Dear OA LodgeMaster Users,
It’s finally the time we all have been waiting for - the next version of OA LodgeMaster is nearly ready for general release! Thank you to everyone who has waited patiently as we’ve developed the next great version of OA LodgeMaster and thanks to the users who have helped us test the new system over the past two months.
After nearly three years in development, and nearly two months in beta testing, we are almost ready to release the next version of the Order of the Arrow LodgeMaster system. We have worked hard to ensure the new version is built to provide a robust and easy to use platform. We also took the time to incorporate more than 100 user requested enhancements to make the platform easier to use.
The new LodgeMaster client has been completely rewritten from the ground up. It completely removes the need for Silverlight - instead the new version is completely web-based and runs in any modern web browser, including mobile phones and tablets. While the functionality is like the current version, the look of the OA LodgeMaster client has been modernized - content dynamically scales to fit any size screen. The new Lodge Client will be new yet familiar to all users.
OA LodgeMaster also now leverages the new ArrowID single sign-on system - you will be able to sign into LodgeMaster with you existing ArrowID account. Users will connect their ArrowID to their old account by signing in with the old username and password once, from then on you’ll just need your ArrowID. New users will be invited by email instead of creating a username and password for them.
We’ll have many more details on the enhancements we’ve made to the client with the final release and starting at the beginning of May we’ll begin hosting a series of webinars on the new version. We’ll also be hosting a series of trainings at NOAC this summer.
Important Release Notes:
- The entire OA LodgeMaster system will be unavailable Friday, April 13, 2018 – Sunday, April 15, 2018 while the LodgeMaster team performs the system upgrades.
- All offline data MUST be synchronized with the OA LodgeMaster server by Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 11:59pm eastern. Any data not synchronized by the 12th will not be available after the OA LodgeMaster release. Your old offline database WILL NOT be compatible with the new version of OA LodgeMaster. Any changes after the 12th at 11:59pm eastern that are made in the old program will need to be manually re-done in the new system.
- OA LodgeMaster 4 will be available on Monday, April 16, 2018. OA LodgeMaster should be considered offline and unavailable until Monday morning.
- Users with the offline client will need to uninstall the OA LodgeMaster Lodge Client 3.3.11 before installing the 4.0.0 Lodge Client.
- During the upgrade window, status updates will be posted to the OA Status Page. The status page is located at status.oa-bsa.org.
Due to the size of the project, a few of the modules have not be moved into the new OA LodgeMaster Client. The finance and inventory modules will remain on the Silverlight platform for a short time more. We expect to release the inventory module along with the 2018 charter and JTE forms around a month after the initial release. We will continue to support any Lodge that uses the finance or inventory modules until we move them over to the LodgeMaster 4 platform.
We are excited for this major release of OA LodgeMaster. We have spent the past 3 years building and creating a new platform for the Order of the Arrow’s membership and event management. We are thrilled to be able to offer this program, free of charge, to Lodge’s across the country. Over the next two weeks, expect more email reminders and look for updates to be posted to status.oa-bsa.org.
Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team
Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead
Michael Card, Project Adviser
Robert Anstett, Development Lead
Mike Gaffney, Support Lead