Podcast Episode 52: Episode 26: Rock Training, Master Classes, and Release Release Release

Description

A brief talk about the Rock Master Class and traveling training classes that may be coming to a state near you. We also introduce Amy, our newest member of the team and talk a bit about the two tracks at the upcoming RX2017.

Transcribed Content

This episode of Rockcast is brought to you by Rock partner Triumph Tech, a full service specialist partner. Rock partners provide crucial support for Spark Development Network and important services for the Rock community. Connect with Triumph Tech today at rockrms.com/partners. Welcome to Rockcast, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes with the core team at Spark Development Network as we continue building Rock RMS and working with our community. I'm Emily, and I'm your host today. And I am here with the usual gang, including Nick, John, David, and a special guest today, Amy. Say hi, Amy. Hi. We'll give you a full introduction in just a little bit. We have some great things to share with you today. First of all, let's start out with a little update from Nick. We haven't heard from you in a little bit. Nick, how are things going? Pretty good. So I know somebody announced on the community, I think it was John, that I had gotten sick, had a little bit of colon cancer. So had that removed and started chemo last week, mostly as an insurance policy. Because at this point they say there's no cancer, but this is just to make sure. So I'll do that for about four months and then every couple weeks. But I feel pretty good. This is about seven days after the first round. And so I'm hoping that this is just gonna be me back in the saddle again. Good. Well, we're super glad to have you here today. Yes. And thanks for all the prayers. For all you guys out there that have been thinking about me and praying for me, I'm in your debt now and very grateful. Thank you. But we should probably keep that up. Sure. Yeah. I'll take it. Yeah. Anytime you think of me, just five second prayer. It's good. Sounds good. We also need a recap on something we did a while ago because it's been a little bit since we had a podcast. John, you wanna tell us about the master class that we were doing in May and June? Sure. Yeah. We invested quite a bit of time this year in training. And so we know training is one of those things that's very important to meet our core value of accessibility. So we put together something that was called the Masterclass. We had three of them And they're basically three solid days of training. From morning till night, we just trained and trained and trained. Now, what's interesting about that is it's much more than just those three weeks. We spent a lot of time putting together the content. So we have over 600 slides, which I probably shouldn't have tweeted before the class because I think that kind of intimidated some people. They're really interesting and fun slides, all of them. So we have those slides now, and now it's a repeatable process. Yeah, we do have to keep that up to date, and we are committing to do that, but it's something that we can repeat. And so that was really fun to do. And I think what's really exciting is now seeing the impact of those people who came to the class, They're already in Slack helping other people. So it's really not about what you got out of the class, but what you're able to give coming out of the class. That's really important. So we're excited by that. Again, it's a repeatable process. We're going to have two different types of classes going forward. There's a large format class and a small format class. And the difference is the large format class will be more people in the classes. So it'll be a little less handholding, a little less one on one time with the instructor, but it'll be at a cheaper cost. And it'll be more often and they'll be traveling out to different places around the country. And so it's a great way. It's the same content. So you get the same information. It's just going to be in a larger format. And then we will continue to probably do smaller format classes once or twice a year here in our global headquarters, which we jokingly to call it that because it's really not much. So we'll continue to do that. Now, larger format classes will be done by partners. Again, same content, same support. We'll be handling the event registrations. So you're going to get a lot of the same experience, but just in a larger class environment. And then occasionally we will do smaller formats. Probably won't do another one of those this year, so probably wait till 2018. But there are a couple large format classes that will probably be this year. Only one of them is scheduled and available to sign up for and that's in August. And the cool thing about that is it comes right after the conference and it's going to be at the same location at Willow Creek. So you could pretty much turn the conference experience into a full week of conference plus master class. And it's a great opportunity to kill a whole bunch of birds with one stone. You don't have to do extra travel. And so you can sign up for that on the Rock website. And if you go to the conference page, there's a link there too to take you over to sign up for the master class. But there's also a master class page too. So that's pretty exciting. That investment and the revenues from those classes we're not keeping. We're taking that and we're giving it back out into several different initiatives. So it's helping to fund some more training that we're going to be putting out later this year. But it's also, most excitingly, being able to help us bring in someone else to help us with documentation. Because documentation is not easy. We have over 700 pages of documentation today. And in a sense, that was the easy part because it's easy to, I think in my mind, it's easier almost to create it the first time than it is to maintain it as things change and tweak. And so even if we look at what's on the list for our current upcoming release, it's just getting longer and longer and longer. And looking at that list is pretty intimidating. So the Masterclass helped us to fund the creation a part time position just to do documentation. And so we have Amy. And so Amy's here today. Hello. And she's gonna be doing that documentation, and that's a huge relief. So do you wanna just give a quick introduction, a little background onto you? Sure. So I'm Amy Nichols, and I'm really happy to be part of Rock. This has been a really cool opportunity. My background is, training, software development. Well, that sounds funny. I'm not a programmer, but I've written I've done user interface design. I am also an author. I'm published with Random House. So, it just was really neat that an an opportunity an opportunity came about to combine all of these skills and and provide a service that is not only fun but also meaningful. So I'm really happy to be here. And it is a long list of things to do. Every day it grows. And when you take three off, we probably put four back on. Right? Yes. Exactly. I try to yeah. I start knocking down the wall and you guys build it back up. So I'm trying to keep up. So and Amy's pretty humble. She doesn't talk about her books, but she's the type of author you can go to the bookstore and her books will be there, . And you may have run into her where, Comic Con? Yeah. I do Comic Cons, Phoenix Comic Con. Yeah. I do a lot of work at libraries with children and reading programs and Yeah. Yeah. So we're really excited to have you. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. So it's been a busy summer and that's just the beginning of it. You also have probably noticed that there have been quite a few updates happening around here and, they've come at a pretty rapid fire pace. So you can imagine how busy we've been behind the scenes here. But David, why don't you give us a rundown on on what that's looked and kind of tear those apart for Yeah. That was fun. We did do three releases, I think, all within two weeks of each other. We had planned and we knew that we were doing six point six and six point seven a week apart. Part of that was just because 6.6 fixed a lot of things and 6.7 added some small features to check-in especially. So, had planned that, but even with planning it, it was difficult to kind of keep it straight. But then we did have an issue with 6.7, so we had to quickly release 6.8 right at the same time as 6.7, which just had a small fix. So, those are all out. Hopefully everyone's on 6.8. And now we're working on 6.9. Probably in the next few weeks we'll be getting that out to the alpha beta process. Yep. Oh, and a big thank you to the alpha and beta testers this summer. We've really put them through their paces. Yeah. I mean, we've had a hard time keeping it straight. I'm sure they did as well. Don't abandon us, teams. We'll try and be a little easier to get along with on the next release. I think one of the unique challenges we have now is that with these releases, not only are they fixing bugs and closing issues, the consulting side that helps fund gap created by our donations, that consulting work needs to be rolled out. People need those features that they've helped invest into. And so it's also an interesting challenge to get those out to people when they need them. But the cool thing is those are all features that were funded through consulting that now everybody gets to use. And so that's pretty exciting. That is. That's a really good point. You probably have heard a little bit about how we fund ourselves and we're a nonprofit. So we get by on the donations from the churches that are using Rock and we're still working on getting to a fully funded state. So the work that we do on the side And we do try to work with churches that are willing to invest in a feature that a lot of churches need, and they'll help pay to get that in place. They can use it, and then it's free for other churches as well, which is really cool. Yeah, a lot of the features were kind of on the road map someday, And because they wanted it right now and we're gonna pay for it, we can adjust that schedule a bit, and and get it out soon. Win win. Yeah. Well, we have, another, big activity going on this summer because we don't to be bored around here. We are planning the next conference, and I'm sure you've seen a lot of promotions and things coming out from that, the very last week of August, Monday and Tuesday. And I've had some questions coming in. They are definitely full days. I would not plan on leaving early on Tuesday. It seems we're getting a lot more questions this year about, hey, can I cut out early to catch a plane? Don't. Don't do that. I think you'll really regret it. So we try not to add that extra kind of half fluff day at the end of the conference. We really pack it into two days, to respect your time. But do realize that one of the biggest benefits of this conference is the interaction that you get with the community. We get together once a year for two days. That's it. So, I would not short yourself on that experience by leaving early. We'd wrap the conference up at 6PM. That's when we serve dinner. We include your meals so you can maximize your time. And mealtime honestly is one of the most fun times and probably one of the most productive because you've taken in all this stuff all day, all the content, all the information from churches that are using Rock in their unique ways and it starts building up this, don't you think, this brainstorm of ideas Oh, yeah. You have a chance to talk maybe with the churches you've heard from that day or some other churches or even your team along with some other teams all together and kind of take the things that have been coalescing in your brain all day and turn them into some really interesting ideas. So don't short yourself that experience. But I also think too, I mean, said 6PM. I mean, people are there till nine. They are. I mean, the last day too, , had to almost kick people out. And we we actually don't have to kick people out, until 11PM for Willow Creek. So stick around. The conference ends breakfast the next day. Almost does. Yeah. Although, we're not providing that breakfast. So Well, and also too, I mean, it went from being, , 9PM on-site to 11:00, twelve o'clock, one AM in the hotel lobby. That's exactly right. So we just can't stress enough. Give allow that time. Allow that extra margin for those things to come together, and you won't regret it. So you still have a little time to register if you haven't or if you're looking at your team and going, , we registered one or two people, I wonder if it'd be more beneficial to have more people. There's still time to register. It's coming up but you can slide in there. I think our count right now is around two twenty, and that's last year was around I think 140 something that we had, so it will be a little bit bigger this year. We definitely have more churches that will be on-site so there will be some really interesting things to do there. And we took your feedback from last year and we modified the tracks a little bit so instead of everybody being on one track, we're going to have two tracks. You'll spend, let's say, about a third of your time all together as we're talking about the vision, the upcoming things with Rock. That's great for everyone to learn about but then the other, the rest of the time, we'll have a track for churches that are really new to Rock and looking to find out what it is and kind of hear some advice from other churches and another track for the churches that have been part of the community for a while and they want some deeper input. So hopefully that will get you exactly what you need in the right place. And just to reiterate what John mentioned, if you combine that with the master class that happens starting the next day, you really have a one two punch. And we heard from one of our, master class attendees in May who mentioned that when they came to the conference that first year, it sped up their implementation of Rock by six months was his estimate. Just being able to be at the conference, hear what was going on, make the connections necessary to move forward. Just imagine if you could combine that type of experience with the master class where you're getting the in-depth training on the features and, kind of understanding the why behind the how, what you could do for your organization. So, definitely something to to block the time out for and an investment. We we know that's an investment for you, but it's definitely one that will pay off. And it's coming around once a year to really get that those two things back to back. So Plus, I mean, you get an exclusive chip sticker. I mean, that's probably worth coming right away. Were we supposed to talk about that? Well, I think, , just to kind of push people over the edge. I think that would actually seal the deal for a lot of people right there. That's true. We have, what, about 45 people walking around out there in the community with with the special chip stickers right now. Oh, was thinking even for the conference, though. There's two new ones. Yeah. There is a master class one too. The yeah. So, , you gotta consider how much the chipsticker's worth to you. I think you should you should make it happen. Oh oh, one other thing. Note to sponsors. I know there are still a few organizations considering sponsoring the conference. Thank you so much to those who have already locked in their sponsorship. Great time to connect with the community, and get in front of the churches that need your services. You have pretty much until August 1, which is right around the corner, to get that in so that you can have a logo on the shirt, which is kind of a big deal. So, reach out. Let me know. Emily@sparkdevnetwork.org if you would to sponsor the conference, and we will get you connected. I think that's a wrap. Anybody else have anything interesting to share? Alright. Thanks for joining us for Rockcast and we will see you next time. Do a church that loves the idea of using Rock but hasn't taken that leap yet? With managed hosting, churches of any size can get access to Rock's amazing technology, hassle free. With just one click, Rock's managed hosting removes the roadblocks that might stop a church from switching to Rock by making the process simple. Churches get the ease of a SaaS church management system without losing any of Rock's powerful features. Are you ready to take the next step or share with another local church? Visit rockrms.com/hosting today.