Penelope by Athena Software

Web base has been extremely easy. It is very easy to maneuver due to us being at different school sites in a day at times. Being able to have all the documents that we need on line. Our assessments are in bedded within Penelope. Our supervisors are grateful to be able to see the associate's BIRP's .

Pros

Software is easy to navigate and to access since our team work at school sites and we sometimes do not go to our offices. Being able to access clients files is so much easier than when we were doing it by paper.

Cons

It took about a year to complete from talks about what we want it and how we were going to use it to actually going live.

Being able to keep track of documentation.

Pros

It holds Records. It allows all staff to complete documentation. It's very easy to navigate once you get use to the features.

Cons

It takes some time to learn how to use the features of the software. It's only allows a certain amount of people to sign in at once.

It was at least a basic way to electronically organize and store confidential client information.

Pros

It has a lot of different and very useful functionalities. You can get very granular with your documentation if you choose to.

Cons

The user interface was rather convoluted and sometimes not very easy to engage. There would be multiple ways to access different parts of a case file, or different places to deposit similar information, which was very confusing.

Pros

The best thing about using this software is the reliability and the customer support. I've been using this software daily for almost two years and the site has only gone down once for about half of a day. Within moments, customer service sent me an email telling me how I could still access the site using a different method. Also, any questions that I've had have been answered with clear and concise instructions within hours. The help section of the software also contains very clear instructions for performing many tasks.

Cons

not at all user-friendly, costly, unreliable for data compilations and billing processes, reports are bad and inflexible, can not be effectively or easily or cheaply customized and adapted to needs, I could go on. Would be pleased to talk to the CEO or senior directors to propose recommendations and provide more information

The ability to access and capture case management information securely, and the information from group meetings also both formal and informal.

Pros

The software is cloud based and has a wide application for use. We are happy with the software itself.

Cons

The software's wide application for use means lots of options, unfortunately the knowledge base doesn't provide the level of information required or is not easy to navigate. The availability of local technical support and expertise in New Zealand appears limited. It would be good to have face to face contact to talk about our ongoing set up (new programmes) and reporting needs.

It's all in one - we don't have to fool around with multiple software programs for various functions.

Pros

The flow of the product; user friendly (our placement students have no difficulty using this software); efficient; accounting portion; great customer service through the help tickets.

Pros

The ability to have running stats/evaluations which can be printed out and reported on with the click of a button!

Pros

I like the ease of reporting functionality. It is very easy for me to see how often our clients are being serviced & how they are progressing within our programs. I like being able to link records with family members so we can get a wholistic view of what is happening with more than one client in a family group. The technical support that has been given to us has been fantastic.

Cons

Penelope is more suited to a clinical environment. There are a number of features within Penelope that we do not use. Some screens are hard to navigate & has some functions that are not relevant to our program needs. In the beginning of the process members of the Penelope project team with MPREC had a teleconference with customer rep. This was a very long drawn out meeting & was one that all of us did not get any benefit out of. Please when introducing your product find a better person to try to sell the program. Her presentations were very monotone & quite boring. We found ourselves drifting away from the meeting.

Pros

it has a diary schedule linked to cart items. it's god if you only want Penelope to do one thing, ie, ATAPS service & payments

Cons

UI poor resulting in clunky data entry and more time spent entering data.
not mobile / tablet friendly
Reporting function does not provide dashboard, only reports in pdf or that you have to cut and past into Excel.
Case file / service file structure creates privacy issues - we may have to move away from this product on the basis of legal advice
Lack of technical support available in Australia

Our student counselors are learning great skills in using an electronic records system. Reports are much easier to run, supervisors can access the progress notes and other documents at any time, and can be alerted to situations like suicidal ideation or risk.

Pros

Students have access everywhere; outcome measures are great, and the ability to see visual score charts across time is especially effective for clients.

Cons

It is hard to delete some mistakes. Written instructions are still not as clear as I would like. I still find it complex when setting up new outcome measures.

Pros

The product is targeted to our industry. Its installed and we are used to it. We have little issues with it.

Cons

No portal functionality. No way of connecting external systems for resource management/bookings. No self help intake process (clients filling in their own information).

Ease of use

Pros

Understanding the software helps, once you do this and you can appreciate it more and what it does and becomes a very simple solution.

Cons

May need a redesign of the workflow but probably more so in training of navigators. Feedback from customers is essential in developing a catered solution for that market but keeping the same NGO concept of the original design and perhaps improving the use of the product based on your target market.

Maybe better than nothing

Pros

Case management is OK
Initial costs cheap

Cons

Doesn't work at all for EAPs in Australia.
Reporting is hopeless.
Schedule is as user friendly as a brick.

Save time, money and easy access to client files and staff schedules. More efficient with documentation and effective client planning within systems. Access to quick reports and better billing processes.

Pros

The fact that it's mobile friendly makes introducing the database a little more exciting to staff and executives.

Cons

The lack of application or mobile software for worker use. I always get the weird look when workers ask "is there an app?" and I say "No" I'd certainly like to change that response.

Pros

I like the versatility within the site. We have numerous programs in our company that we run out of this system.

Cons

When pulling specific reports can be hard because we don't have all the reports built in that we need.

Real time access to our data therefore our reports are accurate and up to date

Pros

24/7 access.
Security and support from Athena
Reporting feature allows us to see our organisation
Real time results

Cons

Moving from laptop to tablet the forms don't resize well.
Would like ability to sort and filter my home page more..perhaps a search function

Pros

I really like the reports feature. I am able to run a report on almost everything that I have to discuss and report on on a weekly basis.

Cons

I not really fond of the date range on the reports feature. If it is possible can it include the setting "last week" or "previous week".

Pros

It makes everything a lot easier to find regarding clients and workers. It helps programs run smoothly on the paperwork side.

Pros

For the first time our organization has been able to capture better client and partner data that has allowed our multiple departments to work more cohesively. The ease of use of the Smart Documents and Forms has enhanced the way we gather demographic and program information for grants and funding purposes. While the overall functionality of the database has been very helpful to capturing client and partner data, we hope further updates with the Search function and Calendar will better serve our organizational needs, for example searching by Event Description (specifically Indirect Events). Both the launch support and technical support team have been wonderful to work with and respond quickly to our inquiries.

Overall: Cloud Based, Easy to create Forms, and Smart Docs are great features. Reports within Penelope are great for capturing basic information. Easy for most staff to use.

Cons

It'd be helpful if more fields were more customizable and if reports could be more specific (more Breakdown options) in Penelope instead of having to utilize the Open Database Connectivity. Search function includes many fields to filter by, but not all the fields that we need- would like better customizable search options.