Updated Ordinance Reservation System is great. (Read if you have issues)

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: There is a lot of confusion with the new system. Much of this is more reaction to something different than taking the time to explore what is now being displayed.

First, I find the four colors make eminent sense -- after all, we are concerned only about the reservations we make for our ancestral lines and related spouses of our relatives.

Green for request,
Blue for In Progress.

Gray for completed and
Yellow/amber for Not available (Cannot Request).


On the temple page, we can display either My Reservations or Shared. If a card has been printed by the temple or a patron, the check box is replaced by a temple icon.

Nothing can be done with the name at that point. The checkbox is no longer available.

On a person's temple page, the same colors are used.

Blue cannot be requested, because ordinance(s) are currently reserved by another user. The reservation and expiration dates are *displayed. If a shared name was pulled (either by Ordinances Ready or the new reservation function) by another user, the date shared with the temple is displayed with the name of the original user who shared the name, along with the name of the person who "pulled" the ordinance(s) with the date "reserved" and the *expiration date.

Green can be requested. If I want to take a name to the temple, it no longer matters if it has been shared or not. I can reserve it.

If the name has been shared, the system will display who shared the name, the date reserved and the date shared.

Also, I will be informed if the name is temple shared and if I continue, I have 90 days to complete the ordinances, the same as if I had used Ordinances Ready.

If the name was not been reserved, I am still reserving the name, but have two years in which to complete the ordinances.

* -- Expiration dates are being extended during the pandemic since vicarious work is not available for most temples.

LegacyUser

Eric J. said: No, it is not "mostly reaction to something new", do you even use the program? It's confusing and a time waste. (see my other thread, this is an awesome new function, horribly executed)

LegacyUser

Gordon Collett said: I agree that this is great and I do use this program, as Tom does, a lot.

Green now means Go! Print this name and take it to the temple today!

I think it is great that FamilySearch has finally come up with a way to convince people to not waste time simply looking for green icons to put on a reservation list. Get the work done. If you can't go to the temple yourself, don't just wander around Family Tree looking for green icons. They will be found by people going to the temple either directly on the tree or through Ordinances Ready. They do not have to be shared with the temple for Ordinances Ready to find them.

Spend your time in Family Tree doing new research and adding new names to Family Tree and when you have completed research on those people either reserve the name for yourself to complete or share it with the temple. In either case, the icon will now be blue for you so you know you have finished with it.

LegacyUser

Eric J. said: You're making a blanket statement and accusing people of something that may or may not be true. I use the green icon while looking in the descendancy view to find places to work in, now everything is just green and is an utter waste of time having to double check every single name.
It's a terrible idea to mess with the colors, and it's clear you're one of the very few that agree with it. Who do you know in the IT department that's asking you to defend this?

LegacyUser

D. Llewelyn said: Agreed. The system before was simpler and user friendly. I wish it would go back to how things were color coded before, which were clear and concise.

LegacyUser

D. Llewelyn said: Agreed. Green never means GO - it means there is work and research to be done.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: The new ordinance colors are not helpful and create MORE work for the end-user. The purpose of improvements to the software should be to make our work easier, not to complicate our work.

There are SIX different variables, for which you have now only created FOUR colors. This contradicts the whole purpose of having a color code system. Why have colors if they’ll mean more than one thing?

The six options:
Work that has not been submitted
Work that someone else has requested
Work that I have requested
Work that I have sent to the Temple, or sent to a friend or family member
Work that has been completed
Work that cannot be completed

The problem now:

Green = hasn't been submitted AND someone else has already requested - there needs to be distinction between the two

Blue = I have requested the name AND I have submitted the name to the temple - there needs to be distinction between the two

Using the same color for TWO different reasons is confusing and creates more work.

Example #1: When I see green on a person's name, I click the Ordinances tab to submit their name. Only now to find that someone else has already submitted it. So I took an extra step that I didn't have to.

This may not seem significant, but when I spend the majority of my day working on this site, extra page clicks just adds to my work load. Now I can't double check my work properly, because each I see the green I click on it to submit the name and I now have no way of knowing if I've checked it before. So the process of double checking goes on ad nauseum.

Example #2: Now when I see blue on the Ordinance tab, I don't know at a glance if I have only requested the name, or if I have already submitted the name to the temple. I can't tell at a glance if I forgot the second step. Please keep in mind that not every user is doing their own temple work. Being able to know that the names have been submitted to the temple without second guessing ourselves because of erroneous colors is crucial.

The entire reason for color coding is to show distinction between different levels of work that has been done or needs to be done. That has been erased with this new policy.

If the justification for doing this is that text has been added below the ordinances, then there is not a true purpose for having the color coding. Why use colors to clarify ordinances, if we only have to keep digging to double check the text? This doesn't make any sense and creates more work and confusion for the people for whom this site has been created - the end-user.

LegacyUser

Eric J. said: I second all of this. Great initial ideal, disaster of a roll out. Has too many bugs to fix

LegacyUser

Jordi Kloosterboer said: Yes, there is no need for wandering around looking for ordinances to share with the temple because a) we have PLENTY of ordinances in the system right now and b) other people doing research will be able to reserve to temple or do it themselves. So I think it is a simpler, better way to categorize the ordinances, too.

LegacyUser

Jordi Kloosterboer said: I've come across people who share ordinances to the temple without them doing any research on the person. It's annoying because more research can be done and it is likely the work is already done or in progress due to duplicates.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: While I agree with you on this, it has nothing to do with the recent changes to the color codes. That is a separate issue that can only be addressed with proper training of the individuals using the site. I try to guide people to the tutorials.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: I use the program all the time, and that's why I like the changes. I know when I can and when I cannot reserve ordinance(s) to take to the temple at a glance by the color of the icon. If it is green -- that means I can go reserve the name. If it is blue -- that means I cannot reserve the name because someone else has reserved it and has not shared the ordinance(s) with the temple system. I can see when it was reserved, by whom (if I want to contact them), when the reservation is currently set to expire.

What you want is not whether an ordinance is in progress, but where in the system it is at. Red meant stop -- it was shared with the temple system. That is no longer the case -- it is now green and you can request it. If it has been printed, while in the temple system, you do not have that option and the icon will be blue and the information is displayed about the print status.

For people with color blind problems, the four icons are easier to distinguish then just colors -- information is now displayed next to the icon.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Instead of wandering around the descendancy chart looking for green icons -- start with yourself and work back through your ancestral lines to make sure that their profiles are complete and "worthy of all acceptation."

Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation. (Doctrine and Covenants 128:24 (part)

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: The states are this (there are only four - and no, they do not correspond to the four icon colors):

Work that has not been submitted reserved by anyone, including yourself. Green- available to be reserved by you or another person. Yellow/Amber- Cannot be reserved by anyone.

Work that has been submitted. Blue- It is in Progress.

Work shared with the temple. Green- The temple, you, or someone else can pull the ordinance and complete the ordinance.

Work that has been completed. Gray.

The Temple page shows you ordinance(s) you have submitted on two different screens: "My Reservations" are those you have reserved and not shared. (You may have sent a card to someone else, but nothing has changed -- you still have reserved the ordinance(s).)

"Example #1: When I see green on a person's name, I click the Ordinances tab to submit their name. Only now to find that someone else has already submitted it. So I took an extra step that I didn't have to."

Not really. If the name is still reserved by them, the icon will be blue, not green. Green only shows up on the person's ordinance page if you can reserve the ordinance(s) whether for 90 days (someone has then name with the temple system) or for two years.

"Example #2: Now when I see blue on the Ordinance tab, I don't know at a glance if I have only requested the name, or if I have already submitted the name to the temple. I can't tell at a glance if I forgot the second step. Please keep in mind that not every user is doing their own temple work. Being able to know that the names have been submitted to the temple without second guessing ourselves because of erroneous colors is crucial."

You are ignoring what you reported in Example 1 -- the information is on the person's ordinance page if you will read it.

Every user should be researching their own ancestral lines and their descendants. If they are doing temple work for others, then Green means they can do it, no matter who reserved and shared it with the temple system. It will not show up on your temple page.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Okay, I think those of you who are complaining are missing the point.

This is about what you, a member of the Church, is responsible for -- your ancestors and their descendants and meeting your responsibility to them.

When you start looking at the system in this light:

Green -- you can do the vicarious temple ordinance. Don't complicate the matter because it does not matter if you or some other member has reserved the name and shared it with the temple system. It is now available without having to request the name be released first.

Open your eyes. The information is on the person's ordinance page and that is where you reserve ordinances! You don't even have to click on anything. All you have to do is read the information on the screen.

Blue -- The name has been submitted by you or some other member of the Church. If it was you, then you can take it to the temple (it will show up on your Temple page). If it wasn't you, you can see the expiration date for that reservation. The key is that the person's ordinance(s) is/are in progress.

Go to your temple page and print the cards from there. If the name is not on that page under either "My Reservations" or "Shared" then it isn't yours, but it is active and in progress by someone else.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: Once again, you are only looking at it from your perspective. There are OTHER perspectives out there and this change has made us miserable. There has to be a solution for everyone, not just a few people.

LegacyUser

Eric J. said: Been there done that, your condescension is unnecessary and I'm aware of what the scriptures say, how about something constructive and actually worth reading?

LegacyUser

Eric J. said: Sorry Cherie, Tom's been paid off by his IT buddies at Family Search

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: I don't 'wander around the descendacy chart' looking for green icons. You are making major assumptions that are absolutely incorrect. I work on MY family lines ONLY and submit work that hasn't been submitted yet. Please don't try to put words in my mouth.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Regardless of any complaints -- they are not valid arguments, but are centered on what you want the system to do -- this new system was developed by FamilySearch under the direction of the Temple Department and General Authorities who hold final approval for this part of FamilySearch. They did not do this in a vacuum, but gave a lot of consideration to all of the members of the Church, including those with color blindness where Red and Green looked the same.

If you are truly concerned, then start by talking with your Stake President about the matter.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: If you aren't going to be part of the solution, then don't be part of the problem. Learn how to listen and respect what others are telling you. This isn't all about YOU.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: Cherie, I am looking at this from the overall perspective and the old system had plenty of complaints from those with color blindness. The new icons should have resolved that issue, but if a user sees only the world in shades of gray, the status is also printed next to the icon of the person's ordinance page.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: No, we are not missing the point. You are. Open your own eyes and your own ears. We are working on OUR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS and this is a problem for US. You do not speak for us, you can only speak for yourself. You do not speak for me and the serious problems I have with the site now.

LegacyUser

Eric J. said: Tom see my other thread, I've already found actual bugs with it

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: Still doesn't resolve the problem that you refuse to acknowledge.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: You may not, but a lot of the complaints are from people who are. Once of the major arguments is that they cannot tell at a glance if they can reserve the ordinances or not (they actually can at this point if they are going to the temple).

Second, this is designed for those going to the temple, not those who are building up thousands of reserved names (shared or not). I have held off reserving names because it robbed others of the opportunity to pull ordinances and go.

Now I don't have to do that.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: I've had many bugs with it too, which I haven't even brought up in any of my comments. So it's a new system that makes my work harder AND there are bugs in it. So frustrating that I haven't even done any work today because I don't want to fight with the software.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: How horrible is it that you think this system is just designed for people going to the temple themselves? Why then is there even an option to share an ordinance with the temple? What about those who are unable to go to the temple? Should they just not participate in research and contributing to genealogy and temple work? Shame on you for even thinking that, much less saying it aloud and even worse putting it in print.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: You are working with others on your relatives, who are also relatives. There are no separate trees where only you have control.

You are correct, you have a problem. Talk with your Stake President about your concerns because this new system was approved by the General Authorities of the Church.

LegacyUser

Cherie Ailene Morgan said: I will speak with whomever I need to in order to resolve this problem. My Stake President is not the Engineer who wrote this code. Please show me where I ever said that I want to be the only one to have control over a family member. Your condescating attitude doesn't solve problems.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: You need to address this as with any issue involving decisions made or approved by the General Authorities. Start with your Stake President. The engineers (with few exceptions) read these discussion threads. Jim Greene has been kind enough to address the issues and it appears that he is at some level of management concerning this change.