Nimitz Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I thought I heard a while back that classification system updates were going to be run more often than once a month. If true, often often are updates done now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent1k1 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 They are actually running them once a month now. As they have always done. sometime between the 10th and 16th of the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I thought I heard a while back that classification system updates were going to be run more often than once a month. If true, often often are updates done now? You did hear they would run more often than once a month. It was in Kim's message to the membership earlier this year. It's anyone's guess as to why they haven't started doing it yet. You could always email Kim and ask her why it's not happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 Thx, thought I was going senile .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadarTech Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 The word is that the process to is this is pending a volunteer programmer who is making database changes. That is the understanding I had when I called HQ a month or so ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent1k1 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I'm certainly holding nothing against anyone willing to volunteer their time to help promote the sport. Most of us do it every time we shoot as RO's, stage builders, etc. 20+ thousand members look at classifications every time they come out, and although I don't think the algorithms are that tough to develop, the need to be bulletproof as we can't just roll-back the classifications in a couple years if we find a bug. That would have affected so many matches, awards, trips to prize tables, bragging rights, etc. I hope this volunteer is being paid, and paid well enough for it to be a MAJOR focus for them. USPSA HQ certainly has no problem spending money on other things that are not nearly as important as this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester121 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Completely agree, Trent. This "free must be better" approach drives me up the wall, I don't know who the programmer is or if he has the chops, but I'd much prefer a contractual arrangement where there's no question about the expectations, timeline, and results. How do you call up a volunteer and complain about a lack of progress, or code problems? Who at HQ has technical experience to manage the project properly, define requirements, and evaluate results? Presumably, we now have someone poking their fingers in the database and tinkering with things, with no requirement to document changes. Worst case, something breaks, and USPSA is left holding the pieces. Best case... well, we have months of delays already, with no reported progress thus far. And weren't we supposed to have a USPSA smartphone app this year? Wonder if that's being volunteered too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Hmmmm ... While I'm not a s/w engineer I'm not sure why this is that complicated if all we're doing is changing the frequency of when the system runs ...? Maybe they are taking the opportunity to update/fix things at the same time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Hmmmm ... While I'm not a s/w engineer I'm not sure why this is that complicated if all we're doing is changing the frequency of when the system runs ...? Maybe they are taking the opportunity to update/fix things at the same time? In theory it should be a simple change but I believe there is some manual steps in the process. I seem to recall a post that classifications where delayed due to folks being at SHOT this year. To fully automate the process you'll have to remove any manual steps or figure out a way to automate them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent1k1 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I remember the same thing. I'm almost positive that until the Classification scores are paid for, they are not eligible to be run. Simple on the surface, but that is one of the processes i'm sure needs to be addressed. As a stats guy for our club, I get notifications of all the incorrectly spelled names that were submitted, changes to USPSA number (Life, Three Year, etc.) as well as notifications of USPSA numbers that have expired. It is a pretty decent scope of work which is why I posted that i'm hoping the volunteer is getting paid and decently so that it becomes a focus for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I remember the same thing. I'm almost positive that until the Classification scores are paid for, they are not eligible to be run. Simple on the surface, but that is one of the processes i'm sure needs to be addressed. As a stats guy for our club, I get notifications of all the incorrectly spelled names that were submitted, changes to USPSA number (Life, Three Year, etc.) as well as notifications of USPSA numbers that have expired. It is a pretty decent scope of work which is why I posted that i'm hoping the volunteer is getting paid and decently so that it becomes a focus for them. Indeed you are correct. If the bill is not paid, the file is not run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 ok, while I get that there are a lot of steps in the process, I'm not sure what that has to do with changing the frequency of when the system is run? I assume currently the system runs at the same time every month with whatever valid data it has at that moment ... in other words, the system run time doesn't change based on when an appropriate amount of good data is available, it simply runs at a set time each month. if for some reason data is not ready for the system it is just held until the next month for processing, right? We don't not do a run becauase we're waiting on some data ... If this is the case then running the system every week would change nothing ... whatever validated data is available by the established cutoff date for the run gets inputted & the rest wait until next time .... The only thing that changes is you get 4 chances a month for your data to be valid & ready to run vice just one ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent1k1 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I haven't seen or read on any websites or social media any updates about it since the post below in February. The report to the membership (also posted in Enos) here http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=190081 sort of suggested that they had it worked out already. " Quicker Classification Updates The move to the new scoring system has a big advantage beyond convenience. It allows us to calculate member classifications virtually immediately upon submission. No more waiting all month to see if the classifier you shot is going to move you up – you will know as soon as it is submitted. This has been a major request from USPSA membership and we have worked hard to develop a good way to accomplish it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 even better .... too bad they seem to report things that are not quite ready ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I don't understand why USPSA HQ would delay the improvement of the Classification System due to "Volunteer" availability in getting the project done. Every USPSA club pays Mission Count and Classifier fees for every single shooter for every single match submitted to USPSA. If these fee's are not paid, then these classification results are not applied to USPSA members classifier activity reports. Beyond this, every USPSA club pays an annual sanctioning fee and every USPSA member pays their annual membership fee's. Revenue is clearly and frequently flowing into USPSA on a regular basis. Where is all this money going if we have to rely on volunteer efforts to get core business model functions completed? USPSA is being paid for the service of hosting and processing Classification System, then they are in turn relying on volunteer efforts to maintain or improve that service??? If this is the case, then why are we paying Mission Count and or Classifier Fee's??? I hate to sound like a prick, but how this is being handled by USPSA HQ is simply unacceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Sounds like a money issue to me too. I think the BOD controls the budget for USPSA, not HQ, so perhaps the allocation of funds needs to be re-examined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 I went on their live chat today to ask what's up but no one was available so I sent an e-mail ... we'll see what kind of response I get ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 So I got a response to my question about what was going on but I can't cut and paste anything into the forum. If someone wants to PM me their email I will forward it to you to post ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 USPSA E-mail Reply sent to Nimitz...... At the time of that announcement, we had expected to have a new web site built to do the weekly classifications built by April. We experienced some set backs in getting the new site created, and had to essentially start the process over. The good news is that we have a signed contract to create the new site and we hope to have it on line in the next two to three months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) I wonder who they awarded the contract to and how they solicited bids for it? You'd think HQ would put out a new update or at least post something in the weekly email they send out. Edited July 24, 2014 by ZackJones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I wish my employer would allow me to officially announce a new feature to be implemented "Soon" to our customers then delay the deployment of that feature for 6+ months with no solid deployment date ever committed to. I guess the motivation to actually get something done isn't there when the money keeps rolling in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 USPSA E-mail Reply sent to Nimitz...... At the time of that announcement, we had expected to have a new web site built to do the weekly classifications built by April. We experienced some set backs in getting the new site created, and had to essentially start the process over. The good news is that we have a signed contract to create the new site and we hope to have it on line in the next two to three months. Yikes! I think it would be against forum rules to say what I really think about that response to Nimitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent1k1 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I doubt that it will actually be the "new" website that will actually do the database calculations. Websites typically only display data that is stored in a database. These are two different projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Other than a nationwide boycott of sending in match and/or classification fees our only recourse seems to be election time ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperman Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I don't understand why USPSA HQ would delay the improvement of the Classification System due to "Volunteer" availability in getting the project done. Every USPSA club pays Mission Count and Classifier fees for every single shooter for every single match submitted to USPSA. If these fee's are not paid, then these classification results are not applied to USPSA members classifier activity reports. Beyond this, every USPSA club pays an annual sanctioning fee and every USPSA member pays their annual membership fee's. Revenue is clearly and frequently flowing into USPSA on a regular basis. Where is all this money going if we have to rely on volunteer efforts to get core business model functions completed? USPSA is being paid for the service of hosting and processing Classification System, then they are in turn relying on volunteer efforts to maintain or improve that service??? If this is the case, then why are we paying Mission Count and or Classifier Fee's??? I hate to sound like a prick, but how this is being handled by USPSA HQ is simply unacceptable. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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