ShareVision Administrator FAQs

How does ShareVision work? What are the main concepts of ShareVision?

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ShareVision is an web application built for Social Support agencies to collate, track and report data on their activities and enterprise. ShareVision is built on the Microsoft SharePoint platform with ShareVision proprietary features, pages and enhancements. Users can access the agency ShareVision site through a browser and internet connection with login credentials.

The agency ShareVision Site Administrator can configure security via user permissions that allow staff users to access specific pieces of information, add new records, edit existing records or delete records. Data can be queried on screen and exported. Complex, frequently required queries can be custom developed into reports.

The basic elements of a ShareVision site are;

• The Structure of your Site
  • Web Site
    • Lists (Tables) within your site
      • Records (items) within the each list
  • Front-End' pages (for users to access forms)
    • Pages: these display the records /items to users in different ways.
    • Filter Pages: in essence these pages query a list (or lists) with criteria to then display the results of that query. The most common filter pages are those built with the Filter Page Wizard; these pages use the context of where the link/button is to base the query on. That is, if the link/button is on the QuickStart of an Individual, then the system can be configured to filter only items for that Individual. The page itself is dependent on whether an Individual(s) and/or Programs or Residence columns are present
    • Custom Filter Pages: these pages can be developed by ShareVision through consultation with you about the requirements. An example is 'byUser' (a page that filters to records of a list of the logged in user).
• The Data Elements of your SIte
  • Individuals
  • Programs and Residences (the location(s) or service(s) your organization provides)
  • User Accounts (accounts of people who login to access/add data to your site)

The focus of data collection is anchored mainly at two points; the Supported Individual  and the location, or Program or Residence, the support is offered. Electronic forms (items) collect data on either the Individual, Program or Residence or both. These forms are collected in tables (lists) for all Individuals and all Programs and Residences and are displayed in filter pages so that a user can view, add and edit forms filtered for a specific Individual or Location (Program or Residence).

ShareVision conveniently collects all these Filter Pages within Individual and Program or Residence 'portals' where all forms and documents say, for a specific Individual, can be accessed, new items added and existing ones edited. These 'portals' stat points are the Individual Details Page, Program Details Page and Residence Details Page. Each of these filter pages displays relevant data from multiple lists for that specific Individual, Program or Residence.

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How do I initially setup ShareVision for my Staff users to start using the application?

When your organisation first subscribes to ShareVision, your site will be rolled-out from a template. Setup needs to be completed prior to giving your staff access to complete forms. This initial implementation process is described below as an overview of the most basic setup. (Usually this process is overseen in partnership between you and the assigned ShareVision Product Expert).

Basic setup requires six (6) steps;

1. Import/entering data: Individual data required by the system.
2. Import/entering data: Program and Residence data required by the system.
3. Import/creating data: User Accounts for each staff member.
4. Security setup: creating user groups and adding User Accounts as members of these security groups.
5. Security setup: asserting permissions for which groups/User Accounts can view and access Programs and Residences.
6. Security setup: asserting permissions for which groups/User Accounts can view and access Supported Individuals.

Import/entering data: Individual data required by the system.

The most basic required data for Individuals within the system is one record in the the People list (the Individual's name) and one record in the Profiles list (defines them as an Individual). These two records will ensure the Individual's name is displayed to click on and view the Individual's own Individuals Details page. An Individual's demographic details are stored on the Fact Sheet list. An Individual can be manually created through use of the Contact Manager feature which will create these three (3) records in sequence.

See also: Contact Manager v.3.7

Import/entering data: Program and Residence data required by the system.

The records (items) on the Programs and Residences list display your program and residence locations, giving each one a Program Details page or Residence Details page. Once Programs and Residences are entities within the system, Individuals can be added to them as 'participating' in the program or living at the residence by a record created on the Program History list (If manually entering Individuals via the Contact Manager, the Program History form will be presented for you during the 'Add Individual' process).

A Site Administrator can bulk enter items on the Programs and Residences list by the Data Sheet Mode Of that list. In the most basic setup, all that is needed is the names of the locations. Also, ShareVision can be tasked to bulk import this data.

Import/creating data: User Accounts for each staff member.

Site Administrators can manually create User Accounts with the Contact Manager feature. Also, the SIte Administrator can task ShareVision to bulk create all accounts.

Security setup: creating user groups and adding User Accounts as members of these security groups.

Site Administrators can create User Security groups that may apply to a role (e.g. 'Supervisors') or location (Program or Residence) for use later in the setup to limit/manage what a user may view, edit and delete.

See: Group Settings

Security setup: asserting permissions for which groups/User Accounts can view and access Programs and Residences.

Security permissions can be configured and are recommended where staff users will only view and access the Programs or Residences where the work. Granting these permissions will display the Program or Residence name(s) on the 'My Programs/Residences' page for the correct users to click through to the location Program Details page or Residence Details page.

See: Security Manager: Programs and Residences (Programs and Residences section)

See: How to setup Security for Programs and Residences

Security setup: asserting permissions for which groups/User Accounts can view and access Supported Individuals.

Setting up permissions for users in regards to Individuals will display Individuals' names and give access to the Individual Details Page(s) for the correct users. The Individual Wizard Permissions list mentioned above is where you can configure permissions rules to be applied to a new Individual when the Individual is created manually with the Contact Manager.

When Individuals have been created within ShareVision either before  the Individual Wizard Permissions list has been configured or ShareVision has bulk imported the Individuals' data to create them, then you will need to manually configure permissions using the Security Manager: Supported Individuals Profiles tool.

See: Security Manager: Programs and Residences

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What kind of queries can I make of data within a list to return results on screen?

You can make simple, single-list queries to view the results returned on screen. These on-screen queries can be exported to a file format, for example Microsoft Excel, to be manipulated outside of ShareVision. In the list-view of any selected list or library, an Administrator User or a Staff User with permitted security privileges can create a 'View'. This view can be configured with various parameters to perform and display the results of a simple query on the list data. Parameters include; filtering on values with and/or statements, grouping, sorting and basic math operations.

See: Create a New View

See: List/Library Settings - Views

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How do I export the results of my list data query to use outside of ShareVision?

Once a view (onscreen query) is created, the results can be exported from ShareVision to be manipulated or reported on using other applications. The data is exported initially in a file format called Internet Inquiry (IQY) which is saved to your computer and can be opened in Microsoft Excel. Once open in Excel the file can be saved as an Excel workbook. Note that the IQY file still has a connection to the original, source list and changes made to data in the IQY file will be written to the list in your ShareVision site. Saving the IQY file as an Excel Workbook removes this connection such that changes made in the Excel file will not be reflected on your ShareVision site. Data in the Excel file can be manipulated and imported into other applications.

Where the list view query parameters do not offer enough functionality, Report outputs can perform additional query operations and charting of data. Reports can also perform multi-list queries, combining data from multiple source lists. Reports can be developed through consultation with your Product Expert.

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Why would I archive data on lists?

The purpose of archiving is to keep Lists that grow rapidly to a manageable size, reducing the page load times without permanently deleting historical data. Archival records cannot be used in reports or any other areas of your ShareVision site. Archives should also not be used as a backup of your data, but rather as a repository for old records.

Archiving Add-On

The Archiving Add-On aids the archiving process in your ShareVision site providing a simple tool that allows you to choose the list and the date period of data to capture, while giving the option to delete archived data from the list at the end of the process. The Archive tool will then replicate the list by creating a new list called “Archived- *List name*” in the Archived lists section of your ShareVision All Site Content page.

Individual Data Export tool

A tool that searches for all data where an Individual has been named in {Individual} column and exported in a file format, primarily Excel workbook where a sheet = a list. Navigate to Site Actions > Site Settings > Individual Data Export.

See: Individual Data Exporting

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How do I create a Document Library for Staff to access, edit and upload files?

Document libraries are used to store related documents. For example, the document library Health and Safety Meeting Minutes is a place to store minutes documented during health and safety meetings. Each library contains its own set of documents that may be organized further into folders. All document libraries are stored in the Document Library section of the All Site Content page. Each link in this section is a separate library.

See: Document File Management and Uploading

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How do I give a new staff member access to ShareVision?

Granting someone access to your ShareVision site is the basis of the security of the personal data stored on the site, and requires planning and understanding of the security model. There are several tools to assist with this to help make the management of site security more straight forward. All access is granted through the application of site permissions. To fully understand ShareVision security it is important to understand Site Permissions and how they are applied.

Understanding Permissions
Permissions are the rules applied by site administrators which allow certain access and/or actions to be performed by users (e.g., Read - can only read items they have access to, No Delete - can add/edit items with no ability to delete, Contribute - can add/edit/delete, etc.). ShareVision comes with a standard set of permissions that have generally proved to be flexible enough for most client applications. They can be further customized or new permissions can be created.

See: Site Permissions
See: Inherited Permissions
See: Editing Permissions

There are four steps to grant a staff member access to a ShareVision site:

• Creating User Login Accounts;
• Creating Security Groups;
• Assigning permissions to Security Groups;
• Adding User Accounts to Security Groups.

Creating a new User Login Account
Each person who needs access to your site should be given their own, unique account for logging on to the site. The account includes User Information which includes;

• the User Name (account on the server, e.g., firstname.lastname -- can be a maximum of 20 characters),
• Display Name (name as it will be seen across the site),
• e-mail address (provides address for alerts and other site notifications to be directed to the user),
• password (used in conjunction with user login account to provide secure login to the site -- specific requirements for passwords are included on the Create New User page). Unique logins provide the best security. Although shared accounts are possible, they are not recommended for any purpose. Shared accounts mean there is no certainty as to who has logged on to the site or performed a particular action.

See: Create a new user from the Site Actions menu

See: Create a new user from the Contact Manager

Creating Security Groups
New groups will need to be created to provide access to the Programs, Residences and Individuals you will add to your site. The standard security model is to create a unique group for each program or residence, and through that to provide access to each supported individual associated with the program or residence. There are several groups that come as part of the initial install of a ShareVision site. These provide basic access to the main elements of the site. As well, there are example groups that represent the recommended method for structuring permissions/access to the site. These groups include:
- Staff (this provides access to the basic elements of the ShareVision site; everyone requiring access to the site should be a member of this group);
- Site Administrators (members of the local admin team who are tasked with administering the ShareVision site must be added to this group);
- PRG Lifeskills (an example Program group, also used for testing and providing technical support);
- RES Seaside Home (an example Residence group, also used for testing and providing technical support);
- Managers, Supervisors, and All Reports groups are also included in the roll-out, each providing a different level of permission and access to the members of the group.
(it is advised to keep the example/testing components and groups, and related data, at least until the site implementation has been completed; removing these should only be done after consultation with your Product Expert)

See: Group Settings

Assigning permissions to Security Groups.
Depending on the intended purpose of the group, permissions may be granted to specific lists, or individual items within a list. In some instances a group will have certain permissions granted across the bulk of items on the site but, in order to restrict access to certain information, some groups are used to allow selective access to smaller sub-sets of information (e.g., to the data for a single, supported individual, program or residence) that has been isolated from the rest of the site by breaking security inheritance and applying unique permissions.

There are tools that provide more options for applying intricate permissions in bulk operations. Security Manager: Programs and Residences; Security Manager: Supported Individuals Profiles; Intake New Clients Wizard.

See: Security Manager: Programs and Residences

See: Security Manager: Supported Individual Profiles

See: Intake New Clients Wizard

Adding User Accounts to Groups.
It is possible to add users directly to a group by editing the group;

Site Actions > Site Settings > People and Groups > if necessary, click on Groups link [top of navigation links] > select a group to add a user to > New [on toolbar]

Groups are used to provide permitted access to various elements on the ShareVision site. This provides an easier method of granting access for users to select parts of the site than creating unique permissions for each and every user added to the site. For example a group can be created for, and granted permission to, a specific program and all Individuals participating in that program. staff who should have access to that program and the

Individuals attending that program have their user account added to the group and automatically will have permission to everything that the group has access to. If a staff takes on responsibilities for another program their account can simply be added to the group for that additional program (and removed from the current program group, if that access is no longer required).

See: View & Edit Groups By User 

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How do I restrict users access to specific Supported Individuals they support?

There are two groups of settings you can use to restrict the access of staff users to specific Individuals; security permissions and the My Individuals QuickStart icon settings.

Security Permissions

Access (and visibility) to Individual by a Staff User is configured by changing the permissions on the Profiles list item for the Individual. This change is made by breaking the inheritance of permissions the Profile item has with the Profile list permissions. Single user accounts can be given access while security groups of user accounts can also be given permission to access specific Individuals. Permissions to Individuals can be effected three ways;

Individual Wizard Permissions

This is a list used by the Intake New Clients Wizard feature that applies pre-defined permissions to new Individuals being added to the system and a residence or program, or, when an existing Individual within the system is added to a new program or residence. This list needs to be defined for permissions to take effect.

Security Manager: Supported Individual Profiles.

A tool for Site Administrators to bulk manage permissions on multiple Individuals' Profiles list items.

See: Security Manager: Supported Individual Profiles

Profiles list item manual permissions configuration.

While it is recommended to use the above methods of effecting permissions changes, there may be occasions where the Site Administrator has a need to go to the Profiles list, find an Individual's Profile item and make permissions changes.

Navigate to Site Actions > View All Site Content > (lists) Profiles > (item of Individual) View > Manage Permissions

'My Individuals' QuickStart Icon

It is strongly recommended to configure permissions as described above. An extra step can be taken to ensure Staff Users can only view and access Individuals via the locations these Individuals participate with your agency. That is, the Staff User would have to click on a Program or Residence to then see the list of Individuals' names within that location. From there they can click an Individual's name to view their Individual Details page.

This is achieved by hiding the 'My Individuals' QuickStart Icon and therefore no link to the Individuals list page.

See: Quickstart Menu, Navigation Bars & Icons v.3.5 & 3.7#QuickStartMenuIcons-Manage

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How do I restrict users access to specific Program(s) and/or Residence(s) the work at?

To restrict staff user access to specific Programs and Residences the Programs and Residences list item(s) permissions need to be configured (edited). There are two ways that this can be done;

Security Manager: Programs and Residences.

A tool for Site Administrators to bulk manage permissions on multiple program or residence Program and Residences list items.

See: Security Manager: Programs and Residences

While it is recommended you use the above method to make any changes to permissions, you can effect the same changes by navigating directly to the Profiles list and changing permissions on each item separately.

Programs and Residence list item manual permissions configuration.

While it is recommended to use the above methods of effecting permissions changes, there may be occasions where the Site Administrator has a need to go to the Profiles list, find an Individual's Profile item and make permissions changes.

Navigate to Site Actions > View All Site Content > (lists) Programs and Residences > (item of Program or Residence) View > Manage Permission

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I can't configure the system to suit our process. Can we customize ShareVision for our unique needs?

Where you are attempting to implement form(s) and a solution to enhance your processes, configuration (or what setup a site administrator can perform) constraints of the system may require custom development. ShareVision offers custom development through a process of discovery of your requirements in discussion with your ShareVision point of contact, your Product Expert, an estimation of time/cost and when approved, the Product Expert manages the project to conclusion. Both the time of the Product Expert and developers involved in the project will make up the estimate and can be paid for on an ad hoc per hour basis or by purchasing pre-paid bundles of Service Hours that benefit from discounts.

For your customization needs, please contact your assigned Product Expert for an initial conversation.

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