SupportAbility Roadmap

To provide greater transparency regarding planned enhancements and new features, details of the current SupportAbility Roadmap are updated here to benefit our subscriber base.  

The roadmap lists the key changes we plan to make to SupportAbility over the next 12 months. It is not designed to be a complete or final list. Instead, it is focused on providing information regarding upcoming changes that will affect the way our subscribers use the product for the purpose of forward planning.

We have recently introduced a product function to our team, and this team uses the feedback gathered in Product Discovery to inform the ongoing development of SupportAbility. This process enables us to ask the right people the right questions about upcoming features to ensure we truly grasp the issue and, therefore, architect the best solutions. 

Our aim is to create efficiencies and enable you to simplify the administrative side of your business. 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. 

We would love to discuss our product goals with you at any time and welcome your feedback on this.

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:

IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL ITEMS ON THE ROADMAP ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE


6 Month Roadmap

Infrastructure upgrades

The infrastructure, core programming languages, and software libraries that underpin all SupportAbility installations have been upgraded for added security and efficiency and to prepare for future product enhancements.

While these changes will likely go unnoticed, however, they are important stepping stones for all future development as outlined below.

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SupportAbility Web App interface update

An update to the SupportAbility Web App is expected soon in v8.4 to give SupportAbility a much-needed makeover. 

The updated design of the SupportAbility Web App interface is focused on providing Staff Members with a modern and cleaner user experience.

By lightening the background and reducing the use of bold colours, screens previously susceptible to being cluttered with colour (e.g. Dashboard Notifications) have been updated, resulting in items that require attention standing out more.

We have included some examples below for reference:

It is important to note that this update will not change all areas of the SupportAbility Web App visually, including but not limited to:

  • the Warning bar in Client records and Activities,
  • Bookmarks, 
  • pop-up windows, etc. 

These items will be updated to align with the modernised interface over time. 

Staggered Release

Due to the volume of changes in the upgrade to v.8.4, this update will have a staggered release commencing Tuesday evening, 27th of February 2024.

v8.4 will be applied to each provider’s SupportAbility installation over a two-week period until all installations have been updated to the latest version.

This means that while the release notes for v8.4 will be sent out to all providers on the evening of the 27th of February, this update may not be applied to your organisation's SupportAbility installation immediately, as it will be applied to all SupportAbility installations gradually over a period of two weeks from this date.

The rollout of v8.4 to all SupportAbility installations is due to be completed by COB on Friday, 8th of March 2024.

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Option to update shifts to 'TO BE FILLED' when a Staff Member is on leave

When an unavailable leave exception is being reviewed for approval, a new option will be available to update the shifts the Staff Member is rostered into in this period to 'TO BE FILLED' as required upon approval. 

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Hide a Staff Member from being available for rostering

A new setting will be available in Staff Account records that, when set, prevents the individual from appearing in the list of available or suggested Staff when rostering or replacing someone on leave. 

This would be suitable for staff who do not provide direct service delivery to Clients, e.g. managers, HR, finance or administration personnel.

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Addition of Shift Sign-Off in the Mobile App

Addition of the ability for Staff to complete their Shift Sign-Off using the Mobile App. 

Once complete, this updates the Staff Timesheet Sign-Off in the Web App almost instantly. 

By default, the Shift Sign-Off using Time and Location will be available in both the Web App and the Mobile App. However, it will be possible to configure this otherwise by Service in System Preferences.

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Rostered, Recorded and Timesheet Hours and kilometres

This update introduces 'Rostered', 'Recorded' and 'Timesheet' Hours and kilometres as three separate columns in the Staff section of the Activity record in the Web App.

Non-editable Rostered hours and kms 

Only Staff Members with the privileges required to edit and manage Activities will be able to add or edit rostered shift times and kms. 

Record actual hours worked and kms manually or via Check In/Out

In the 'Recorded' column, only the Staff Member rostered can record their actual hours worked and kms travelled. This can be done manually or via Check In/Out in either the Mobile App or the Web App.

Timesheet hours and kms for payroll

Staff Members with the privileges required to edit and manage Activities can edit hours and kms for payroll in 'Timesheet' column.

Please note that we are adding configurable options that make it possible to manage this more efficiently for those responsible for Signing Off the Activity. 

Example

For example, Abel is rostered into a shift from 8 am - 4 pm with 20 Private kms expected.

He checks into his shift using the Mobile App at 8:05 am, checks out at 4:30 pm and records 30 Private kms. 

The Team Leader can quickly determine to use the Rostered or Recorded Hours and kms in the Timesheet as per the default preference set by the organisation for that Service. Alternatively, they can edit this case-by-case as required, e.g. 8 am - 4:30 pm and 30 kms. 

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Client Funding Statement efficiencies

This update will introduce the ability to generate Client Funding expenditure statements for the required period for as many Clients as required in a single operation. 

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12 Month Roadmap

Rostering and Time & Attendance Enhancements

Enhancing the Rostering and Time & Attendance functionality in SupportAbility is our next major development project. 

Discovery sessions have recently been completed to get valuable provider feedback regarding the most important features related to this.

The first of these features to be prioritised have been outlined below.

If providers 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

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Find Support Worker for Activity

Updates will be made to the existing screens when selecting or changing a Staff Member or filling a 'TO BE FILLED' shift in a new or existing Activity to provide better information to find the right Staff Member.
These updates may include additional information, such as:
  • Hours worked in the period
  • Visibility of un-approved leave
  • New fields for “Works well With” and “Doesn’t work with”
  • “Sort by” controls
  • “Worked with before”

These updates will likely span multiple releases and are the first step toward developing a more comprehensive rostering solution. 

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Traceability of Changes in Activities

This longer-term development project will introduce an audit trail, allowing managers to review changes to NDIS Support Allocations, Clients or Staff in Activities as needed to identify who and when changes were made. 

Traceability of changes in Activities is our intended starting point for this functionality, with a view to extending this to other areas of the system, such as Funding, Budgets, Clients etc. as needed. 

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