GideonSoft 16.2

[Final Production version 3.162.15]

Security. Security. Security. You asked for it, and boy did we deliver. We’re updating GideonSoft to be certified at the DOD Level 4 security standard. This is one of the most advanced and secure standards out there which means you can rest easy when you collect data and store it on the GideonSoft system using the Amazon cloud from anywhere in the world that has an Internet connection.

Welcome to the future of GideonSoft where security and ease of use do not have to be independent choices.

We’ve also squashed a whole bunch of bugs and increased the reliability and speed of the system. Oh, and along the way we built some excellent features that will make data collection easier and even more seamless for you.

Security

First, let’s talk security. We have looked at virtually every aspect of the how the system works and either overhauled or reinforced each individual component. Most likely you won’t notice these updates, but you can rest easy knowing that your data are being well taken care of at the most secure level GideonSoft has ever seen.

Some of the changes you may notice include the entire sign in process which has been overhauled to be more secure and even easier than before. If you have a CAC, just use that to sign in. No more usernames and passwords to remember! Don’t worry though, if you don’t have a CAC, you can still use your username and password. Also for enhanced security, new users must change their password after they first sign in.

Just like online banking, we have added an optional automated sign out feature based on a period of inactivity. This is customizable by administrators and should be used to protect systems that record highly sensitive data.
Speaking of sensitive data, we have incorporated the ability to encrypt data fields at the organization level so they can be securely stored and only accessed by the appropriate users.

Administrators, you are now able to view all sorts of useful incident reports such as people trying to sign in to accounts that may not be their own. And perhaps even better, we have created a notification system that will continue to include useful information for you so you won’t have to remember to hunt for important information. Instead, it will come to you!

And finally, if a user has not signed in to the system for a long time, they will be inactivated and required to request access. This will help administrators keep tabs on who should have access to the system at any given time.

With all these security improvements, you can be assured that your data is secure and protected so only the right people can access it.

New Features

We’re always working on increasing the reliability and speed of the data collection process so you can get on with your job as quickly as possible. To that end, we have revamped the way you save your data making the entire process nearly twice as fast as before. You won’t necessarily notice this feature, but you will benefit from it every time you save a survey or behavioral observation.

We don’t just work on increasing speed, we also love streamlining your tasks by designing them to be more efficient and less complex. For this release we are happy to provide a way for you to only see the people for which you need to record data based on their previous scores. So for example, if a person has already completed an event, you won’t have to record data on them again, but for those who may have failed that event, you will still be able to record their second or third attempts. And before you ask, yes, this also works on the mobile app!

Data can now be mapped at the Module and Organizational level. This will be a very useful feature to anyone who wants to view patterns that could lead to predicting performance. Statisticians and data scientists, we’re looking at you!

In our ongoing effort to make the mobile app as easy to use as possible, we have developed an advanced filtering system called Lineups. Located on the People tab, this new mobile-only feature lets you pre-select specific people on which you would like to record data. This means that you won’t have to scroll though all those people that are not part of your event or task when filling out a survey or behavioral observation.

Additionally, you can fill out a survey or behavioral observation on the lineup as an object, for example, A-String, or Starting Team.

New Report Types

Reports and data visualizations help you make sense of your data so you can make key decisions. We’re happy to introduce three new report types to help you do just that:

• The Shot Graph has been re-envisioned to easily demonstrate how a person was rated along various performance or behavioral dimensions.
• A new Peer report lets you visualize peer ratings in an easier to understand format.
• The Hybrid setup lets you view a report on one side of the screen with an accompanying survey on the other side. This will let fill out information based on data that has already been collected. You’ll never have to switch between screens again!

New Ways to Work with Data

Data is the lifeblood of GideonSoft. We are constantly working on ways to help you access and work with the data you have collected. For the more advanced user, here is a just a taste of what’s new for you in 16.2:

• Assessor Variance: This is a new score type that lets you get the Standard Deviation for Assessor evaluations
• Rolling Average Custom Date: You can calculate a new average score based on the average based on a custom date range or formula.
• Rolling Average Value Range:  Use this to calculate a new average based on the last X number of evaluations.
• Gradebook Dropdowns: This feature lets you set dropdown options on specific Gradebook cells. This makes data entry faster and less error prone.
• New Data Transformations:  Descriptive data can now be transformed into scores using simple logic statements. This lets you transform words into numbers so you can more easily run statistical analyses.
• Status Transformation Filter: You can now filter evaluations based on a person’s status change. For example, this can help you exclude or include data based whether or not a person is currently active.
• Score Variable Description and Notes Fields: Now you can add a description to a variable so everyone with access to the variable will have a better idea of that variable’s purpose. Additionally, at the Instance level, you can include a note to provide additional context on indicating any anomalies during data collection, for example, if a timed run occurred during a hurricane, it would be useful to note that during data interpretation.
• Export Data: We’ve made it easier to export data at the module level, just like you could already do at the instance level.
• Evaluation Flags: These let you either exclude evaluations or create baselines scores. For example, you can flag an evaluation for a starting weight and then use another score to determine how the current weight compares to the baseline.
• Baseline Transformations: Using the score manager, you can create transformations based off of a baseline flag from the bulk data edit.