IRAP March 1996 Status Report
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ON-LINE (UMOL)
Accounting and Billing: A number of meetings have been held with the Operations Management team regarding accounting and billing issues. UMOL's business requirements of the Accounting and Billing System(ABS) were provided to OM. UMOL's credit card responsibilities are being investigated by representatives from Financial Operations as National Bank of Detroit(NBD). Meetings were also held with PD&D's business manager to review UMOL's accounting and billing plans, issues raised are being addressed by UMOL and OM staff.
In order to be more competitive, UMOL increased the number of hours included in basic in state package from 5 to 10. Out of state pricing is under discussion.
As of March 29 the ITD accounts office has received 78 UMOL applications.
Dial-in: A national dial in option, ADP via Merit, is scheduled to be available May 1st. The option is sub optimal, ADP's modems are 14.4 and do not offer direct PPP, the PPP issue will require adding a script to the software kit. In an effort to explore future alternative options, a meeting was held with Diane Baker to discuss UMOL using IBM's Advantis network. IBM is preparing a proposal.
Support: In a series of meetings with 4-help management, UMOL subscriber support requirements were discussed, a level of support was agreed upon. Support coverage and overall service will be reviewed at scheduled intervals--initially 30/60/90 days.
Communications: A toll free number for account inquires was installed ---888-umonlin. UMOL has requested it be changed to 88-umonline, the number will not be advertised until the umonlin vs umonline issue is resolved. Significant plans have been developed to promote UMOL to spring graduates. Specific promotional items include a UMOL banner, bus signs, mailings, and flyers. Arrangements are underway to distribute UMOL kits in conjunction with Senior week activities.
Technical: Initial steps in establishing an authenticated UMOL web space have been successfully completed. Development of personal web pages is progressing. Review of the contents of the UMOL software kit continues, an application -- Ulaw/Ulawplay has been dropped from the mac kit.
Team members, with assistance of AOP staff, have had numerous discussions with potential UMOL content providers. A UMOL web site architecture has been developed and work is underway to have three to five content areas available in a secure space on May 1. Meetings and or conversations regarding content have been held with the Law School, Athletic Department, LS&A Development, Career Planning and Placement, Alumni Association, and SILS. A UMOL Service Level Agreement prototype is being developed, the initial customer will be the Athletic department. UMOL plans to use the document as a starting point for discussions with potential content providers regarding support.
UMOL team members: Carrie Edlund, Linda Green, Brian Vaughan, Ellen Vaughan (EV)
A subgroup continues work on predefined queries attached to buttons (with built-in prompts) for Round 1. A tuning phase still awaits the developers as new canned queries are developed. The weekly refresh now successfully loads tables from Rounds 1 and 2. Validation of the Round 2 tables continues in the Development Office. Centrally-funded development of the PowerBuilder front-end to the Round 1 dataset in the Business School and the Development Office proceeds apace. Work on data training, GQL training, and front-end training also continues. Plans continue to call for completion of development of Rounds 1 and 2 by the end of this fiscal year. Discussions on funding for 96-97 are still in progress. (PB)
CAMPUS WIDE DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM
MUSEUM EDUCATIONAL SITE LICENSE (MESL) PROJECT
The MESL implementation is part of our overall digital library development effort which is a collaborative undertaking of the Information Technology Division, the School of Information, and the University Library. This report focuses on the MESL effort in ITD. The URL is http://mesl.itd.umich.edu/
Distribution: The redistribution process is now complete and preparation for the next full distribution is underway. The full distribution will begin in May and is scheduled to be complete by mid-June 1996.
A web page for the MESL Documentation and Distribution Working Group (consortium wide) is being developed. It will convey information about current activities of the group. John Weise agreed to do this as the co-chair of the working group. Most importantly, it will inform participants of the distribution process and schedule.
Michigan's distribution effort is expected to cost twice as much as was anticipated for the two year pilot. Negotiations with the Getty Art History Information Program are underway to see if additional funds are available. The unanticipated costs are largely due to the necessity to deal with unexpected museum data inconsistencies.
Instructional Use: Cara List (SI graduate student) is leading the development of a survey for Professor Diane Kirkpatrick's HA 272 class, which has been using the MESL system this term. Cara will seek guidance from the School of Information's Art History Image Database project, which is in the evaluation stages now. The primary goal is to gather some feedback on the students' experience for our own edification.
John Weise made a presentation about MESL data complexities and interface issues to C. Olivia Frost's School of Information class (ILS 626).
Web System: The organization and high level documentation of the system is being updated. Processing of multiple resolutions for all images is almost complete. Web pages on the development system are being revised to incorporate the new images accessible. The changes will be moved to production in April.
Maria Bonn (SI graduate student) has rewritten and organized the MESL home page in order to make it more readable, and to provide more background information about the project. Next, she will prepare a document that provides detailed instructions on how to get started using the MESL system. This document will be online, but will also be usable as a handout in classes and workshops.
Publicity: The display cases in the North Lobby of the Hatcher Graduate Library are hosting an exhibit about the U-M Digital Library Projects. MESL is included. Materials were provided by the ITD team to Pat Hodges and a graphic designer who assembled the display.
Pat Hodges (Library) wrote an article for "Initiatives in Digital Information". It is online at the following URL http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/IDINews/mesl.html
Content Selection: Content selection for the final MESL distribution is now complete and museums are preparing images and data to be distributed to academic institutions in May. Peggy Daub (Library), Cara List (School of Information), Diane Kirpatrick, and John Weise all made a valiant effort to pull together content suggestions at the last minute. This effort should have been started up sooner in order to include more faculty.
MESL ITD Team: Zoe Gurevich, Andrew Inman, Gail Lift, Sean Sweda, John Weise (JW)
The Core Journals project is a partnership with UMI deploying around 1000 core journal titles in all disciplines in image format, linking them with Wilson Indexes in MIRLYN and putting in place the necessary structure for printing, accounting, and billing.
| March 1996 Core Journals statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Articles Requested | 12506 |
| Total Successful Prints | 11837 |
| Total Pages Printed | 61435 |
| Average Article size (pages) | 5.19 |
| Total Unsuccessful attempts | 669 |
| Test printing (i.e. printer=none) | 2 |
(NG)
The Financial Tables Change Group (FTCG) reconvened on 03/28/96 for the first time since the Statement of Account rollout in March, 1995, in response to the Data Availability Plan Committee's recent authorization to proceed with work to incorporate Service Unit Billing (SUB) into the existing financial tables. SUB tables were developed in Oracle through a separate project within Financial Operations in December, 1995, and, given ongoing interest in having this information available in Data Access, the FTCG is carrying out the tasks necessary to include it in the data warehouse. The financial GQL diagram has already been updated to include SUB. FTCGers will test the SUB dataset over the next two weeks from a departmental perspective. Support structures (data dictionary, financial data class) will be revised to include SUB. FTCG plans also include enabling the GQL split model feature and adding the online data dictionary tables. A timeline for completion of current FTCG activities is being developed. Testing of the payroll dataset is complete. Canned queries have been finalized and added to the GQL diagram. Subgroup members are now focused on tasks related to rolling out the dataset to the university community, the target date for which is 06/30/96. A pilot of the payroll data class will be conducted in mid-May for the subgroup, ITD adminstrative consultants, and Payroll Office staff, who will be supporting the dataset. The payroll data dictionary tables are scheduled to be available by the end of April for testing. A one-time user forum, to be held sometime after the official university rollout, is planned to showcase the payroll dataset. The Official Third Week Count (O3WC) tables have been moved to the production server. Final implementation of indexes is targeted for 03/29/96. The data dictionary is complete. The Registrar's Office (RO) is planning an O3WC rollout to selected members of the user community on 04/16/96. Degree information has been added to the dynamic student dataset and population of the dataset modified to comply with a previous Student Data Subgroup (SDS) decision on the contents. SDS members continue to test the dataset. A need for data and GQL training on the part of subgroup members themselves has recently been identified. Two ID Card project tables will be added to the GQL diagram to allow linking Student Identification Numbers with uniqnames and UMIDs. Plans still call for a rollout of the dynamic student dataset to a first group of users in June/July. The Human Resource dataset has now been fully backloaded with data back to 1978. Two new canned queries related to tenure have been tested and added to the GQL diagram. Two ID Card project tables will be added to the GQL diagram to allow linking Social Security Numbers with uniqnames and UMIDs. Personnel Data Subgroup (PDS) members are now testing the backloaded dataset, based on a test plan developed this month. The target for completion of all changes and testing is still 06/30/96. The procurement subgroup continues to automate the refresh process and develop canned queries and training. A timeline for completing the dataset and rolling it out has been drafted for consideration by the subgroup on 03/29/96. All work is slated for completion this fiscal year. The Data Availability Plan Committee (DAPC) continues to oversee the efforts of the subgroups as well as the integration of differently-funded datasets into the warehouse. Progress continues to be made on developing the access/compliance database (for tracking requests for access, attendance at training, signing of compliance forms, etc.). The UIS "TechDev" group continues to meet to share information, develop standards, and ensure consistency among the datasets. Concern was expressed by some GQL users regarding the lack of upfront notice for the annual maintenance fee announced last month and the purpose of such a fee. Clarification is being sought. (PB)
Reorganizational work: Reassignment of all the DSS jobs has been completed accept for two internal DSS job numbers (0340 & 0209) which still need to be taken care of. Both have an account number of 952450. Many jobs, programs, filenames, etc. need to be reassigned before job 0209 can be closed. More research needs to be completed before job 0340 can be closed.
One-Time Data Delivery Services: There continues to be a total of 2 jobs (contract programming) currently in progress. (CE)
IRAP One-Time Data Delivery Services: Received 1 new request this month. This now leaves us with a total of 10 external jobs and 6 internal jobs currently in progress. (CE)
We are currently working with Rackham to convert their current Gopher content to the Web.
There were 44,117 GOpherBLUE client sessions over the period 02/21/95 to 03/20/95. Total gopher calls for the period were 462931. Total Gopher file accesses for the period were 358,664. The most accessed Gopher resources were:
| X.500 | 151,263 | (42.17%) |
| Ann Arbor Jobnet | 98,865 | (27.56%) |
| All Others | 108,536 | (30.26%) |
(BV)
The WWW version of Wolverine Access is scheduled to move to the production server this weekend. All programs have been converted to C. The SRVTAB process has been added into the CRISPinfo transaction, however the DIVISIONLIST and COURSELIST programs still need to be updated to convert to the SRVTAB process. The ADDRESS transaction has been completed except for one minor mail address issue which we are discussing with Student Accounting. The Address mainframe applications needed to be changed because RO requested that the IN CARE OF line be removed from all screens because the SCDB UHOUSING flag was not being set on Family housing addresses. Also made a temporary minor change to the Academic Report transaction - Nulls (in SCDB data) were causing problems with some students reports on the WEB, where only part of it would display. The mainframe'Bag' routines will be changed to permanently correct this situation. Program documentation remains to be completed as well as some overall system documentation. The reboot procedures have been completed as well as the server report processing scripts. The operations procedures should be completed soon. Web server statistics taken this month show the following breakdown:
| CRISP info | 6888 |
| CRISP appt | 2554 |
| GRADES | 3245 |
| SCHEDULE | 1544 |
| ACAD RPT | 2103 |
| ACCOUNT | 1587 |
| DSBD AID | 883 |
| ADDRESS update | 130 |
These statistics show the number of hits against the Web transaction screens, it does not indicate how many students have accessed the system. The figures do not show the number of hits to screens not related to actual transactions (such as the 'About WA' screen and the 'WA home page')
User testing continues on the student transcript project. Completed a few minor code changes. Difficulties that were encountered last month with the client software, where only 15-30 EDI/SPEEDE records where being received, has been resolved. Revised timeline again due to software difficulties, ITD resource availability and RO added new requirement (add TSPRINT capability). We are planning moving phase 1.0 to production by March 29. Phase 1.2 & 1.3 are expected to start shortly after (after estimates are approved).
Maintenance has started on the Wolverine Access ID Card process. The need for many minor changes and some major system revisions has been identified. Program modifications are in process.
Office of Financial Aid web pages and program specifications were reviewed and approved by OFA and transaction development has begun. All mainframe application programs have been written and compiled. Web development is excepted to begin on April 1.
A preliminary plan was developed for the Diploma Request System and is being reviewed by the Office of the Registrar.
The Payroll Office has decided to wait on the sick & vacation accrual transaction for Wolverine Access due to their plans to focus their resources on the peoplesoft endeavor. (CE)
Work in March focused around 3 main areas: current projects, future planning, and team organization. Susan Greider joined the group as full-time temporary staff, having done Web work previously for the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science.
We currently have 8 projects w/active black borders:
Chemistry> Bret: The customers are making some internal decisions. Dialogue is in process with Donna Rhe and Prof. Lawton in regards to CHEMSCAPE the new Netscape plugin; Talked with Agnes Soderbeck a few times about the pages.
MI Sea Grant> Sascha: This project is almost complete (will finish up in April). Sascha will be leaving us at the end of this project, as his commitments in other areas have made it difficult to devote time to web work.
Pharmacy> Bret, Susan: Very busy this month, with several new sections added to the site. The original $4500 budget has been extended to $5000 to allow for finishing, and we expect a new black border for additional work shortly. We rolled out several new sections for them including custom forms for admission application requests, an alumni section with a frame/year indexing, conversion/creation of a couple pamphlets into web pages, table of contents as well as a few others.
ITD HTRM> Bret: Carol met with Dale Johnson and a mutual decision was reached not to implement HTML versions of work-planning documents at this time. We did agree to meet in the near future, though, to review and make recommendations about the organization and content of their pages.
Michigan State Strategic Initiative (MSSI)> Bret: they have requested assistance with prototype web pages, funded through AOP. Bret attended an organizational meeting on March 22. They are planning demonstration date in early June. The project will involve several web pages, quicktime movies, a 'usenet style' indexed threaded list, etc. Right now we are in research mode but within the near future they want to have a prototype of the pages in.
U-M Library> Maureen: We are waiting for a response from the Library on mockups we submitted.
U-M Online> Bret, Gordon: Carol and Gordon met several times with U-M Online team members (Carrie, Ellen, Linda) to discuss their needs for support. Gordon is working on secure area and member web-page generation. Bret has been tapped to assist Sandy Ackerman with page design.
Faculty Senate> Sandy W, Maureen P: This project is almost complete, and is now online at http://www.umich.edu/~sacua/
In addition, the following departments have contacted us for assistance:
Development Communications (commencement information): expected info on their web site in March, but haven't heard anything. We will follow up.
Purchasing - would like to develop web-based purchasing interface. Requires secure/authenticated capabilities. Trying to arrange a meeting with them.
Global Leadership - a program affiliated with the B-school. We are awaiting information from them on.
Physics - have had an initial inquiry, with followup expected in March/April.
The business plan for our Web Services offerings is well under way. The pricing issue appears to have been resolved. In order to maximize our opportunities, we are working in parallel on a plan for marketing and communication activities that can occur immediately. Along these lines, Carol has agreed to speak at the ITD Forum for Administrative Computing in May.
We have also started to integrate the Web and Gopher teams. Bret and Brian Vaughan have started a team web page, including a graphics library, at www.umich.edu/~irapweb/. Planning for filling Gordon Good's (large) shoes is also under way.
Several web team members have also met with John Cady and the ITD web page team, and Carol is now a member of the advisory committee for this project. We expect to be actively involved as they develop guidelines for ITD web pages. Investigation of JAVA is underway. (CK)
With assistance from Sandy and Wendy, Carol is formulating a plan for reconstituting the Gateway project with appropriate people from CIC, U-Relations, NIS, etc. in advisory roles. Carol will take the lead and hold a meeting in early April to kick this off.
Susan is learning how to add resources to the Gateway. This month, we linked 32 new resources to the Gateway pages, and have 48 to add to the searchable catalog. Sascha met with Susan to bring her up to speed on adding items to the catalog. Sometime in April, Susan will be handling the Gateway additions completely. (CK)
The www.umich.edu servers experienced no significant dowtime during March 1996. www-personal.umich.edu continues to experience performance problems which appear to be the result of a kernel mbuf leak (first reported in January 1996). Staff time has been very tight recently, so no further investigative work has been performed. In the interim, the servers have been configured to automatically reboot themselves three times per week at 5am.
UM Online: Development of the UM Online authenticated web service is essentially complete, although a few issues remain to be worked out. Specifically, we need to know where (1) a list of UMOL subscriber uniqnames will be located (we are assuming that an AFS protection group will be created) and (2) where we can obtain subscriber information to populate our own subscriber catalog, which will become part of the personal home page service.
Development of the personal home page publishing service for UM Online subscribers is still not complete. A number of issues need to be resolved before the service will be ready.
Academic Outreach: www.outreach.umich.edu is now being hosted on a dedicated Sparc 20, located in the Argus machine room. Accounts have been set up for Outreach staff to begin providing additional content via this server. This server runs Solaris 2.5, AFS 3.4, and NCSA HTTPd 1.5a.
| WEB Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Month | #Requests | #bytes | #hosts |
| January '96 | 18,732,664 | 358,545,339,089 | 665,008 |
| December '95 | 13,364,094 | 258,992,419,569 | 536,452 |
| November '95 | 9,749,451 | 164,247,027,634 | 451,228 |
| October '95 | 10,669,671 | 160,181,841,690 | 460,183 |
| September '95 | 8,132,234 | 111,872,064,548 | 357,320 |
| August '95 | 8,240,662 | 113,630,055,110 | 306,982 |
| July '95 | 11,000,000* | 174,360,700,000* | n/a |
| June '95 | 4,903,622 | 92,222,208,007 | n/a |
| May '95 | 2,035,988 | 45,060,880,744 | 85,068 |
(GG)
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