Problems remaining

There are some difficulties remaining with the use of ShowMan.  They are inherent in the use of any program with a database far away from its main home.

• The program can be in use by a show for a year or more prior to the show date, and during that time the show's database is independent from the APF Master Database.  That Master Database is not static either, so synchronising the show's database with the Master Database needs some careful procedures that cannot always be guaranteed to produce the best possible results.
• The capabilities of computers used by a Committee for a Show are unknown and may not be the best possible for the task.  Hence the program and the database have to work under some pretty weird circumstances, not least being the unpredictability of printers.
• The operators of ShowMan will have very different computer knowledge and experience, so that the program has to be able to deal with those differences.  Extensive training is also not likely to be available, nor effective, as the same people may not be running the next Show, nor will the next Show follow soon enough for any experience with ShowMan to remain current.  The APF is planning to hold "Train the Trainers" course at which at least one representative from each Stete would have a place.
• Operators may not always be careful enough to avoid duplication of an Exhibitor's name or an Exhibit.  Most exhibitors will already exist on the database, and most of their exhibits will also already exist, so generally that information can be reused.  But slight mis-spellings in the name may cause an existing exhibitor to be added again to the database, and slight differences in an Exhibit's title may also cause an Exhibit to be added despite the fact that it has previously been exhibited.  In themselves these are not serious errors, but the effect can be detrimental: A new exhibitor or a new exhibit has no history on the database, so that the jury cannot be alerted when judging produces big differences in awards from previous shows.
• There still remains a substantial part of the running of a Show that relies on people for action and interaction with other people.  How can ShowMan assist in carrying over the experience to future shows?