This article is part of the step-by-step plan for creating a new Congressus App. You must complete three steps before you can use the app:
Create a Congressus App in the Congressus Manager
Set up and test the app in Socie management
Invite members
This article is about the second step: setting up and testing the Congressus App in Socie management. Haven't created a Congressus App yet? Go to: Step 1 - Create a Congressus App.
Time to make the app perfect
In this step, your mission is to go through the app and settings in Socie management and then test them to ensure that the app fully meets the needs of your organization or association.
This article covers three topics:
Overview and explanation of Socie management
Setting up and configuring your app modules in Socie management
Testing your app
We will also briefly discuss groups, as this can be an important part of your app.
Socie management
Within Socie management, you can manage the settings of your app(s). You can:
determine which modules you want in your app;
determine the order of your modules in the menu of your app;
manage the settings of all modules;
customize the look and feel of your app;
test your app and settings with a few members.
Access to Socie management
The App administrator has received an invitation by email giving them access to the Socie management platform. Use this invitation to log in.
Socie management overview
We start with the Socie management overview page. Once logged in, you will see two blocks with various items in the left-hand menu:
In the first block, you will find all menu items (called modules) that you see in your app:
In the second block, you will find your member database (and groups) from Congressus, as well as various settings for your app:
Setting up and configuring app modules
Tip: install the app now
To easily see what the different settings do in the app, it is useful to install the app now and register yourself. Use the same email address that you used to receive the invitation for Socie management.
Download the Congressus App from the App Store(s):
A number of modules are pre-installed based on the theme you chose in step 1. Each module can be fully customized, renamed, or deleted. You can also add new modules and change the order of the modules.
The app also has a “home page,” which is the top “Overview” module where you can post general messages that all your members can see:
Settings per module
Each module has its own settings. It is advisable to check and test the settings for each module, such as:
Is this module visible in the app?
Are members allowed to respond to items in this module?
Are members allowed to post something in this module themselves?
Which members are allowed to see this module?
Do members receive a (push) notification when something “happens” in this module?
Example of the settings for a Notice Board module:
This means that you have control over how each module works and what your members can do with it.
Modules linked to Congressus
Some modules are already automatically linked to your Congressus environment. This is the status of the modules that are linked:
Member database: synchronized with Congressus based on member status(es).
Groups: synchronized with Congressus based on the group folders (more about groups here). [link article]
Calendar: partially linked to your Congressus events (1).
News and blog: (naturally) linked to News and Blogs.
Photos: we display certain photo albums from Congressus (2).
⚠️ (1) Calendar module
The current link between the calendar module and the events from Congressus is currently “unfiltered.” This means that the calendar module displays all old and new events from Congressus on the app's calendar. We do not currently have the ability to filter based on the member who opens the calendar module.
Does your association have events that should only be visible to some of your members? If so, we recommend disabling the link to Congressus and not using the calendar module for the time being.
In the future, we will apply a filter to this: the calendar will then only show events that all members of the app are allowed to see.
⚠️ (2) Photo albums module
Not all photo albums within Congressus are shared with the app. Only albums that are published for everyone are shared. This ensures that photo albums with restricted access cannot be viewed by members who are not authorized to do so.
Disconnecting modules
It is up to you to decide whether you want to keep, modify, or remove the connections we have made :)
Groups module
Below is some additional information about groups, in case you are ready to get started with them.
If you have already clicked through all the modules of the app in Socie management, you may have noticed that the Groups module is present in the top left corner but is empty (even though you may have already checked a folder with groups in Step 1 - Create Congressus App).
We will explain this in more detail:
The Groups module at the top left shows all “Interactive Groups.” Interactive groups are groups to which a so-called “Timeline” has been added.
Groups that you have either synchronized from Congressus or created in Socie itself (because that is also possible) are never “Interactive” by default. You can change the settings for each group with your administrator account.
You will also find Groups in the left menu at the bottom:
If you have synchronized Groups from Congressus with the app, you will also find those groups here. Only when you add a so-called “Timeline” to one of these groups will that group be visible in the groups module at the top:
Good to know!
There is one thing you should know before you start working with groups: in addition to synchronizing groups from Congressus to Socie, you can also create groups in Socie and add members to them. You can even allow your members to start their own groups.
This can be very interesting for your members and gives them a lot of freedom! Suppose there are members who want to create a dining or study club, then they can set this up themselves.
However, the rule is:
⚠️ Groups created in Socie, either by the app administrator or by members themselves, cannot be synchronized back to your Congressus groups in the Congressus Manager.
It is important to note that these groups can only exist in the app.
Can both types of groups work together?
Yes, both types of groups can coexist in the app. So it is not a problem if groups are created in Socie itself, alongside groups that have already been synchronized from Congressus.
As long as the app administrator understands that the groups created in Socie will not be visible in Congressus Manager.
⚠️ An “Interactive group” allows members of that group to communicate with each other and share messages (and much more!).
⚠️ A group to which a Timeline has been added becomes an “Interactive group” and will then be visible in the Groups module.
Testing the app
Once you have finished setting up your app, it is time to test it. By testing, we actually mean: “Does everything in the app work as I expected?”
We recommend doing this with two or three members. This makes it easy to test all the permissions you have set and the interaction within the app.
Things you can test include:
Can a member post something in a module?
Can another member respond to it?
Does the group (with my 2 test members) work as expected?
Can I send a push notification (a message) to a group or a member?
The second step is complete!
Now that you have finished setting up the app and have tested that everything works as expected, it is time for Step 3: Invite members.