[Yale ArchivesSpace] ArchivesSpace PUI Project Update

Tue Mar 20 09:21:40 EDT 2018

Hello Everyone,

We wanted to follow up on some of the key topics we presented at the recent YUL staff forum on the PUI. For anyone who was unable to attend, our approach to the forum was to make it as interactive as possible, by setting up tables representing the project workgroups, so they could show everyone the new interface, discuss what changes are planned, show what work has been accomplished with usability and accessibility and data cleanup, and ask for your input on preparing staff training. It was great to see so many staff taking usability tests on the new PUI, and trying out the new search interface. In a similar way that traditional university lectures are evolving to become more immersive and interactive, we aimed for a similar experience while showing you the ArchivesSpace PUI in its current state.

 We also spoke a bit about our project methods and process, because we believe how we work is as valuable as what we work on. How we work reflects our values, whether they are personal, professional, or community. Discussing our process is also essential for organizational transparency.

 As presented at the forum, Yale is implementing a new search and discovery platform for archives and special collections for several key reasons including-

  *   YFAD was released in 2011 and no significant changes have been made since then
  *   YFAD is aging out technically, and is aging out in terms of user expectations for a search/discovery experience
  *   There is no future development path for YFAD
  *   Ongoing development and technical support is needed, and adopting the ArchivesSpace PUI provides a reliable and flexible option for this essential Yale resource
  *   The increasing need for comprehensive collection management workflows and systems integrations is not possible in a platform like YFAD. ArchivesSpace has a set of APIs that at least provide a starting point for configuring and supporting these local requirements and expectations
  *   We thought the more inspirational "why" was also worth mentioning, as we see what many of our peers already offer users exploring their special collections

To date we haven't focused very much on the staff-side improvements the PUI will bring, but It is worth mentioning that the process for publishing/unpublishing finding aids will become more efficient and dynamic than the current method of staging files for upload/deletion once a week.

 In terms of the project timeline, at the January and February PUI Stakeholder meetings we went through an exercise to itemize what the requirements are for a soft-launch. We have indicated that there is still considerable development work taking place for the PUI due to several considerations including-
*         Local customizations are requiring additional development work
*         The volume of collections data at Yale
*         The number of services Yale needs to integrate with the PUI (e.g. not all PUI sites integrate patron requesting with it)
*         We are relying on external developers only in multiple time zones
*         Much of the development work we are asking for is not part of any contractual obligation with Yale
*         The PUI is a nascent product
*         Delay from one of the vendors required course correction with another vendor

Following the February PUI Stakeholder meeting, we worked on a modified plan to provide more resources for the development tasks, while temporarily pausing the more traditional implementation tasks. With limited resources all work decisions reflect some level of trade-off, and the high volume of development work does require more time to complete the implementation. The plan modifications were discussed and approved by all project leads and project sponsors. We have been operating within this framework for about 3-4 weeks. Since then we have accomplished the following-
*         Help pages and draft text are in the development (DEV) instance of the PUI
*         A local instance of ArchivesSpace with the PUI has been created so that we can take the lead on customizing the PUI per the list of recommendations from the PUI Enhancements Workgroup and the PUI Usability and Accessibility Workgroup-with some changes already pushed to the DEV instance
*         A finished set of Usability and Accessibility testing and a completed analysis (circulated to this list last week)
*         Two new data cleanup projects initiated in TEST to help with call number searching and digital objects in the PUI
*         Approximately 1-2 weeks away from completing remaining work in the Subjects & Agents project (parallel project, but required for the PUI implementation)
*         Drafted a plan to implement a User Feedback mechanism in the PUI using local Drupal forms
*         Several Yale desired interface changes are now in the ArchivesSpace core code (easier to support/sustain than custom plugins, but committing to core code takes time) including-
o    Removal of "Unprocessed Materials" from the PUI navigation bar
o    Repository specific display of "Unprocessed Materials" (currently Beinecke only)
*         Resolution of VPN access issues for a vendor, who now has delivered the first version of a customized request plugin for facilitation between the PUI and Aeon

We continue to hold monthly stakeholder meetings open to any/all, and the upcoming schedule is as follows:

  *   Tuesday April 10, 2-3:30pm, Bass Classroom L01
  *   Tuesday May 8, 2-3:30pm, Bass Classroom L01

Check out the development instance of the PUI at: http://puidevarchivesspace.library.yale.edu This is where interface changes will be made for additional testing and review. It is possible to do a before-and-after by looking at our TEST instance of the PUI, which will remain for now in more of the default state for this purpose- http://puitestarchivesspace.library.yale.edu

We also have a Slack channel to communicate more informally about the project. Anyone with a yale.edu email address is able to join. This tool allows stakeholders to stay up to date at any interval they prefer. Slack will not flood your work Inbox with emails or notifications, and no software needs to be downloaded to your computer. Whenever you want, just log into https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__yulaspacepui.slack.com&d=DwIFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=nTeyk-U4CZBqtEsuDPTxMJ5Ukixi2letL2sC1p3IUMQ&m=TBhcuEm0LBVmIvwKZq_XgoMbg9T6aEV5FArPY_AWdrQ&s=MPOIYHou8QP13hg6kRGlax8x76_o9w4crOQXZSx4FsE&e=<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__yulaspacepui.slack.com_&d=DwIFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=nTeyk-U4CZBqtEsuDPTxMJ5Ukixi2letL2sC1p3IUMQ&m=TBhcuEm0LBVmIvwKZq_XgoMbg9T6aEV5FArPY_AWdrQ&s=1aqLfTu_M9ZqECMr5ZCKS0uPheYt4lGxvRNMKKzy89o&e=> with your Yale email and the password you created. Or if you have yet to join, go to https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__yulaspacepui.slack.com_signup&d=DwIFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=nTeyk-U4CZBqtEsuDPTxMJ5Ukixi2letL2sC1p3IUMQ&m=TBhcuEm0LBVmIvwKZq_XgoMbg9T6aEV5FArPY_AWdrQ&s=Yq6x1YrBDgAL95YzWSiMwmL6zfHCzZMrr6eA4cq2k0Q&e=. We have added a Slack channel in the Yale ArchivesSpace PUI channel called #pui-ask-a-question. We encourage you to use this to ask questions about the PUI, and an answer will be provided by a member of the project team.

Questions could also be shared with anyone on the project team. Look for our "Ask Me About the New PUI for Archives and Special Collections" lanyards!

We also recently contacted each repository in ArchivesSpace to offer pre-Soft-launch site visits, to ensure everyone is aware of the upcoming changes the PUI will bring in terms of search, presentation of finding aid data, patron requesting, and related staff workflows.

Thank you on behalf of all the project members for your continued support and consideration,

 Melissa

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