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May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-1 Appendix B: Portal Prototype Standard Operating Procedures Introduction This Appendix provides the set of Portal Operating Procedures that were used to assist beta testers of the Portal in understanding how to use the different aspects of the Portal. This Appendix has the following Operating Procedures: ⢠Overall Portal Operations ⢠Access Management ⢠Content Management ⢠Keyword Management Scope of Beta Test The purpose of the Beta Test was to validate that the portal meets the high level user needs that have been defined for this project. User needs were defined by the TCRP G- 13 Concept of Operations. The user needs that were validated by this beta test are as follows: ⢠Provide one-stop resource for APTA members to learn about new and emerging technologies applied to transit ITS. ⢠Ensure that the resources stored in the System: o Are easily discoverable by users o Are current o Show their applicability to transit users including transit system leaders and non-technical transit professionals o Comply with APTA content policies (TBD) ⢠Provide an interactive environment for industry discussion and exchange on new and emerging technologies. ⢠Provide guidance tools for APTA members to post content on ITS technologies in a standard format to the System. The tools should: o Support standard multimedia formats for posting to the System o Ensure the proper attribution and identification of the posting o Follow APTA policies on submittals hosted on APTA web sites o Provide a template for submitters to post their content ⢠Enable the content to be managed by APTA R&T Committee Tech Portal Subcommittee (hereafter called the Review Committee) o Implement tools for the Review Committee to review submitted content. o Allow for the Review Committee to delegate posted content to industry experts. o Provide event alerts to the Review Committee. Alerts may include when new or revised content is posted, when stored content should be reviewed periodically, and messages from users and reviewers.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-2 o Ensure that new Review Committee members can be assigned or removed from the Review Committee access privileges. ⢠Develop a System that minimizes operations and maintenance costs and resources. ⢠Ensure compliance with APTA Tech Portal Governance Processes. It should be noted that the scope of this beta test was for validating that the portal meets the needs of the users AT A HIGH LEVEL. The portal was hosted on a temporary server. When finalized, it will reside on APTAâs servers, and will be subject to APTAâs security process, and will have a user interface conformant to that of the MyAPTA site. Therefore, the following aspects of testing were out of scope of this review: ⢠Access procedures ⢠User interface/style ⢠Loading speed of pages ⢠Amount of content available at the current time (Only beta testers and consultant staff have had the opportunity to load content so far) As defined for the Beta Test the portal was a testing environment. Because of limitations of the test Portal implementation, testers did have access to features/functionality that they will not have after the portal is integrated into APTAâs environment. To account for this we asked the testers to follow these Standard Operating Procedures as closely as possible. They were written to guide testers through the critical role-based features that are expected to be integrated to the final portal that will reside with APTA. Overview of Roles Beta testers were assigned to one of more roles. Each of these roles tested a specific subset of portal functionality. ⢠Content Contributor: The content contributor role is responsible uploading content to the portal. Users with this role can also search and view content that has been published on the portal. ⢠Content Reviewer: The content reviewer is responsible for reviewing content that is submitted to the portal. ⢠Content Administrator: The content administrator role is responsible for guiding content through the review/approval process. This includes assigning content for review and managing the final approval process including publication. ⢠System Administrator: The system administrator role is responsible for the technical maintenance of the portal. This role involves a detailed knowledge of SharePoint, and is intended for APTA staff who will be maintaining the final version of the portal.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-3 Testing Instructions by Role This section of the standard operating procedures describes exactly which procedures each tester must follow. This depends on the role assigned to the tester. Content Contributor ⢠Follow Procedure 2.1 to log in to the portal using the credentials provided. ⢠Follow Procedure 3.1 to upload content. ⢠Follow Procedure 1.3 to search and view content. Content Reviewer ⢠Follow Procedure 2.1 to log in to the portal using the credentials provided. ⢠Follow procedure 4.3 to access content for review and to perform the review Content Administrator ⢠Follow Procedure 2.1 to log in to the portal using the credentials provided. ⢠Once content is submitted to the portal: o Follow Procedure 4.1 to validate content. o Follow Procedure 4.2 to assign content for review. ⢠Once content review is completed by the reviewer: o Follow Procedure 4.4 to prepare the content for committee review. ⢠Once the committee has reviewed the document: o Follow Procedure 4.5 to publish the document. System Administrator ⢠Follow Procedure 2.1 to log in to the portal using the credentials provided. ⢠Follow Procedure 2.2 to control permissions ⢠Follow Procedure 6.1 to access the SharePoint Server. ⢠Follow Procedure 6.2 to update the keyword lists. Overall Portal Operating Procedure Precondition: User has appropriate role assigned for access to APTA portal. The portal is accessed via the main site and offers four major features, to registered APTA members, which are management of access, storage, content and discovery. These features present themselves through three primary web sites (SharePoint) as Landing Zone, Content Review and Discovery. Content is provided by content contributors in the landing zone where content administrators review it for validity and adherence to standards. The content administrator then makes it available to content reviewers on the content review site. Content reviewers can participate in review validation events and provide feedback for content approval. Once content is approved, the content administrator makes it available in the appropriate library on the Discovery section of the portal. Users can search by five primary methods: Enter Data, Keywords, People, Advanced or Browse Library available by selecting specific libraries or the overall portal as needed.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-4 APTA.com Portal Landing Zone Content Review DIscovery Landing Zone Library Content Review Library FAST Search Library Manage Storage Manage Content Manage Access Manage Discovery Content Contributors and Content Administrators interact here for content submission. Content Administrators and Reviewers interact here for content review. Any APTA registered user can navigate available approved content here using one of three search features. Figure A- 1. Portal Architecture
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-5 Procedure 1.1: Landing Zone The landing zone provides the ability to upload content for content contributors. Content Contributors and Content Administrators interact here for content submission. Content contributors can only view the content that they contribute in the landing zone. Landing Zone Content Contributors and Content Administrators interact here for content submission. Default View for Content Administrator includes ALL data fields Default View for Content Contributor includes only data fields relevant to âcontribution.â Content Administrator must SCAN for Virus and etc Figure A- 2. Landing Zone
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-6 Procedure 1.2: Content Review Content Administrators and Reviewers interact here for content review. Calendars are provided for management and tasking of content review sessions. Content under review can be analyzed and assessed by all appropriate personnel. Content Review Content Administrators and Reviewers interact here for content review. Default View for Content Reviewer includes only data fields relevant to âreview.â Default View for Content Administrator includes ALL data fields relevant to âreviewâ administration Figure A- 3. Content Review
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-7 Procedure 1.3: Discovery From the home screen: Users can search by five primary methods: Free Text, Keywords, People, Advanced or Browse Library available by selecting specific libraries or the overall portal as needed. To search by free text, use the search bar, with âAll sitesâ highlighted. To search by person, click âPeopleâ and use the search bar. To search by keyword, click âkeywordsâ and use the search bar. To use advanced search, click âadvancedâ to the right of the search bar. To browse libraries, click âAPTA ITS Libraryâ at the center. Figure A- 4. Discovery Access Management Operating Procedure Precondition: User has appropriate role assigned for access to APTA portal Procedure 2.1: Log in to Portal 1. Access the portal at http://consystec.portalfront.com/sites/APTA- FAST/Pages/default.aspx. 2. You will be prompted with a logon screen similar to the following (browser dependent).
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-8 Figure A- 5. Portal Log-in Screen 3. Enter your User name and Password for your appropriate role then click the OK button. 4. You will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (browser dependent). 5. To view content: You can use the search bar to search for a document, or the âpeopleâ âkeywordâ buttons to search using those functions. The âAPTA ITS Library button can be used to view library content by folder. Procedure 2.2: Permissions Control 1. System Administrators only â Select the âSite Actionsâ pulldown menu in the upper left corner, then select âSite Permissionsâ
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-9 Figure A- 6. Permissions Control 2. The portal allows for distinct roles as follows: a. ITS System Administrator â Create, Update and Delete roles and permissions b. Content Administrator â Create, Update and Delete content c. Content Contributorâ Create, Update and Delete content âLIMITED to their content ONLY d. Content Reviewerâ Create, Update and Delete content reviews 3. Select âGrant Permissionsâ for roles outlined in Step 6. Content Management Operating Procedures Precondition: User has appropriate âContent managementâ role assigned for access to APTA portal. The content administrator has access to content at all three areas within the portal: Discovery, Review and Landing Zone. They are responsible for ensuring content is managed with respect to the validity, freshness and quantity of content in its lifecycle states of pending review, review completed, approved or rejected. The primary functions of content submission and content review are provided in this capability. Procedure 3.1: Content Submission 1. Follow the steps for Access to logon to the portal. 2. Click on the hyperlink reading âAPTA ITS Libraryâ in the middle of the screen.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-10 Figure A- 7. APTA ITS Library 3. On the left side menu, click âAPTA Landing Zone.â Figure A- 8. Landing Zone Button 4. You will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (browser dependent)
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-11 Figure A- 9. Landing Zone 5. Select âAdd Documentâ in the lower left of the screen. Figure A- 10. Add Document 6. Select âBrowseâ and locate the content (document) on your local drive that you are submitting. 7. Enter âFirst submissionâ as the [Version Comments] and then select OK to submit. 8. You will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (browser dependent)
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-12 Figure A- 11. Add Document Form 9. Enter a âContent descriptionâ that best describes the content you are submitting. 10. Select âYesâ to the âterms of the agreementâ 11. Enter a âPublication Dateâ for date content was originally published. 12. Enter or Select a âContent Authorâ. 13. Select âSaveâ and you should be presented a list that shows the content you just submitted. 14. Repeat steps 3 through 11 for each content item you are submitting. 15. Navigate to the upper right of your browser screen, select your username, and select âSign Outâ. Content Review Operating Procedure Precondition: Content Contributor has uploaded one or more documents to the landing zone area. The document has a status of âPost-Completeâ.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-13 Procedure 4.1: Content Validation (as Content Administrator) 1. Follow the steps for Access to logon to the portal. 2. Click on the hyperlink reading âAPTA ITS Libraryâ in the middle of the screen. Figure A- 12. APTA ITS Library 3. On the left side menu, click âAPTA Landing Zone.â Figure A- 13. Landing Zone Button 4. You will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (browser dependent)
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-14 Figure A- 14. Landing Zone 5. Select the pull down to the right of the newly submitted content and âCheck outâ and âuse my local drafts folderâ and select OK. Figure A- 15. Check Out Document 6. Select the pull down to the right of the newly submitted content and âSend To > Download a Copyâ and save to a protected drive for virus scanning.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-15 Figure A- 16. Download Document 7. Run the virus scan as required by your local requirements 8. If the content is virus free and no changes are required then select the pull down to the right of the previously âchecked outâ content and select âcheck inâ. Figure A- 17. Check In Document 9. Type âVirus scannedâ in the âCommentsâ section and then Select OK.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-16 Figure A- 18. Check In Document Form 10. Select the document requiring approval by selecting âApprove/Rejectâ on the pull down to the right of the newly submitted content on the document list. Figure A- 19. Approve/Reject Document 11. Select âApprovedâ or âRejectedâ based on APTA guidelines. Comments are only required if âRejectedâ. If Rejected, then email user that submitted content and make them aware of the problems and what they can to do fix them for content submission.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-17 Figure A- 20. Approve/Reject Document Form 12. If approved (validation succeeded), select the document by the pull down to the right of the newly approved content on the document list. Select âSend To > Other Locationâ Figure A- 21. Move Document 13. Enter the destination document library or folder as required. When sending items for review use http://consystec.portalfront.com/sites/APTA- FAST/Content_Review/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx. Select OK.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-18 Figure A- 22. Move Document Form Procedure 4.2: Review Assignment (as Content Administrator) 1. Follow the steps for Access to logon to the portal. 2. Click on the hyperlink reading âAPTA ITS Libraryâ in the middle of the screen. Figure A- 23. APTA ITS Library 3. Click the âContent Reviewâ button at the top part of the screen. Figure A- 24. Content Review Button
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-19 4. Navigate to the âContent Under Reviewâ heading at the middle of the page, and select document for review by selecting pulldown on right of document. Select âEdit Propertiesâ. Figure A- 25. Assign Reviewer 5. Enter âReview due dateâ for document. 6. Select reviewer(s) for a document (pulldown list of Reviewers). There may be one or two reviewers for each document. (Search for a reviewer by name. Current valid reviewer accounts are âContent Reviewer 1â and âContent Reviewer 2â 7. Change status of a document to âPending Reviewâ. Figure A- 26. Assign Reviewer Form 8. If additional documents need to be reviewed, repeat steps 1-4 for each document. NOTE: Selected Reviewers will be notified by email for review initiation. 9. Click on the dropdown menu next to the content item and click âCheck In.â Click OK when the form screen pops up.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-20 Figure A- 27. Check In Document Procedure 4.3: Review Content 1. Follow the steps for Access to logon to the portal. 2. Click on the hyperlink reading âAPTA ITS Libraryâ in the middle of the screen. Figure A- 28. APTA ITS Library 3. Click the âContent Reviewâ button at the top part of the screen. Figure A- 29. Content Review Button 4. Navigate to âContent Under Reviewâ library at the middle part of the page, below the calendar. Select content in the list by selecting pulldown menu and âSend To > Download a Copyâ.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-21 Figure A- 30. Download Document 5. Reviewer can print and/or review the content offline (disconnected from SharePoint) based on identified information in the âContent Review Criteriaâ (Details in review document) 6. Upon completion of review, reviewer fills out document in accordance with review guidelines. 7. Upload document review comments to portal âDocument Reviewsâ library at the bottom of the Content Review Page. 8. Reviewer right clicks on the drop down next to the document and clicks âEdit Properties.â Figure A- 31. Edit Document 9. Reviewer assigns review status âReview Completed.â This triggers a system alert to all members who have âsubscribedâ to this area for alerts. Procedure 4.4: Committee Review 1. Content Administrator (CA) logs on to the portal and navigates to âcontent reviewâ site then navigate to âcontent reviewâ library. Select View âReviews Completedâ which creates a summary report of items for the review committee. Filter âreview due dateâ for review cycle to report on.
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-22 Figure A- 32. Completed Reviews Button 2. CA navigates to âcontent reviewâ calendar and create event by clicking on the desired date and time. Figure A- 33. Content Review Calendar 3. CA sends an email invitation to the review committee members announcing the review meeting and including the information from the summary report. 4. The system creates a âstatus changeâ on each document that the Content Administrator has queued for review. This can provide alerts to anyone that has âsubscribedâ to this area for content using the âAlert meâ feature of SharePoint. Review Committee Members are notified that the status of the content has been changed. We recommend selecting an âemailâ delivery
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-23 method for âall changesâ with a frequency set to âsend a daily summaryâ for items. 5. At the review committee meeting the CA goes through each review scoring list and using whatever level of formality the committee desires, the committee makes a decision on each document â approve, provisionally accept, or reject. 6. Following the meeting, the CA revises the status and level of acceptance for each document from the meeting 7. Review keywords as submitted and make committee choice for modifications. 8. An alert is generated to Content Administrator and Review Committee Members that the status of the content has been changed. 9. An alert is sent to each Content Contributor with the result of the review. If provisionally accepted, the alert should include an explanation of the revision requested. If rejected, the alert should contain an indication of the reason for rejection. Procedure 4.5: Publish to Library 1. Content Administrator (CA) logs on to the portal and navigates to âcontent reviewâ site then navigate to âcontent reviewâ library. Select View âReviews Completedâ 2. Click on the content item to download it to the computer. (This is necessary due to limitations of the current SharePoint configuration). Figure A- 34. Content Under Review 3. Click on âAPTA ITS Portalâ in the upper left cornerâ Figure A- 35. APTA ITS Portal Button
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-24 4. Click on the folder for the âTopic Typeâ designated for this content. Figure A- 36. APTA ITS Library 5. Click âAdd Documentâ and select the document to be uploaded. Figure A- 37. Add Document Button Figure A- 38. Upload Document 6. Complete the second form, filling in all fields. Set âcurrent status to âapproved.â
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-25 Figure A- 39. Upload Document Form 7. The document is now available for Discovery. The document and review forms may be deleted from the review section at the discretion of the Content Administrator. Keyword Management Operating Procedure Precondition: User has appropriate âContent managementâ role assigned for access to APTA portal. The content administrator has access to content at all three areas within the portal: Discovery, Review and Landing Zone. They are responsible for ensuring content is managed with respect to the validity, freshness and quantity of content in its lifecycle states of pending review, review completed, approved or rejected. The primary functions of content submission and content review are provided in this capability. Procedure 6.1: Server Logon 1. Access the server through Remote Desktop Connectivity 2. Logon as Spadmin with appropriate permissions to central administrate the Site Collection. This may vary depending on site configuration. Procedure 6.2: Keyword Updates 1. Navigate to âCentral Administrationâ You will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (browser dependent)
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-26 Figure A- 40. Content Administration 2. Select Manage Service Applications under the [Application Management] menu 3. You will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (browser dependent) Figure A- 41. Server Applications 4. Select âAPTAMMSâ service under the [APTAMMS] header 5. You will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (browser dependent)
May 2016 TCRP_G-13 FINAL REPORT APPENDIX B B-27 Figure A- 42. Term Store 6. Under the TAXONOMY TERM STORE navigation on the right navigation pane select the keyword pull down. Figure A- 43. Term Store 7. Select âcreate termâ to create a new term 8. Enter Name, Description and Contact information 9. Select the âSaveâ button