Overview

The Trac-Xporter integration is designed to streamline data synchronisation between Trac, Tali, and external MIS (Management Information Systems) through Xporter. This integration manages member creation, updates, and Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility. MIS systems provide student data which Xporter centralises. Tali then synchronises the data with its own records and Trac.

Purpose

This integration automates the management of member data and FSM credit purses to minimise manual input and ensure data accuracy. By leveraging Xporter, schools can continuously sync updated data, allowing Trac and Tali to respond promptly to changes in eligibility, member details, and credit purse allocations.

Scope

This document outlines the processes involved in integrating member management and credit purse functionality between Trac, Tali, and Xporter, including: Data synchronisation flows and group management Credit eligibility checking and credit purse creation Technical considerations for integration partners

Description

Integration Workflow

Initial Setup

Xporter Connection: The Pebble team will configure the data to be pulled, and schools just need to accept Xporter integration requests.

Data Retrieval from MIS to Xporter:

• Xporter pulls data from MIS systems.
• Tali pulls the MIS data stored in Xporter to manage groups and memberships.
• Data is pulled regularly (every few hours in September and once per morning on weekdays during the other months), and any changes will be synched from Xporter to Tali.

Syncing Members with FSM Eligibility:

• Data in Tali is processed to check for FSM eligibility flags.
• Eligible students are automatically assigned to the “Free School Meal” group within Tali, based on eligibility data pulled from Xporter.
• FSM eligibility is flagged based on the FsmEligible field in Xporter, which either has a 1 or 0 value, indicating if the pupil is eligible for FSM or not.

FSM Credit Purse Allocation:

• Tali pulls all the eligible FSM pupils in Xporter into the “User Defined: Free schools meals” group in Tali.
• For FSM-eligible students, a Pebble user will manually create a credit profile against that Free School Meals group in Tali.
• Credit purse creation is an automated process that runs every five minutes. This process will find any contacts in a group that pertains to a credit profile. For any contacts that don’t have a valid credit purse, one is created.

Data Sync and Updates:

• Tali conducts two main sync types:
  • Xporter Sync: Stores the Xporter data in Tali.
  • Tali Sync: Syncs the previously stored Xporter data from Tali, creating any necessary contacts or groups. Trac will then sync from this updated data.
• Each time member information (e.g., address changes) is saved, Tali initiates a sync to update Trac with the latest information.

Handling Peak Periods

Due to increased activity in peak times like September, schools may occasionally experience “flaky” data syncs due to system load. Administrators can then initiate a manual sync to maintain updated records and FSM credit allocations.

Data Flow

This flow ensures continuous synchronisation of school data with Trac, enhancing data accuracy and minimising manual intervention.

Glossary and Additional Resources

• MIS: Management Information System used by schools to manage student data.
• FSM: Free School Meal eligibility, denoted by a specific flag in the MIS.
• Xporter: Middleware for retrieving data from MIS systems.