UC Portal Meeting Minutes
3/23/2006
Overview of the self-service applications: UCFY and YBO are
merging into AYSO
- AYSO (tentatively scheduled for release at the end of April) – 5
frame environment
- UCFY portion of AYSO will have portlets/services enabled by the
end of the year. API and UI need to be discussed, possibilities are:
- Service call to determine what is available for a particular
user
- Top menu items will be available as services
- Application menu and body available as portlets
- Non-portal content (YBO) will be opened in a new window for now
Issues:
- UCOP HR is concerned with giving up control of the look and feel
and having information displayed out of context
- Support/helpdesk
- Maintain a triage flowchart
- Maintain a knowledge base of error messages and problems
- System monitor web page
- Search integration
- Index the info page only
- Maintain metadata
- Index non-logged-in view
- Log search engine in as a guest user
- Reasonable response time (SLA?)
3/24/2006
Campus Updates:
UCSD:
- launching a student portal (mandatory access for student)
- Blink is integrated into the student portal
- Making Blink more appealing (graphics, navigation, mobile access)
- Resources:
- manager ad writer to start
- 6 writers, 2 editors, 1 news producer, graphic designer,
usability specialist, 3 developers
- Training authors on how to develop content; will provide training
on how to develop portlets
UCI:
- Administrative portal:
- Moving from profile based content to role based content
- Improving LDAP-based group definition
- Future goals:
- announcement/notification channel with self-subscribe
capabilities
- better integration with the search engine
- administrative calendar/scheduler
- incorporating workflow engine with more applications
- interactive job function based content
- Student portal: early stages of planning
- Opportunity for common CMS
- Home-grown course management system
UCLA:
- Administrative portal went live last August
- Vignette full suite of products
- Only a few department are left to develop content
- Integrating departmental home pages
- Success factor: started out with taxonomy definition; outlined
standards and guidelines
- Challenges: many editors
- Team: 2 PA IV, content liaison & assistant (+1 in the summer)
- Workflow: local approval of content
- Personalization is yet to be done
UCSF:
- Initial stages of admin/research portal
- working on the identification effort (tivoli)
UCSB:
- no portal yet
- 2 uPortal installations in a test environment
- Figuring out dynamic roles (Oracle/JES)
UCR:
- researching a student portal
- SSO with CAS
- In-hose authorization service
- Admin portal (vendor)
UCB:
- Some portal pre-cursors;
- PeopleSoft portal (staff)
- Singe entry point for students
- soap-based blend (myBerkeleyApp) -- rewriting into J2EE
- Moving to uPortal (HAAS business school)
- Feature interests: announcements, calendar
UCOP:
- The president feels that systems need to improve
- UCFY will be "portalized"
- ERS (effort reporting system) will be portal aware
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Ideas for shared applications:
- Calendaring
- UCR has Oracle calendar SSO with CAS
- Integrating events and personal calendars ?
- Deploying an open-source solution (University of Washington?)
- Announcements:
- merged announcements (from different sources)
- a channel that s not technology specific
- RSS pilot
Usability issues: single logoff, application session timeout
requirements, dealing with pop-up windows
Student portals:
- integrating data from UC pathways -- loading prospective student
data into the main directory
Sharing content:
- It is difficult to share camps-specific content (verbiage is
different)
- Easier to share UCOP content
Content Management Systems:
Vignette advantages: customizable workflow; LDAP APIs for authorization
What's next:
- Accessibility: at the minimum implement 508.b requirements in
portals (UCOP will have guidelines)
- Share demos best practices
- Share topologies
- Discuss the situation with several portal on a campus
- UCCSC: plan a panel presentation "State of a portal"; piggy-back
a meeting