A “small can be beautiful”

portal storyJanell Baran - Denison University

Abstract

I. In the Beginning A. Why? Strategic Reasoning B. The Committee C. The Criteria D. The Contenders E. The Choice

II. The Plan A. Timeline B. Portal Retreat C. The Prototype Run-off D. Community Involvement E. Marketing F. Testing, testing, testing, .... and more testing G. User Support

Abstract

III. Implementation Issues A. Collaborative Open-source: JA-SIG's uPortal

Project B. The Team -- Where are the Java Programmers? C. User Authentication D. Tying In with Other Systems E. Outside Channels F. Inside Channels

IV. Where We Are Now A. The myDENISON Grand Tour B. Usage C. Continued Maintenance D. What Next?

Abstract

V. Lessons Learned A. Community Involvement from Start B. Start Simple and Grow C. It's All About the Users D. Exploit Existing Resources and Content E. Market Aggressively

Conclusion

I. In the Beginning

A. Why a Student Portal? Strategic Reasoning

1. Student Retention 2. Competitiveness 3. Community Building 4. Streamline Information Access 5. Build on Existing Strengths

– Denison 2000 Initiative (1998 - infrastructure)

– Denison Information Initiative (2000 - IT personnel, 5.5 new positions)

I. In the Beginning

B. The Committee 1. Chaired by VP of Finance and Management 2. Represented a range of interests: – Assistant Provost for Instructional Technology

(faculty and students) – Director of Computing Services (all computer

users) – Associate Director of Administrative

Computing (administrative users) – Oracle DBA ** – Web Services Manager (pagemaintainers and

students)

I. In the Beginning

C. The Criteria 1. Pre-defined general objectives 2. Specific portal selection criteria

I. In the Beginning

D. The Contenders 1. CNAV Systems 2. Blackboard 5, Level 3 3. Oracle Portal 4. JA-SIG uPortal

I. In the Beginning

E. The Choice 1. Open Source vs. Commercial Vendor

Debate i. Support and Documentation ii. Future Development iii. Cost iv. Scalability v. Integration vi. Target Market - Academia vs. Business

2. 2 Clear Finalists, No Clear Winner 3. Solution: Parallel Prototype Development

II. The Plan

A. Timeline 1. Committee begins meeting: December

2000 2. Committee OKs prototype

development: April 2001 3. Final product choice: June 2001 4. myDENISON target release: August

2001

II. The Plan

B. Portal Retreat 1. 3 Days in May 2001 2. Focus on:

i. Authentication ii. Performance Issues iii. Content Development iv. Marketing Strategies v. Administrative and Instructional System

Integration

II. The PlanC. Prototype Run-off Winner: JA-SIG

uPortal 1. Cost 2. Straight-forward Integration with Existing

Website 3. Ease of Customization 4. Active and Supportive Development

Community 5. Strong Academic Focus 6. Strong Alignment with Denison Web

Enterprise Goals

II. The Plan

D. Community Involvement 1. On-line Survey 2. Focus Groups

i. Student ii. Staff

3. Campus E-mails 4. Meetings with Key Content

Providers

II. The Plan

E. Marketing 1. Focus Groups 2. Survey 3. Brochure 4. Student Activities Fair Booth 5. Freshman Orientation

Presentation

II. The Plan

F. Testing, testing, .... and more testing

1. Functionality 2. Performance 3. Cross-browser/Cross-platform 4. Usability

II. The Plan

G. User Support 1. FAQs 2. Portal Help Channel and

Feedback 3. myDENISON Portal Tutorial 4. myDENISON Channel

Development Tutorial

III. Implementation Issues

A. Collaborative Open-source 1. JA-SIG's uPortal Project 2. Apache HTTP server and Tomcat Java

servlet container, both from the Apache Software Foundation

3. PHP 4. mySQL 5. DocBook and OpenJade 6. IMP email from the Horde Project

III. Implementation Issues

B. The Portal Development Team -- Where are all the Java Programmers?

1. Web Services Manager 2. Web Programmer ** 3. Web Technology Analyst ** 4. 4 Student Web Development Assistants

** New position resulting from Information Initiative

III. Implementation Issues

C. User Authentication 1. Phasing in LDAP, used for

myDENISON 2. Rest of Denison website and web-

based email (IMP) still uses IMAP

D. Tying In with Other Systems 1. Web-based email: IMP 2. Course Management System:

Blackboard 5, Level 1 3. Administrative Management

System: Banner plus Web4Student module

III. Implementation Issues

III. Implementation Issues

E. Outside Channels 1. Yellow Pages 2. Slashdot 3. Weather 4. Google Search 5. The Economist

III. Implementation Issues

F. Inside Channels 1. On-campus jobs 2. Event Calendar 3. Library Resourses 4. On-line Voting & Surveys 5. Bulletin Board (prototype)

IV. Where We Are Now

1. The myDENISON Grand Tour 2. Usage 3. Continued Maintenance 4. What Next?

IV. Where We Are Now

2. Usage Statistics • ~20% Customization • Regular Users:

~30% (Year 1, students only)~50% (Year 2, students & staff)

• End of Semester Peaks and Vacation Valleys

• Nearly 100% Taste-tested • Staff usage much lower than students

(8% vs. over 50%

IV. Where We Are Now

3. Continued Maintenance and Development

• Bulletin Board • On-line Voting • Dining Menus • Web4Employee/Staff myDENISON • Course evaluations

IV. Where We Are Now

4. What Next? 1. Other Banner Web4 modules:

i. Web4Faculty ii. Web4Alumni

2. Correspond to: i. Faculty myDENISON ii. Alumni myDENISON

IV. Where We Are Now

3. Further development of highly personalized role-based delivery

i. Services • on-line timesheet submission • network account application • Seshat: link checking and template validation for

pagemaintainers • announcements management

ii. Information • transcripts • job openings for staff • announcements • housing lottery room finder

V. Lessons Learned

A. Community Involvement from Start

1. Secure sponsorship at the highest level

2. Seek out your toughest critics... and integrate them into the process

3. Spread responsibility broadly for setting objectives, but narrowly for implementation

V. Lessons Learned

B. Start Simple and Grow 1. Portals offer 3 types of user incentives:

a. One-stop shopping b. Convenience of pass-through authentication c. Unique features

2. Critical mass -- at least 1 "killer" channel in each category -- necessary to generate sufficient draw for first release

3. Subsequent channel releases keep interest high

4. Reliability is critical -- user trust is easily lost

V. Lessons Learned

C. It's All About the Users 1. Make checklist of impacted offices and

targeted groups -- involve representatives from each in development/implementation process

2. Do personal and/or small group demos BEFORE final release

3. Be flexible and incorporate as many suggestions as possible

4. Long-term maintenance item: continue to actively seek feedback

V. Lessons Learned

D. Exploit Existing Resources and Content

1. Carefully assess existing technical capabilities, human and machine

2. Apply the 3 Rs: Reuse, Repackage, Repurpose

V. Lessons Learned

E. Market Aggressively 1. Take advantage of every opportunity

for exposure a. each user contact (see above) becomes a

marketing opportunity b. review the checklist -- has everyone been

contacted? c. introduce new technologies through the

portal d. new student orientation, the first wave

Conclusion

With the proper tools anything is possible