Design - Single UI Project

Overview

DSpace will standardize on a single, out-of-the-box User Interface.  While third parties are still welcome to develop and distribute alternative interfaces, only one will be distributed with DSpace.

As both the XMLUI and JSPUI are aging, this is an opportunity for supporters of each of these UIs to collaborate on a common UI platform.

Use Cases / Notes

• End User Use Cases
• Admin UI Use Cases
• DSpace UI Prototype Challenge
  
  • Prototyping a Future UI (superseded/replaced by Prototype Challenge)
  • Brainstorms on a Future UI (includes some notes on possible platforms for a UI)
• DSpace Functionality Mapping (Google Spreadsheet, begun by Claire Knowles and Kim Shepherd)

Planning Phase - Selecting a Platform

Timeframe: 3rd and 4th Quarters of 2015. The UI platform will be selected before OR2016.

• [August] Establish a DSpace UI Prototype Working Group (2015-16), which will manage the process of establishing prototypes and helping us select a UI platform
• [September] Establish UI piloting process / guidelines: see DSpace UI Prototype Challenge and announcement to all mailing lists
• [September - December] : DSpace UI Prototype Challenge - Announce and run the Prototyping Challenge to test out a variety of UI platforms (ideally some non-Java and some Java-based)
  
  • Each prototype much be kept transparent and public(on GitHub)
  • Prototypes due by December 4
  • Signup and full guidelines are at DSpace UI Prototype Challenge
• [January / February]  : The prototypes, their code, and initial notes/analysis will be made publicly available for community-wide feedback. See signup at DSpace UI Prototype Challenge
  
  • Reviewed more formally by DSpace UI Prototype Working Group (2015-16) based on the DSpace UI Criteria
• [March] Discussion of final candidates at DuraSpace Summit with Steering and Leadership groups
  
  • DSpace UI Working Group Summary: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bvJrRWEO2ZLTCLqNiaJ_KXGZKHNfXDjnqHWt_ZYGek4/edit
• [April - June]  Extended prototype phase of an Angular 2 prototype as recommended at DuraSpace Summit. A team comprised of several institutions (Texas A&M, @mire, Cineca, DuraSpace) will collaborate on this prototype, and determine its plausibility (as a future UI)
  
• [June / July] : A single UI platform will be selected from feedback and analysis of prototypes.  See OR16 presentation slides http://www.slideshare.net/tdonohue/introducing-the-new-dspace-user-interface
  
  • The selection should be approved by Committers
  • The selection should be approved by DCAT
  • The selection must be approved by Steering Group
  • The selection must be approved by Leadership Group

Design Phase - User Experience

Timeframe: Kicking off early in the Development Phase (2016). Because of tight timelines for all this UI work, a full UX redesign may not be possible in the initial version of the new DSpace UI. But, the hope would be to at least do minor cleanup / rework of any UI tools that desperately need it. The new UI itself could be based on existing themes that already provide a better user experience (e.g. Mirage 2, new JSPUI).

• Find a (part-time?) user experience (UX) designer/expert to create mockups/wireframes (using Balsamiq Mockups or similar) of the new DSpace UI experience
  
  • Initially this UX design work may concentrate on specific areas that are known to be problematic in DSpace (e.g. Admin tools).
  • This work should involve analyzing examples of good user experience design (in both repository platforms and on the web in general), and finding ways to potentially apply them to the DSpace user experience.
    
  • Depending on available funds, this person may need to be a volunteer or donated from an institution
    
• Per discussions on mailing lists, a UX working group may be created to help move this effort forward

Development Phase - Building the UI

Timeframe: Organized development began work in late 2016, but calls for participation will go out in early 2017.

• [Late 2016] : Establish a development team (ideally with some overlap with the planning phase team). This team will likely consist of volunteer or "donated" development resources
  
  • As of late 2016, a DSpace 7 Working Group (2016-2023) was established (additional members welcome!), and very early development has begun at https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular.
    • DSpace 7 Technology Stack: DSpace 7 UI Technology Stack
    • Resources: DSpace 7 - Angular UI Development
• [Jan 2017] : Establish a DSpace 7 Marketing Working Group (2016-2020) (additional members welcome!) to help with outreach and information sharing related to the DSpace 7 UI project
• [Jan 2017] : Open call for participation (especially development). This call will be made on all DSpace mailing lists.
• [Jan 2017 - June 2017] : Schedule a series of development "sprints" which will begin in early 2017. This will allow institutions to donate developers for specific sprints (or allow developers to balance local work with sprint work)
  
  • Ideally, hold a "hackathon" to help kickstart some of these sprints and get everyone on the same page?
  • Development process will be kept transparent (on GitHub) with ongoing status reports to Committers, etc.
    
  • Ongoing "beta" or early releases will be made available for testing/feedback/analysis by developers and/or DCAT members
• [June 2017] : Alpha? version of the new UI is presented at the OR2017. A presentation will also detail progress, etc.
  
• [Early to Mid 2018?] : Fully functional new UI in place for the DSpace 7.0 release. Currently estimated for early to mid 2018. This timeline may move up if more contributors join the project.