The Gist
The MISA Member Tracking System is a custom-built platform I helped develop to bring order to the chaos of managing a 550-member organization. As part of a team of developers, designers, and project managers, we built a centralized system that streamlines everything from event check-ins to voting eligibility. It's now used org-wide and has successfully powered 5 major events and counting.
Where It Came From: The Problem
For a student organization as large as MISA, simple administrative tasks were becoming a huge operational headache. The existing process for tracking members was scattered and manual. Keeping a single, up-to-date database of 550+ students was tough enough, but accurately tracking who attended which events was even harder.
This created a major problem during organizational elections. Figuring out which members were eligible to vote, based on their attendance and engagement, involved manually cross-referencing multiple spreadsheets. It was slow, inefficient, and prone to human error. MISA needed a single source of truth.
Building It Together: A Team Effort
This project was a true collaboration, and my role was one of the two Lead Developers. We were part of a structured team that included:
- •Project Managers who organized our work into sprints.
- •A UX Designer who created the wireframes and overall look and feel.
- •A Systems Documentation lead who managed our repository and ensured the project's longevity.
As a Lead Developer, my core responsibility was to turn the designer's vision into a fully functional reality. I worked closely with our UX designer, Helena, to ensure that her designs were not only aesthetically pleasing but also technically feasible and user-friendly. My co-lead developer, Edward, and I handled the coding, building out the front-end UI for event check-ins and connecting it to the backend database that stored all the member data.
The entire process was a fantastic experience in communication and teamwork, ensuring that the design, development, and project goals were always in sync.
The Solution and Its Impact
The system we built provides a simple, centralized solution. At its heart is the "MISA Membership Engagement Master Data Sheet," a master database that holds all member information.
We then built a clean front-end interface that Operations Managers can use on a laptop or tablet at the entrance of any event. When a member checks in, the manager finds their name and, with a single click, marks them as attended. This instantly updates the master sheet, placing a checkmark next to their name for that specific event.
The impact has been huge for MISA.
- •Streamlined Operations: Event check-ins are now fast, digital, and efficient.
- •Data Accuracy: The organization has a reliable, real-time view of member engagement.
- •Effortless Voting Eligibility: When it's time for elections, the system can instantly show who is eligible to vote based on their attendance record.
The platform has been a huge success, becoming the standard for all MISA events. It was a rewarding project to be a part of, as we delivered a tool that solved a critical organizational need and will be used by the MISA team for years to come.