Website Development Project

1
Website Development Project

• An introduction to the
• University Contacts Directory

Rose DewarMay 2007
2
Overview

• Aims of the Project
• Current situation around the University
• What will happen
• The three phases of the Project
• How it all works
• Upcoming tasks for staff
• Data protection considerations
• The benefits

3
Aims

• A reliable "People Finder" search facility
• Using a single source of data
• An easy-to-use interface to administer contact
  data
• Managed by the individual, or by their local
  directory administrator
• A framework to deliver dynamic staff contact web
  pages
• Single source data used in multiple locations
  around the University website

4
Current situation

• An unreliable website people search facility
• Locally managed web pages containing contact
  information
• Varying levels of accuracy and quality

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Current situation
6
Current situation
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What will happen

• Delivery in 3 phases to feed into the Website
  Development Project.
• Phase 1 to co-incide with launch of first release
  of new website

8
Phase 1

• Website MyEd Quick Search

• Comprehensive
• Reliable
• Current

• Search by surname

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Phase 1

• Website MyEd Advanced Search

• Search by first name
• Search by unit/school

• Advanced search options

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Phase 1

• Dynamically generated web pages
• Primary contacts
• A-Z staff lists

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Phase 2

• Dynamically generated web pages
• Staff lists by team or section
• Using information from the Group Membership System

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Phase 2

• Further Details pages

• Dynamically generated web pages

• Bespoke staff lists for groups

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Phase 2

• Basic academic research profile pages
• Updatable by individual members of staff
• Using information from golden copy systems such
  as RAE

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Phase 3

• Comprehensive research profile pages
• Updatable by individual members of staff

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How it all works

• Master copy data from corporate systems
• HR, Visitor, Student, Phones, Email and
  Organisational Hierarchy

• Once transferred, UCD data must be checked and
  kept up to date by local directory managers
• Special template in Polopoly will generate staff
  web pages using UCD data

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Why do we need the GMS?

• Enables us to build bespoke staff lists
• Anything below School level in the organisational
  hierarchy
• Subject areas, research groups
• Other types of groups
• Committees, working parties
• Represent staff in more than one role
• Head of School, Course leader, Member of research
  group, Chair of committee

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System interaction
Group Membership System
University ContactsDirectory
Delivered using Polopoly Content Management System
Maintained by local directory managers
individuals across the University
Maintained by a subgroup of web publishers across
the University
Maintained by web publishers across the University
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System interaction
Search request
Search results
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System interaction
Groups and staff contact data integrated with
webpage template
Staff contact data
Membership rules
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Upcoming tasks for staff

• Managers of staff contact data must ensure data
  in corporate systems is correct
• HR database for staff
• Visitor (VRS) for honorary staff, emeritus
  professors etc
• Student (DACS) for postgraduate researchers
• Information managers will be trained in the
  administration of the UCD for their area
• Ongoing responsibility to maintain contact data
• Removes need to maintain local web staff list

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Security and data protection

• Individuals will have 4 weeks to opt out of
  public display of core contact details
• Existing privacy flags honoured
• Extended Further Details on an opt-in basis in
  later phases
• Schools and units will have editorial control
  over the contacts displayed on their website,
  once published via Polopoly
• Minimum Primary Contacts required

22
Managing the data

• Administration of UCD will be via MyEd
• Management of unit-wide data will be by the local
  directory manager
• Management of personal data can be by individual
  or their local directory manager

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Benefits

• Single source of contact data
• Update once, change reflected across website
• Minimising duplication of effort
• Improve data consistency
• Responsibility for contact details accuracy
  devolved and extended
• No web publishing expertise needed
• Quick and easy to update

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Benefits

• For the end user
• More reliable results
• Easier to find staff contacts and profiles
• For University staff
• Higher profile for staff research
• Improved internal communications

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Summary

• The University Contacts Directory
• A single, unified data source
• Generating constantly up-to-date web pages
• Easy to edit by the individual
• Raising the profile of staff research activity