Mare Nostrum

E-portfolio white paper available

If you're wondering how to fit Xythos technology into an e-portfolio initiative--well, imagine no longer. This white paper walks you through the options with our current products, and discusses what future plans fit many e-portfolio use cases.

Another archiving option

As I've noted here before, there are a lot of potential uses for the new import/export framework. One of them is archiving.

Let's say that you want to preserve the HR department's shared directory. Backing up the content means a lot more than just copying the files and folders. There's also all the information about the document--document classes, security settings, comments, etc.--that needs to be preserved. How do you store this extra information as part of the backup?

This short research note answers that question.

RM by any other name

When we designed the 6.0 version of Enterprise Document Manager, we took some pains to make its features generally useful. The 5015.2 requirements looked, from a particular angle, like many of the features we already planned. Disposition rules and vital record indicators are, more or less, the ways in which you'd automate the lifecycle of content. Final disposition reflects the formal rules of good content hygiene--get rid of junk you don't need, handle other content with care--that's a general priority in many organizations today.

Therefore, as a product manager, a lot of questions I've been answering lately take the form of, "When would I use the new 6.0 features to...?" That's one reason why I wrote the institutional repository white paper, to describe how you might use the RM and non-RM features in a particular scenario.

I'm writing another white paper, this time covering the options for plugging our technology into an e-portfolio project. Much of the discussion will be the same: when do you use particular features, and how?

It'd be great if there were a single answer. However, not everyone means the same thing by the term, "e-portfolio." Making RM a hidden or subtle part of collaboration is new, so most people need to ponder how "RM by any other name" might help creating, publishing, maintaining, and exporting an e-portfolio.

In a couple of years, maybe, e-portfolios will become more better defined, and RM integrated into collaboration will become more commonplace. Until then, it takes a little extra explanation, or a quick demo, to get to that "Aha!" moment.

E-learning mashups

The metadata-driven view

Mike Straus, product manager extraordinaire, just published his new project (code sample plus documentation) about a metadata-driven view of content in our system. Why is this interesting?

• It exposes the metadata entered for document classes (our term for categories) in a way that's immediately useful. Anyone looking for a particular piece of content, or interested in what's available generally, can benefit from this view.
• It provides a reason for entering the metadata in the first place. If you don't enter the metadata, your work won't appear in this view. If you do a lousy job of entering it
• Customers and partners have already built views like this one. For example, Time Warner built a much more sophisticated version of this view, but the point is essentially the same: let people browse by the metadata.
• The folder structure is increasingly less important than other views on the content. Everyone knows how to navigate files and folders, but this view of the content doesn't fulfill everyone's needs. Looking at a folder full of documents, I don't know who is their intended audience, what there topics might be (other than what the file name suggests), and whether they're really in good enough shape to use. To answer these questions, you need something like the metadata-driven view.
• Customer use cases often demand a metadata-driven view. That's effectively what the institutional repository solution provides, a metadata-driven way of browsing and searching library content. You can take Mike's code as a starting point for exploring the third option discussed in the institutional repository white paper (building this view of our system, instead of integrating us with a separate institutional repository application).
• We're building metadata-driven views for future versions of our product. We're not necessarily building something that functions in exactly the same way that Mike's project does, but there are plenty of other ways to use metadata (and other types of metadata). For example, you might use a metadata-filtering view, in which you click particular standard or custom metadata to narrow the list of files and folders that fit that profile. (Think of the way iTunes lets you filter music by genre, artist, etc.).

Take a look at Mike's project, and let us know what you think.

Shared areas, by the numbers

My friend and colleague Mike Straus has published a tech note about creating shared areas en masse. For example, you may want to create a common set of directories, configured in a particular way, for each department, as defined in LDAP. Mike lays out the options in this brief but helpful document.

Security web seminar

If you were interested in our security web seminar last week, here are the slides from it. As I said in the presentation, it's hard to find a success story with Xythos that doesn't address an important security concern.

Are Wikis wacky?

It's hard to find an organization that doesn't have a Wiki project going. It may still be in the "I've got a feeling inside/But can't explain" stage, or people may have piloted a departmental Wiki, which other groups are scrutinizing for their own possible use. What's clear is, out of all the Web 2.0 collaboration technologies (Wikis, blogs, mash-ups, etc.), Wikis seem to have the biggest traction right now.

But why? Wikis can be the John Q. Public version of web content management, suitable for situations where you want a simple, easy way for people to create web pages about important bits of shared content. For example, I have a Wiki page for product management here at Xythos, because I need to explain and link to content from a variety of sources. Sure, I could create an enterprise portal infrastructure, aggregating content via web services into a decision-maker's dashboard, customized for each viewer--but why would I do that, if all I want to do is show everything the PM department is doing?

Before getting swept into the psychology of the crowd, it's important to pose some harder questions. Alan Pelz-Sharpe of CMS Watch has some deliciously contrarian things to say about Wikis. I suggest you read the comments, too, for some thoughtful reactions.

I'll say this about Wikis, after a couple of years' experience using them:

• As with all web content, their value depends on the freshness and relevance of the content they contain.
• Therefore, Wikis can be a great tool, or just another regular task on your daily to-do list.
• As with other Web 2.0 collaboration tools, Wikis are more valuable when hooked into other collaborative technology. For example, a Wiki without a forum doesn't seem to make sense to me.
• The more content creation can be automated, such as through RSS feeds, the sweeter life will be as a Wiki author.

Use case forums

Here's a logical trail to follow:

• We've been answering a lot of questions about use cases with our technology. That's the main reason for the white papers and videos I've been publishing.
• However, the number of use cases is always going to be larger than our current set of support materials.
• Therefore, we need to provide a way for customers and partners to ask questions about use cases, rather than waiting for us to publish white papers, demos, and the like.

Our solution: The forums here on developer.xythos.com now have a section dedicated to use cases. We've already had our first questions posted, less than a day after we started the forums. We're glad to answer your questions, too.

Institutional repositories and Xythos

The institutional repository white paper is finally here. (Actually, it's right here.) It's designed to answer the following questions:

• What options exist for using the Xythos server (whatever flavor) and desktop technology in an institutional repository?
• What are the pros and cons of each option?
• Which Xythos features are important for these options?
• Which version of the server--Enterprise Document Manager, Digital Locker, or WebFile Server--best fits each scenario?
• How much customization, if any, might be necessary?

The white paper makes special reference to DSpace, which probably the most popular institutional repository tool. As always, your feedback is cordially invited.

National Science Foundation guidelines

Here's the research note about automating compliance with National Science Foundation (NSF) retention guidelines. I alluded to it in an earlier post; now we have the official version. If you want a file with the import/export XML described in the appendix, click here to download it.

New use case video: human resources

I've just finished the latest "use case" video. This time, we're showing how to use Xythos technology to handle common tasks in human resources.

I added something a little different this time, a few choice words about integration with other IT components. LDAP, storage, portals--there are a lot of quick and easy mechanisms to integrate us in profound ways. Everything I show in this video works out of the box, so we're not discussing any integration that requires coding.

I'm taking a break from recording these videos. Here's a brief recap of what we have so far:

Research support, part I (video, PPT)

• How can the Xythos server and desktop technologies help the pre-grant process move long successfully?
• What are some situations in which you might want the Enterprise Document Manager instead of the Digital Locker?

Research support, part II (video, PPT)

• How can our technologies help manage intellectual property and automate post-grant rules?
• When would you make the step into the new records management features in Xythos Enterprise Document Manager 6.0?

Internal financial controls (video, PPT)

• How can our server and desktop technologies help organizations comply with financial standards like Sarbanes-Oxley?
• When would you make the step into the new records management features in Xythos Enterprise Document Manager 6.0?

Human resources (video, PPT)

• How can our server and desktop technologies help collect, process, and archive personnel documentation?
• What are some of the important points of integration between the Xythos server and other IT components?

If you have suggestions for other use cases you'd like to see, please send them along.

Use case: internal financial controls

Speaking of use cases--and I'll continue to speak of them quite often--internal financial controls have been a concern since, oh, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Here's a video (81 MB, about 20 minutes in length) I just recorded, showing how to address this class of compliance requirements with our technology."

The video shows how you might use the Enterprise Document Manager and the Xythos Drive. I might have shown document capture through the Drive, or using the Ricoh or Captiva connectors we developed. I might have shown how you might build a custom integration between our server and an ERP system. Heck, I could have gone on and on...but you'll get the basic idea from the video. The approach shown combines what customers have already done to address these sorts of requirements, using older versions of our products, with the new options available in Enterprise Document Manager 6.0.

Bill, Joan, and the National Science Foundation

Sometimes, you can't avoid the weather. This weekend was a case in point. I sat down to write a short, serious research note about how to use Xythos Enterprise Document Manager to address National Science Foundation post-grant guidelines.

The weather was just too damn nice. Instead of the usual sort of white paper, I wrote this. It has the basic information in it, but the format is, well, different. I'll write the real version this week, maybe after the weather turns nasty again.

Straight through the browser

We just published a new project, a web UI plug-in that lets you drag and drop files through the browser. The plug-in is fairly simple Java applet. It's beta quality code, so post any issues or questions you have in the discussion thread for this project.

Why is this project significant?

• It's another way for Macintosh users to get content into the Xythos server. We don't yet have a Macintosh version of the Xythos Drive, but many Mac users just want a way to drag and drop files into the server, without necessarily using the Mac OS implementation of WebDAV.
• It's generally useful. As a Windows user, if I'm working through the browser, I don't want to have to drill into the same folder in Microsoft Explorer to upload several files.
• No desktop configuration is involved at all. Except for the browser's Java settings, obviously.

An aside: We've also been experimenting with a button that would automatically open the same folder you're viewing in the web UI. If you're interested in that customization, speak out in the forums.

Another institutional repository sneak peek

Before I publish the institutional repository white paper I mentioned a few posts ago, I thought I'd share some examples of how to configure the Xythos Enterprise Document Manager to model the metadata for an institutional repository. Here are two important links:

• Sample institutional repository metadata (short).
• Complete metadata model for DSpace (longer).

These are XML files that include all the custom properties needed, plus the document classes that incorporate these attributes. To use these files in a Xythos instance, here's what you do:

1. Download one of these files.
2. Go to the admin UI for the server.
3. Under Tools, select XML Migration > Import.
4. Fill out the form. Be sure to check the boxes for both importing metadata and document classes.
5. Click Start.
6. Log into the instance as a user who can apply document classes to directories. If you're using the sample data from the evaluation version of 6.0, log in as DemoRMO/xythos.
7. Add the newly-created document class to a directory. Make sure that it's the default document class for that folder.
8. Upload a file to that directory.

You'll now see that the Xythos web UI requests the institutional repository metadata. What do you do with it, once someone has entered it? That all depends on how you integrate the Xythos server with the institutional repository...which the white paper will explain in depth.

Workflow by any other name...

Since I've spent the last several months talking about our 6.0 release, I've learned how important it is to position the information lifecycle management features correctly. They're not exactly a separate feature, but an adjunct to an existing feature, workflow.

That statement is true at the platform level, since both the "approval and routing" (non-records management) and disposition rule (records management) features are built on the same workflow engine. The statement also applies at the user experience level, within the Enterprise Document Manager 6.0 application. An approval and routing workflow of the Would you please take a look at this? variety is much the same as the Can you please archive or delete this record now? workflow. From the user's perspective, they're both to-do items. Therefore, they both appear in the user's My Tasks section of the web UI.

As we build new workflow enhancements into either part of the system, RM or non-RM, we'll continue to keep the "everything in the same to-do list" model that I'm describing.

Questions about institutional repositories

We've had a lot of questions in the last year about how we fit into institutional repository solutions. How can we contribute content to an application like DSpace? Are there scenarios in which the Xythos server might be the institutional repository? How do the new features in the 6.0 version help, in either case?

I'm working on a white paper outlining some options for including the Xythos server (WebFile Server, Digital Locker, or Enterprise Document Manager) in institutional repositories. Look for an announcement of it here in the next week or two.

Right after that, I'm writing a similar white paper about e-portfolios.

Sponsored research support with Xythos technology

At the user group meeting, we showed the latest release of Xythos Enterprise Document Manager 6.0 as a tool for sponsored research. There are a lot of tasks before applying for a grant, and after receiving grant money, where the tools we provide can make life easier for principal investigators and the people who support them. We recorded these demos, which are available at the following links:

• Part I: Pre-grant support
• Part II: Post-grant support

The demos include everything from basic collaboration ("Hey, is this a good idea for a research project?") to tougher records management-like situations ("How long does the National Science Foundation require me to keep these documents?").

The files are large (in the 50-70 MB range), so apologies for the large download. Once I get more proficient with the video capture tool I'm using, I'll squeeze these files down to smaller sizes. All feedback is welcome--just click my name at the bottom of this post to send me an e-mail.

User group meetings

We just finished the Xythos user group meetings in San Francisco, Milwaukee, Boston, and Washington, DC. We heard from our customers what they're doing, and plan to do, with our products. We also shared our ideas for upcoming releases and received valuable feedback on future directions.

Speaking of feedback, we have a new e-mail ID, feedback@xythos.com, for sending us your comments about our products. By all means, send us your ideas about where we might go with our technology.

Thanks to everyone who attended the user group meetings. We hope it was a useful session for all of you.