The RAMP Project: Authorisation and Activityflow for eResearch James Dalziel Professor of Learning Technology, and Director, Macquarie E-Learning Centre Of Excellence (MELCOE) Macquarie University

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The RAMP Project Authorisation and Activityflow
for eResearch James DalzielProfessor of
Learning Technology, and Director, Macquarie
E-Learning Centre Of Excellence
(MELCOE)Macquarie University james_at_melcoe.mq.edu
.auwww.melcoe.mq.edu.auPresentation for
EDUCAUSE Workflow CAMP, Burlington, Vermont, 29th
June, 2006
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Overview

• Background MAMS and LAMS
• RAMP Project
• More on LAMS
• Introducing RAMS
• Sample eResearch Activityflow Use Cases
• Early demonstrations
• Why?
• Future plans - activityflow

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Background

• MELCOE Research centre for next generation IT
  infrastructure for eLearning and eResearch
• Major projects
• MAMS Identity and access management
• Special focus on repositories
• Leading Australian Shibboleth rollout 500,000
  identities
• Developing Sharpe and Autograph
• LAMS eLearning workflow system
• Re-usable sequences of collaborative learning
  activities
• V2 beta release next week separate core and
  tools
• ASK-OSS National advisory service on OSS for HE

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RAMP project

• RAMP (Research Activityflow and Middleware
  Priorities) is a new Aust Gov funded eResearch
  project (2.9M)
• Part 1 Authorisation
• Development of a generalised authorisation
  library using XACML, focus on implementation for
  repositories (esp Fedora)
• Builds on MAMS work SAML XACML Alternative
  to DRM
• Part 2 Activityflow
• People-based workflow for eResearch
• Especially concurrent multi-actor multi-step
  workflows
• Demonstrator of re-usable activityflows (builds
  on LAMS 2 core)
• Theoretical review of workflow standards and
  concepts
• Part 3 Authorisation/Activityflow fusion
  exploration

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More on LAMS

• LAMS project over 4 years old, widespread
  adoption for next generation e-learning
• Fundamental driver Any teacher could create and
  run
• Web application, J2EE Flash, open source (GPL)
• Based on new field of Learning Design
• IMS Learning Design specification as a starting
  point
• Core concepts of LAMS are not e-learning specific
• Concurrent multi-actor, multi-step workflow
  system
• BPEL expert Who are you guys?
• LAMS Community for faculty sharing LAMS sequences
  and discussing their use (1300 members)
• 100 end-user created, shared and adapted
  eLearning workflows

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More on LAMS Example

• Online learning for trainee teacher students
• Step 1 Each student answers What are the
  qualities of an effective teacher?, then
  considers collated responses
• Step 2 Each student votes on the top 2 qualities
  from a list, then reflects on collated votes
• Step 3 Group debate about the most important
  qualities of an effective teacher, based on
  outcomes of (1) and (2)
• Step 4 Review of literature on effective
  teachers
• Step 5 Group discussion of how the debate in (3)
  relates to literature in (4)
• Step 6 Reflective report on the original
  question, based on own ideas and those of the
  group, including any changes in own views

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LAMS Authoring example What are the qualities
of an effective teacher?
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LAMS Learner example What are the qualities of
an effective teacher?
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LAMS Monitor summary What are the qualities of
an effective teacher?
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LAMS Monitor detailed What are the qualities of
an effective teacher?
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LAMS Monitor detailed What are the qualities of
an effective teacher?
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LAMS Community View of various communities
forums
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LAMS Community Repository Summary
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LAMS Community Detailed view of individual
sequence
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More on LAMS V2

• LAMS V2 provides a modular architecture for
  building different kinds of people-based workflow
  systems
• Separation of workflow core engine from activity
  tools
• Agreement between core and tools via Tools
  Contract
• Core requirements
• Admin
• Author
• Monitor
• Learner / Participant

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LAMS V2 Wiki (www.lamsfoundation.org/wiki)
Tools Contract
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Introducing RAMS

• The Research Activity Management System (RAMS)
  builds on the LAMS V2 workflow core ( new
  eResearch features)
• A new suite of activity tools appropriate for
  people-based eResearch activityflows
• Plus multi-purpose tools that apply across
  eLearning and eResearch
• The result is two different domain-specific
  applications (LAMS for eLearning RAMS for
  eResearch) that draw on a common workflow core
• Everything is open source

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Introducing RAMS
Teachers
Researchers
LAMS Application
RAMS Application
eLearning specific tools
Multi-purpose tools
eResearch specific tools
Education Workflow Engine (LAMS core new
RAMS development)
Admin
Author
Monitor
Author
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Sample eResearch Activityflow Use Cases

• High level use cases from RAMP proposal
• Managing the research enterprise lifecycle (from
  grant planning to grant submission, to project
  initiation, to project lifecycle management, to
  research outcome dissemination),
• Implementing auditable evaluation processes for
  assessing research quality (RQF assessor
  workflows, journal/conference peer review
  management, etc),
• Designing and tracking article submission
  processes for Institutional Repositories,
• Flexibly configuring and running online research
  collaboration processes (such as staged
  collaborative analysis and discussion for
  PhD/Postdocs around raw data, leading to
  interpretation, visualisation, and ultimately
  publications), and
• Process-oriented research data collection from
  human subjects (such as in the humanities, and
  social and cognitive sciences).

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Use case 3 Institutional Repository submission
workflow
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Use case 2 RQF assessor evaluation process
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Use case 4 Example of weekly research group
meeting
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Use case 4a Alternative example of weekly
research group meeting
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Why?

• Greater standardisation of common or repeatable
  research processes, leading to higher quality
  outcomes and improved efficiency
• The ability to share descriptions of common
  research processes both within institutions, and
  between institutions including the ability to
  adapt and localise shared research processes
• Greatly improved accountability and audit for
  processes involving multiple actors across
  multiple steps such as for research assessment
  (eg, RQF assessor workflows), as well as for
  research itself (eg, as a deterrent to academic
  fraud) and
• Providing a process-oriented checklist to ensure
  the ordered completion of relevant research tasks.

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Future plans - activityflow

• Development of RAMS activity tools core
  additions
• Eg, branching, conditionality, grouping, tool
  data in/out, edit on the fly
• Demonstrators for iterative requirements
  gathering
• Sharing of good practice activityflows for
  review, re-use, adaptation
• Community website for discussion sharing
  activityflows (based on experiences from the LAMS
  Community)
• Workflow theory review (Dr Yoichi Takayama)
• Initial exploration of activityflow/authorisation
  fusion