Re: Proposed NBN Gateway changes to administration and record commenting
Following an earlier review with some key data providers a suite of proposed changes to the administration facilities on the NBN Gateway have been draw up and it is planned to include these in the next version of the NBN Gateway (due to be released in June 2010).
These changes will affect all administrators of datasets on the NBN Gateway and before commencing the development we would like to consult more widely, hear your views (positive or negative) on the below proposals.
Please post your comments below, including any additional suggestions for improvements to organisation or dataset administration or record commenting facility on the NBN Gateway
Full details of the proposal are included in two attached documents in the file uploads (Improving administration pages on the NBN Gateway and Making the data validation facility on the NBN Gateway more open) but in summary the key changes proposed are:
1. Require a user applying for access to specify precisely what level of access they require – this is to avoid users applying for access when they already have the necessary access and also make responding to requests more efficient.
2. Send automated reminder emails to administrators that don’t respond to access requests within 20 days – some requests for access go unanswered (and were previously being chased up by the Access and Accreditation officer). We propose to establish an automated facility to remind administrators.
3. Allow organisation and dataset administrators to search for registered users by email address – this is primarily to provide a faster mechanism for administrators to find certain groups (for example anyone with an RSPB email address)
4. Provide a history of dataset access requests and changes to dataset administrators – all responses to access requests are logged on the Gateway but these are currently not visible to administrators
5. Allow administrators to view the individuals associated with an organisation – currently when an administrator grants access to a whole organisation it is not possible to see the individuals who are associated with it (and hence who they are actually granting access to). This information will now be exposed to administrators.
6. Consider a redesign of the administration screens – as part of the development the whole design of the administration screens will be reconsidered with an aim of making the administration process more intuitive.
7. Making the record commenting facility more open – allowing any logged in user on the Gateway to comment on records but retain the ability to switch off a user right to do this
Best wishes
Graham French
NBN Technical Liaison Officer