ResearchLinkTaking the search out of Undergraduate Research

Design PresentationApril 20, 2016CS 410Orange Team:Asim Amjad, Kevin Ashley, Kitt Parker, John Raha, Matthew Redenius, & Dinah Watkins

Outline• The Team• The Problem• The Solution• Design Approach

• Current process• Modified process

• Development Approach• Work breakdown structure• Software requirements• Hardware requirements• Algorithms

• Risks

Design PresentationCS 410 - Orange Team April 20, 2016 2

The Team

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Kevin AshleyWeb Developer/Graphic Artist

Asim AmjadDatabase Specialist

Kitt ParkerDatabase Specialist

Matthew RedeniusUI Lead

John RahaUI Specialist

Dinah WatkinsProject Manager/Web

Developer

Ms. Brunelle serves as an Assistant Chair of the Old Dominion University Computer Science department and is the Chief Departmental Advisor.

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Mentor

Design PresentationCS 410 - Orange Team April 20, 2016

Dr. Jing He is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at Old Dominion University. She has a Phd. in Structural & Computational Biology & Molecular Biophysics, a M.S. in Applied Mathematics, & B.S. in Applied Mathematics.

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Domain Expert

Design PresentationCS 410 - Orange Team April 20, 2016

Computer Science Graduate Students

• 2014:• 2,430 ODU Graduate applicants• 796 Graduate enrollments• 139 Computer Science Graduate students

• 2020 STEM Jobs• Computer Researcher represents 1% of

Computing jobs

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[CS Presentation 2015]

[ODU Factbook]

Design PresentationCS 410 - Orange Team April 20, 2016

More than Studying

Prospective graduate students need more than lectures and textbooks. To fully prepare themselves for the rigorous demands of graduate school, students need to participate in undergraduate research.

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The ProblemUndergraduate research opportunities are not effectively communicated to and from intended stakeholders (faculty, students, external organizations).

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The Solution

Taking the search out of Undergraduate Research

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The Customer

• Universities• Old Dominion University (Case Study)• Other Universities• Community Colleges

• Funding Agencies• National Science Foundation (NSF)• National Institute of Health (NIH)• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA)

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Current Process

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Objectives to Achieve the Solution

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• Customizable Profiles (Faculty & Students)• Automated Filtering

• Based on profile

• Time-line Management (expiration of posts)• Department level profiles• Interdisciplinary feature to facilitate

collaboration between departments• Student research idea proposal submission• Data Mining

Design PresentationCS 410 - Orange Team April 20, 2016

Modified Process

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The Competition

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Functional Components• ResearchLink Portal

• Automatic student registration• Mobile friendly• User/faculty/department Profiles• Authorized users and visitors

• Database of opportunities• Searchable• Student and faculty proposals• Research related internship opportunities• Internal and external research opportunities

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Hardware

• MySQL database• Graphical User Interface• ODU system interfaces• HTML, JavaScript, and CSS• PHP

UNIX - APACHE• 2 x 8 core 2.6GHz Xeon• 128GB RAM• 8 x 500GB SSD (RAID 6)• NIC Teaming

Software

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Work Breakdown Structure

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Algorithms

Design PresentationCS 410 - Orange Team April 20, 2016 18

Login

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Create Profile

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Create Research Opportunity

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Filter Database

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Site Map

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Database Schema

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Risk MatrixProbability

Impa

ct

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C1: Customer Dissatisfaction [Probability: 3, Impact: 5]

Mitigation Strategy:

Mentor involvement during development and use customer complaints as a template for future updates.

The customer is not happy with the product and refuses to implement its

usage.

Probability

Impa

ct

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C2: Underutilized System

[Probability: 3, Impact: 3]

Mitigation Strategy:

Advertise the product and ensure ease of use.

The customer is unaware of the products’ existence or difficulty level of use.

Probability

Impa

ct

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C3: Transition to New System

[Probability: 3, Impact: 1]

Mitigation Strategy:

Provide helpful guides and tutorials for users.

The customer has issues with using the new system.

Probability

Impa

ct

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T1: Security/Data Protection

[Probability: 2, Impact: 5]

Mitigation Strategy:

Follow best practices for information security.

The software solution is not protected from data breaches and other malicious

attacks.

Probability

Impa

ct

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T2: Efficiency of Searches

[Probability: 3, Impact: 4]

Mitigation Strategy:

User result tracking & various search filter options.

Searches are inefficient and non customizable.

Probability

Impa

ct

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T3: Storage[Probability: 2, Impact: 4]

Mitigation Strategy:

Management of old opportunities to clear out unnecessary data.

Storage space for related data becomes an issue.

Probability

Impa

ct

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T4: System Failure[Probability: 1, Impact: 4]

Mitigation Strategy:

Regularly scheduled system backups.

The system is down and not accessible to the customer.

Probability

Impa

ct

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T5: System Upgrades

[Probability: 2, Impact: 3]

Mitigation Strategy:

Testing prior to making upgrades live and future proof design.

System upgrades disable the functionality of the product for an undetermined

amount of time.

Probability

Impa

ct

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T6: Integration of Data

[Probability: 2, Impact: 2]

Mitigation Strategy:

Ensure compatibility between databases utilized for transfer of data.

Software solution is not compatible with current technologies used.

Probability

Impa

ct

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How Does the Student Benefit?• Always Informed

• Automated notifications of new opportunities via email

• Emails include links to immediatelyapply for research position

• Alerts specific to student’s major • Opportunities are updated and sent out

in real time

• Centralized Location• Application process is no longer scattered • One website to learn about and apply

for undergraduate research

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How does the University Benefit?

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• Helps put the University on the map• There’s a reason big name Universities

like Harvard, UCLA, and Yale all have large portions of their website dedicated to undergraduate research

• ResearchLink will consolidate the school’s existing opportunities into an easy to understand portal

• This makes potential graduate students far more likely to apply.

Design PresentationCS 410 - Orange Team April 20, 2016

Rapid Prototypes

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Login

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Profile Information

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Create Opportunity

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Conclusion• The Problem• The Solution• Design Approach• Development Approach• Risk Analysis

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References• Computer Science Undergraduate Degree Program. Old Dominion University Computer Science Department.• Graduate Applications, Acceptances & Enrollments. Old Dominion University Factbook. (2014). Retrieved

from http://ww2.odu.edu/ao/ira/factbook/admission/data/GraduateAdmissionData_1985_2014.pdf.• Headcount Majors with Second Majors. Old Dominion University Factbook. (2014), Retrieved from

http://ww2.odu.edu/ao/ira/factbook/hc_majors/HC/hc2014scmajors.html.• Musante, S. Essential Ingredients for Sustaining Undergraduate Research Programs. Bioscience. (2014).

64(10), 868.• Payne, B. K., & Monk-Turner, E. Collaborating with undergraduates: Obstacles and tips. Journal of Criminal

Justice Education. (2005). 16(2), 292-299,381. • Vieyra, M., Carlson, A., Leaver, E., & Timmerman, B. Undergraduate Research: I Am Not Sure What It Is,

But I Don’t Have Time to Do It Anyway.. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, (Spring 2013, Volume 33, Number 3)

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