SNUG Special Interest Groups

Participate!!!! YOU CAN make a difference!!

What is the purpose of a SIG?

The purpose of a special interest group (SIG) is to focus attention on a single SCC product or module. Each SIG is given forum to discuss and recommend improvements or corrections directly to SCC products or modules through the enhancement process and through the SIG e-mail groups.

In addition to this, each year the SIGs meet at the annual conference to review the overall status of previous enhancement requests, the current year's requests as well as to discuss future developments with the SCC special interest group moderator directly.

How do I submit SIG enhancement requests?

SIG enhancements can be submitted electronically from the SCC SIG Enhancement Form.

The form will be forwarded to the SIG moderator (SCC) and will be reviewed by SCC to determine the next steps ( e.g., enhancement already available, new development required, previously requested, functionality already exists etc.). If accepted by SCC, the request will be evaluated for estimated hours to complete work on the enhancement and will be added to the list for the upcoming year's voting.

Not sure what forum to enter or which category to pick? Don't worry about it too much - we will find the right group eventually!! Don't let that keep you from submitting! Just enter what makes most sense ( e.g., SoftLab, Soft Bank, Soft Mic, etc.).

Why submit?

Really? You have to ask? Haven't you ever run into a problem with the application or had an idea how it could be soooo much better? Not quite sure how to make it better yourself without program modifications? SUBMIT A REQUEST. You never know, you might even correct an issue for your next upgrade or create an enhancement that helps everyone.

Request processing (the fun part.)

Each year, SCC dedicates a certain number of hours to each SIG for enhancements. The SIG moderator (SCC) compiles all requests submitted (that SCC is not going to sponsor - more on that later) and sends them along with estimated hours required for completion to the SIG advisors .

The SIG advisors then submit the full list of requests to the members of each SIG for voting to determine priority. Once complete, they compile the final requests and send the top choices back to the group for final voting (usually around the time the SNUG conference is taking place ). Once voting is completed, all enhancements that can fit within the SCC allotted hours are provided to the SIG moderator for posting on the bulletin board and submission to the programmers to be added to a future version.

Any enhancement that is determined to take greater than the allotted hours for a SIG ( e.g., something BIG) may be either rejected by SCC for being too far outside current functionality OR it may be sponsored by SCC ( i.e., corrected/enhanced for FREE). Just because it seems difficult to accomplish does not mean you should not submit!!!

How do I check the SIG enhancement requests?

SCC has created a bulletin board for all SIG groups that contains a great deal of information on current, past, archived requests, and more. To access it, login to the SCC SIG page with your facility credentials and select the SIG Members Bulletin Board. It is open to read, but you must regsiter to post.

In addition to the bulletin board , each SIG may review the previous enhancement requests and provide status updates. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask your SIG advisor at any time or post something on the listserv .

In order to improve this communication, another tool that SNUG members can benefit from is the individual SIG e-mail group. The groups are set up for each SIG with the SIG advisor (SNUG Board) serving as the moderator.

Who are the moderators?

Moderators are selected each year for a three- year term. Not all SIG advisors must be board members. If you would like to be a SIG advisor, please send an e-mail to the SNUG president or any board member at any time. We are always interested in having fresh faces.

For a list of the current SIG advisors and moderators, click here.

How do I signup for the email groups?

If you are in a SIG email list, you will remain until you unsubscribe to the list.

If you were recently added to STAR/TMS and would like to subscribe to a SIG, please use the links below.

Please use the following format for your name when subscribing so we can verify your identity:
Full Name-Site code

Once your subscribe request has approved, you will receive a notification from the listserv with various bits of information about your account and using the sig email list(s).

AR Subscribe to sig-ar
Blood Bank Subscribe to sig-bb
Customer Support Subscribe to sig-cs
Donor Subscribe to sig-donor
Genetics Suite
Security/Commons/SoftID Subscribe to sig-hipaa_sec
Outreach/Web Subscribe to sig-outreach
Lab/QC
Microbiology Subscribe to sig-mic
Pathology Subscribe to sig-path
Reports
Total QC
Workload Subscribe to sig-workload

To Unsubscribe:

When you first subscribe to a list, you will receive an e-mail with the unsubscribe procedure. If you need to be removed and you don't have that e-mail , simply click the appropriate sig link above and at the bottom of the page enter your email address and click the "Unsubscribe or edit options" button.
DO NOT SEND AN E-MAIL TO EVERYONE ASKING TO UNSUBSCRIBE. SPAM does not help!

You have a voice in the SIG! Submit a request to improve and enhance a future version of your system!!!