# Continue the discussion on IUG enhancement changes
**URL:** https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615
**Category:** IUG Announcements
**Created:** [December 18, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615 "2023-12-18T19:20:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/1 "2023-12-18T19:20:09Z")
On 12/18/2023, IUG announced with Innovative changes to the enhancement process for IUG members. If you missed the session, watch this thread for a đș [video recording](https://youtu.be/oBmbbH88PH4?feature=shared&t=81) and grab the [slide deck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/uploads/short-url/tyZyXz7l35CmUL2ih9q42QMFq8g.pdf).
- This process will continue to use [Idea Exchange](https://ideas.iii.com/).
- [Use this survey to vote on and/or suggest a name for this process](https://members.innovativeusers.org/members/add_response.php?org_id=IUG&svid=4088491).
- [Indicate your interest in participating in a working group](https://members.innovativeusers.org/members/projects_view.php?org_id=IUG).
Reply to this post to ask additional questions and IUG Steering Committee members will work on getting answers.
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### Author:  [@jmgold](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/jmgold)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/2 "2023-12-18T19:45:25Z")
The first question that came to my mind is how will this process accommodate enhancements related to lesser used system features?
Back in the Idea Lab days we always struggled with how an enhancement idea related, for example course reserves in Sierra, could ever succeed when the academic members who strongly support it would never be able to have enough votes to compete with, say a circulation feature used by all the public libraries.
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### Author:  [@suzyq](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/suzyq)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/3 "2023-12-18T20:05:34Z")
Agreed. Perhaps an expanded clarification on, as you are one site with one vote, how many votes will be given to that site towards the various modules / areas/ contractual functionality? And further, as Jeremy says, if only 20 of us have reserve bookroom, how do we ensure reserve isnât left behind in favor of self-placed holds?
Thanks, Jeremy!
Susan
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### Author:  [@CyberpunkLibrarian](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/CyberpunkLibrarian)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/4 "2023-12-18T20:08:13Z")
I had a question about the enhancements that are already in Idea Exchange and have been selected for development (or at least I think thatâs what âFuture Possibilitiesâ means). I know for a fact there are some enhancements in there that came over from the Idea _Lab_, theyâre marked for Future Possibilities, and still donât have any timetable or real commitment for development. Will any of those garner a commitment for development and implementation?
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### Author:  [@jmgold](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/jmgold)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/5 "2023-12-18T20:10:31Z")
Also for those areas with smaller user bases, how to make sure those users are represented within the working group? Sierra contains multitudes and sub products and the like and while I can claim to have expertise with it there are giant portions I know nothing about as they are not a part of our local configuration.
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### Author:  [@jmgold](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/jmgold)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/6 "2023-12-18T20:13:34Z")
Likewise the upcoming ideas on the product board that are going back to the Exchange. On the Sierra side Iâm pretty sure a few of those were Idea Lab winners, so theyâve already had a chance to go through a prioritization exercise run by IUG and came out on top. I understand that being done pre the new contractual agreement but itâs still less than ideal to make them have to find success a second time.
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### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/7 "2023-12-18T20:25:55Z")
> [@wesochuck](#):
>
> and slide deck will be posted soon
[Here is the slide deck from the meeting](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/uploads/short-url/tyZyXz7l35CmUL2ih9q42QMFq8g.pdf), weâre still waiting for the video upload to finish.
> [@jmgold](#):
>
> The first question that came to my mind is how will this process accommodate enhancements related to lesser used system features?
This process is not explicitly designed to address this issue. Working Groups would need to take this into consideration as they _select_ the ideas for pointing. It is one of the reasons Working Groups and their library make-up will be so important to this process.
However, ultimately getting the process through the final expenditure of voting points will require someone to champion and lobby hard for the value of the feature, particularly those areas with low usage as it often indicates limited market interest. Not impossible, but it will take hard work and also maybe lots of M&M bribes.
> [@suzyq](#):
>
> as you are one site with one vote, how many votes will be given to that site towards the various modules / areas/ contractual functionality?
At this stage there is no _plan_ to break out the voting process by module. The selection for pointing and the final allocation of points will be performed at the product level as shown by the Working Group signup areas. That isnât to say it canât be done, but that would be at the discretion of the steering committee and Working Group.
As a reminder, **this is NOT the exclusive way new features can be developed.** There are still lots of other ways new features can make it into the product. It is just that ideas that make it through the process will have certain delivery and communication guarantees associated with them.
> [@jmgold](#):
>
> I understand that being done pre the new contractual agreement but itâs still less than ideal to make them have to find success a second time.
It was a trade off the IUG Steering Committee had to make. Otherwise, we would be waiting until 2026 (or later) before any ideas from this new process would come to fruition.
For better or worse, I had a boss that would once say to me âWes, if youâve had to wait over a year for something to be done is it really as important as \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (insert other priority here) - is it ever going to get done?â
I think the good news is that we are talking about a very limited set of ideas that would be moving back. Weâre still working on getting that final list out there.
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### Author:  [@grezes](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/grezes)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/8 "2023-12-18T20:33:03Z")
Will there be a steering group size limit? Too large and they become so cumbersome nothing gets done. Too small and maybe there isnât proper diversity.
Can more than one member of an organization be on a steering committee? I would like my circulation supervisor to be in the Sierra group (since that is the only group) but as site contact, with the vote, I need to be in there too. Is there a possibility of a group overloading the steering committee.
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### Author:  [@rayvoelker](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/rayvoelker)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/9 "2023-12-18T20:35:37Z")
Is it too late to throw a name for this out there?
**Library Idea Exchange Alliance** ⊠LIEA (because itâs I before E of course đ )
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### Author:  [@pruntela](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/pruntela)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/10 "2023-12-18T20:41:45Z")
Hopefully for the working groups that span both Sierra and Polaris will be evenly divided (as well as public vs. academic, consortia vs. smaller, etc.). The IUG Steering Committee itself seems heavily weighed towards Polaris, so hope that there are enough Sierra reps involved (no offense to the Polaris folks, btw).
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### Author:  [@mary.miller](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/mary.miller)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/11 "2023-12-18T20:56:01Z")
In the Idea Exchange, will there be a way to distinguish minor from major enhancement requests?
For example, in the Idea Lab, I asked for one HTML change to one Polaris Language Editor String to be included as a default. This would take less than a minute for a Polaris programmer to copy/paste/save into the string.
Specifically, for âPACMLPAYMENTBILLINGCSC\_1017â, add a red asterisk for the CVV with this HTML:
\< font size=â3â color=â#9B3131â style=âfont-weight:bold;â \> \* \< /font \> Card Security Code
Easy! But my idea was closed with a request to choose another payment system. We simply needed a bold red asterisk to convey the CVV was required, which I accomplished with the above HTML.
If only 20 major enhancements are permitted, perhaps 50 minor enhancements should be permitted? Perhaps the qualifying criteria for âminorâ would be that it could be accomplished in less than 10 minutes, due to a clear, simple, instructions. No research necessary. That would be a total of about 8 hours of effort, one day, for a single programmer. 50 \* 10 minutes = 8.33 hours.
Thanks,
Mary Miller
Fort Bend County Libraries
[mary.miller@fortbend.lib.tx.us](mailto:mary.miller@fortbend.lib.tx.us)
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### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/12 "2023-12-18T21:40:42Z")
Thanks for the questions.
> [@grezes](#):
>
> Will there be a steering group size limit?
The Working Groups\* for this process are planned to be between 6 and 12 people.
> [@grezes](#):
>
> Can more than one member of an organization be on a steering committee?
Yes, we would consider multiple people or the same person from an organization for participating in one or more Working Groups. If there were more people than slots available, part of the selection process might involve placing the person into only one of the Working Groups.
> [@grezes](#):
>
> with the vote, I need to be in there too
All site contacts who are active IUG members will be able to vote on _any_ of the final selections. You do **not** need to be a member of a Working Group to vote on the final selections for that product.
> [@rayvoelker](#):
>
> Is it too late to throw a name for this out there?
- [There is a write-in portion of the naming survey!](https://members.innovativeusers.org/members/add_response.php?org_id=IUG&svid=4088491)
> [@mary.miller](#):
>
> In the Idea Exchange, will there be a way to distinguish minor from major enhancement requests?
Part of the Innovative pointing process helps distinguish between the sizes of requests. So, for example, in the final voting members might elect to select 5 âsmallerâ requests to be implemented or 1 âbiggerâ request.
There is a limit of 20 total ideas that the Working Groups can select to be pointed.
> [@pruntela](#):
>
> Hopefully for the working groups that span both Sierra and Polaris will be evenly divided (as well as public vs. academic, consortia vs. smaller, etc.).
Always important! And made easier when we have folks from all systems letting us know theyâre interested in helping. A reminder, you can do that by [indicating your interest in participating in a working group](https://members.innovativeusers.org/members/projects_view.php?org_id=IUG).
> [@pruntela](#):
>
> The IUG Steering Committee itself seems heavily weighed towards Polaris, so hope that there are enough Sierra reps involved (no offense to the Polaris folks, btw).
As a Polaris library, none taken. The current split is even with four of each system type on the steering committee. But this concern is one of the reasons [we recently added a provision to the bylaws to make sure both systems had good representation on the Steering Committee](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/iug-2023-proposed-bylaws-revisions-reply-with-suggested-revisions-by-july-3rd/1298).
* * *
\ ***Note** : A quick note on definitions, weâll try to work on some graphics to better represent this.
- **Steering Committee:** This is IUGâs main governing body or âboardâ. Steering Committee members are elected through an annual process ([expect to hear results from the fall elections soon](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/iug-fall-2023-elections/1526/)). For this process the Steering Committeeâs main roles are: Signing the agreement with Innovative, establishing the Working Groups, establishing a voting process.
- **Working Group:** A group of 6 to 12 people, per product in the agreement, appointed by the Steering Committee to select a list of ideas to be further refined and then âpointedâ by Innovative.
- **Site Contacts:** One person, per IUG member organization, who will be able to cast votes on the final selection of features to be added to a product.
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### Author:  [@ahornsey](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/ahornsey)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/13 "2023-12-18T22:01:48Z")
Will international Sierra users be represented on the working groups? While it may be trickier with timezones, itâs important that we are represented.
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### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/14 "2023-12-18T22:09:13Z")
In case you couldnât join us in real-time for todayâs session, [the đș video is now available for viewing](https://youtu.be/oBmbbH88PH4?feature=shared&t=81).
* * *
> [@ahornsey](#):
>
> Will international Sierra users be represented on the working groups?
We look forward to IUG members from around the world đ [participating in this process by signing up for a working group](https://members.innovativeusers.org/members/projects_view.php?org_id=IUG).
One note about the agreement is that any required localization for features cannot âcount againstâ IUGâs development point usage.
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### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/15 "2023-12-18T22:13:43Z")
> [@CyberpunkLibrarian](#):
>
> I know for a fact there are some enhancements in there that came over from the Idea _Lab_, theyâre marked for Future Possibilities, and still donât have any timetable or real commitment for development.
The only ideas that would be guaranteed a timetable based on the IUG agreement would be ones that have gone fully through all the steps of the new IUG process.
Given that Innovative will still be taking into consideration other development priorities, they may share specific release dates for other features theyâve selected to implement that were determined outside the scope of this process.
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### Author:  [@ElaineSloan](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/ElaineSloan)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 10:40pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/16 "2023-12-18T22:40:33Z")
Iâm finally watching the video, and Iâm confused on the voting. Can anyone still vote on Idea Exchange, but only site members can vote on ideas that come out of the working groups?
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### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/17 "2023-12-18T22:44:56Z")
> [@ElaineSloan](#):
>
> Can anyone still vote on Idea Exchange, but only site members can vote on ideas that come out of the working groups?
Yes! Your interpretation is correct! All Innovative customers can continue to vote in Idea Exchange which is a service Innovative provides to all its customers, only IUG members can vote on the IUG Working Group selected ideas. The IUG Working Group selected ideas will have specific delivery and communication commitments from Innovative versus the general ideas in Idea Exchange.
Weâll be working on a FAQ to help outline more details of the process. All the questions are a great starting point for us on the FAQ, so keep them coming!
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### Author:  [@jmgold](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/jmgold)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2023, 1:20pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/18 "2023-12-19T13:20:18Z")
Is there / can there be a list of exactly which products within Sierra are included under the contract? Sierra has had a LOT of add-ons over the years and the dividing line between what is an optional part of the system and what is fully an external product is extremely blurry. Things like Decision Center, INN-Reach, Mobile Worklists, and Encore are all in that gray area and really need some clarity to properly set expectations.
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### Author:  [@grezes](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/grezes)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/19 "2023-12-19T17:49:27Z")
I guess they would all fall under Sierra working group.
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### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615/20 "2023-12-19T17:52:01Z")
> [@jmgold](#):
>
> Things like Decision Center, INN-Reach, Mobile Worklists, and Encore are all in that gray area and really need some clarity to properly set expectations.
Weâll work with Innovative to get some clarification.
[Next page](https://forum.innovativeusers.org/t/continue-the-discussion-on-iug-enhancement-changes/1615.md?page=2)