1. Intranet Portals for Universities Intranet Portals for Universities – Application Integration and Effective Communication Dr. Norbert Jesse University of Dortmund norbert.jesse@udo.edu

2. Intranet Portals for Universities Agenda Portals… …Motivation and Objectives …Mode of Operation … Integration … Distribution … Workflow … Communication … Realisation

3. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

4. Intranet Portals for Universities 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.

5. Intranet Portals for Universities A Company‘s Perspective

6. Intranet Portals for Universities University of Dortmund: Structure

7. Intranet Portals for Universities - 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 The Problem

8. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

9. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

10. Intranet Portals for Universities  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 ETH Zurich: A Vision

11. Intranet Portals for Universities Knowledge Storage-Platform House of Knowledge PORSCHE: House of Knowledge Knowledge Management at Porsche Engineering Specific purpose knowledge forum Project database Literature database Seminar and conference database CAD Drawings archives IT-PlatformSearch Engine ■ Holistic Approach to Knowledge Management: Men and Women – Organization – Technology Culture of Enterprise and Management Integration and Communications Visions and Strategies Corporate Consciousness Roles and Coordination Non-monetary indices ■ Technology ■ Organization ■ Men and Women Yellow Pages

12. Intranet Portals for Universities - Mode of Operation -

13. Intranet Portals for Universities „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 1. 2. 3.

14. Intranet Portals for Universities „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.

15. Intranet Portals for Universities 3rd Generation Portals Publication (1st Generation) Applications & workflows (workflow engines) User, rights management & personalisation Data management, version control etc. Integration

16. Intranet Portals for Universities Differences: Intranets vs. the Internet IntranetsInternet Proprietary informationPublic information Aimed at employeesAimed at outsiders Collaborative communicationsFinancial transactions Process orientedSales and marketing oriented Transforms organizationsTransforms 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 organizationCreates brand awareness Needs to be highly decentralizedNeeds to be highly centralized

17. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

18. Intranet Portals for Universities Data Integration ERP (SAP, Navision,...) Communication (EMail, Fax, Letter,...) MS Office (Excel, Access,...) Dedicated SW (Office Space Mgmt., Enrollment,...) Services (Library, Media Centre,...)

19. Intranet Portals for Universities Data Integration ERP (SAP, Navision,...) Kommunikation (EMail, Fax, Brief,...) MS Office (Excel, Access,...) Special Software (Office Space Mgmt., Enrolment,...) Services (Library, Media Centre,...) University Portal

20. Intranet Portals for Universities 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 > 9 in 2004, without examination abc“ -Systems like ERP / Accounting Systems, Address Databases, CRM, employee‘s data, Procurement Database etc.

21. Intranet Portals for Universities 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)

22. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

23. Intranet Portals for Universities Data Distribution University Portal Intranet ExtranetInternet Employees Students Examinations Co-operating Inst. Supply Management Ministry of Edu. Etc. Research Press / Media …

24. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

25. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

26. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

27. Intranet Portals for Universities 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 -…

28. Intranet Portals for Universities 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)!

29. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

30. Intranet Portals for Universities 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)

31. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

32. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

33. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

34. Intranet Portals for Universities 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)

35. Intranet Portals for Universities - Realisation -

36. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

37. Intranet Portals for Universities Technology: a Critical Issue  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 Reduction

38. Intranet Portals for Universities Development Process: Waterfall Problem ReviewDesignImplementationTestInstallationService/Maint. Requirements Definition Spezification Dokumented Programme Tested Programme Application/Product in use

39. Intranet Portals for Universities Development Process: Spiral Model a) Analysisb) Design c) Implemen- tation d) Test & Evaluation Next Generation

40. Intranet Portals for Universities Thank you for your attention !

41. Intranet Portals for Universities Potencials / User‘s 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

42. Intranet Portals for Universities - Applications, Benefits, Potentials -

43. Intranet Portals for Universities  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 ETH Zurich

44. Intranet Portals for Universities Realisation  Software (Sample) -SAP Enterprise Portal -Oracle eBusiness Suite -Intrexx Xtreme Portal Server -IBM WebSphere Portal Server -Microsoft Sharepoint Portal Server -Plumtree -Lotus Notes / Domino

45. Intranet Portals for Universities Intrexx Xtreme: Architektur

46. Intranet Portals for Universities Architecture, Example (Source: Pironet)

47. Intranet Portals for Universities Example: Intrexx Xtreme  Fundamentals -Environment for flexible, easy design, implementation and running of portals -500.000 user, approx., >>1.000 customer -Strong potentials to integrate the IT-infrastructure -Main principle: template-based application development -Rigid use of standards -Roll-based user administration and personalisation

48. Intranet Portals for Universities Creating Individual Solutions with Standard Technology and - Platform 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) => to build in extremely short time Prototyp-solutions and define transparent specifications of the wanted system

49. Intranet Portals for Universities Example Application Designer (left: Tool Box, right: Design of a Form)

50. Intranet Portals for Universities Example Place an Element within the Form

51. Intranet Portals for Universities Example User Interface (Presentation in the Browser; only an Example)

52. Intranet Portals for Universities Example User Interface (the same portal, same form; different Layout)

53. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

54. Intranet Portals for Universities 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) -...

55. Intranet Portals for Universities 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)

56. Intranet Portals for Universities 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 doesn‘t 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

57. Intranet Portals for Universities 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.

58. Intranet Portals for Universities 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?...

59. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

60. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

61. Intranet Portals for Universities Learning... rpossibility of annotations (private or public) rasynchronous communication („notes to notes“, newsgroups, boards etc.) rsynchrounous communication (chat, virtual tutors) rdynamic teaching (question and answer) radaptive systems (completion of the data pool) rcustomization (learning styles, personal background of experiences, learners/tutors) rbackground libraries rpersonal workspace rauthoring on the fly rquality control (tests and checkpoints)

62. Intranet Portals for Universities Interaction of Learning and Knowledge Instruction centered Learner centered Team centered Information Transfer / Reproduction Knowledge Transfer / Skill Acquisition Shared Knowledge about Problem Solving Interactive Technology Collaborative Technology Distributive Technology

63. Intranet Portals for Universities r Where are the knowledge carriers for this business process located? r How do these knowledge carriers collaborate? How do they handle their knowledge? r What other employees are also in need of this knowledge? r How can this knowledge be edited for others? r Which knowledge categories allow for the easiest access? r How can other employees retrieve this knowledge? r Which knowledge is missing? r How can knowledge be filtered in order to prevent overload? The starting point: (W)H-Questions

64. Intranet Portals for Universities The Building Blocks of KM knowledge storage knowledge identification knowledge acquisition knowledge development knowledge distribution knowledge use knowledge maintenance knowledge targets knowledge valuation feed- back Source: Probst/Romhardt

65. Intranet Portals for Universities r Knowledge targets determine a direction of knowledge management activities (normative, strategic, operative) r Knowledge identification Defining the relevance of internal and external information (criteria!) r 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 r Knowledge development Fostering creativity as well as systematic problem-solving capabilities

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

67. Intranet Portals for Universities Building BlocksInstruments 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 Instruments and Measures

68. Intranet Portals for Universities Sekundär- Organisation Primär- Organisation WM in der Organisation Brückenschlag durch Wissensmanagement Wissens- management Wissens- management

69. Intranet Portals for Universities Methoden und Werkzeuge Human Process Technics Identify SaveTransferProduce KH IT für WM Content- / Dokumenten- Management Patent- management Innovations- Management Kundenmanagement Schnittstellenmanagement Who is Who Debriefing Diskussions- foren Experten- netzwerke

70. Intranet Portals for Universities 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“

71. Intranet Portals for Universities Thank you for your attention !

72. Intranet Portals for Universities Managing Knowledge – From Theory to Practice

73. Intranet Portals for Universities The problem „We drown in information, but we are thirsty for knowledge !“ John Naisbitt

74. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

75. Intranet Portals for Universities 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.

76. Intranet Portals for Universities ■ 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 ■ … „Knowledge problems“ at SMEs Source: KPMG, BWT

77. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

78. Intranet Portals for Universities 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

79. Intranet Portals for Universities Data Information Knowledge Capability Action Competence Competitiveness + acting right + willingness + connection to applications + networking (context, expe- riences, expectations) + meaning + syntax The Staircase of Knowledge Strategic Knowledge Management Data, Information and Knowledge Management (operative) Source: KPMG, BWT

80. Intranet Portals for Universities 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 !!!!!