff?
– yes that too, or an email direct to you etc.
Am I logging onto your website through my phone, do I have this app also?
– no, we’re not looking to provide a ‘member account area’ on the website or app, as no real value in it for them, we don’t have any secure personal account info for members, all the results, pointscores and such are publicly viewable, so enhancing the search and data shown on the website is where the data from the app will be directed to add greater value
When you talk about a “user” timing races, what is the goal of that?
– a race timer, essentially having the stopwatch integrate with the race result collation
Is it the case that they are just tapping on the phone to say that this race has been a start to this race, like a starter pistol almost and perhaps hit it again to say the final person crossed the line, perhaps as each person crosses the line?
– yes to all there, as each person crosses the line > then runner will be handed a place tag (also with a barcode) > then proceed to a results desk where another volunteer will scan the place and the member’s ID tag one-after-the-other, the place is then matching against the place associated with the time (as from the times that are recorded, will be able to tell 1st time, 2nd time etc.)
Will there be redundancy in the use of physical timers?
– thinking of simple table manipulation if required eg. delete a timing entry if ‘timer’ hit Stop twice, or add a record between 2 and manually type in between the results for that place (most people also run with their watches, and we record our races too so at worst can pick up the time from the recording)
Are there concerns around precision of this timer and how it will sync with other timing tools you use during organizing a race?
– no, precision of the timer stopping the stopwatch
– we have an electronic timing system that we’d potentially look at incorporating in a second iteration, we use it ad-hoc at the moment, but we can’t use it across our all different race set ups, so looking to cover a standard timing capability first so unify the user experience for members
– currently not syncing to other timing tools
Is this timer also used to say (a) person crossed the line, and (a) will be established at the registration desk?
– think understand this question, essentially would have multiple devices in use at same time (thinking would be supported by like a Google Firebase back-end), so the ‘timer’ may using a ‘phone’ with the stopwatch function of the app running, times are being pushed to back-end via cellular, on the registration desk we might have 2 people with ‘tablets’ with the race collation function running, that are seeing the times appear for that race as they are recorded, and are then scanning the place tags and member tags, which are matching to the times
Hope this helps and more than happy to connect and discuss in further details
Cheers,
Ben
MatthewCunningham
Hi Ben,
Is this a Irish running organization that you are a part of?
Is there an existing back-end component (website, with APIs) for your services? I ask this as you mention a member API?
It sounds like there are different volunteer roles? If there an expectation that this “bar-code” identifier is the phone or is manual data entry okay in this instance?
What is the value in providing “near real-time” information to members? Is that concept so that when I as a member, finish a race checking at the registration desk that I would be able to know my position from the volunteer staff? Am I logging onto your website through my phone, do I have this app also?
When you talk about a “user” timing races, what is the goal of that? Is it the case that they are just tapping on the phone to say that this race has been a start to this race, like a starter pistol almost and perhaps hit it again to say the final person crossed the line, perhaps as each person crosses the line? Will there be redundancy in the use of physical timers? Are there concerns around precision of this timer and how it will sync with other timing tools you use during organizing a race? Is this timer also used to say (a) person crossed the line, and (a) will be established at the registration desk?
Thanks,
Matt