GWEB “The George Washington University Enterprise Portal Solution” - GWEB.GWU.EDU - Francesco de Leo Copyright Francesco de Leo, 2002. This work is the

GWEB

“The George Washington UniversityEnterprise Portal Solution”

- GWEB.GWU.EDU -

Francesco de Leo<[email protected]>

Copyright Francesco de Leo, 2002. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be sharedfor non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright appears on the reproduced materials and

notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

“The George Washington UniversityEnterprise Portal Solution”Presented at CUMREC 2002

By Francesco de LeoOn Monday, May 13, 2002

WELCOME!

© 2000 The George Washington University

GWEB



PRESENTATION AGENDA

• Overview on Portals• GW’s Portal• Demo• Q&A


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WHAT IS A PORTAL?

• A portal is not just a web page!

• It is an enterprise-wide information technology initiative that incorporates a sophisticated system of software that integrates dynamic web pages, single sign-on security, directories, databases, communications and messaging, links to applications such as email, calendar, search engines, online shopping, news services, bulletins boards, events, and other information resources.


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INGREDIENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PORTAL

Measures of success are usage and communication effectiveness.

• There should be only one portal (no silos!)• Single sign-on to popular applications (i.e. email, courseware, etc..)• Customizable• Entertaining• Mix of Academic, Administrative and Personal Services• Content Generation and Distribution• Easy to use• Role based communication• Content Syndication


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GW’S PORTAL CHALLANGE

• Replicate and enhance GW’s sense of community online

• Enable agile communication

• Consolidate existing applications and data into an all-in-one comprehensive and integrated enterprise portal

• Facilitate the University’s operations and academic learning.


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BUILD OR BUY?

GW Decided to build…

Developing the University portal independently allowed GW to focus on its specific needs and opportunities distinctive to GW. While the challenge of building a portal may have been greater than using a generic product, the autonomy and independence generated allowed GW to provide solutions responsive to the community’s needs and values. Furthermore, the ability to integrate existing resources into a comprehensive single-sign-on portal allowed for greater application interoperability, extended usage, and enhanced University-wide communication.


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GW’S PORTAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Developing the portal required three predominant types of activities occurring almost concurrently:

• Business Development• Technical Development• Design and Usability


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GW’S PORTAL SOLUTION

SCT BANNER DB

GWEB ORACLE DB

GW LDAP

MACROMEDIA COLD FUSION

Basic Architecture


“The George Washington University

Enterprise Portal Solution”Presented at CUMREC 2002


GWebPortal

Washingtonpost.com

Internet

FTP

direct queryand nightly dump GW LDAP

BANNER

direct queryand nightly dump

Horoscopes.com

http

Hollywood.comFTP

GW Hatchet

http

GWBlitz!

http

Prometheus

httpSends user’s info

http://weather.noaa.gov

GWeb users

http

WebMail

Internet

GWeb Portal DataSources/Flow

December 13, 2001

GWEB DATA SOURCES


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GW’S PORTAL FEATURES

Role-based configuration

Users are presented with applications and communication that are relevant to their affiliation within the University (i.e. student, staff, faculty, alumni, or guest).

Role-based polling and surveys

Users are presented with polls and surveys that are relevant to their affiliation within the University.

1/7


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GW’S PORTAL FEATURES (CONT)

Content management and distribution

Organizations and departments within the University can post news and events on the portal and have the same content syndicated out to their own website on the University’s main web server and any other web server.

Online directory

Users can search email and campus addresses for faculty and staff. Student and alumni email addresses may also be searched.

2/7


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Access to external applications

The portal provides single sign-on to Email, library catalogues, the University’s online courseware application, and instant messaging.

Secure distribution

Staff and faculty can obtain instant, secure access to their personal identification numbers (PINs) for accessing BANNER, the University’s enterprise system, over the web.

3/7


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Employment listings and employment applications

This application allows users to browse and apply online for GW employment opportunities. The data feeds directly from the BANNER database.

Training registration

Allows training providers to manage GW employee training. The system feeds data back to the BANNER system to record, track and report on fulfilled employee-training requirements.

4/7


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Bookmarks and Web Notes

Users can bookmark web sites or save the contents of various web pages through GWeb. These bookmarks and notes can then be shared with other GWeb users and accessed from any computer.

Instant Messaging

Users can send instant messages within the GW network and to other popular networks, including AOL, MSN, Yahoo and ICQ.

5/7


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Alumni Mentoring Program

Students may browse through alumni profiles to select a mentor.

Student Elections

Students may vote online for their school board representatives.

6/7


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Entertainment

GWeb modules include news from washingtonpost.com, weather from around the world, comics, horoscopes, movie show time listings, live broadcasts of GW’s radio station, real-time robotic cameras from around campus, news feeds from and classified ads.

7/7





GWEB GWEB DEMO

Let’s go see it…





GWEB GW’S PORTAL SUCCESS

• Over 10,000 users• Has become a major mean of communication and collaboration• Powerful tool for strategic planning initiatives (at University and departmental levels)• Reduced costs associated with maintaining directory entries• Reduced Paper Usage• Identified data quality issues in the University enterprise database and LDAP server





GWEB GW’S PORTAL FUTURE

Expanding Functionality & Consolidating Information

Thanks to its proven infrastructure, more and more applications are being built on top of the GWeb architecture to facilitate the University’s operations and academic learning. Applications in the works currently include:

• Leave Request and Tracking System• Integration with Time Reporting System• Centralized Account Management System• Staff and Faculty Expertise/Research Interests Database





GWEB QUESTIONS?

QUESTIONS?


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GWEB “The George Washington University Enterprise Portal Solution” - GWEB.GWU.EDU - Francesco de Leo Copyright Francesco de Leo, 2002. This work is the