Avoiding Portal Wars

1
Avoiding Portal Wars

• Paul Browning, Bristol
• Kriss Fearon, York
• Tony Shaw, Paisley
• Tracey Stanley, Leeds
• Julie Stuckes, UKOLN

Paul Helm, Sheffield Hallam
2
What is a portal?
A portal

• Aggregates information and applications one stop
  shop
• Is personalised or groupilised one size does
  not fit all
• Aspires to be your desktop on the Web Webtop

3
Examples of portals

• Blackboard
• Amazon
• Tesco
• LSE for You

4
What is a portal architecture? Why bother?
Before (i.e. now) ..
User confusion?
Lots of stovepipes of variable length
Pseudo- webified
Desk- topped
Webified
Invisible
5
What is a portal architecture?Aggregation
After ..
Portal framework
Extending, bending and merging the stovepipes
Pseudo- webified
Desk- topped
Webified
PORTALISED
6
Why might there be problems?

• Cultural issues (ownership, brand)
• Technical (siloware)
• Usability

Lets hear from some different cultures MIS
Library JISC/DNER VMLE