DSG DRS Project Toolkit Spec Meeting Minutes

DRS Project Toolkit Spec

• Draft in Google Docs (Edit powers limited to DSG Staff)

Meeting Minutes

July 15, 2015

• How will we install Google Analytics code into each site, giving projects access?
• For DSG branding footer: About the DSG, DSG Projects, DSG on Twitter. However, wondering if each WP site would then expect to see themselves listed on DSG projects page -- would we?

• Reminder of the importance of Admin role for people tied to project who want to edit the site / do more than just add pages.
• Enable Search should be checked
• Workflow: Karl gives us an install, Eli adds the plugin and the theme, enables them, makes modifications (like turning on the Search box, changing the def
• Eli is on board to get rid of the Media Library and use shortcodes, but sets are not ready for this function yet. Sets are only tied to particular users at this stage in the DRS, so it won't be functional for teams who are trying to, for example, add items to the same set. Sets need to be worked on from the DRS side before they can be exposed by the API. Sarah and Eli's solution was to get the test site up and running with the Media Library and the one shortcode for the video playlist, and then before next week, the other shortcodes we discussed will be done, but they won't be based on sets; they'll be based on collections (gallery slider, gallery tiled view, and single item shortcode). It makes sense to keep the Media Library import feature (for example, Archives may want to integrate non-DRS content, so they'll need the Media Library). Also, every time someone wants a new layout, we need to make a new shortcode: eventually we'll need to think about the scalability of that (how to manage frequent / regular requests for shortcodes: work done by the additional DSG developer?). Eli hasn't really looked into the single-item shortcode option yet, but there may a way to limit the number of shortcodes required by considering the functionality of this shortcode / its implementation in WordPress.
• Eli brought up the fact that we'll need to discuss the communication line / workflow for projects reporting problems / the DSG responding to problems. We could use the Issue Tracking in GitHub? We'll discuss this when Sarah is back.
• Facets will not filter WordPress search, only the actual search terms (so we want to "un-facet" the WordPress search).
• On Facets, change "More" to "All Subjects" so that all options are displayed; Eli will modify so that the results will be organized by number of hits vs. alphabetical.
• List of things to test: performing a search, adding/removing facets, using the "more" facet value modals, changing number of items per page, changing "Sort By," changing pagination, adding static content page, changing PID and effects, browsing is essentially the same as searching so there's not much need to test, is the collections functionality working when you change the PID
• Should we ship the Toolkit with the sub-collections or wait and see if projects have sub-collections and add that functionality later?
• To create a nice collections icon in WordPress, you have to have added an icon in the DRS.

July 8, 2015 Working notes:

• Eli added Libraries line to the footer (branding); Patrick seemed to think it was sufficient. Discussion of double footer instilling the DSG.
• Eli added the logic for ISSUU to see if there is an ISSUU link; if there is, the image will be replaced with the actual embedded reader. Patrick noted that there may be a license key that makes the "Open publication: Free publishing" line go away; Eli will ask Hillary about that.
• Eli removed the
• Eli is working on adding the Creator to the Search view (he doesn't think it will take long).
• We discussed what should be configurable or editable on the back-end of the page. Should users be able to change search / browse. In terms of what it relates to the DRS content
• Discussion of how sets will be exposed. If you wanted your entire site to be based just off a set and not an entire collection, the PID numbers could be used; Patrick stressed the need to attend to sets. Putting in another option where you can input a set. For example, if you have eighteen items you want to highlight in July, you can create that set in the DRS. Search and Solr won't work with sets.
• Important question about searching content: making distinctions between collections and sets
• Revised way of handling sets. Result will be different (search will work different). Projects will be limited to collection or sets.
• Eli is almost at a point where he can bring test sites up on a server.
• Discussion of NIEC content and the particular challenges / nuances of its content.
• There's a need to hash out the way that galleries work. Defining what a "gallery" is, how it is distinguished from an "exhibit."The word "gallery" suggests curation.
• Discussion of creating shortcodes to generate Playlists, Sliding gallery, tiled gallery, etc. We have three now: the tiled gallery and the image carousel, and the video playlist. Specific challenge of embedding an object
• Version 3.0 or 4.0 plan: option to send set directly to Toolkit page (Patrick idea)
• We don't begin a WordPress instance with anything but a collection.
• The less you bring over into WordPress, the better.
• Shortcodes are taking over for the Media Library.
• I can bring in a collection, or I can bring in a set.
• There is an item-level API call A shortcode to embed a specific item; or a way of creating an "annotated page"

-something that displays an item (thumbnail), selected metadata records (a caption of sorts), quadrants that allow people to display image and text in particular ways.

• "If WordPress goes away, the cat dies."
• Clean up the discussion of why we're avoiding the Media Library, what the consequences of using the Media Library are, etc.

July 1, 2015

• Eli has disabled comments on attachment pages. Unless requested, we don't really want comments on anything
• Discussion of searching: solution to have the DRS search be the main search, and then have a "Related Content" search bar in the sidebar. Eli has come up with a "Related Content" sidebar (the name can be easily changed later, and most likely should be, given that "content" is a term broadly applied to all content on the site)
• The "Browse" page doesn't currently show "Related Content," and we're going to keep that off that page for now, given the desire to make distinctions between "Search" and "Browse.'
• Facets aren't in conversation with the related search: Eli will make sure that Related Content will update when users modify search results using facets so that relevant content will also materialize.
• Jim has also updated the content on facets in the spec to discuss the modeling of the DRS when it comes to displaying more than 5 facets
• We've modified the spec to finalize the "Sort By" parameters on Search and Browse pages to: Relevance, Date (earliest to latest), Date (latest to earliest), Title A-Z, Title Z-A, Creator A-Z, Creator Z-A. We're scrubbing references to "Date Uploaded."
• We've decided to display the Date and Creator info in "Search" results pages but not on "Browse" results pages (which are more designed to function as a mosaic).
• We're going to create a section of the spec that briefly discussed branding: where to put "Northeastern University Library" and where to put "Digital Scholarship Group" documentation, etc.
• Discussion of Image download options: we're going to remove the current option for "Thumbnail Images."
• Discussion of "Zoom" function on images in items: works on items, doesn't work on exhibits (i.e., images taken from the WordPress Media Library and added to exhibit pages). We discussed the fact that exhibit-builders could have the option of zoom functionality via Shortcodes.
• Eli has used code to create video playlists on video items.
• Future discussions at meetings: what do we want to be configurable (by project managers) on the WordPress pages? More on Exhibits / sample exhibits for new Toolkit projects. User testing. Page-turning functionality and how that impacts discussions of page-turning availability during project development (ideally a discussion that happens at the DRS ingest stage).

June 19, 2015

• We decided to meet weekly to discuss necessary revisions to the spec draft and to help answer questions and brainstorm the development of the DRS Project Toolkit pages for projects.
• We agreed that Minamaze was an ideal WordPress theme for the pilot phase.
• We discussed the desire / need users will have to be able to search both items and content elsewhere on a project site (exhibit pages, "About" pages, etc.). We are still discussing the best interface / solution to this issue: a search box that can search everything on the site? A search of DRS items and an "expanded" search that searches pages?
• We also discussed the need to do user testing on the search functionality, and whether it makes sense to do "A/B" testing of two kinds of searches.
• Item views: if not an item from the DRS, WP will create attachment page and item view will be that WP-native page. IF item from DRS, code will override WP route to attachment page and show dynamically retrieved DRS item.
• Option: make uploaded file PID editable so that even images uploaded by hand can automatically link to DRS.
• Who will do the work of creating Arader and Sadow websites? Also need to test the “make an exhibit” scenario.