JISC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES Project Document Cover Sheet XIM FINAL REPORT Project Project Acronym XIM Project ID Project Title XCRI Implementation Models Start Date 1 Dec 07 Lead Institution APS Ltd Project Director Alan Paull Project Manager & contact details Alan Paull, [email protected] Partner Institutions None Project Web URL http://xim.alanpaull.co.uk and XCRI wiki End Date 30 May 08 Programme Name (and number) Programme Manager Sarah Davies Document Document Title Final Report Author(s) & project role Alan Paull, Project Director Date 20 June 08 URL http://xim.alanpaull.co.uk/XIMreport2008-06-20.pdf Access ; Project and JISC internal Filename XIMreport2008-06-20.pdf ; General dissemination Document History Version Date Comments 1 29 May 08 Draft 1.1 20 June 08 First release XCRI Implementation Models Report Executive Summary 1. This report is aimed at both technical and non-technical staff considering or carrying out the implementation of XCRI-CAP projects. 2. The XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) was funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) for six months from December 2007 to May 2008. The work was carried out by Alan Paull, APS Ltd. 3. The project aimed to produce a set of good practice models for implementation of XCRI-CAP, so that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and others could use the outputs for their own implementations. The project reviewed all current implementations and projects relating to the XCRI information model, together with existing material about institutional courses information management systems, in order to draw up characteristics of institutions, to identify relevant problems and solutions. The main project outcome was to provide practical solutions to facilitate the exchange and re-use of course advertising information for take up by HEIs and others. A subsidiary outcome (still to be completed) was a Service Usage Model or Service Genre for submission to the e-Framework. 4. Information was gathered from previous XCRI projects, from past and additional institutional visits, and from contact with other XCRI practitioners from HEIs, FEIs and data collecting organisations. 5. The project developed a method, based loosely on process improvement models, for characterising the attributes of an institution as a way of assessing its ‘XCRI readiness’. Thirteen different attributes were defined, ranging from the number of courses, through data structures, to availability of resources; each one having a defined scale from 0 to 4. Two templates, one textual and the other graphical, were designed and field tested, so that they could be used by other practitioners in future. The templates were validated by operational use and by review by XCRI and course information experts. Use of this method permitted the project to draw up visual representations of the XCRI readiness of ten institutions to illustrate issues. In addition a set of minimum characteristics for XCRI readiness was developed for comparative purposes. 6. XIM also characterised the operations of data collecting organisations, developing some models of potential practice, although no fully implemented examples yet exist. 7. Using the information gathered and analysed via the templates, XIM illustrated a generic course advertising function in an HEI and built process models and associated scenarios of practice for XCRI-CAP implementation. Five main generic models were suggested: • Simple single stream output • Multiple source aggregation • Integrated content management • Outsourcing • Feedback 8. XIM also looked at issues and potential solutions to problems from an HEI viewpoint. Guidance is given about how to transform and map data to XCRI-CAP. A range of problems based on the XCRI readiness characteristics was described and associated solutions were suggested; for each one, links were given to further information and illustrations. 9. Finally a ‘two page guide to implementing XCRI-CAP’ has been included as a checklist to aid practitioners. 20 June 2008 Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. 2 Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Part 1: Background .................................................................................................................................. 4 Part 2: Aims and objectives .................................................................................................................... 5 Part 3: Methods......................................................................................................................................... 6 Part 4: Information gathering ..............................................................................................................10 Part 5: Analysis ........................................................................................................................................12 Part 6: Issues and potential solutions ..................................................................................................35 Part 8: Conclusions .................................................................................................................................42 Appendix A: Organisations and projects consulted .........................................................................43 Appendix B: Outline Service Usage Model: supply of course advertising information to data collecting organisation ...........................................................................................................................44 A Two Page Guide to Implementing XCRI-CAP ..............................................................................45 Glossary of terms ....................................................................................................................................47 Table of Figures Figure 1: Course advertising information in a Higher Education Institution ................................ 4 Figure 2: Spider diagram showing an example of XCRI readiness characteristics ....................... 9 Figure 3: Minimum characteristics for XCRI readiness....................................................................12 Figure 4: Characteristics of Ten Institutions.......................................................................................13 Figure 5: UML Activity Diagram Showing a Simple Generic Overview of Data Harvesting using XCRI .......................................................................................................................................17 Figure 6: UML activity diagrams, showing updating model .........................................................18 Figure 7: Flow chart showing Learning Provider usage of Course Exchange software ............19 Figure 8: A Generic Course Advertising Function In An HEI ........................................................20 Figure 9: UML Activity Diagram For Simple Single Stream Model ..............................................22 Figure 10: UML Activity Diagram For Multiple Source Aggregation Model ..............................24 Figure 11: Xcri@Mmu Interim Solution Prior To Academic Database Project .............................27 Figure 12: UML Activity Diagram For Integrated Content Management Model........................28 Figure 13: London Metropolitan University System For Outputting Standardised Course Information ......................................................................................................................................30 Figure 14: UML Activity Diagram For Outsourcing Model ............................................................31 Figure 15: UML Activity Diagram For Feedback Model .................................................................33 3 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Part 1: Background 10. The XIM project sits within the context of two years’ work on the XCRI information model, including a significant number of mini-projects investigating the practical usability of XCRICAP. There is now significant experience in using XCRI-CAP across a variety of institutions, albeit on a small scale with few live implementations. The XCRI Support Project and others involved in the XCRI programme identified a need to record and disseminate experience gained to date, so that significant numbers of institutions could be helped with the practical problems of XCRI implementation. More Higher and Further Education institutions, data collecting organisations and software vendors were expressing an interest in XCRI, which reinforced the requirement to learn lessons from early pilot implementations. 11. XIM looked at processes in respect of managing course advertising information, primarily in HEIs. The following diagram shows how course advertising information fits into the learner and course life cycles. FIGURE 1: COURSE ADVERTISING INFORMATION IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION 4 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Part 2: Aims and objectives 12. The project aimed to help HEIs and other organisations to implement XCRI-CAP driven services to facilitate the exchange and re-use of course advertising information. 13. The project’s main outputs were to be a set of good practice models for implementation of XCRI-CAP, so that HEIs and others could use the outputs for their own implementations. The project set out to review all current implementations and projects relating to the XCRI information model, together with existing material about institutional courses information management systems, in order to draw up characteristics of institutions and to identify relevant problems and solutions. 14. XIM recognised that XCRI-CAP is designed for two primary purposes: • For publication of course advertising information for consumption by the learner without re-formatting or further classification, in a manner similar to an RSS newsfeed; • For data exchange between learning providers and data collection organisations, for example between UCAS and its member institutions. 15. The management processes and information flows for these two purposes might not be aligned within the learning provider, and each provider may place greater emphasis on one or other purpose. Furthermore the provider may be able to make internal use of processes serving the first process, for instance in populating its own websites. 16. XIM also aimed to contribute to the e-Framework by producing an outline service genre or service usage model for publishing course related information, making use of (and qualifying) existing services for harvesting. 17. The project limited its target to XCRI-CAP implementation, rather than the whole of XCRI, so it did not investigate in detail the use of XCRI r1.0 implementations or projects that were not aimed at using the XCRI Course Advertising Profile. 5 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Part 3: Methods 18. This section of the report describes the methods used by the project. Information gathering 19. The project investigated the usage of XCRI-CAP in HEIs and data collecting organisations, building on earlier XCRI work, including the XCRI-CAP mini-projects, APS’ work for Greater Manchester Strategic Alliance (GMSA) within the ioNW2 Project and initial work with Hotcourses, UfI and UCAS. Information was gathered from project reports, conversations with members of staff involved in managing and handling course advertising information, and consultations with groups of relevant staff via XCRI mini-projects. Information for the modelling work was gathered by face-to-face interviews with course information managers, practitioners and technical specialists, usually through a visit to an institution. 20. As part of its work for the GMSA in 2007 APS developed a template for gathering information about course advertising information from higher education providers. The template was modified and extended for XIM purposes, and definitions and help text added, so that it might be used in the future by others1. XCRI Readiness 21. Using part of Capability Maturity Model Integration2 the project developed a method of characterising an organisation’s management of course advertising information, and describing its approach to processing and publication of this information through assessing the organisation’s position on a range of scales, covering technical, process, information management, data analysis, resourcing, relevant expertise and other variables. The set of attributes formed an assessment of the organisation’s “XCRI readiness” based on previous experience. It provided a framework for identifying problems and associated solutions. ID Attribute Value Start 0 1 2 3 4 End 1 Number of courses Very large Very small 2 Complexity of provision Highly varied Simple 3 Number of sources Multiple Single 4 Quality of authoring Poor Excellent 5 Data structures Poorly defined Well defined 6 Update frequency Less than once/year Continuous 7 Audit trail None Detailed 9a Centralisation (UG) Mostly decentralized Complete 9b Centralisation (PG) Mostly decentralized Complete 10 Process capability Ad hoc Well defined 11 Technical capability Low High 12 Organisational context Hostile Benign 13 Resources Minimal Plenty TABLE 1: XCRI READINESS CHARACTERISTICS 1 XIM.dot; MS Word template; http://www.alanpaull.co.uk/xim/docs/xim.dot 2 CMMI® for Development, Version 1.2, Carnegie Mellon August 2006 6 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 ID 22. The scales of characteristics are designed to be similar but not identical to Capability Maturity Model Integration. The scales run from 0 to 4, where 4 is perfect and 0 is least favourable. The normal range of values was between 0 and 3, with relatively few values at 3. 23. For each attribute a judgement has to be made as to where the organisation sits in relation to previous judgements. As the scales were operated by one person during the XIM project, a consistent approach was possible. Definitions are given here for each value in each scale. Attribute Definition of scale values 0 1 2 3 4 1 Number of courses > 500 200 - 499 50 - 199 10 - 49 < 10 2 Complexity of provision Large, complex programmes with extensive choice of routes through them. Complex rules on choice. Wide range of provision across FT, PT, DL, CPD, UG, PG including combined programmes Some complex types (eg combined degrees, FT/PT/CPD) Handful of simple types Very simple single type 3 Number of sources An unknown number of multiple sources Many sources, but the vast majority are known > 3 sources, all known 2 or 3 sources 1 authoritative source 4 Quality of authoring Poor; quality control is severely lacking; only the very basic data is correct; much of the information is input in an ad hoc fashion. Average; many items are correct, but some of the data lacks depth, is out-of-date or is incorrect; there are significant gaps. Good; items are generally correct, but some are lacking in depth and there are acknowledged errors Very good; items contain correct information with few errors Excellent; all items correctly completed 5 Data structures Poor; data is held in a non-normalised form with no or poor documentation; additional data structures have been added reactively without sufficient regard to existing ones. Average; data structures are complex and not internally consistent; data is not fully normalised; the system is not welldocumented. Good; data structures are coherent, but not fully normalised; definitions can be derived from the data. Some links between data items are not welldocumented. Very good; data structures are coherent and most data items defined and documented Perfect; fully normalised; all data items well defined and documented; vocabularies are accessed through look-up facilities and are managed. 6 Update frequency Less than once/year Annually Termly Approximately monthly Continuous 7 Audit trail None Date of new records is recorded. Major updates are recorded by flags but not dates. Dates are recorded whenever a course or course instance record is updated. Audit trail is implemented at record level for every significant record type (course, presentation, qualification, venue, etc) Every update of each significant field is stored, trackable and reversible. 9a Centralisation (UG) UG information sources are decentralised, typically to individual departments A small proportion of UG data is centralised, most is decentralised. A significant proportion of the UG data is centralised and the amount is increasing. Only a small amount of the UG data is not centralised (eg funding data) All UG course data is held on 1 central source 9b Centralisation (PG) PG information sources are decentralised, typically to individual departments A small proportion of PG data is centralised, most is decentralised. A significant proportion of the PG data is centralised and the amount is increasing. Only a small amount of the PG data is not centralised (eg funding data) All PG course data is held on 1 central source 10 Process capability “Incomplete”: Process not carried out or only partially carried out. “Performed”: Process is carried out but improvements are “Managed”: Basic infrastructure exists to support the process; it is carried out by skilled people, “Defined”: A managed process that is tailored from the organisation’s standard set of “Quantitatively Managed”: A defined process controlled using statistical or other quantitative 7 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 ID Attribute Definition of scale values 0 1 2 3 4 not sustained. with resources according to a policy; it is monitored, controlled and reviewed. processes, descriptions and procedures. The process is documented, managed proactively and with a high level of understanding. techniques throughout its life. 11 Technical capability None There is some knowledge and understanding of the relevant technologies, but skills are not available in the organisation. There is knowledge and understanding of the relevant technologies and some skills are available, but not all areas are covered, or there is lack of experience. Service oriented approach and interoperability technical skills are available, but considerable effort is required to access them. The organisation has to hand all the technical skills required and can deploy them easily. 12 Organisational context The organisation is hostile to this development. The organisation has significant management commitments that might make this development difficult at this time (eg restructuring, mergers) The organisation is open to developments in this area, and management structures suggest that commitment can be obtained. The organisation is open to XCRI development at senior management levels and there is likely to be agreement from relevant technical and non-technical staff. The organisation is committed to XCRI implementation at all levels. 13 Resources Minimal Some available, but it is known whether it is sufficient. Adequate if nothing goes wrong. Sufficient to implement successfully. Plenty TABLE 2: XCRI READINESS ATTRIBUTE SCALES 24. For each attribute the most desirable value for XCRI readiness would be the rightmost value. The first three attributes are generally fixed and could not be adjusted to aid XCRI implementation; other attributes are under the control of the organisation, though not necessarily under the control of the course advertising information managers. 25. Definitions of the attributes and help text are provided in the template attached to this report. 26. In addition a diagrammatic representation of the set of attributes enabled the project to make comparisons between factors and between organisations readily. A template was developed in Excel for this purpose3. 27. When reading the XCRI characteristics diagrams, the larger the area of blue, the greater the readiness of the institution for XCRI implementation. 3 spider.xltx; MS Excel template; http://www.alanpaull.co.uk/xim/docs/spider.xltx 8 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 XCRI readiness Resources Number of courses 4 Complexity of provision 3 Organisational context Number of sources 2 1 Technical capability Quality of authoring 0 Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Update frequency Centralisation (UG) Audit trail FIGURE 2: SPIDER DIAGRAM SHOWING AN EXAMPLE OF XCRI READINESS CHARACTERISTICS Validation of the templates 28. The XCRI readiness templates were circulated for comment to seven expert individuals previously involved in XCRI or course advertising information or both. Valuable comments were received, which led to improvements in the templates, particularly in respect of the diagrammatic representation. Process modelling and scenario building 29. The project carried out process modelling and scenario building. 30. The Unified Modelling Language (UML) was used to create activity diagrams to describe the processes and activities used within institutions and between providers and data collecting organisations. The purpose of the activity diagrams was to aid understanding of the processes and to communicate the process descriptions to other interested parties. The particular tool used was UML 2.0 within MS Visio. Analysis 31. Process models from individual organisations were analysed for common patterns. They were then generalised into a small number of generic models, which exhibited common information flows, activities and characteristics. Validation of the generic models and scenarios 32. Modelling and scenario work was validated by the individual practitioners identified at the start of the project. Again, very useful feedback was received, particularly in relation to the flows between HEIs and data collecting organisations. 9 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Part 4: Information gathering 33. Information was gathered from project reports where they were published. Individual project members were consulted for further information and to flesh out written reports. See Appendix A for a list of organisations and projects consulted. 34. Work with GMSA was invaluable, because it involved visiting all HEI providers in the Greater Manchester area to help them determine routes to XCRI for the specific purposes of the GMLLN. Each organisation had already signed up to the XCRI approach and an individual champion in each institution had been identified. The work also enabled the project to gain an insight into the needs of the LLN in relation to XCRI. An interesting approach was initiated by one college, which used the XCRI pilot activity as a means to overhaul its course advertising information authoring system, replacing a relatively cumbersome system based on Word documents with a more streamlined web-based data entry system. 35. The experiences of the 2007 XCRI mini-projects were particularly important for our work, because they showed a variety of approaches, as follows: BoXCRIP - Bolton XCRI Project; lead HEI, University of Bolton 36. BoXCRIP’s approach was to develop a new artefact, an XCRI compliant database that would import and store courses information. This arrangement avoided technical problems of interfacing with existing stores, and organisational problems with engaging staff and linking with other initiatives, but had the issue of how to incentivise staff to enter the data once the database had been created. It also permitted the team to implement a system with an audit trail appropriate to XCRI usage for exchange of data updates with data collecting organisations. MOVE-XCRI; lead institution, MOVE lifelong learning network 37. Aggregation from multiple institutions was MOVE’s main aim. Significant problems were encountered in terms of staff and organisational engagement. The project had significant technical outputs – the Course Exchange open source aggregator – but discovered major difficulties in getting buy-in from relevant staff, and obtaining data from the institutions involved. Organisational and resourcing difficulties were the major issues, rather than technical ones. OCCAM; lead HEI, The Open University 38. The Occam Project achieved a data feed from the university via a third party agency to a format suitable for consumption by data collecting organisations. Final deployment proved to be dependent on two further elements: (i) the move to XCRI-CAP 1.1, because 1.0 had critical deficiencies, (ii) implementation of a new content management system at the university, so that XCRI outputs could be put into the main information flow. OXCRI - integrated use of XCRI at Oxford University; lead HEI, Oxford University 39. OXCRI seemed to be the most successful project in terms of implementation. Helped by a very high level of technical knowledge and understanding the project was able to implement the use of XCRI for aggregation of data between internal systems, to produce a new ‘skills portal’ for the university, and to create a new value-added service combining XCRI courses data with Google maps. 10 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 staffsXCRI; lead HEI, Staffordshire University 40. The initial focus of the staffsXCRI project was to understand the processes for supporting the creation and management of course advertising information. At an early stage the project discovered a lack of consistency of approach and highly decentralised flow of information and data ownership. The project team decided to carry out its own data aggregation work to produce XCRI documents in isolation from the mainstream staff and processes, so that it could gain experience of XCRI and report on problems encountered. XCRI@MMU; lead HEI, Manchester Metropolitan University 41. XCRI@MMU identified significant problems in the aggregation of several very different decentralised major data sets internally and externally (from UCAS and UfI for learndirect). Important work was carried out to establish rules for aggregating the data sets. However, it became clear that a further project to create a single centralised ‘academic database’ would be needed to take forward the initiative. 11 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Part 5: Analysis 42. There were three main objectives for the analysis of the information: to demonstrate the characteristics of HEIs in respect of ‘XCRI readiness’, to model processes for movement of course advertising data within HEIs and between HEIs and data collecting organisations, and to develop scenarios to illustrate good practice and identify issues and solutions. Characterisation of HEI use of course advertising information Minimum characteristics for XCRI readiness 43. As an aid to understanding and for comparison purposes, a diagram showing suggested minimum required characteristics for XCRI implementation was drawn up. This diagram shows that the Number of Courses, Complexity of Provision and Number of Sources are given (value=0); Quality of Authoring and Data Structures are at medium to high levels, so that transformation and mapping to XCRI can be carried out readily; Update Frequency and Audit Trail should exist in some form, so that data can be maintained; it is preferable to have some centralisation of data, so that the internal feeds to the institution’s aggregator are not too complex; processes for supply of course advertising information to the outside world should exist and should be capable of change; there should be some knowledge and understanding of relevant technologies, and the organisation should be prepared to initiate the XCRI implementation and provide some resource for it. 44. There are elements that can be increased to compensate for deficiencies elsewhere. For example, lack of technical capability could be rectified by allocation of resources to buy in consultants or to train existing staff; if data collection is heavily centralised already, it might be relatively easy to design and deliver new processes to produce XCRI outputs; and in many cases fewer, less complicated course provision will reduce the importance of the existing quality of the data and its structures. Minimum characteristics for XCRI readiness Resources Number of courses 4 Complexity of provision 3 Organisational context Number of sources 2 1 Technical capability Quality of authoring 0 Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Update frequency Centralisation (UG) Audit trail FIGURE 3: MINIMUM CHARACTERISTICS FOR XCRI READINESS Assessment of XCRI readiness for ten institutions 45. XIM carried out an assessment of the XCRI readiness of ten institutions, both to test the characterisation model and to identify generic models. A spider diagram is given for each one, anonymised, so that there is no implied criticism of a specific institution. 12 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 FIGURE 4: CHARACTERISTICS OF TEN INSTITUTIONS Institution A Institution B XCRI readiness Resources Number of courses 4 XCRI readiness Complexity of provision Resources Number of courses 4 3 Organisational context 2 Organisational context 1 Quality of authoring Technical capability Quality of authoring 0 0 Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Update frequency Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Audit trail Update frequency Centralisation (UG) Institution C Number of courses 4 XCRI readiness Complexity of provision Resources Number of courses 4 3 Organisational context Organisational context 1 Quality of authoring Technical capability Quality of authoring 0 0 Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Update frequency Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Audit trail Update frequency Centralisation (UG) Institution E Number of courses 4 XCRI readiness Complexity of provision Resources Number of courses 4 3 Organisational context 1 Technical capability Quality of authoring Technical capability Quality of authoring 0 0 Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Update frequency Process capability Data structures Centralisation (PG) Update frequency Centralisation (UG) Audit trail Institution G Number of courses 4 XCRI readiness Complexity of provision Resources Number of courses 4 3 2 Organisational context Number of sources 2 1 Technical capability Quality of authoring Technical capability 0 Quality of authoring 0 Process capability Centralisation (UG) Complexity of provision 3 Number of sources 1 Centralisation (PG) Audit trail Institution H XCRI readiness Organisational context Number of sources 2 1 Resources Complexity of provision 3 Number of sources 2 Centralisation (UG) Audit trail Institution F XCRI readiness Organisational context Number of sources 2 1 Technical capability Resources Complexity of provision 3 Number of sources 2 Centralisation (UG) Audit trail Institution D XCRI readiness Resources Number of sources 2 1 Technical capability Centralisation (UG) Complexity of provision 3 Number of sources Data structures Update frequency Process capability Centralisation (PG) Audit trail Centralisation (UG) 13 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report Data structures Update frequency Audit trail 20 June 2008 Institution I Institution J XCRI readiness Resources Number of courses 4 XCRI readiness Resources Complexity of provision Number of courses 4 Number of sources 2 Organisational context Technical capability Quality of authoring Technical capability Quality of authoring 0 0 Process capability Data structures Process capability Update frequency Centralisation (UG) Number of sources 2 1 1 Centralisation (PG) Complexity of provision 3 3 Organisational context Centralisation (PG) Audit trail Centralisation (UG) Data structures Update frequency Audit trail Commentary on the XCRI readiness diagrams 46. Institution A In this example the small amount of blue demonstrates that significant preparatory work will be required before an XCRI implementation can be attempted. Primary deficiencies are in the technical data areas and the lack of any central catalogue, which suggests that identification of data sources and aggregation of the data will be very problematic. With only a small amount of resources and a low level of organisational support it is unlikely that even pilot work will be successful. 47. Institution B Despite a large number of courses and complex provision this institution has very favourable circumstances for XCRI implementation. Comparison of this diagram with the ‘minimum readiness’ example shows a negative feature in respect of the audit trail, but with a highly competent technical team, good support within the organisation, and a high level of centralisation, XCRI services should be relatively easy to implement. It may be difficult to sort out a high quality audit trail, because resources are limited, and that type of technical development may require significant technical resource. 48. Institution C This institution is fairly well placed, but there is a potential weakness in the process capability that suggests that existing processes need reviewing carefully, particularly as this is coupled with a relatively low showing in both quality of authoring and data structures. These factors together suggest that the current course advertising data production processes are not of particularly high quality. Lack of audit trail is a common factor in many of these examples; this may not be a problem if technical capability is high, because it should be possible to rectify it. 49. Institution D This example has some similarities to institution C, but there is greater confidence in the technical ability to implement XCRI, because the state of data structures and technical capability is very high. This will reduce technical difficulties. However, organisational problems will need to be addressed. It looks as if there would be strong technical buy-in, but much weaker buy-in from non-technical managers. 50. Institution E This is a rare example of a large institution with much of its provision centralised in a high quality fashion, but with a lack of technical expertise in relevant technologies. This should not be a problem, because the organisation context is a happy one, and some resources could be expended to buy in the relevant expertise. 51. Institution F While the quality of the data and structures is not particularly strong, there are no significant weaknesses for XCRI implementation in this institution. It 14 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 seems likely that an XCRI project would provide an opportunity for it to improve its data quality. 52. Institutions G / H These institutions should implement XCRI immediately! 53. Institution I This example is a small institution, with a well managed method of handling its course advertising information. With so few courses it would be relatively easy to implement XCRI, but there would be a question about whether it is worth while to develop in-house capability, which might be expensive and difficult to sell internally (low organisational context and resources). It seems likely that an out-sourcing option should be investigated. 54. Institution J With very little blue in the diagram this institution has problems. While it has the technical capability, the will and the resources to carry out the implementation, its all round weakness in terms of quality of data and processes suggests that it will need to carry out a lot of preliminary work in overhauling internal systems before embarking on XCRI implementation. 15 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Characterisation of data collectors use of course advertising information Benefits 55. One of the primary reasons for the development of XCRI was as an aid to data collecting organisations (aggregators), as explained here: “Aggregating XCRI-CAP value is generated in the form of strategic capability as the institution better understands the nature of its offering portfolio when combined into a single XCRI catalogue, leading to opportunities for improved quality assurance, standardisation, and consolidation of duplicate offerings.” From eXchanging Course Related Information Overview leaflet Data collecting organisations 56. There are many such organisations and their characteristics vary, if anything, more widely than those of learning providers. They range from commercial organisations publishing on the web (for example Hotcourses Ltd) through small, medium and large government funded local, regional and national services (for example Lifelong Learning Networks (LLNs), Connexions, AimHigher, or UfI, which delivers the learndirect service) to specialist public service oriented sectoral organisations like UCAS and Graduate Prospects. Some of these organisations are “for profit” businesses, others are charities, while others have funding which is dependent on recurrent government grant or via a government agency and may have a specific remit in terms of target group of learners or type of course. 57. As each data collecting organisation has its own aims and objectives, the courses information it collects varies, in terms of number and type of courses, depth of information and data structures. Crucially the vocabularies (coding and classification systems, sub-divisions of descriptive text) vary significantly. For example an organisation may collect heavily coded information for a higher education Clearing vacancy information service, typically codes or abbreviations for each course presentation and each institution, or it may collect descriptive text in depth on many topics together with tightly controlled search terms for a service providing extensive information and searchability. Current data collection methods 58. 59. These organisations use one or more of three main methods to collect course advertising information: • Re-keying from paper prospectuses or paper data collection forms; • Off-line electronic forms, usually spreadsheets; • On-line web-based data collection forms. The paper methods are inefficient, time-consuming and produce variable quality of output. The two electronic methods impose a considerable burden on learning providers, because the data collecting organisations expect them to key the information, using a format and coding form particular to that organisation. The advent of XCRI is expected to revolutionise the data exchange processes by providing a standard electronic format for learning providers and data collecting organisations. 16 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Potential models using XCRI 60. Data collecting organisations are usually interested in collecting either data on all courses or data on courses which have changed, or both. In a typical example there will be an annual data collection exercise to gather all the information for the new academic year, and the possibility of periodic or continuous updates during the year. The timing and frequency of data collection exercises is often dependent on the requirements of paper publishing, which tends to have more time sensitive deadlines than web publishing. 61. At the time of writing XCRI-CAP has not yet been used to supply a feed from a learning provider to a data collecting organisation. Some early work has been done on possible processes, involving both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ models, but definitive examples using XCRI-CAP do not yet exist. In the ‘push’ model, the learning provider publishes the data and pro-actively sends it to the data collecting organisation using an automatic process whenever triggered by an update in the provider’s system. In the ‘pull’ model, the learning provider publishes the data on a passive service, and the data collecting organisation harvests it either on an ad hoc or routine basis. Both models can involve access control for security purposes and service level agreements. 62. The following diagrams show some examples of potential practice. Updates in XCRI-CAP Transform into data collector’s format Updates Provider Course Mgt system Transform into XCRI-CAP Make XCRI-CAP data available Filter Import Data collector’s courses system Whole data set Whole data set in XCRI-CAP Transform into data collector’s format FIGURE 5: UML ACTIVITY DIAGRAM SHOWING A SIMPLE GENERIC OVERVIEW OF DATA HARVESTING USING XCRI 17 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 63. The collection of whole data sets is not problematic from the data collecting organisation’s perspective. Once the information is published by the learning provider, the data collector can scrap the old material and replace it with the new. This process is well suited to annual data collection. 64. The process for collecting updated information has additional constraints. Most data collecting organisations use quality standards for the data content, which may include both specific text formats for descriptive information (for example, ‘course titles will be in CAPS starting with the qualification awarded on completion’) and prescribed vocabularies for searchable fields (for example, the learndirect Classification System (LDCS) for subjects within the National Learning Directory. If the whole data set was to be used for update purposes, then the organisation would either have to re-format and re-code all the data in accordance with its quality standards, a prohibitively expensive operation for intermediate updates, or carry out a complex comparison of old and new data, which would be fraught with technical difficulties. 65. XCRI-CAP has specific features designed to aid the update process, for example the ‘recstatus’ attribute, which permit identification of new, updated and deleted elements. An update process using this feature might be as follows: Provider updates local system Data Collecting Organisation gets update FIGURE 6: UML ACTIVITY DIAGRAMS, SHOWING UPDATING MODEL 66. A further model is currently under development with several projects involving LLNs and Phosphorix Ltd, a software development company based in Exeter. An open source data aggregating system called Course Exchange is being built, which provides import, export, authoring and mapping functions, as well as enabling local data sources to be linked together. This system permits XCRI-CAP data to be imported and exported and may have the potential to enhance interoperability between disparate systems in different organisations. It uses a closed network architecture called ioNetwork, each store having its own ioNetworkNode. XIM has not assessed the efficacy of the Course Exchange or ioNetwork software. 18 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 FIGURE 7: FLOW CHART SHOWING LEARNING PROVIDER USAGE OF COURSE EXCHANGE SOFTWARE 19 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Scenarios and process models 67. XIM has analysed and synthesised information about how HEIs involved in XCRI projects create, process and disseminate course advertising information using XCRI-CAP. We have looked at both the reality of actual implementations and the possibilities suggested by proposals for future implementations. From this work some generic models of XCRI implementation practice have been drawn up that might be helpful to others seeking to implement similar systems. The purpose of the scenarios and models is to aid understanding of how institutions manage course advertising information, rather than to be an exhaustive list of all potential process models. These will in any case vary according to the individual circumstances of each organisation. A generic course advertising function in an HEI 68. The information management part of the course advertising function within an HEI can usefully be described as having five stages, as in the following diagram: FIGURE 8: A GENERIC COURSE ADVERTISING FUNCTION IN AN HEI 69. The stages are: • Get the data; usually from curriculum documents and / or from academics. • Capture the data electronically. • Collect information together into storage areas (course catalogues). • Transform the data into formats suitable for publication or data exchange. • Provide access for others (internal and external people) to the outputs. The red crosses and dashed arrows indicate flows using old technology, which are no longer required once an XCRI service has been implemented. 20 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 70. While processes may differ, all providers are likely to carry out these stages in some fashion in order to reach the end point, the publication of course advertising material. XCRI-CAP helps particularly at the later stages, enabling a provider to use one standardised output format for publishing and data exchange, in place of different work flows, transformations and mappings, both automatic and manual, for different output requirements. 71. Our investigations suggest 5 different generic models of practice in the implementation of XCRI-CAP. The models are: 72. • Simple single stream output • Multiple source aggregation • Integrated content management • Outsourcing • Feedback Each model has been represented by a UML activity diagram, which shows the flow of information at a high level of abstraction. In addition there is a table, which describes the characteristics of a typical HEI implementing the model. The table uses the ‘XCRI readiness’ characteristics specified in the XIM template document4. This is followed by a short textual description of a generic scenario and a concrete example. 4 http://www.alanpaull.co.uk/xim/docs/XIM.dot 21 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Simple Single Stream Model FIGURE 9: UML ACTIVITY DIAGRAM FOR SIMPLE SINGLE STREAM MODEL 22 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Typified by Characteristic Description Number of courses Small number of courses and / or simple provision Complexity of provision Number of sources Single source of data Quality of authoring Good quality authoring Data structures Well defined data structures Update frequency Whole data set supply (no audit trail required) Audit trail Centralisation Centralised data source Process capability At least a performed process (it supports and enables the work needed to produce outputs, but the process may not yet be institutionalised, so improvements might be lost over time). Technical capability Moderate technical capability Organisational context Moderately good organisational context Resources Minimal resources required TABLE 3: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SIMPLE SINGLE STREAM MODEL Description of scenario 73. The HEI has only a relatively small number of courses, which are maintained once per year. Course advertising information is held in a well defined database with normalised data. This database holds the course catalogue for all the course advertising material, including free text descriptions, controlled or coded data such as duration and method of study, and information about qualifications, instances of courses and venues. 74. The data is extracted from the database and transformed by a software application (XSL transformation) into an XCRI format flat file. This file is then used for four purposes: to populate a new version of the HEI’s course search facility on its website, as a primary input to the production of its paper prospectus, as a file for export to third party data collectors by email, and as a file for access through an XCRI-CAP-enabled web service. 75. The data on the web service is also used internally in the HEI as the authoritative source of course advertising information. Example: Reid Kerr College 76. Data was held in a simple MS Access database. Before the process started, fields were mapped to XCRI. A system was developed in ASP to transform the data to XCRI flat files. These files were then used on the Reid Kerr website. 23 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Multiple Source Aggregation Model Multiple Source Aggregation Data source A HEI website(s) Verification Data source B Paper publications Aggregation Master database Validation Classification Data source C Master database Transform to XCRI Export to file API / web service Data source D Sources may be different formats, but have common IDs and compatible structures. FIGURE 10: UML ACTIVITY DIAGRAM FOR MULTIPLE SOURCE AGGREGATION MODEL 24 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Typified by Characteristic Description Number of courses Large number of courses Complexity of provision Complex provision Number of sources Many authoritative sources, with different formats, for example databases for marketing, admissions, MIS, Word documents. Quality of authoring Good quality authoring Data structures Moderately well defined data structures; some anomalies in sources can be handled via transformations and normalisation Update frequency Annual for preference, but for some data sets higher frequency can be accomplished. Audit trail Audit trail information varies dependent upon source. Standardisation of the method for indicating updated records on the master database is important, so that updated records can be indicated in XCRI and thereby identified by data aggregators. Centralisation Partially centralised, for example undergraduate courses information may be completely centralised for ease of updating of UCAS information, but postgraduate and short courses may be de-centralised. As many authoritative sources as possible are centralised in the master database. Process capability Primarily a managed process leading into the master database; some feeds may be ad hoc. Managed and improving process required for the flow between the master database and final outputs. Technical capability High technical capability Organisational context Good organisational context; co-operation from owners of the data sources is required Resources Significant resources required for creation and management of the master database, aggregation and creation of outputs. TABLE 4: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MULTIPLE SOURCE AGGREGATION MODEL Description of scenario 77. The HEI has a large number of courses, whose data is held in a variety of databases, Word documents and spreadsheets. Information managers in the HEI have been thinking about consolidating their course advertising information for a while, and some preliminary steps have been taken. The most significant of these are: • The most important sources of course advertising information have been identified; • Agreement has been reached with senior management for the provision of resources, and with data owners to provide the information to a central source; • A common identifier is now used across all the sources, although two or three of them require further work, so that course instances (presentations) can be used to generate full course records; 25 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 • The descriptive text on the website has been analysed and slightly re-structured, so that the XCRI recommended course description vocabulary can be used; • Venue information (particularly names and addresses) has been standardised across all sources. 78. The implementation of XCRI was handled through a series of discrete projects over a period of 3 years. It was decided early on that no attempt would be made to satisfy all the functional requirements for courses information, but that the focus would be on course advertising information only, with a concentration on outputs to supply the HEI’s website, paper publications and an XCRI web service. The last would be available to internal and external organisations as the HEI’s authoritative source of course advertising information. 79. The development of a feed from each data source into the master database was handled as a separate project within an overall service oriented approach, co-ordinated through a central office. Technical teams shared expertise by holding regular informal and formal workshops. 80. The development of the master database was a key project. It was built using XCRI-CAP structures, and also included a range of structural and vocabulary services for internal and external use (for example its reference data included the latest UCAS entry requirement and subject vocabularies and data structures). 81. The scenario does not represent a fully centralised approach to all courses information. Information relating to curriculum management and MIS systems is still held in separate systems. However, system architects have made sure that a common approach to identifiers is used, and that each system has the potential to link to others, enabling system integration at a later date. Example: Manchester Metropolitan University 82. Extract from the report of the xcri@mmu project: 1.4 Challenges and Solutions for Definitive Course Information at MMU 83. MMU is a large and diverse institution. Information about courses is generated, updated and consumed by varied institutional stakeholders. New courses are proposed to the Centre for Academic Standards & Quality Enhancement. Once approval in principle is obtained for running the course, the External Relations department will be alerted so that it can be advertised "subject to full approval". An early entry will be made at this time in an Access database maintained within the External Relations department, which is used to populate the online prospectus and to produce the printed version. Full documentation will be produced in Microsoft Word describing the rationale, academic and resource dimensions of the course and its constituent units, which will be considered by a validation panel at an event held to scrutinise the course. When the course has been validated, the External Relations department will be informed and the course will be entered into the student records system so that it can receive applications and enrolments. 84. When the XCRI@MMU project started, there was no common key between the Access Database of courses used for advertising, the documentation approved in validation and modification events, and the curriculum objects to which students applied and were enrolled in the student records system. Items could be matched by human intervention as, for instance, course leaders were aware of descriptions they had provided to marketing colleagues and could search by title on the web prospectus to confirm the descriptions were being used; they had copies of the documentation they had written for validation events; and knew how to look up applications and enrolment data for 'their' courses in the student records system. For undergraduate courses, UCAS codes helped the process of matching marketing, quality and enrolment representations of a course. For postgraduate and short courses, things were more challenging, which poses particular problems for aggregators such as the Greater Manchester Strategic Alliance. 26 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 85. MMU's solution to this problem of islands of course information is to launch an Academic Database project that will deliver a definitive curriculum database together with the workflow routines to ensure that it is maintained by the right people in ways that adhere to quality requirements for scrutiny and audit trails. The XCRI@MMU mini project has served to demonstrate the need for the Academic Database project, and the critical importance of common identifiers for aggregating data gathered for different purposes. ACTIVE SERVER PAGE Builds XML document by iterating over QLS data and drawing in other data sources via common key values and using lookup tables to populate sub-elements AOS_OFFERINGS XCRI-CAP 1.0 XML file PROSPECTUS UCAS.CSV UCAS_AOS_MAP UFI.CSV UCAS and HotCourses data joined by UCAS coursecode where possible QLS student records system maintains a list of 07 offerings identified by AOS codes, and a map of AOS codes to UCAS course codes MMU’s prospectus data was annotated with AOS codes so that it could be joined FIGURE 11: XCRI@MMU INTERIM SOLUTION PRIOR TO ACADEMIC DATABASE PROJECT 27 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Integrated Content Management Model FIGURE 12: UML ACTIVITY DIAGRAM FOR INTEGRATED CONTENT MANAGEMENT MODEL 28 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Typified by Characteristic Description Number of courses Any Complexity of provision Any Number of sources Single authoritative source of courses information in a content management system or document management system. Other data sources may feed into this system. Quality of authoring Good quality authoring with managed work flow. Data structures Well defined data structures designed to enhance quality of authoring and to provide high quality outputs for publication. Update frequency As frequent as desired by authors. Outputs can be instigated at any time and will usually be controlled by requirements of internal and external agencies. Audit trail Audit trail exists at every stage, so that content can be rolled back to earlier versions if desired. Functionality exists for editing drafts and for approving documents for publication. Centralisation Usually fully centralised, although some types of course may not be included (for example short or CPD courses). Process capability At least a managed process (planned and executed in accordance with policy; employs skilled people who have adequate resources to produce controlled outputs; involves relevant stakeholders; is monitored, controlled, and reviewed; and is evaluated for adherence to its process description) Technical capability Moderate technical capability. It is likely that existing technical and organisational infrastructure for this solution would support the addition of XCRI-CAP outputs. Organisational context Moderately benign organisational context; co-operation from managers of the CMS required. Resources Some resources required for developing the XCRI-specific outputs. TABLE 5: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INTEGRATED CONTENT MANAGEMENT MODEL Description of scenario 86. The HEI has implemented a content management system, built on an Oracle database, so that academics and administrators can record all their courses information in a single authoritative source from inception onwards. The CMS supports work flow management for authoring all types of courses information, including validation documents, curriculum development, marketing, and feeding into the HEI’s MIS and Admissions systems. It enables editors to store draft documents during the creation and modification process, and provides the ability to approve documents for publication in a wide variety of output formats. All course advertising information for the HEI stems from the CMS, which provides services for various publishing formats, including the HEI’s website, prospectus, advertising leaflets, and a small number of external data collecting organisations. The HEI would prefer all users of their course advertising information to obtain the data from the CMS’ services, but a number of external organisations require the data to be re-keyed. 87. In a variant of this scenario some of the courses information is entered directly into an integrated Management Information System and linked via course identifiers to the CMS. 29 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 The MIS holds critical operational information such as approval and vacancy information, as well as data for statistical returns. This information can be output within XCRI using an information flow linked via the course identifiers. Example: London Metropolitan University 88. Although the diagram below does not describe a complete implementation of the CMS model, it shows its major characteristics. FIGURE 13: LONDON METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM FOR OUTPUTTING STANDARDISED COURSE INFORMATION 30 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Outsourcing Model Verification, transformations and mappings Updated data set from HEI Transform to XCRI Transform Export to format A Transform Export to format B Transform Export to format C API / web service Various services dependent on agreements between the HEI and agency. FIGURE 14: UML ACTIVITY DIAGRAM FOR OUTSOURCING MODEL 31 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Typified by Characteristic Description Number of courses Any Complexity of provision Any Number of sources Any. Aggregation carried out either by the HEI or by the agency. Quality of authoring Reasonable quality authoring required, unless agency is directly involved in sub-editing. Data structures Moderately well defined data structures required, unless agency is involved in handling primary data storage for the HEI. Update frequency Depends on service levels agreed between agency and HEI. Annual updates easiest; more frequent updates are dependent on systems within the HEI. Audit trail For an automated service and updates other than ‘whole data set’, a mechanism for indicating updated records is required. Centralisation Agency acts as centralisation mechanism. Helpful if HEI carries out aggregation prior to transfer of data to agency. Process capability Process capability is outsourced to the agency, so only ‘performed’ level of process capability is required at the HEI (this level supports and enables the work needed to produce the required outputs, but does not include standardisation or specific process improvement arrangements). Technical capability Technical capability is outsourced to the agency, so only a basic ability to provide the data is required at the HEI. Organisational context Any. Agreement to pay the agency is required. Resources Small. Contract management and payment of the agency is required. TABLE 6: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OUTSOURCING MODEL Description of scenario 89. The HEI arranges a service contract with an agency to carry out processes specified in its agreement. These services can range from data aggregation, through validation, transformation, mapping and specified outputs to internal or external third parties. The use of XCRI by the agency on the HEI’s behalf increases the efficiency of the operation by the agency and therefore its cost effectiveness for the HEI. This type of arrangement takes into account the specific circumstances of the HEI, so the details can vary very widely. Example: The Open University 90. The Open University sub-contracts its supply of data to third party data collecting organisations to an agency (APS Ltd). The OU supplies data to the agency in a database, which is used as part of the consolidation of the OU’s course advertising data for production of its website. This data is converted into XCRI as a base format for further transformation and mapping by the agency into specific formats (for example Access databases, spreadsheets, csv files, etc) for seven third party data collecting organisations. The agency maintains third party classifications in the OU data on behalf of the data collectors. 32 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Feedback Model FIGURE 15: UML ACTIVITY DIAGRAM FOR FEEDBACK MODEL 33 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Description of scenario 91. This model is a special case of the outsourcing model, in which a third party data collecting organisation agrees to supply XCRI data back to the provider. This model is particularly useful if the provider is setting up new systems and does not yet have high quality data capture processes. 92. The provider inputs the data into the data collector’s system, usually by keying it. This process permits the data collector to impose data structures, data entry standards and vocabularies (for example by using drop-down lists or prescribes classification systems). The data collector can then carry out validation, checking and further classification of the data prior to returning it in XCRI format to the provider. 93. The provider is then able to use the XCRI data to populate its own course advertising systems, gaining value through the use of information with standardised vocabularies. Typified by Characteristic Description Number of courses Any Complexity of provision Any Number of sources Typically a new source or data store coming on stream Quality of authoring Data will be keyed into a 3rd party system Data structures Well defined data structures in the 3rd party system Update frequency Typically this is a ‘one-off’ activity, so maintenance of the data is not required. Audit trail Centralisation Data is centralised both in the 3rd party system and new HEI system. Process capability As this is a ‘one-off’ activity, it can be treated as an ad hoc process. Technical capability Technical capability for the new internal system and for XCRI import is required at the HEI. Organisational context Any. Resources Small. Resources for import into the new system is needed. TABLE 7: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FEEDBACK MODEL Example 94. Not given; this model has not yet been encountered in a live situation, though it has been proposed. 34 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Part 6: Issues and potential solutions 95. This section is divided into two: transformation and mapping processes, and a review of other problems and potential solutions. Transformation and mapping to XCRI-CAP 96. During its work XIM encountered some trepidation amongst staff over potential difficulties in converting their course advertising data into XCRI-CAP and from XCRI-CAP to formats suitable for use by data collecting organisations. This section of the report is designed to demystify this conversion process for the non-specialist. 97. XCRI-CAP is designed to be a very flexible model of course advertising information, so that it is able to contain information drawn from sources with a wide range of different structures and formats. The basic structure of XCRI-CAP consists of: CATALOG – an element that contains all the XCRI-CAP data PROVIDER – an element that holds data about the learning provider. It usually contains one or more courses COURSE – an element that has data about the course itself; some of this data will describe aims, curriculum content, learning outcomes, resources needed, prerequisites, and so on. This element usually contains one or more Presentations and may contain one or more Qualification elements. QUALIFICATION PRESENTATION – an element that contains data about the instances of the course that learners attend or study on. A presentation can also be known as a ‘course offering’ or ‘course instance’ or even ‘course start’. For courses with attendance the presentation will usually contain information about the venue. VENUE – an element that contains information about the facilities and location of the place of study. 98. Converting course advertising information into XCRI-CAP format will usually involve the following steps: Step 1 Review local data sources Review the databases or other data sources of the institution, in order to gain an understanding of the data structures and data content. Step 2 Map overall data structures Map the institution’s course data structure to the overall structure of XCRI-CAP as described above. This will usually be done at the level of a database record or row in a table. In some cases extra tables may need to be created, derived from the existing data structure. Step 3 Map data in detail Using the outputs of Step 2 as a framework, map the data on an item-by-item basis to the XCRI-CAP data elements. This step involves a careful review of the content of the institution’s data items (fields in a database), matching them to corresponding elements in XCRI-CAP. 35 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Step 4 Include transformations where needed It is unlikely that there will be a perfect match of the data items in Step 3, because definitions will vary between systems and data content may not always be entirely consistent with the definitions. An individual data item in one system may have its own internal structure, either implicit or explicit, for example the text string “3 years full-time” holds both duration and study mode information. Therefore in this step we specify rules for any manipulation of the data that is required before it is fed into XCRI-CAP. In this example, we might split “3 years” and put that into a duration element, and put the “full-time” into a study mode element. These data transformation rules should be as well-defined and as universal as possible, so that they can operate on as much of the data as possible. Step 5 Validate and review Validate and review the XCRI-CAP outputs and amend the transformation and mapping as appropriate, until valid XML has been produced. 99. Many of the XCRI projects will have carried out mapping and transformation work. For further information about specific transformations, please consult project documentation. Where permissions have been obtained from relevant organisations, the XCRI wiki will contain links to open source material that other projects may be able to adapt to their own purposes. 36 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Problems and solutions 100. XIM has analysed issues in a structured way using the HEI characteristics enumerated earlier. They are presented here marked in order of significance, using a simple traffic light colour scheme. Use ‘ctrl-click’ on the items in the references column to go to the relevant part of this report or to a relevant website. 101. XIM has produced A Two Page Guide to Implementing XCRI-CAP which gives an overview of how to do it. Problem Potential solution References Number of courses We don’t know how many courses we offer, and our courses data sets are extremely variable. Review and model the processes that you use for managing course advertising information from ‘create a course’ to ‘course no longer offered’; you may find the XIM template useful.. Consider creating a single catalogue that will aggregate all your courses data. XIM template Multiple Source Aggregation Model Number of courses We have many hundreds of courses, and it is therefore difficult to manage the course advertising information and correspondingly difficult to pick an intervention point for implementing XCRI. Review and model the processes that you use for managing course advertising information from ‘create a course’ to ‘course no longer offered’; you may find the XIM template useful. Intervention point should be at the first point after significant aggregation of the data into a single store. XIM template Number of courses We have very few courses / HE courses, so XCRI implementation is a sledge hammer to crack a nut. In-house capability may be expensive; use external consultants or other 3rd party to manage the outputs. Outsourcing Model Institution I z Ï Institution J Complexity of provision Our course structures are very complex and may be difficult to map to XCRI. Ask the XCRI Support Project for help; there are XCRI experts who may be able to assist with transformation and mapping. Transformation and mapping to XCRICAP XCRI website Institution C Institution D 37 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Number of sources z Problem Potential solution References We have a great many decentralised sources with no links between them. This is a significant issue for XCRI readiness. If the sources include the majority of your course advertising data, you will need to carry out preliminary work in each source, so that you can aggregate them; at the minimum, you should introduce common course identifiers, and you should consider changing data structures so that they are compatible between sources. The XCRI data structure should be a suitable model. Multiple Source Aggregation Model Institution A Institution B Number of sources We have a number of sources, but we have common IDs and some integration. Use the Multiple Source Aggregation Model. Also consider whether to move towards a content management system for all sources. Multiple Source Aggregation Model Quality of authoring Our quality of authoring is poor. z XCRI implementation may give you an opportunity to change how your authors do their work. Consider providing a new data entry system that will feed your XCRI outputs. Using web technologies, such systems are not necessarily expensive ‘offthe-shelf’ or built in-house. Work with GMSA BoXCRIP - Bolton XCRI Project; lead HEI, University of Bolton Ï Improvements in data quality, especially if they form part of a process improvement strategy, can be presented as a ‘quick win’ for an XCRI implementation. Ï Data structures Our data analysis is poor, so it is very difficult for us to map to XCRI successfully. z With live systems it can be problematic to change data structures, because it places them in jeopardy. For an initial XCRI implementation, it may be best to create a new data store with data structures that reflect the XCRI model and import data into the new store. This has the advantage of reducing the dependencies between the XCRI implementation and other components of the courses information management system. Subsequently a full integration of the new system with the old one, or an entire replacement system, can be planned. 38 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report Transformation and mapping to XCRICAP BoXCRIP - Bolton XCRI Project; lead HEI, University of Bolton XCRI@MMU; lead HEI, Manchester Metropolitan University 20 June 2008 Problem Potential solution References Data structures We have two (or more) systems with very different data structures (for example MIS and marketing), reflecting their different purposes. If the two systems have common identifiers, then it may not be problematic to link them together. If they do not, then significant work will be required to match records between them. This is typically carried out by a combination of automatic matching between fields and manual (‘eyeball’) matching. XCRI@MMU; lead HEI, Manchester Metropolitan University Multiple Source Aggregation Model Data structures Much of our data is inaccurate, and some fields are used for purposes not originally intended. With extensive legacy systems feeding websites, MIS systems, curriculum management, and student records, this is a common problem. As long as there has been a consistent approach to the data in the fields, the data can still be used for XCRI purposes. If fields have ad hoc data in them that cannot be automatically analysed and split into components (parsed), then manual correction of the data would be required. Transformation and mapping to XCRICAP Institution C Institution D Institution I Institution J Ï Update frequency We only update our internal course advertising data annually. This is not a problem for XCRI implementation, though it is becoming increasingly rare as more immediate web technologies become expected by learners. Audit trail We have no audit trail information. This is a common problem with course advertising information, particularly with institutions that rely on annual updates. XCRI outputs containing whole data sets can still be output, as there is no mandatory requirement for updating information in XCRI. However, third party data collecting organisations will usually want to receive updated information, rather than whole data sets each time. Most modern database systems have facilities to permit audit trails for date/time and responsible member of staff at field and record level. For your own quality control purposes and for XCRI purposes, it is worth developing a good quality audit trail process. 39 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report Potential models using XCRI BoXCRIP - Bolton XCRI Project; lead HEI, University of Bolton 20 June 2008 Problem Potential solution References Centralisation How do we integrate existing systems? Identify common IDs and structures, bearing in mind that these frequently do not have the same names in different systems; you may find the XIM template useful as an information gathering tool. Examine the data content of likely looking fields to ensure a good level of understanding of where links might exist. XIM template Integrated Content Management Model Multiple Source Aggregation Model Centralisation How do we integrate XCRI with existing systems? Focus on business needs not technical perfection. Always plan for data re-use by providing data services using XCRI for all systems containing courses data. Consider using software solutions adopted by other institutions. Course Exchange Process capability We have a very ad hoc process for exporting data to data collecting organisations and would like to improve it. Review your course advertising information management processes and document them; you may find the XIM template useful. Investigate process improvement. Consider implementing one of the XCRI implementation models. XCRI Readiness XIM template Process capability We have an annual cycle and refresh all the data. How do we do updates? Review content management processes and document them; you may find the XIM template useful. Implement an audit trail in your information store. XIM template Potential models using XCRI Technical capability We don’t have sufficient technical expertise in relevant technologies. The XCRI Support Project, other XCRI projects and practitioners are there to help. Refer to the XCRI website as a first port of call. There is a wiki with large amount of information and links to other sources. There is also an XCRI forum, so if you have a question, post it there. There now exists a significant group of technical experts in service oriented and interoperability technologies in general and XCRI in particular. Transformation and mapping to XCRICAP XCRI website XCRI wiki XCRI forum Ï Ï Ï 40 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Problem Potential solution References Organisational context The institution is re-organising the department, its courses, everything! Use small scale projects for incremental gains. Otherwise it might be better to put off XCRI implementation till reorganisation has been completed. Plan for delays. There may be potential in using XCRI format as a common means of exporting courses data for import into a new merged system. Refer to the XCRI mini project reports. Part 4: Information gathering Organisational context How do we get (and keep) stakeholder engagement? Establish regular, high quality communications; find champions and use them! Deliver ‘quick wins’ to promote the cause; for example, can departmental websites use XCRI feeds as a data source? Work with GMSA Organisational context We have other projects that cut across course advertising information! Eliminate or reduce inter-project dependencies. Actively manage risks. Resources What resources do I need? And how can I get them and keep them? Use the XIM template to review your XCRI readiness and the Beginners’ Guide to help look at the steps you might need. Identify key stakeholders in your institution and get their buy-in. z Ï XIM template A Two Page Guide to Implementing XCRI-CAP TABLE 8: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 41 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Part 8: Conclusions 102. Expertise in using the XCRI and XCRI-CAP information models is growing apace. During the life of the XIM project (December 07 to May 08) the project has been approached by many HEIs, Further Education Institutions (FEIs) and data collecting organisations for advice and information about XCRI with an increasing emphasis on practical implementation issues. Desire to implement XCRI solutions is particularly strong within the Lifelong Learning Networks and their member institutions. There are therefore clear signs of a growing groundswell of uptake of XCRI-CAP within the community. It is hoped that this report will spur many others to take practical steps to implement XCRI and reap the benefits of interoperability. Dissemination 103. This report will be available on the JISC website and via the XCRI wiki. Its contents are being published in a readily navigable electronic format through the wiki. Future work 104. XIM has completed a review of the current state of play and has drawn up generic implementation models and listed problems and potential solutions. The basis of this project has been pilot activity and small projects that have been designed primarily to gain experience and understanding of the course advertising world, how XCRI-CAP might help and how the information model might need to change in response to practical issues. It is hoped that the XIM report and associated dissemination activity will assist the community in furthering the use of XCRI in the interests of greater effectiveness, more efficiency and enhanced capability. However, live large-scale projects and production level systems will probably result in modification of the models. This is expected, and I hope that modifications and new material will be published widely, so that the XCRI and wider courses information management community continues to learn from our collective experience. 42 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Appendix A: Organisations and projects consulted 105. There follows a list of organisations and projects consulted, either by examining material published on the Internet or by personal interview with practitioners. Some were consulted during work for GMSA in 2007, which formed the basis of the template work. We would like to record our thanks to all who gave of their time and views, including all members of the XCRI Support Project and Sarah Davies, JISC Programme Manager. JISC-funded XCRI projects BOXCRIP (University of Bolton) GMSA XCRI mini-project ioNW2 MOVE-XCRI OCCAM (Open University) P-SPEX; COVA (Thames Valley University) PortisHEad (University of Wolverhampton) Staffsxcri (Staffordshire University) XCRI@MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University) Individual organisations, HEIs and FEIs Adam Smith College Anglia Ruskin University City College Manchester Graduate Prospects Herefordshire and Worcestershire Lifelong Learning Network Hotcourses Ltd Imperium UK Open University Reid Kerr College Royal Northern College of Music Tameside College University of Bolton University of Manchester University of Salford University of Wolverhampton UCAS UfI West Cheshire College Wigan & Leigh College 43 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Appendix B: Outline Service Usage Model: supply of course advertising information to data collecting organisation [to be completed] 44 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 A Two Page Guide to Implementing XCRI-CAP XCRI-CAP implementation in your organisation will be specific to your circumstances. This brief guide is an overview of the steps to consider when planning your XCRI-CAP project. 45 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Item Check? Review systems & processes using the XIM XCRI readiness templates. Document processes. Identify relevant data sources (inputs). Get information about XCRI-CAP. Get support if needed. Review benefits of XCRI implementation. Check each type needed, for example XML, Web Services, database management, data analysis, transformation and mapping, software development. Refer to XCRI wiki for technical details if needed. Output for main website? Output for other internal sources? rd Output for 3 parties (learndirect, UCAS, others)? Define types of publishing service. Identify funding sources. Identify required staff. Identify required ICT systems. Sign off resource allocations. Obtain buy-in from relevant managers. Involve operational staff. Decide on appropriate model, including likely recipients. Define needed activities, staff & objects. Design interfaces to other processes. Design transformation and mapping to XCRI-CAP. Carry out testing & iteration where needed. Test the changed processes end-to-end. Confirm that valid XCRI-CAP is produced (use aggregator). Confirm outputs are acceptable to recipients. Carry out testing of end-to-end processes. Iterate where needed. Confirm implementation plan with all staff. Implement solution. Test solution. Make solution live. 46 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Glossary of terms Term Definition Aggregator (i) an organisation that collects course advertising information; (ii) a service (for example a web service) that collects XCRICAP data feeds, see http://www.xcri.org/aggregator ASP Active Server Pages; a scripting language used on the web BoXCRIP Bolton XCRI Project Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) A process improvement model developed for software engineering processes Catalog (i) Any store of courses information; (ii) root element of XCRI-CAP document Classification Process whereby information content is matched to codes drawn from a controlled vocabulary (for example a thesaurus or structured list of values). CMS Content Management System CPD Continuous Professional Development e-Framework for Education and Research See: http://www.e-framework.org/ FEI Further Education Institution HEI Higher Education Institution GMSA Greater Manchester Strategic Alliance Interoperability The ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged (IEEE) LLN Lifelong Learning Network MIS Management Information System OCCAM Open Course Collection and Aggregation Model OXCRI Oxford University Computing Services XCRI Project Parsing Analysing a piece of text to determine its structure from its syntax or according to grammatical or logical rules. RSS Really Simple Syndication; a standardized format for web feeds for frequently updated content, such as newsfeeds and blogs. Service Genre See: http://www.e-framework.org/ Service Usage Model See: http://www.e-framework.org/ SOA: Service oriented approach See the JISC SOA animation staffsXCRI Staffordshire University XCRI Project 47 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report 20 June 2008 Term Definition UCAS UK organisation that manages centralised applications to undergraduate HE courses UML Unified Modeling Language, a process modelling method XCRI eXchanging Course Related Information XCRI r1.0 First official release of XCRI; covered all types of courses information, not just course advertising XCRI-CAP XCRI Course Advertising Profile XCRI@MMU Manchester Metropolitan University XCRI Project 48 of 48 XCRI Implementation Models Project (XIM) / Report
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