Build a status reporting application—coding optional

This starter kit allows for the entry of weekly statuses by employees. Managers can then see the status reports for all of their direct reports. The application you build is ready to use for basic needs and can also be easily extended to enable customized scenarios.

Add new users, or let them add themselves

Users can be added to the application either manually using the ManageEmployees task, or automatically the first time they open the application. Employees opening the application for the first time will be prompted to enter just a few basic fields. The application integrates with Windows to pull the employee’s user name, ensuring that the user name created in the application matches the user name in the host system.

Immediately access and edit current reports

Once the first employee has been saved, all subsequent uses of the application will present the Current Status Report screen as the primary entry point. If this is the employee’s first time using the application on a given week, a new status report is created; otherwise, the status report for the week is presented for editing. The My Status Reports screen allows employees to see the status reports they have created. Clicking on the date link brings up the Status Report detail screen again and allows for the editing of the report. Similarly, for managers, the Team Status Reports screen shows all of the status reports created by a manager’s direct reports. Clicking on a date link brings up the Status Report detail screen.

Define user roles and permissions

LightSwitch has a built-in security model based on Windows authentication. Every LightSwitch application, by default, has two screens—Users and Roles—that make it easy to manage the mapping of user identities in Windows to the users of the LightSwitch application and to manage the roles and permissions that a user may be associated with. The LightSwitch demo applications currently do not make use of roles and permissions, but the screens have been included so that you can implement them if necessary. The Users screen allows administrators to map Windows User Identities to a user of a LightSwitch application. The Roles Screen allows an administrator to create different roles and assign different permissions to them.