SupportAbility Roadmap
To provide greater transparency regarding planned enhancements and new features, details of the current SupportAbility Roadmap are updated here.
This article contains a list of key features and enhancements that are currently being developed (Now), product initiatives that have been prioritised to be developed in the near future (Next), and those that are being considered on the distant horizon (Later).
It is not designed to be a complete or final list. Instead, it is focused on providing information regarding upcoming changes that will affect how our subscribers use the product for forward planning and communicating the direction the SupportAbility product is headed beyond this.
Our aim at SupportAbility is to create efficiencies by enabling providers to prioritise participants and their needs while removing complexity from processes and administration. We help providers gain efficiencies while supporting you to do what they do best: deliver high-quality care and achieve positive outcomes.
We know there is much uncertainty about what the future looks like in and around the disability sector and the NDIS; however, SupportAbility is committed to this sector and will adapt to best meet the evolving needs in this space.
For more information about how roadmap decisions are made, please review The Roadmap Process at SupportAbility article linked below.
We recommend your organisation opts in to participate in Continuous Product Discovery to help ensure the functionality we develop helps meet your business needs and adds value to your SupportAbility subscription.
Audience: All
Summary
The following list summarises the content within this article. Click on the links below to take you to the relevant sections:
- Rostering and Time & Attendance Enhancements
- Now - Product initiatives currently in development
- Next - Product initiatives prioritised to be developed
- Later - Future product initiatives yet to be prioritised
IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL ITEMS ON THE ROADMAP ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Rostering and Time & Attendance Enhancements
Our team is currently working on enhancing the rostering and time and attendance functionality in SupportAbility, which is a major development project.
Rostering and Time and attendance within the disability industry, especially for group services, is quite complex. With this in mind, we are focused on adding efficiencies to the entire process for providers rather than just solely focusing on developing a visual roster display.
We have been working on this project for some time, as there is a lot of foundational work to be completed before a rostering tool can be developed. As part of this project, a number of enhancements and features have already been developed and released, as outlined below in the next section.
The Now, Next, and Later sections of this article outline the next updates expected regarding this major project.
If you have any feedback about this or the rostering and attendance functionality that is important to your organisation, please email this to us at support@supportability.com.au.
Rostering and Time & Attendance Enhancements Released To Date
A number of enhancements in this project have been released so far, including the following.
SupportAbility Web App 8.5 - March 2024
- An option to update Staff Shifts to ‘TO BE FILLED’ automatically when approving Availability Exceptions or when a Staff Member is made inactive.
- A 'Not Available To Roster' setting in the Human Resources tab of the Staff Account was included in this release, which prevents the individual from appearing in the list of available or suggested Staff when rostering or replacing someone on leave.
SupportAbility Web App 8.6 and Mobile App 1.5 - June 2024
- Configurable Staff Shift Settings
These settings allow providers to turn off or on features related to Staff Shifts by Service:- Shift Sign Off or the ability to Capture Kms
- Configure inline Warning messages for Recorded Shift Hours and/or Kms based on customised thresholds
- Set your organisation’s preference for the default data to populate in Finalised, designed to minimise the clicks required for those completing the Activity Sign Off.
- Staff Shift changes - Rostered Recorded and Finalised
To provide greater transparency and auditability between the hours and/or kilometres (kms) rostered, the actual hours worked and/or kms travelled, and the finalised data for payroll, the single ‘Working From-To Time’ column in the Activity Staff section of the Activity record was split into three columns: ‘Rostered’, ‘Recorded’, and ‘Finalised’. - Changes were made to Activity Icons, the Activity Staff Report, the Staff Hours Report and Timesheet Batch data to align with Rostered, Recorded and Finalised Staff Shifts.
- Updates to Check In/Out and Recorded Kms - Check In/Out and Recorded Kms data is now displayed instantaneously under ‘Recorded’ in the Activity record on the Web App.
- Shift Sign Off was made available in the Mobile App.
- An update was made to ensure the Activity Sign Off no longer autocompletes the Staff Shift Sign Off when the Shift Sign Off is configured as on for the relevant Services.
SupportAbility 8.8 - July 2024
- A ‘Timesheet Categorisation Audit Report’ export is now available from the Activity Staff Report.
This report export is intended to assist in reviewing Rostered, Recorded and Finalised Staff Shift data, including Timesheet Categorisation, prior to generating Timesheet Batches to ensure the data is correct and ready for payroll processing.
SupportAbility 8.9 and Mobile App 1.6 - August 2024
- A new 'Historical Shift Analysis Audit Report' export is now available from the Activity Staff Report to assist in reviewing Rostered, Recorded, and Finalised Staff Shift data.
This report export shows if warnings have been triggered (provided these have been configured), highlights any differences between Recorded and Rostered data, or Recorded and Finalised data, and provides detailed information relating to Check In/Out, including location and accuracy. -
A new ‘Edit Recorded Time’ button is now available in Staff Shifts on the Mobile App.
If the time worked differs from your rostered time, this can be recorded here. Check / Out times can no longer be edited in lieu of the above addition but can be cleared as required by selecting ‘Edit Recorded Time’.
SupportAbility 8.10
- Ability to link the Staff Members a Client Prefers to Work With, or Prefers Not to Work With
The Staff Members that a Client prefers to work with and/or any Staff Members that the Client does not prefer to work with can be linked in the Status tab of the Client record by Staff with Team Leader privileges. This information is a foundational step toward the first roster-matching functionality in SupportAbility - Check In/Out is available in the Web App
This new feature aligns the Check In/Out functionality in the Web App with the functionality available in the Mobile App. When Check In/Out is configured, it will be available for Staff Shifts related to Activities for the Services it is configured for in both the Mobile App and the Web App.
Now - Product initiatives currently in development
Product initiatives that are currently in development and are expected in the next three to six months are included here.
Find Support Worker for Activity
This product initiative is designed to add efficiencies for providers when they are adding Staff to Shifts in SupportAbility to assist them in finding the most suitable person to fill the shift.
These updates will likely span multiple releases and are part of the foundational steps toward developing a roster planning solution.
Prefers To Work With / Prefers Not To Work With
The first update related to this product initiative is expected in the upcoming release of SupportAbility Web App 8.10 (expected in late September 2024), which will introduce the ability for Team Leaders to record the Staff Members that a Client prefers to work with and/or any Staff Members that the Client does not prefer to work with in the Status tab of the Client record.
Recording this information is a foundational step toward the first roster-matching functionality in SupportAbility. In a future release, this information will be displayed in the Change Staff Member modal when editing Staff Shifts, for example, when a Staff Member is sick, and will eventually be utilised in the roster planning tool.
While this information will not be displayed in any other places with the first release, it will be available to review and monitor holistically by Staff with Team Leader privileges using the Client Search export and the Activity Client Report export.
Updates to 'Change Staff Member' in Staff Shifts
Various updates are expected in the coming months to the 'Change Staff Member' modal in Staff Shifts, to assist those filling 'To Be Filled' shifts or changing a Staff Member in the case where someone is sick for example.
A quick search will be added, allowing you to search for the Staff Member you are looking for instead of having to scroll to find them.
'Employment Type', 'Prefers To Work With' and 'Does Not Prefer To Work With' information will be displayed to assist you in finding the most suitable Staff Member to fill the shift.
The 'Worked Hours per Pay Period' will also be displayed to help identify when these hours are near to or exceed the individual's maximum hours when replacing a Staff Member in a shift. This is designed to assist providers in managing overtime.
Define Pay Period
In order to display the 'Worked Hours per Pay Period' a way to define the pay period for your organisation is required and will be available to configure in System Preferences.
Next - Product initiatives prioritised to be developed
Product initiatives that have been prioritised to be developed in the near future have been included here.
Activity Sign Off Efficiencies
Following the updates listed above, our focus will be on making the Activity Sign Off process more efficient and streamlined to save time for the staff responsible for approving Activities for billing and/or payroll.
Our aim is to provide the information staff need to review in relation to the Activity before completing the Activity Sign Off holistically, as well as the ability to complete this for multiple Activities at a time.
Staff Shift Enhancements for Improved Timesheet and Invoicing Accuracy
Further additions related to Staff Shifts have been prioritised to build out this functionality before developing a Roster Planning tool to assist with greater accuracy for billing and payroll, such as Shift Type, Staff Role and Breaks.
Later - Future product initiatives yet to be prioritised
Future product initiatives that are yet to be prioritised but are on our radar for future development have been included here.
Roster Planning Tool
Our goal with this product initiative is to develop a roster planning tool that will allow those who roster and schedule Staff to view Clients and Staff availability holistically, draft and publish functions, and more.
NDIS Connectivity
We are in the process of exploring the different options available for API connectivity with the NDIS portal, including testing this connection through the Digitial Partnership Program.
Our aim with this product initiative is to utilise the API for things such as Bulk Payment Requests (BPRs), Bulk Payment Results Files (BPRFs) and other alerts in due course to provide greater efficiencies for providers.