The BIOPATTERN Web Portal Online User's Guide
Athanasios Anastasiou
Signal Processing And Multimedia Communications Research Group
University of Plymouth
UK
The objectives of the latest revision of the BIOPATTERN web portal are:
To provide a Management Tool that will speed up the process of reporting
To increase the functionality of the web portal
The revised version of the BIOPATTERN web portal is an extension of the older “Groups Area”. Most of the new functionality has been focused around the “Project Planning” option which is now operative and available for each group.
There are still parts of the older web portal that will remain in use for a brief period of time. These are mostly in the “NoE Office” area and minor functions such as the Events and Contacts lists as well as the Publications and eNews web pages. All these are under heavy revision to be made fully functional and effective.
The functionality that is open for evaluation within a small team of the BIOPATTERN NoE partners is addressing the problems of project management and reporting. The application is roughly divided into two parts:
The Data Collection part
The Information Presentation part (Reporting)
The system collects data regarding the efforts of the members of the subproject with a simple Log-And-Review process. This data is later used to create analytic reports at various levels of detail that depict project performance, Person Month calculations, etc. For a detailed overview please refer to the “Overview” section of the User Guide which is available on line at http://www.biopattern.org/Test1/BPUserGuide.html#BPOverview
The evaluation process will possibly have more than one steps as new functionality is added but it is very important to start the Data Collection process as soon as possible.
You are currently asked to report your experience on the data logging and reporting aspects at their present stage. Most of the times you will find that the web pages are self explanatory. Additionally, for the all the new web pages there is a link providing help on the top right hand side of the page. This link reads “Here To Help!” and it takes the user to the appropriate section within the users guide.
To provide your feedback about the BIOPATTERN web portal please use the special online form that can be found by following the link “Report An Issue”. Please note that you may be redirected to this online form automatically when an error condition is met. Therefore please be very specific on the sequence of actions you were performing before the error.
Your comments will help in tailoring the BIOPATTERN web portal to the users needs and provide an effective management tool to the Coordination Team.
The database that the trial version of the web portal is operating upon contains a number of changes and is not in any way connected to the one that the “live” version is using. The “clock has stopped” for the trial database at about 05/2006 so to access the latest versions of some documents you would have to still do it using the “live” version.
You will also notice, that the actual “Groups” are completely changed. This was done in order to match the online view of the project with the recent D29 report. Please review the user membership at your subproject and edit accordingly through the appropriate functions of the web portal. If administrator level is needed, please contact the webmaster at athanasios.anastasiou@plymouth.ac.uk with full details of the person that you want to add in your administrators list.
Finally, the website is best viewed using MS Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher. Compatibility with other browsers is currently under development.
This short guide is organised into sections that explain in detail the new functionality of the web portal. Some processes and functionality mainly concerned with the NoE office will still have to be carried out by parts of the older web application. Note however, that gradually, this functionality will be revised, improved and finaly transferred to the new website.
If after reading this guide, you still have problems carrying out a process on the web portal, please contact the webmaster by email at athanasios.anastasiou@plymouth.ac.uk
BIOPATTERN Web Portal Overview:
All the new functionality of the new BIOPATTERN web portal has been built around the revised structure of the BIOPATTERN NoE:
The Project is standing at the higher level.
A Project is denoted by a blue globe at the Groups Area
Each Project can have a number of Work Packages
Work Packages are denoted by Green Notebooks in the Groups Area
Each Work Package can have a number of Subprojects
A Subproject is denoted by a Blue Notebook in the Groups Area
Each Subproject can have a number of Tasks
Each Task receives a number of Work Log entries from the members of a Subproject and has an Output Type. This Output Type is set by the Project Coordinator and could be something like a Deliverable, Journal Paper, Joint Research, etc .
This data is then used to construct detailed reports showing Person / Months per Task and the overall performance of the Project.
The users have a specific role associated with them. This role determines their access to specific functionality according to the following list:
Project Coordinator
A Project Coordinator is responsible for setting up the structure of the project. This means, setting up the Work Packages, Subprojects, Tasks Per Subproject and setting up the Output Types. A Project Coordinator has access to specific Reports that give a detailed view of the perfomance of the project.
Work Package Coordinator
A Work Package coordinator can potentially set up Subprojects and obtain specfic Reports that show the performance of the Work Package he or she is responsible for.
Subproject Leader
A Subproject Leader can potentially set up Tasks and obtain specific Reports that show the performance of the Subproject he or she is responsible for. A Subproject leader is also responsible for assessing Work Logs of the Subprojects members.
Subproject Member
Subproject members are responsible for updating their Work Logs, preferably on a weekly basis. These items do not appear directly under the Reports that a Project Coordinator is producing, but only after a Subproject Leader has assessed and approved them.
Note: Any of the roles mentioned above can also be a Subproject member to an appropriate subproject in order to log their effort online.
The rest of this guide is organised around each new web page that a user will encounter on the revised BIOPATTERN web portal and the few new processes that are introduced.
The revised login screen of the BIOPATTERN web portal is a typical login screen that expects the user to enter their username and password.
Please Note: If you have forgotten your credentials you can get an email reminder by following the link “Forgotten your password”. You will be taken to a web page were you will be asked for your email and your username and password will be sent there.
This is a typical process of securely providing password reminders to users. You will be asked to type your email and if it is found in the database, meaning that you have valid account with the BIOPATTERN web portal, your username and password will be sent to this email.
This page is the starting point for most of the processes of the revised BIOPATTERN web portal. Whether you are a Project Coordinator, Work Package Coordinator, Subproject Leader, or Subproject Member you will need to select a group at this point.
Note: You can also follow the link “My Groups” in order to take a quick view of all the groups you are part of.
Reporting Bugs and Issues (Report An Issue!)
If you have reached at this web page then either you want to let the webmaster know of an issue you have about the web application, or something has gone terribly wrong with the web application.
In any case please fill in the required fields with as much detail as possible about the problem you have identified and click “Send Feedback”. Upon doing that, you will receive a copy of the email that is sent to the webmaster with a full report of the problem. The webmaster may contact you shortly about this query.
This new web page will present different options to the user depending on their Role and the type of the group they have selected. To briefly remind you , there are 3 types of groups available. These are:
The Project
The Work Package
The Subproject
Project Coordinators
If you are a project coordinator you will be provided with the following options:
Manage Work Packages and Subprojects
Manage Output Types
Manage Reports
Work Package Coordinators
If you are a Work Package coordinator you will be provided with the following options:
Manage Subprojects for this specific Work Package
Subproject Leaders
If you are a Subproject Leader you will be provided with the following options:
Work Log Assessment
Manage Reports
Manage Your Logbook
Subproject Members
If you are a Subproject Member you will be provided with the following options:
Manage your Log Book
Manage Reports
From this web page you can assess the effort that your Subprojects Members, including yourself, have been loging in. This process should be undertaken preferably at weekly intervals.
The webpage is divided into 3 parts. The Subproject's Tasks, The Members Logs and the Recorded Effort.
By selecting a different Subproject Task you can see the Users that have recorded effort under these tasks.
By selecting a particular user you can see their Recorded Effort.
For each Recorded Effort you are given the option to either Approve it or Edit it.
If you choose to Approve a Recorded Effort Item then this will appear in the detailed Project Coordinator's Report and the hours spent will count towards the Person Months totals for this Subprojects.
If you choose to Edit a Recorded Effort Item then this will go into Editing mode and you are given the opportunity to change the title of the entry, the date or most importantly the number of hours that this Subproject Member has recorded. While in editing mode you can choose to:
Cancel, which immediately takes you off the editing mode and discards any changes
Update. which updates the entry with your changes
Delete, which deletes this entry, unconditionally!!!
After this short edit, you can Approve the edited entry.
Note: If you Edit this entry and you don't Approve it, the Subproject Members will be able to see these changes to their entries and discuss about it with you.
Reports provide different levels of information depending on your role and the type of the group you have selected. To briefly remind you, there are 3 types of “Groups”, these are:
The Project
The Work Package
The Subproject
Reports have a unified look and feel and functionality but in general:
A report will have a self explanatory structure with informative headers and two calendars overhead that control which items will appear in the report. These two calendars represent a Time Interval for which a report is obtained.
With this option:
A Project Coordinator can have a detailed view of the project, along with Person Month calculations and time spent at each specific Task for every Subproject and for a specific timespan.
A Subproject Leader can have a detailed view of the distribution of effort for each task of their Subproject for a specific timespan
A Subproject Member can have a detailed view of their Recorded Work Effort and the work they have been doing for a specific Subproject and timespan
This is the part where each member of the project records their effort against specific Tasks.
The web page is divided into two main parts. These are:
The Subproject's Tasks
A New Effort Entry
To log Effort items under a specific Task, you need to select the task from the list on your left and then enter the Description, Date and Number of Hours spent on working on this item. To conclude with your entry, you simply need to press the button reading “Add This Entry!”
Your recent Recorded Effort will enter a queue and wait for Assessment by the Subproject Leader.
This que is directly accessible to you from the list entitled Un-Assessed Entries For The Selected Task. Once you have added an entry to this list, you can still Edit it by pressing the Edit button.
While in Edit mode, you can modify the Description, Date and Number of Hours spent on the selected item. You can also:
Update, which updates the entry with your changes
Cancel, which immediately takes you off the edit mode and back to normal Logbook Management.
Delete, which deletes the entry unconditionally!!!
While at this intermediate state, the Subproject Leader, might suggest changes to a specific entry or discuss any details with you before “Approving” a particular item.
Note: Only when an item is approved by your Subproject Leader, it will count towards the final project report, that your Project Coordinator will produce at the end of the reporting period. Therefore, make sure that you record your effort on a weekly interval and that your entries get reviewed by your Subproject Leader, on preferably weekly intervals.
Accessing Your Account Details (My Profile)
The updated profile management web page contains all details defining your online account with the BIOPATTERN web portal.
To update any of your first name, last name, email address, Working Hours Funded and Username you simply type in the appropriate text box the updated value and click on the button entitled “Submit Changes”
To change your password the process is slightly different. You need to enter your old password and then type the new password, twice (for verification purposes). Only if your old password matches with the stored one and you have correctly typed the new one the password will be updated. This is to avoid any mistakes when people using shared machines accidentally access information of another user.
Note: In the case of a shared machine, you should always check that you are logged in with the correct account before engaging into any further processes in the BIOPATTERN web portal.
There is a new field added to your personal details that you will have to update as soon as possible. This is called “Working Hours Funded Per Reporting Period” and is essential for the automatic calculation of the Person Months. There is a short text describing how you should calculate this number. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact either of the following persons:
Marilyn Carew – Currently Project Manager at marilyn.carew@plymouth.ac.uk
Jo Thompson Byrne – Project Manager at J.Byrne@plymouth.ac.uk
Pamela Benett – Personal Assistant of Prof. Emmanuel Ifeachor at P.Bennett-1@plymouth.ac.uk
User Membership Administration (Admin)
With this simple web page anyone who is an administrator can manage which users will have Member Level, membership in their projects.
It is mainly composed of a big list with all the users in the system, each one having a check box in front of their names. If the check box is checked then the user is a member of this group. If not then the user is not yet a member of this group.
Please do not forget to update any changes you do to this list by pressing the button entitled “Update Members” which is located at the bottom of the users list. Upon updating the user list you will be automatically redirected to the main page of your group and your user membership changes will have taken effect.