Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

Welcome from the Tessitura Next Generation Board Steering Committee!   

We will be very focused on ensuring we have significant membership input throughout the Next Generation Software development project, and our hope is to foster creative thinking, to be forward-looking and visionary.

 

In that vein, over the next few weeks we'll toss out some questions to spur dialogue and to engage your thoughts in creative directions.   Here are a few questions that have been on our minds as we have gone through the process of envisioning this project.  We would love to hear your ideas and thoughts, so please share them through this forum:

 

How would you define a "ticket"?

How would you define an "event"? (consider all types of events, including fundraising and education events, not just performances).

In answering these questions, consider the ways our organizations might be packaging the various 'items' we sell.     Does a ticket do more than get you into a performance?  Can a ticket be good for more than one person or more than one 'item'?     Can a ticket by "reused", used for multiple items and or entries?  Can it include merchandise, food, drinks, parking, online access/activities?  In what ways could contribution and memberships affect a ticket?

 

Think 'out of the box'!

Parents
  • Thanks to everyone for the very thoughtful responses to the first set of questions.  We're going to take a first stab at consolidating all the thoughts into a concise and organized "definition" of "ticket" and "event" as they might exist in the Next Generation platform.   In a few days, we'll run those definitions by you to make sure we captured everything and for further refinement.

    In the meantime, here is another set of questions to respond to.   This may be a slightly more challenging exercise.    Here goes:

    What else is part of handling a contribution, solicitation, or ticket sale that is not currently part of entering the ‘discrete transaction’ in Tessitura?  Are there multiple discrete transactions or tasks that link together to form more of a process, perhaps even tasks that cross different people or departments, and involve Tessitura and non-Tessitura functions?  What is the difference between “processing discrete transactions (a ticket sale, a contribution)” and actually managing patrons relationships and experiences?    What tools or capabilities would help you manage the entire process(es)?

    Let's hear your thoughts!


    Alan

  • Alan, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about but...

    I'd like to see an easier way to record and view "Contacts" and by Contacts I mean everytime a Constituent is contacted by us or contacts us.  I think the way things work now is pretty damn good but its not totally comprehensive.  My colleagues still rely quite heavily on paper files and I'd like to see that disappear.  Sure we can attach documents but that's a separate area from the actual Contacts tab where we record things like soliciations and tasks.  Of course there is the Contacts - Contact Log to see all contacts but it doesn't give a whole lot of information. 

    I don't think I want to get into specifics but I can envision a place to see everything at once with the option of clicking through to view documents including those that were sent to the constituent (emails, letters, postcards etc.) and those that the constituent sends to us.

    Just a though.
    Dale

     

  • Dale,

     

    Yes, this is a great thought.   I wonder if you have any ideas as to how those contacts might be tied to actual transactions as well.  For instance, what is the process you might go through related to cultivating a donor, soliciting a gift, entering that gift, acknowledging the gift, following up with the donor on benefits, further cultivation, or renewal.   Right now, those are all somewhat separate, discrete actions and transactions in Tessitura, loosely linked if at all.   What might that look like in the future, especially incorporating your idea of tracking “Contacts” more thoroughly?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Dale Aucoin
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 1:52 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    Alan, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about but...

    I'd like to see an easier way to record and view "Contacts" and by Contacts I mean everytime a Constituent is contacted by us or contacts us.  I think the way things work now is pretty damn good but its not totally comprehensive.  My colleagues still rely quite heavily on paper files and I'd like to see that disappear.  Sure we can attach documents but that's a separate area from the actual Contacts tab where we record things like soliciations and tasks.  Of course there is the Contacts - Contact Log to see all contacts but it doesn't give a whole lot of information. 

    I don't think I want to get into specifics but I can envision a place to see everything at once with the option of clicking through to view documents including those that were sent to the constituent (emails, letters, postcards etc.) and those that the constituent sends to us.

    Just a though.
    Dale

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/17/2009 4:25:32 PM

    Thanks to everyone for the very thoughtful responses to the first set of questions.  We're going to take a first stab at consolidating all the thoughts into a concise and organized "definition" of "ticket" and "event" as they might exist in the Next Generation platform.   In a few days, we'll run those definitions by you to make sure we captured everything and for further refinement.

    In the meantime, here is another set of questions to respond to.   This may be a slightly more challenging exercise.    Here goes:

    What else is part of handling a contribution, solicitation, or ticket sale that is not currently part of entering the ‘discrete transaction’ in Tessitura?  Are there multiple discrete transactions or tasks that link together to form more of a process, perhaps even tasks that cross different people or departments, and involve Tessitura and non-Tessitura functions?  What is the difference between “processing discrete transactions (a ticket sale, a contribution)” and actually managing patrons relationships and experiences?    What tools or capabilities would help you manage the entire process(es)?

    Let's hear your thoughts!


    Alan




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Reply
  • Dale,

     

    Yes, this is a great thought.   I wonder if you have any ideas as to how those contacts might be tied to actual transactions as well.  For instance, what is the process you might go through related to cultivating a donor, soliciting a gift, entering that gift, acknowledging the gift, following up with the donor on benefits, further cultivation, or renewal.   Right now, those are all somewhat separate, discrete actions and transactions in Tessitura, loosely linked if at all.   What might that look like in the future, especially incorporating your idea of tracking “Contacts” more thoroughly?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Dale Aucoin
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 1:52 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    Alan, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about but...

    I'd like to see an easier way to record and view "Contacts" and by Contacts I mean everytime a Constituent is contacted by us or contacts us.  I think the way things work now is pretty damn good but its not totally comprehensive.  My colleagues still rely quite heavily on paper files and I'd like to see that disappear.  Sure we can attach documents but that's a separate area from the actual Contacts tab where we record things like soliciations and tasks.  Of course there is the Contacts - Contact Log to see all contacts but it doesn't give a whole lot of information. 

    I don't think I want to get into specifics but I can envision a place to see everything at once with the option of clicking through to view documents including those that were sent to the constituent (emails, letters, postcards etc.) and those that the constituent sends to us.

    Just a though.
    Dale

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/17/2009 4:25:32 PM

    Thanks to everyone for the very thoughtful responses to the first set of questions.  We're going to take a first stab at consolidating all the thoughts into a concise and organized "definition" of "ticket" and "event" as they might exist in the Next Generation platform.   In a few days, we'll run those definitions by you to make sure we captured everything and for further refinement.

    In the meantime, here is another set of questions to respond to.   This may be a slightly more challenging exercise.    Here goes:

    What else is part of handling a contribution, solicitation, or ticket sale that is not currently part of entering the ‘discrete transaction’ in Tessitura?  Are there multiple discrete transactions or tasks that link together to form more of a process, perhaps even tasks that cross different people or departments, and involve Tessitura and non-Tessitura functions?  What is the difference between “processing discrete transactions (a ticket sale, a contribution)” and actually managing patrons relationships and experiences?    What tools or capabilities would help you manage the entire process(es)?

    Let's hear your thoughts!


    Alan




    You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!



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Children
  • Former Member
    Former Member $organization in reply to Alan Levine

    I feel like I'm going out on a huge limb here (and not being connected to reality), but I wonder if this is some kind of web-based application that gives you a top level view of the patron's history - Contact, Promotions, Ticket History, Contributions, Research, Documents, Notes, etc (or whatever these modules look like in the future), with the ability to dive deeper into the details as you see fit.   So, you're on a phone call or box office transaction with Mrs. Jones.  You see her "patron profile" or whatever, and when you want to know what she's bought, donated, how you've solicited her, did she register a complaint, receive a donation slip, open an email, etc...that's just a click away through this top level screen. 

    Taking the info with you, when you're our at a donor visit and not at your computer, presents another issue - you can't print it all out but maybe it's available to you from your mobile/cell phone? 

    Jodi

     

  • Former Member
    Former Member $organization in reply to Former Member

    I love the idea of making this information available from a mobile phone - as well as the ability to update the info while you are on the road.

    From a contribution-transaction standpoint, there has been much past discussion at the Conference regarding a more streamlined “Moves Management” system for fundraising – basically a marriage of the current “Contact” information being added to the Research notes/information screens, the Solicitation info/Contributions, and the Customer Service Issues tab.  Right now, it is cumbersome to view all of this information in one place for the entire donor cycle.  Consequently, we haven’t found a way to make the leap from the world of hard-donor file to electronic customer profile yet… 

    Sara

  • This is the time to go out on limbs – it’s all conceptual at this stage, so let’s be bold!   Reality comes in later, let’s have some fun while we can.

     

    So perhaps some kind of “dashboard” for the patron?   A way of summarizing concisely their activity,  including contact patterns or plans and next steps, next tasks related to this patron?   With a way to drill down into the specifics?  

     

    Here I am really going out on a limb, so again, speaking only conceptually, perhaps this dashboard could indicate how this patron ranks against other patrons, or how your activities with this patron and their behavior compares to patterns of other ‘successful’ patrons?   Maybe a way to hook in some data mining/predictive modeling indicators of what should be offered to them or what they are likely to do next (for instance, being at risk of non-renewal or likely to upgrade)?

     

    If we were to focus on the “process” though, rather than what the system might look like, how can (or should) the steps be linked to a process?   What “actions” might trigger another action?   This is a challenging topic, so let me provide some possible illustrations

     

    If a patron contributes on the web, should that automatically add some tasks, perhaps for someone to review the gift, send an acknowledgment, and maybe two months later follow up with the donor?   Similarly, if someone abandons a shopping cart, or perhaps purchases $500 worth of tickets, should that automatically set some follow-up tasks, whether automated or just a reminder/tickler for someone?    If someone returns a ticket, should there be other follow-up tasks?    Or do we handle all of this less customer-by-customer, and only in batches and discrete activities, such as printing out a whole batch of invitations based on a list, rather than having the invitation triggered when the customer does something?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Jodi Beznoska
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 4:57 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    I feel like I'm going out on a huge limb here (and not being connected to reality), but I wonder if this is some kind of web-based application that gives you a top level view of the patron's history - Contact, Promotions, Ticket History, Contributions, Research, Documents, Notes, etc (or whatever these modules look like in the future), with the ability to dive deeper into the details as you see fit.   So, you're on a phone call or box office transaction with Mrs. Jones.  You see her "patron profile" or whatever, and when you want to know what she's bought, donated, how you've solicited her, did she register a complaint, receive a donation slip, open an email, etc...that's just a click away through this top level screen. 

    Taking the info with you, when you're our at a donor visit and not at your computer, presents another issue - you can't print it all out but maybe it's available to you from your mobile/cell phone? 

    Jodi

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/19/2009 3:31:57 PM

    Dale,

     

    Yes, this is a great thought.   I wonder if you have any ideas as to how those contacts might be tied to actual transactions as well.  For instance, what is the process you might go through related to cultivating a donor, soliciting a gift, entering that gift, acknowledging the gift, following up with the donor on benefits, further cultivation, or renewal.   Right now, those are all somewhat separate, discrete actions and transactions in Tessitura, loosely linked if at all.   What might that look like in the future, especially incorporating your idea of tracking “Contacts” more thoroughly?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Dale Aucoin
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 1:52 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    Alan, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about but...

    I'd like to see an easier way to record and view "Contacts" and by Contacts I mean everytime a Constituent is contacted by us or contacts us.  I think the way things work now is pretty damn good but its not totally comprehensive.  My colleagues still rely quite heavily on paper files and I'd like to see that disappear.  Sure we can attach documents but that's a separate area from the actual Contacts tab where we record things like soliciations and tasks.  Of course there is the Contacts - Contact Log to see all contacts but it doesn't give a whole lot of information. 

    I don't think I want to get into specifics but I can envision a place to see everything at once with the option of clicking through to view documents including those that were sent to the constituent (emails, letters, postcards etc.) and those that the constituent sends to us.

    Just a though.
    Dale

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/17/2009 4:25:32 PM

    Thanks to everyone for the very thoughtful responses to the first set of questions.  We're going to take a first stab at consolidating all the thoughts into a concise and organized "definition" of "ticket" and "event" as they might exist in the Next Generation platform.   In a few days, we'll run those definitions by you to make sure we captured everything and for further refinement.

    In the meantime, here is another set of questions to respond to.   This may be a slightly more challenging exercise.    Here goes:

    What else is part of handling a contribution, solicitation, or ticket sale that is not currently part of entering the ‘discrete transaction’ in Tessitura?  Are there multiple discrete transactions or tasks that link together to form more of a process, perhaps even tasks that cross different people or departments, and involve Tessitura and non-Tessitura functions?  What is the difference between “processing discrete transactions (a ticket sale, a contribution)” and actually managing patrons relationships and experiences?    What tools or capabilities would help you manage the entire process(es)?

    Let's hear your thoughts!


    Alan




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    You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!



    This e-mail message is intended only for the recipient(s) named above. This message may contain trade secrets, attorney-client communication, or other privileged and confidential information. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination, reproduction or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the Sender and delete the material from any computer.
  • Alan,

     

    All great ideas, I think!  Since you challenged us to go big picture and get out of the box I’m going to give it a try!

     

    Let’s see if we can figure out a way to craft the “dashboard” idea, so that it’s easy – perhaps through an API or other extensible process – to develop custom “components” or “instruments” that can be plugged into the dashboard.  One metric for one organization or group of organizations might be more or less helpful for others.

     

    Think of Vista gadgets or many of the other “desktops” (Google desktop) that have similar constructs.  You can pick from a menu of choices and add the “gauge” of your choice.  More importantly – there are instructions for software developers on how to create their own that allow them to be plugged in.

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Alan Levine
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 4:32 PM
    To: Spees, Daniel
    Subject: RE: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    This is the time to go out on limbs – it’s all conceptual at this stage, so let’s be bold!   Reality comes in later, let’s have some fun while we can.

     

    So perhaps some kind of “dashboard” for the patron?   A way of summarizing concisely their activity,  including contact patterns or plans and next steps, next tasks related to this patron?   With a way to drill down into the specifics?  

     

    Here I am really going out on a limb, so again, speaking only conceptually, perhaps this dashboard could indicate how this patron ranks against other patrons, or how your activities with this patron and their behavior compares to patterns of other ‘successful’ patrons?   Maybe a way to hook in some data mining/predictive modeling indicators of what should be offered to them or what they are likely to do next (for instance, being at risk of non-renewal or likely to upgrade)?

     

    If we were to focus on the “process” though, rather than what the system might look like, how can (or should) the steps be linked to a process?   What “actions” might trigger another action?   This is a challenging topic, so let me provide some possible illustrations

     

    If a patron contributes on the web, should that automatically add some tasks, perhaps for someone to review the gift, send an acknowledgment, and maybe two months later follow up with the donor?   Similarly, if someone abandons a shopping cart, or perhaps purchases $500 worth of tickets, should that automatically set some follow-up tasks, whether automated or just a reminder/tickler for someone?    If someone returns a ticket, should there be other follow-up tasks?    Or do we handle all of this less customer-by-customer, and only in batches and discrete activities, such as printing out a whole batch of invitations based on a list, rather than having the invitation triggered when the customer does something?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Jodi Beznoska
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 4:57 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    I feel like I'm going out on a huge limb here (and not being connected to reality), but I wonder if this is some kind of web-based application that gives you a top level view of the patron's history - Contact, Promotions, Ticket History, Contributions, Research, Documents, Notes, etc (or whatever these modules look like in the future), with the ability to dive deeper into the details as you see fit.   So, you're on a phone call or box office transaction with Mrs. Jones.  You see her "patron profile" or whatever, and when you want to know what she's bought, donated, how you've solicited her, did she register a complaint, receive a donation slip, open an email, etc...that's just a click away through this top level screen. 

    Taking the info with you, when you're our at a donor visit and not at your computer, presents another issue - you can't print it all out but maybe it's available to you from your mobile/cell phone? 

    Jodi

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/19/2009 3:31:57 PM

    Dale,

     

    Yes, this is a great thought.   I wonder if you have any ideas as to how those contacts might be tied to actual transactions as well.  For instance, what is the process you might go through related to cultivating a donor, soliciting a gift, entering that gift, acknowledging the gift, following up with the donor on benefits, further cultivation, or renewal.   Right now, those are all somewhat separate, discrete actions and transactions in Tessitura, loosely linked if at all.   What might that look like in the future, especially incorporating your idea of tracking “Contacts” more thoroughly?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Dale Aucoin
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 1:52 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    Alan, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about but...

    I'd like to see an easier way to record and view "Contacts" and by Contacts I mean everytime a Constituent is contacted by us or contacts us.  I think the way things work now is pretty damn good but its not totally comprehensive.  My colleagues still rely quite heavily on paper files and I'd like to see that disappear.  Sure we can attach documents but that's a separate area from the actual Contacts tab where we record things like soliciations and tasks.  Of course there is the Contacts - Contact Log to see all contacts but it doesn't give a whole lot of information. 

    I don't think I want to get into specifics but I can envision a place to see everything at once with the option of clicking through to view documents including those that were sent to the constituent (emails, letters, postcards etc.) and those that the constituent sends to us.

    Just a though.
    Dale

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/17/2009 4:25:32 PM

    Thanks to everyone for the very thoughtful responses to the first set of questions.  We're going to take a first stab at consolidating all the thoughts into a concise and organized "definition" of "ticket" and "event" as they might exist in the Next Generation platform.   In a few days, we'll run those definitions by you to make sure we captured everything and for further refinement.

    In the meantime, here is another set of questions to respond to.   This may be a slightly more challenging exercise.    Here goes:

    What else is part of handling a contribution, solicitation, or ticket sale that is not currently part of entering the ‘discrete transaction’ in Tessitura?  Are there multiple discrete transactions or tasks that link together to form more of a process, perhaps even tasks that cross different people or departments, and involve Tessitura and non-Tessitura functions?  What is the difference between “processing discrete transactions (a ticket sale, a contribution)” and actually managing patrons relationships and experiences?    What tools or capabilities would help you manage the entire process(es)?

    Let's hear your thoughts!


    Alan




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    This e-mail message is intended only for the recipient(s) named above. This message may contain trade secrets, attorney-client communication, or other privileged and confidential information. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination, reproduction or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the Sender and delete the material from any computer.




    You were sent this message automatically by www.tessituranetwork.com because you subscribed to the Tessitura Next Generation forum email notifications. You may reply to this message or visit the site to reply to the post above. If replying via email, please consider deleting the previous message text before sending to help with readability on the site. Thank you!

     


    This e-mail message is intended only for the recipient(s) named above. This message may contain trade secrets, attorney-client communication, or other privileged and confidential information. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination, reproduction or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the Sender and delete the material from any computer.




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  • Along these lines, I’d love to see a virtual “briefcase” or “folder” where I can put frequently used items, like help documents for me, or my most frequently used system tables, or for my users to tag the constituent records that they’re in frequently, or for my finance person to “tag” the reports that they use most often.

     

    What a fun conversation string!

     

    Nancy Sheleheda

    Tessitura Application Administrator

    818 Liberty Avenue

    Pittsburgh, PA 15222

    412-456-1387

    sheleheda@pgharts.org

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Dan Spees
    Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 8:51 AM
    To: Sheleheda, Nancy
    Subject: RE: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    Alan,

     

    All great ideas, I think!  Since you challenged us to go big picture and get out of the box I’m going to give it a try!

     

    Let’s see if we can figure out a way to craft the “dashboard” idea, so that it’s easy – perhaps through an API or other extensible process – to develop custom “components” or “instruments” that can be plugged into the dashboard.  One metric for one organization or group of organizations might be more or less helpful for others.

     

    Think of Vista gadgets or many of the other “desktops” (Google desktop) that have similar constructs.  You can pick from a menu of choices and add the “gauge” of your choice.  More importantly – there are instructions for software developers on how to create their own that allow them to be plugged in.

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Alan Levine
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 4:32 PM
    To: Spees, Daniel
    Subject: RE: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    This is the time to go out on limbs – it’s all conceptual at this stage, so let’s be bold!   Reality comes in later, let’s have some fun while we can.

     

    So perhaps some kind of “dashboard” for the patron?   A way of summarizing concisely their activity,  including contact patterns or plans and next steps, next tasks related to this patron?   With a way to drill down into the specifics?  

     

    Here I am really going out on a limb, so again, speaking only conceptually, perhaps this dashboard could indicate how this patron ranks against other patrons, or how your activities with this patron and their behavior compares to patterns of other ‘successful’ patrons?   Maybe a way to hook in some data mining/predictive modeling indicators of what should be offered to them or what they are likely to do next (for instance, being at risk of non-renewal or likely to upgrade)?

     

    If we were to focus on the “process” though, rather than what the system might look like, how can (or should) the steps be linked to a process?   What “actions” might trigger another action?   This is a challenging topic, so let me provide some possible illustrations

     

    If a patron contributes on the web, should that automatically add some tasks, perhaps for someone to review the gift, send an acknowledgment, and maybe two months later follow up with the donor?   Similarly, if someone abandons a shopping cart, or perhaps purchases $500 worth of tickets, should that automatically set some follow-up tasks, whether automated or just a reminder/tickler for someone?    If someone returns a ticket, should there be other follow-up tasks?    Or do we handle all of this less customer-by-customer, and only in batches and discrete activities, such as printing out a whole batch of invitations based on a list, rather than having the invitation triggered when the customer does something?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Jodi Beznoska
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 4:57 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    I feel like I'm going out on a huge limb here (and not being connected to reality), but I wonder if this is some kind of web-based application that gives you a top level view of the patron's history - Contact, Promotions, Ticket History, Contributions, Research, Documents, Notes, etc (or whatever these modules look like in the future), with the ability to dive deeper into the details as you see fit.   So, you're on a phone call or box office transaction with Mrs. Jones.  You see her "patron profile" or whatever, and when you want to know what she's bought, donated, how you've solicited her, did she register a complaint, receive a donation slip, open an email, etc...that's just a click away through this top level screen. 

    Taking the info with you, when you're our at a donor visit and not at your computer, presents another issue - you can't print it all out but maybe it's available to you from your mobile/cell phone? 

    Jodi

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/19/2009 3:31:57 PM

    Dale,

     

    Yes, this is a great thought.   I wonder if you have any ideas as to how those contacts might be tied to actual transactions as well.  For instance, what is the process you might go through related to cultivating a donor, soliciting a gift, entering that gift, acknowledging the gift, following up with the donor on benefits, further cultivation, or renewal.   Right now, those are all somewhat separate, discrete actions and transactions in Tessitura, loosely linked if at all.   What might that look like in the future, especially incorporating your idea of tracking “Contacts” more thoroughly?

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Dale Aucoin
    Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 1:52 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    Alan, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about but...

    I'd like to see an easier way to record and view "Contacts" and by Contacts I mean everytime a Constituent is contacted by us or contacts us.  I think the way things work now is pretty damn good but its not totally comprehensive.  My colleagues still rely quite heavily on paper files and I'd like to see that disappear.  Sure we can attach documents but that's a separate area from the actual Contacts tab where we record things like soliciations and tasks.  Of course there is the Contacts - Contact Log to see all contacts but it doesn't give a whole lot of information. 

    I don't think I want to get into specifics but I can envision a place to see everything at once with the option of clicking through to view documents including those that were sent to the constituent (emails, letters, postcards etc.) and those that the constituent sends to us.

    Just a though.
    Dale

     

    From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/17/2009 4:25:32 PM

    Thanks to everyone for the very thoughtful responses to the first set of questions.  We're going to take a first stab at consolidating all the thoughts into a concise and organized "definition" of "ticket" and "event" as they might exist in the Next Generation platform.   In a few days, we'll run those definitions by you to make sure we captured everything and for further refinement.

    In the meantime, here is another set of questions to respond to.   This may be a slightly more challenging exercise.    Here goes:

    What else is part of handling a contribution, solicitation, or ticket sale that is not currently part of entering the ‘discrete transaction’ in Tessitura?  Are there multiple discrete transactions or tasks that link together to form more of a process, perhaps even tasks that cross different people or departments, and involve Tessitura and non-Tessitura functions?  What is the difference between “processing discrete transactions (a ticket sale, a contribution)” and actually managing patrons relationships and experiences?    What tools or capabilities would help you manage the entire process(es)?

    Let's hear your thoughts!


    Alan




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  • I like the concept of the Dashboard.   It could be something like Google as previously mentioned or something like Macs use that can be called as an overlay on the screen you are looking at or maybe both.  There are times when processing an order that it would be great to be able to have a translucent overlay of other information so that you can see what you are working on along with the additional information, especially when it comes to Research notes or CSIs in a record that may pertain directly to the transaction being processed. 

     

    Something like this would also come in handy if we start to change the way that we look at patron records.   Right now we try to find a way to have all the patron information in one record, but we struggle with the fact that many patrons don’t want their information all in one record.  The husband and wife may want a joint record as well as having separate individual records.  Having the ability to allow patrons to have their information stored on our system the way they want and have a very robust and fluid connection between the information in each record would satisfy both internal and external needs.  A dashboard might be a way to visually combine the data from multiple records with a specific association.




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    _______________________________________________________________________
    
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  • Kay get's at another question here which is "what is an account?"  The standard husbad + wife account is now out of date.  We have siblings who subscribe together, mothers and daughters who live at different addresses, one of which buys the subscriptions the other does the donating, etc.  Do you create separate accounts for each of these people or cram them together?  Website logins pose another challenge where some couples share an email address/login and others don't.  Then there's education programming with parents, teenagers and children... 

    It would be great if an "account" could better handle this web of associations that our patrons have and present it an elegant, visual way.  Something more advance than the current Associations tab. 

  • Combine the dashboard concept with the ability to “undock” windows of data.  For example; if the main patron account screen (or any sub screen for that matter) could be undocked and live in its own window, the user could be free to move on to the order details while keeping the other window of patron information handy.  Add one or more additional monitors to the setup for your order takers and they could have quite a bit of information at their fingertips.

     

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Daniel L. Spees

    Director, Information Services & Support

    Chicago Symphony Orchestra

    312-294-3320

    speesd@cso.org

    http://www.cso.org

    Make your plans now for our season finale Dvořák Festival in June!

    http://www.cso.org/dvorak

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Kay Burnham
    Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 11:56 AM
    To: Spees, Daniel
    Subject: RE: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    I like the concept of the Dashboard.   It could be something like Google as previously mentioned or something like Macs use that can be called as an overlay on the screen you are looking at or maybe both.  There are times when processing an order that it would be great to be able to have a translucent overlay of other information so that you can see what you are working on along with the additional information, especially when it comes to Research notes or CSIs in a record that may pertain directly to the transaction being processed. 

     

    Something like this would also come in handy if we start to change the way that we look at patron records.   Right now we try to find a way to have all the patron information in one record, but we struggle with the fact that many patrons don’t want their information all in one record.  The husband and wife may want a joint record as well as having separate individual records.  Having the ability to allow patrons to have their information stored on our system the way they want and have a very robust and fluid connection between the information in each record would satisfy both internal and external needs.  A dashboard might be a way to visually combine the data from multiple records with a specific association.




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  • We face this challenge all the time – as I’m sure others do as well.

     

    Perhaps one solution is to capture information about individuals separately and combine them together into relationships as necessary.  Through social networking types of extensions to the web api you might be able to let the users control some aspect of this themselves too – for users registered on your site.

     

    In any case – an address refers to a physical location, be it a house, business, school or other place.  The address can then be associated to an individual by purpose.  The people can be associated with one another as well.  The notion of an account then sort of goes away and what you end up with is a record of historical interactions, transactions, associations, relationships and other connections with people, locations, products, events and more.

     

    Value of transactions that are performed by one individual on behalf of more than one individual may need to be worked out.

     

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Daniel L. Spees

    Director, Information Services & Support

    Chicago Symphony Orchestra

    312-294-3320

    speesd@cso.org

    http://www.cso.org

    Make your plans now for our season finale Dvořák Festival in June!

    http://www.cso.org/dvorak

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Eric Evenskaas
    Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 12:16 PM
    To: Spees, Daniel
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    Kay get's at another question here which is "what is an account?"  The standard husbad + wife account is now out of date.  We have siblings who subscribe together, mothers and daughters who live at different addresses, one of which buys the subscriptions the other does the donating, etc.  Do you create separate accounts for each of these people or cram them together?  Website logins pose another challenge where some couples share an email address/login and others don't.  Then there's education programming with parents, teenagers and children... 

    It would be great if an "account" could better handle this web of associations that our patrons have and present it an elegant, visual way.  Something more advance than the current Associations tab. 

    From: Kay Burnham <bounce-kayburnham8765@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/22/2009 11:52:10 AM

    I like the concept of the Dashboard.   It could be something like Google as previously mentioned or something like Macs use that can be called as an overlay on the screen you are looking at or maybe both.  There are times when processing an order that it would be great to be able to have a translucent overlay of other information so that you can see what you are working on along with the additional information, especially when it comes to Research notes or CSIs in a record that may pertain directly to the transaction being processed. 

     

    Something like this would also come in handy if we start to change the way that we look at patron records.   Right now we try to find a way to have all the patron information in one record, but we struggle with the fact that many patrons don’t want their information all in one record.  The husband and wife may want a joint record as well as having separate individual records.  Having the ability to allow patrons to have their information stored on our system the way they want and have a very robust and fluid connection between the information in each record would satisfy both internal and external needs.  A dashboard might be a way to visually combine the data from multiple records with a specific association.




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  • This is dead-on for our organization. Something our Board has been asking for is a sort of “mind-mapping” view of relationships. I know that Facebook has an application that literally charts out how people are connected. This would be a great tool to identify relationships to at-risk donors & patrons or to identify new prospects and find second contacts to continue their cultivation.

    Karyn

    On 6/22/09 12:16 PM, "Eric Evenskaas" <bounce-ericevenskaas1946@tessituranetwork.com> wrote:

    Kay get's at another question here which is "what is an account?"  The standard husbad + wife account is now out of date.  We have siblings who subscribe together, mothers and daughters who live at different addresses, one of which buys the subscriptions the other does the donating, etc.  Do you create separate accounts for each of these people or cram them together?  Website logins pose another challenge where some couples share an email address/login and others don't.  Then there's education programming with parents, teenagers and children...  

    It would be great if an "account" could better handle this web of associations that our patrons have and present it an elegant, visual way.  Something more advance than the current Associations tab.  

    From: Kay Burnham <bounce-kayburnham8765@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/22/2009 11:52:10 AM
    I like the concept of the Dashboard.  It could be something like Google as previously mentioned or something like Macs use that can be called as an overlay on the screen you are looking at or maybe both.  There are times when processing an order that it would be great to be able to have a translucent overlay of other information so that you can see what you are working on along with the additional information, especially when it comes to Research notes or CSIs in a record that may pertain directly to the transaction being processed.  
     
    Something like this would also come in handy if we start to change the way that we look at patron records.  Right now we try to find a way to have all the patron information in one record, but we struggle with the fact that many patrons don’t want their information all in one record.  The husband and wife may want a joint record as well as having separate individual records.  Having the ability to allow patrons to have their information stored on our system the way they want and have a very robust and fluid connection between the information in each record would satisfy both internal and external needs.  A dashboard might be a way to visually combine the data from multiple records with a specific association.



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    Karyn Sobczak, Business Systems Manager
    First Stage Children's Theater
    325 W. Walnut St.
    Milwaukee, WI  53212

    (414) 267-2942 direct
    (414) 267-2930 fax

    2009-2010 season tickets are on sale
    Blog
    <http://firststagechildrenstheater.blogspot.com>
    Twitter <https://twitter.com/FirstStage>
    Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=2204525375&ref=ts>


  • Thanks for this input.   This is such a core topic that it warrants its own discussion thread on the forum.    So I will post a new thread to get us started, please join in!


    Alan

     

     

    From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Karyn Sobczak
    Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 4:52 PM
    To: Levine, Alan
    Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] RE: RE: Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts

     

    This is dead-on for our organization. Something our Board has been asking for is a sort of “mind-mapping” view of relationships. I know that Facebook has an application that literally charts out how people are connected. This would be a great tool to identify relationships to at-risk donors & patrons or to identify new prospects and find second contacts to continue their cultivation.

    Karyn

    On 6/22/09 12:16 PM, "Eric Evenskaas" <bounce-ericevenskaas1946@tessituranetwork.com> wrote:

    Kay get's at another question here which is "what is an account?"  The standard husbad + wife account is now out of date.  We have siblings who subscribe together, mothers and daughters who live at different addresses, one of which buys the subscriptions the other does the donating, etc.  Do you create separate accounts for each of these people or cram them together?  Website logins pose another challenge where some couples share an email address/login and others don't.  Then there's education programming with parents, teenagers and children...  

    It would be great if an "account" could better handle this web of associations that our patrons have and present it an elegant, visual way.  Something more advance than the current Associations tab.  

    From: Kay Burnham <bounce-kayburnham8765@tessituranetwork.com>
    Sent: 6/22/2009 11:52:10 AM
    I like the concept of the Dashboard.  It could be something like Google as previously mentioned or something like Macs use that can be called as an overlay on the screen you are looking at or maybe both.  There are times when processing an order that it would be great to be able to have a translucent overlay of other information so that you can see what you are working on along with the additional information, especially when it comes to Research notes or CSIs in a record that may pertain directly to the transaction being processed.  
     
    Something like this would also come in handy if we start to change the way that we look at patron records.  Right now we try to find a way to have all the patron information in one record, but we struggle with the fact that many patrons don’t want their information all in one record.  The husband and wife may want a joint record as well as having separate individual records.  Having the ability to allow patrons to have their information stored on our system the way they want and have a very robust and fluid connection between the information in each record would satisfy both internal and external needs.  A dashboard might be a way to visually combine the data from multiple records with a specific association.



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    _______________________________________________________________________
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    Karyn Sobczak, Business Systems Manager
    First Stage Children's Theater
    325 W. Walnut St.
    Milwaukee, WI  53212

    (414) 267-2942 direct
    (414) 267-2930 fax

    2009-2010 season tickets are on sale
    Blog
    <http://firststagechildrenstheater.blogspot.com>
    Twitter <https://twitter.com/FirstStage>
    Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=2204525375&ref=ts>




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  • I would love to see something integrated for all of these tasks - indentification, prospecting, solicitation, gift processing, and even Stewardship.

    Call me crazy but I'm visualizing a front-end view of some kind that shows you where the constituent is in the process for the current fiscal year and allows you to click through for more details.  Of course that could get complicated with multiple campaigns and multiple gifts...

    One thing that would be useful would be the ability to insert the scan of a letter or an email into multiple accounts at the same time like we currently do with promotions.  Then you could click on those "promotions" to see exactly what the donor received.

    Dale