VolDB

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The Apogaea Volunteer Database is used to track shifts during the event. Email voldb@apogaea.com if you have questions or need help.

Overview

The goals is to have it on-line about the same time tickets go on-sale each year so the general public can choose volunteer shifts. It should be opened for leads\admins to enter shift data a couple of weeks before the public go live date. Then a two weeks before the event the DB is locked down so only admins can manage changes.

You can access the VolDB here: http://volunteer.apogaea.com

How to Guides

Videos


Key Links for Dept Leads to the VolDB

These are for the Apogaea 2024 event ONLY. You must be setup as a Dept Lead in the VolDB, if you aren't or can't access these pages email VolDB@apogaea.com

History

From 2017 on Rachel Fish has led the VolDB efforts and done an amazing job building a new solution from the ground up. 2011-2016 VolDB was managed by the VolDB team and written in Django and Python and hosted on Heroku. The source code is stored in GitHub here: https://github.com/Apogaea/voldb/. The initial code was created in PHP and MySQL by Bug sometime before 2010. When Bug left in 2013, Koda and Piper  rewrote the application in Python and PostgreSQL for 2014. For Apogaea 2015, a 5-member team of developers re-factored new code base in a move towards splitting client and server architecture. Ultimately, not all of the work from 2015 made it into the release branch. For 2016 Piper maintained the system, but he was the only active member of the VolDB Dev team.

VolDB Lead Job Description

Ultimately, the Volunteer Database Lead is responsible for ensuring Apogaea has a public-facing piece of software that allows the community to schedule volunteer shifts at the event. This lead will work directly with the Volunteer Department Lead to define each year's specific requirements and ensure that software and support are available. The Volunteer Database Lead for 2014 and 2015 organized a team of volunteers to assist in the development and maintenance of the existing software and some of these volunteers are likely to be interested in continuing their support.

A software developer with a moderate level of group development experience and a basic grasp of Python/Django will probably have little trouble understanding and managing the existing software. With a clean, readable, well-documented code base, an experienced Django developer should be able to immediately move into adding features and improving the existing tool. While this lead will enjoy the autonomy of choosing how to meet the requirements laid down by the Volunteer Department Lead, this lead has the potential to benefit from the established momentum and volunteer interest from previous years.

Timeline

VolDB Feedback

Team Members

2017 - 2024

VolDB Lead: Rachel Fish

2017 Team Members

VolDB Lead: Chris Dobell
Volunteer Lead: -  Dana Sunshine

2016 Team Members

VolDB Lead: Chris Dobell
Lead Developer: Aaron Merriam "Piper" - Django

2015 Team Members

Team Lead: Koda
Lead Developer: Aaron Merriam "Piper" - Django
Data Management: Arthur Ketchman
Data management: Dan Singer
Front-end & style: Amelia

Backup plan

Should there come a time when no community members are available to able to support or replace the existing software, ShiftBoard is a viable commercial alternative that will provide much of the same functionality, but at a cost. ShiftBoard may cost $1,200 based on their non-profit pricing and double user count discount with Burning Man affiliate pricing to support 600 users. There is also https://signupgenius.com/, used by LoveBurn  & Engulf and other burns. http://timecounts.app used by E11.