Intranet Portals for Universities

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• Intranet Portals for Universities
• Application Integration and Effective
  Communication

Dr. Norbert Jesse University of
Dortmund norbert.jesse_at_udo.edu
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Agenda

• Portals
• Motivation and Objectives
• Mode of Operation
• Integration
• Distribution
• Workflow
• Communication
• Realisation

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What is a Portal?

• Brings together content from diverse distributed
  resources
• Using technologies such as cross-searching,
  harvesting, and alerting
• Collate this into an amalgamated form for
  presentation
• Usually via web browser
• For users possibly personalized, single point of
  access

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Definition (Source SAP AG)

• An enterprise portal makes information, services
  and applications company-wide available - also
  merging heterogeneous system.
• The objective is to optimise company-wide
  co-operation and to improve the ability to make
  excellent and efficiency decisions.
• Furthermore, the portal shall bring all the
  available information and tools to an individual
  under one user interface according to his special
  needs.

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A Companys Perspective
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University of Dortmund Structure
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The Problem

• Universities are complex institutions with (at
• least) 3 action levels Administration,
  Faculty,
• Institute/Chair
• - Teaching, Research, Administration
• Our Customers Students
• Staff in some ways autonomous
• Complex Workflows

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Objectives

• Strategic Objectives
• to deliver the relevant, integrated data for the
  decision making process (Cockpit, Dashboard, MIS)
• to tighten and optimise workflows and
  communication
• to optimise the work from the perspective of the
  user simple and easy-to-use user-interface
• to collect the available knowledge
  systematically store and retrieve easily
• Save money and time

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Objectives

• Technical Objectives
• Integration of Content-, Document- and Knowledge
  Management
• Groupware-Functions (Calendar, Task list, )
• Integration of Applications
• Web-adaptation of propriety systems
• Systematic and local document management (Excel
  list of absence, Access IT-administration,
  HTML FAQs etc.)
• Home of future applications, esp. smaller
  systems

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ETH Zurich A Vision

• Decision to make all the central business
  processes completely accessible via the web
• - end-to-end online support for all academic
  processes for students, faculty and central staff
• - production of comprehensive catalogue of all
  courses which can be searched according to
  various criteria
• - realisation of a database of completed and
  current research projects (tool for knowledge
  exchange)
• - electronically supported processes for
  submission of research requests and their
  internal processing

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PORSCHE House of Knowledge
Holistic Approach to Knowledge Management Men
and Women Organization Technology
House of Knowledge
Knowledge Storage-Platform
IT-Platform
Search Engine
Technology Organization Men and Women
Specific purpose knowledge forum
Project database
Literature database
Seminar and conference database
CAD Drawings archives
Yellow Pages
Culture of Enterprise and Management
Integration and Communications
Non-monetary indices
Visions and Strategies
Corporate Consciousness
Roles and Coordination
Knowledge Management at Porsche Engineering
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• - Mode of Operation -

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History of Portals

• 1.Generation another form of glittering
  booklet made by a creative agency regular
  re-launch" with new content.
• 2.Generation update of content with help of a
  CMS structured data (title, teaser, picture,
  text, validity period etc.)
• 3.Generation integration of business
  transactions, workflows, data from other vendors'
  systems a central cockpit of the company

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History of Portals

• Problem" of the 1. Generation update of the
  data changes often depending on the support of
  the agency.
• Problem" of the 2. Generation re-engineering of
  the workflow new workflows must be programmed.
• 3. Generation aiming at the greatest possible
  independence regarding both changes of data and
  workflows.

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3rd Generation Portals
Publication (1st Generation)
Applications workflows (workflow engines)
User, rights management personalisation Data
management, version control etc. Integration
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Differences Intranets vs. the Internet
Intranets Internet
Proprietary information Public information
Aimed at employees Aimed at outsiders
Collaborative communications Financial transactions
Process oriented Sales and marketing oriented
Transforms organizations Transforms customer/sales cycle
Emphasis on work groups, teams and intradepartmental flow Emphasis on single point of contact with the orgasnisation and user profiling
Creates a learning organization Creates brand awareness
Needs to be highly decentralized Needs to be highly centralized
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Mode of Operation

• Integration of Data
• - integration of relevant data sources and
  consolidation of the data
• Distribution of Data
• - distribution of the data to all relevant
  individuals at the right time
• Workflows
• - processing of the data under clearly
  defined condition by responsible individuals
• Communication
• - communicate and document whenever necessary

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Data Integration
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Data Integration
Kommunikation (EMail, Fax, Brief, ...)
Services (Library, Media Centre, ...)
UniversityPortal
Special Software (Office Space Mgmt., Enrolment,
...)
ERP (SAP, Navision, ...)
MS Office (Excel, Access, ...)
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Data Integration

• Structured Data
• Usually stored in a database, e.g. Oracle, SQL
  Server, DB2, MySQL, PostgreSql,
• Data are structured in arrays with special
  relationship to one another (student, employee,
  main contact person, offer etc.)
• Complex searching possible, e. g. all students
  from PO-area xyz with semesters gt 9 in 2004,
  without examination abc
• Systems like ERP / Accounting Systems, Address
  Databases, CRM, employees data, Procurement
  Database etc.

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Data Integration

• Un- and Semi-Structured Data
• Usually stored in a File, e. g. Word-Document,
  PDF, Chart, Image etc.
• If necessary, enriched with structured data (e.
  g. metadata, students and / or project
  classification)
• full-text retrieval functionality necessary
• File system, Document Management (DMS), Content
  Management System (CMS)

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Mode of Operation

• Integration of Data
• - integration of relevant data sources and
  consolidation of the data
• Distribution of Data
• - distribution of the data to all relevant
  individuals at the right time
• Workflows
• - processing of the data under clearly
  defined condition by responsible individuals
• Communication
• - communicate and document whenever necessary

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Data Distribution

• Employees
• Students
• Examinations

• Co-operating Inst.
• Supply Management
• Ministry of Edu. Etc.

• Research
• Press / Media

Intranet
Extranet
Internet
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Data Distribution

• Portals are based on Web-Technologies, i.e.
• Access via Web-Browser no special software
  required
• Internet connectivity (WLAN, UMTS) sufficient
• All further restrictions are essential part of
  the rights management
• Objective access via one system and segmentation
  with respect to Internet, Extranet, Intranet
  (etc.) by rights management

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Mode of Operation

• Integration of Data
• - integration of relevant data sources and
  consolidation of the data
• Distribution of Data
• - distribution of the data to all relevant
  individuals at the right time
• Workflows
• - processing of the data under clearly
  defined condition by responsible individuals
• Communication
• - communicate and document whenever necessary

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Workflow Oral Examination

• Outmoded workflow
• Student asks examiner for exam. date
• Student goes to exam. office to ask for reg. form
• Student goes to examiner examiner signs the
  form
• Student brings form to exam. office
• Exam. office mails exam. questionnaire to
  examiner
• After exam. examiner sends questionnaire to
  exam. office

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Workflows

• Portal substitute paper-based workflows, e.g.
• Application for leave
• Application for reimbursement of travel expenses
• Appropriation requests
• Procurement, e.g. IT-Equipment
• Student enrolment
• Project management
• Meetings invitations with agenda, compilation
  and distribution of minutes

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Workflows

• Besides the data storage aspect complete
  workflows will be affected and represented
  electronically
• Example apply for leave
• Employee apply for leave
• (Direct?) superior approve holiday (checking
  collisions etc.)
• Proxy provide information to the proxy (e.g. if
  direct superior is not available)
• Where required approval by the
  Faculty/Department
• Necessary Communication (and documentation of
  the interaction)!

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Mode of Operation

• Integration of Data
• - integration of relevant data sources and
  consolidation of the data
• Distribution of Data
• - distribution of the data to all relevant
  individuals at the right time
• Workflows
• - processing of the data under clearly
  defined condition by responsible individuals
• Communication
• - communicate and document whenever necessary

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Communication

• Example application for leave
• Information about this application absolutely
  necessary
• Push-Approach superior receives an E-Mail and
  goes via Link to approval/disapproval
• Pull-Approach superior sees on his home
  (intranet-) page a list of still-to-decide topics
• If necessary he has to call back the employee to
  clarify things the communication can take place
  separately (E-Mail, Phone) or within the system
  (Notice, Messenger)

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Communication

• Modes of communication
• Forum
• Messenger / Chat
• Notice in writing, News(letter)
• Poll / questioning
• Additional advantage Documentation -
• Content stored and ready for retrieval, e. g.
  for project team or whoever is involved

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Mode of Operation

• Integration of Data
• Integrate all relevant data sources and
  consolidate the data
• Distribution of Data
• Make available all data to the relevant persons,
  anytime

• Workflows
• Handle the data in a defined state in a sequence
  of persons
• Communication
• Support and document all the required information
  / communication

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Example Platform for Collaboration

• The essential point networking of people
• Team calendar, Project plans
• Joint project management including task
  description and checking of efforts (time, money)
• Storage of all project related documents
• Communication via project forum, news etc.
  (instead of E-Mail)
• Access to all versions of documents, procedure
  version control, including external partners

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Nice Side-effect

• Platform for floating business tasks
• Business tasks where no dedicated software is
  available or not a reasonable buy
• Solved usually with Excel or Access accepting
  all the well-known problems
• Examples differ according the size of the
  institutions contract management, administration
  of keys, list of phone no., documentation of
  accidents, company-wide creativity competition,
  QM-Book, visitor management (reception)

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• - Realisation -

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Tools for Realisation

• Individual Programming
• Based on Application Server e. g.. J2EE based
• WebSphere Application Server
• related Software
• e.g. Notes/Domino
• dedicated Software
• Plumtree
• Intrexx Xtreme

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Technology a Critical Issue
Reduction

• Software-Basis
• Nothing (LAMP, J2EE, ...)
• Database
• CMS (Pironet, Vignette, Gauss)
• Rights Management, ...
• Groupware (Domino/Exchange)
• Communication, ...
• Standard Software (Intrexx)
• Template, Application Designer, ...

Factor 2-3
Factor 2-3
Factor 2-3
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Development Process Waterfall
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Development Process Spiral Model
NextGeneration
a) Analysis
b) Design
c) Implemen-tation
d) Test Evaluation
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• Thank you for your attention !

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Potencials / Users Perspective

• Potentials for Rationalisation
• Workflows
• Matching of data / Quality of Data
• Communication
• Fees for software (e.g. ERP-systems)
• Software development process
• Rollout of dedicated software / Teaching

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• - Applications, Benefits, Potentials -

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ETH Zurich

• High-performance and flexible ICT infrastructure
  an important success factor in global competition
  
• - universal, cable-linked network
• - Identity Management System (for students and
  employees)
• - ample provision with hard- and software
  guaranteeing easy access to information sources
  and electronic services for all ETH members

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Realisation

• Software (Sample)
• SAP Enterprise Portal
• Oracle eBusiness Suite
• Intrexx Xtreme Portal Server
• IBM WebSphere Portal Server
• Microsoft SharepointPortal Server
• Plumtree
• Lotus Notes / Domino

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Intrexx Xtreme Architektur
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Architecture, Example (Source Pironet)
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Example Intrexx Xtreme

• Fundamentals
• Environment for flexible, easy design,
  implementation and running of portals
• 500.000 user, approx., gtgt1.000 customer
• Strong potentials to integrate the
  IT-infrastructure
• Main principle template-based application
  development
• Rigid use of standards
• Roll-based user administration and
• personalisation

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Intrexx Xtreme Basic Approach

• Principle Software assembled instead of
  programming application building from
  modules
• Powerful application designer (forms, complex
  fields, reports, graphical presentation) enables
  very fast development
• Tool box up-gradable (Java/XML)
• gt to build in extremely short time
  Prototyp-solutions and define transparent
  specifications of the wanted system

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Example
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Example
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Example
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Example
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Intrexx Xtreme Moduls (Sample)

• CRM
• Resource Management (Meeting Rooms )
• Document Management
• Application for Leave
• Internal Procurement
• Project Management
• Contract Management
• Help-Desk
• Image Database
• Archive
• Reports (Visitors, etc.)
• Car Management

• Asynchronous one-way Communication Distribution
  of News und latest news to well-defined groups
• Asynchronous double-sided Communication Forum
• Synchronous double-sided Communication Instant
  Messaging / Chat and News
• FAQ
• Time Monitoring
• Reporting / Report Generation

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How to Start

• Project Definition and Typical Realisation
• Start up Workshop
• Contract and requirement specification instead
  of verbal description a first prototype to
  clarify specifications and support communication
• Modular project design with immediate feedback
• Kick Off Workshop for user (Human Integration)
• ...

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Project Philosophy

• Recommendations
• Start small, then grow
• But requires a kind of tool box-approach!
• Anyhow take the requirements of tomorrow into
  account
• Sane (!) pragmatism usually pays off
• Considered growing needs in your concept
• Grow iteratively ask the employees with a
  questionnaire (e.g. online)

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Problem

• Approach is typical for monolithic project, but
  not appropriate for dynamic, modular portal
  building
• Requirements change frequently
• many increments (increasing acceptance of the
  portal)
• adjust bad planning (Status Quo doesnt meet the
  real needs)
• responsible individuals change or organisational
  change (merging, acquisition, )
• workflow changes or optimisation necessary
• changes in the field of the integrated software

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Typical Costs

• Relevant .
• License Fees for Basic Software
• Support / Maintainance for Basic Software
• Customizing / Development
• Integration
• Hardware Investment
• Cost of Ownership
• Start-up Costs / Training etc.

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Sources of Knowledge

• about 42 in employees brains
• about 26 in paper documents
• about 20 in electronic documents
• about 12 in electronic knowledge databases

Where is the expert? How can I find him? Who has
previously worked in this field? What were his
or her experiences? Where can I read about
that? ...
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KM is More Urgent than Ever

• Half-life of engineering knowledge about 5 years
• 90 of all scientist ever are living today
• 17 million different chemical compounds
• 20,000 journals about bio-medicine exist
  worldwide
• Firms make use of only 20-40 of available
  information
• IDC-study shows that the big 500 lose 24b a year
• American federal government 36.5b e-mails a year
• Seeking knowledge consumes 35 of working time
• At IBM, 49 departments in 27 different fields are
  analyzing the same competitors

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Global trends

• increasing speed of innovation
• employees mobility growing
• staff reductions
• strategic realignment of the enterprise
• more complex, more intelligent and
  knowledge-based products ...the age of
  intelligent systems...
• business processes and decision-making are
  increasingly based on information
• life-long learning

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Learning ...

• possibility of annotations (private or public)
• asynchronous communication (notes to notes,
  newsgroups, boards etc.)
• synchrounous communication (chat, virtual tutors)
• dynamic teaching (question and answer)
• adaptive systems (completion of the data pool)
• customization (learning styles, personal
  background of experiences, learners/tutors)
• background libraries
• personal workspace
• authoring on the fly
• quality control (tests and checkpoints)

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Interaction of Learning and Knowledge
Shared Knowledge about Problem Solving
Collaborative Technology
Interactive Technology
Knowledge Transfer / Skill Acquisition
Distributive Technology
Information Transfer / Reproduction
Instruction centered Learner centered Team
centered
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The starting point (W)H-Questions

• Where are the knowledge carriers for this
  business process located?
• How do these knowledge carriers collaborate? How
  do they handle their knowledge?
• What other employees are also in need of this
  knowledge?
• How can this knowledge be edited for others?
• Which knowledge categories allow for the easiest
  access?
• How can other employees retrieve this knowledge?
• Which knowledge is missing?
• How can knowledge be filtered in order to prevent
  overload?

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The Building Blocks of KM
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• Knowledge targets
• determine a direction of knowledge
  management activities
• (normative, strategic, operative)
• Knowledge identification
• Defining the relevance of internal and
  external information (criteria!)
• Knowledge acquisition
• Acquisition strategies are necessary for
  the acquisition e.g. of
• shareholder knowledge
• Knowledge of external knowledge carriers
  (recruitment of experts)
• Knowledge products (software, patents,
  CD-ROMs)
• mobile web-agents
• Knowledge development
• Fostering creativity as well as systematic
• problem-solving capabilities

66

• Knowledge distribution
• Who needs to know what and to what extent?
• How should the knowledge be distributed?
• Knowledge use
• Convincing the potential users
• Knowledge maintenance
• Concepts for appropriate storing and
  updating
• Knowledge valuation
• Determining how the attainment of the targets
  can be
• assessed or evaluated (operationalization of
  targets)

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Instruments and Measures
Building Blocks Instruments and Measures
Knowledge identification Yellow Pages Knowledge map
Knowledge acquisition and Knowledge develoment Knowledge brokers Cooperation Recruitment External consultants Acquisition of knowledge products
Knowledge distribution Employee training Job-rotation
Knowledge use Incentives Communities of Practice Systematic further training Job-rotation
Knowledge conservation Knowledge manager / Knowledge employee Internal consulting Mentoring programs Documentation of important processes Lessons learned Electronic brain
Knowledge valuation Balanced Scorecard
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WM in der Organisation
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Methoden und Werkzeuge
Debriefing
IT für WM
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Requirements Modular Components

• Ein Intranet sollte stets aus Bausteinen
  zusammengesetzt werden und keine monolithische
  Struktur haben Informationen sind vernetzt!
• Vorteile
• Controllability
• Use of Templates
• Gradual Expandability
• Simple (with respect to Design and Usage)
• Openness (for Expansions, Supplements, )
• Distributed Responsibility etc.
• Start small, then grow

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Thank you for your attention !
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Managing Knowledge From Theory to Practice
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The problem
We drown in information, but we are thirsty for
knowledge !
John Naisbitt
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Anforderung Modularer Aufbau

• Moderne Software für die Entwicklung von
  Intranets bietet entsprechende Building Blocks
  an (Vorlagen, Puzzle Steine, Schablonen)
• Diese Vorlagen müssen anpassbar sein
• Optischer Zuschnitt auf CI
• Rechtestrukturen
• Datenstrukturen und Erfassungsmasken
• Workflows
• Freie Programmierung

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Definitions ?

• Knowledge Management
• refers to organizing and administrating the
  complete knowledge of an organization.
• must be geared towards the goals of the
  organization and should help to attain these
  goals.

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Knowledge problems at SMEs
Lack of strategies and lack of transfer from business goals to knowledge goals Little documentation of knowledge Little exchange of knowledge Lack of techniques for acquiring external knowledge Lacking integration of knowledge management into everyday work Retiring experts leave huge gaps Little utilization of decentral knowledge bases Unstructured data stock Over-valuation of IT Lacking use of existing IT Lack of overall view about KM technology Little support by the company management Lack of incentive systems Inadequate culture of errors and lacking cross-border communication Inability and fear of sharing Lacking preservation of precious knowledge Lacking valuation of knowledge Lacking guidelines or standards
Source KPMG, BWT
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Goals of Knowledge Management

• provide the necessary knowledge at the relevant
  time in adequate quantity to the right persons
  (it should facilitate knowledge sharing)
• develop an integrated IT-System which taps the
  enterprise-specific core knowledge from internal
  and external sources of information, structures
  and administrates it and thus supports the
  development of new knowledge

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Goals of Knowledge Management

• provide the necessary knowledge at the relevant
  time in adequate quantity to the right persons
  (it should facilitate knowledge sharing)
• develop an integrated IT-System which taps the
  enterprise-specific core knowledge from internal
  and external sources of information, structures
  and administrates it and thus supports the
  development of new knowledge

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The Staircase of Knowledge
Competitiveness
Competence
Strategic Knowledge Management
acting right
Action
willingness
Capability
connection to applications
Knowledge
networking (context, expe- riences,
expectations)
Information
meaning
Data
Data, Information and Knowledge
Management (operative)
syntax
Source KPMG, BWT
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Motivation

• Information requirements
• Meaningful and precise
• Up-to-date
• Employees, students and supplier
• Not depending on technical systems
• Accepting the given rights within the institution
• Rights to read and write
• Access as easy as possible
• Enterprise Portal
• Must be the solution to these requirements !!!!!