eRaUI Implementation Outline and Storyboard

1. Scenarios for implementing eRaUI.

· A web application or website is in place which has many pages and resources. Users of the website typically want to search for particular items, often the same item. eRaUI can be added on top of the website in order to make it straightforward for people to locate the resource they want.

· A web application with a poorly designed interface is causing difficulty for its users. eRaUI can be added to the website as a widget in order to make the application more navigable.

· A new web application is required and it is unknown how users will interact with it until it is in use. The pathways which users are likely to take through the site are likely to change with time. eRaUI can be added to the homepage and other pages in embedded format to make it easier for people to navigate the site and find the resources they need.

2. eRaUI as a widget over an existing interface – Storyboard

Here is an example of the way in which eRaUI can be added to an existing interface as a browser widget. The interface chosen is that of the NaCTeM website, which provides access to sophisticated research tools but in a way which is not intuitive to newcomers.

Fig 1. The current NaCTeM web interface / portal to services

By adding a few simple files and a line of code to the web pages of the NaCTeM portal, we add eRaUI as a widget:

Fig 2. eRaUI added to NaCTeM as a widget

As can be seen in the screenshot above, eRaUI has been added in widget format to the existing interface. A user coming to NaCTeM will now have the option to:

· Conduct an intelligent search (tailored to the user using machine learning algorithms) using the search box.

· Choose a ‘go to’ suggestion.

· Preview a ‘go to’ suggestion without leaving the current page.

· Specify their user level – i.e. ‘novice, expert etc’ so as to improve the specificity of eRaUI to their particular needs.

Fig 3. The user types a search term into the search box

Searching is easy – just type a term in the search box as shown above. Suggestions are dynamically updated via ajax and commonly searched for suggestions are proposed in the box while the user types. The user may wish to hide the eRaUI search box – in which case they should click the small arrow at the top-right:

Fig 4. eRaUI can be hidden in case it is obscuring material on the page by using the arrow at the top-right

A user may find that the suggestions made by eRaUI are too advanced or simplistic for their needs, in which case they can choose from a serious of pre-set options to specify their user level.

Fig 4. The user can specify their user level to tailor their experience – i.e. by selecting ‘Novice Researcher’

eRaUI is able to provide dynamic previews of content in an adjacent pane, in order to assist in guiding the user towards the content they need. A preview can be generated by clicking the ‘eye’ icon next to a ‘go to’ link:

Fig 5. eRaUI can generate dynamic previews of suggested content

3. eRaUI embedded in an interface

Some developers may wish to add eRaUI to their website or web application as an integrated part of the existing interface. This can be achieved with almost as much ease as the widget implementation. For instance, the screenshot below illustrates an embedded eRaUI on the NaCTeM homepage:

Fig 6. eRaUI embedded on the NaCTeM homepage

The embedded implementation allows for a more seamless experience, and gives the user more options in terms of the style and layout of eRaUI.

Fig 7. Search and dynamic preview on an embedded eRaUI

Thus it can be seen that there are a two principal means in which eRaUI can be implemented over an existing website interface. Adding eRaUI to a website should be very simple for webmasters, typically involving only a line or two of code and possibly the copying of some files on to the target web server. Once implemented, eRaUI makes it easier for users of a website or service to locate the material they are looking for.

4. Proposed technical specifications for eRaUI

· eRaUI would be able to be plugged into any web-based system or website. It would not replace the existing system's interface, but would reside on top of it. In practical terms, this would mean that eRaUI would reside as a helper widget in the corner of a broswer window. An embedded implemtation would also be available, allowing eRaUI to ingrate seamlessly with the target website.

· eRaUI would provide a search box. Putting a query into the box would cause suggestions to be dynamically generated and displayed beneath the box.

· eRaUI would learn from previous searches, and the behaviour of users having made searches. This learning would be reliant upon the data collected on a centralised server over time as users interact with eRaUI.

· eRaUI would also allow the user to choose content by means of links beneath the search box. These links would by dynamically generated according to the contents of the box, the activity of the user and the user's cookie info, IP and other factors.

· eRaUI would be receptive to conditions such as IP address (resolving to a particular country), browser http headers etc.

· eRaUI could show previews of web content by means of cascading windows or some similar mechanism.

· eRaUI would be based around jQuery on the client side for maximum browser acceptance. On the server side, eRaUI would employ PHP (for non-persistent requests) and Java. IFrames may play a significant role in the implementation of eRaUI.

· eRaUI would be configurable to particular types of system, but would also work 'out of the box' for novice installers.

· The eRaUI back end activity could be handled by a single centralised server. This could enable machine-learning across a wide variety of systems.

5. eRaUI – ease of use and deployability

· Generic - can work not only with NaCTeM and MapTube but with any system.

· Practical - could be installed with minimal difficulty on top of any existing interface and improve the usability of an otherwise hard to navigate system.

· The system can make extensive and practical use of machine-learning algorithms.

Project Plan - Work Plan, JISC Slides and Storyboard

The following documents help to define the eRaUI project. They are the Work Plan, Project Storyboard and PowerPoint slides illustrating the aims and objectives of eRaUI, which will be presented at tomorrow's JISC meeting.

eRaUI Story Board

eRaUI Work Plan

eRaUI JISC PowerPoint Presentation

eRaUI Meeting - Eamonn, Sahithi and Yanguo

On Friday the 25th Aug Eamonn, Sahthi and Yanguo met up to discuss the initial prototype for the eRaUI research tool. The meeting was productive and we discussed the following points:

• The forthcoming JISC meeting on the 31st Aug, and the materials, format of presentation which needs to be prepared.
• Reflections upon the current prototype of the eRaUI tool, and areas in which we might need to revise the prototype.
• The interoperability of NaCTeM and other research tools with the current eRaUI prototype.
• Recent new ideas for an implementation / architecture for the eRaUI tool.

The meeting was primarily an introductory chat and it was excellent to get everyone's point of view regarding the project. We three agreed loosely that the implementation ideas outlined in my previous blog post might be a good starting place for planning the development of the tool.

Thoughts on eRaUI

After some consideration I have come up with a possible architecture for the eRaUI tool, which I think might be a strong candidate for fulfilling the aims of the proposal. It would also allow us to create an open-source tool of significant practical value. I shall summarise the system by means of bullet points:

• eRaUI would be able to be plugged into any web-based system or website. It would not replace the existing system's interface, but would reside on top of it. In practical terms, this would probably mean that eRaUI would reside as a helper widget in the corner of a brower window, rather like the Google Translation widget and other similar tools.
• eRaUI would firstly provide a search box, rather similar to Google's site search. Putting a query into the box would cause suggestions to be dynamically generated and displayed beneath the box. Submitting the contents of box could conceivably bring up a larger window for in detail search.
• eRaUI would learn from previous searches, and the behaviour of users having made searches.
• eRaUI would also allow the user to choose content by means of links beneath the search box. These links would by dynamically generated according to the contents of the box, the activity of the user and the user's cookie info, IP and other factors.
• eRaUI would be receptive to conditions such as IP address (resolving to a particular country), browser http headers etc.
• eRaUI could show previews of web content by means of cascading windows or some similar mechanism.
• eRaUI would be based around jQuery on the client side for maximum browser acceptance. On the server side, eRaUI would employ PHP (for non-persistent requests) and Java.
• eRaUI would be configurable to particular types of system, but would also work 'out of the box' for novice installers.
• eRaUI back end activity could be handled by a single centralised server. This could enable machine-learning across a wide variety of systems.

If implemented would have the following positive aspects:

1. Generic - can work not only with NaCTeM and MapTube but with any system.
2. Practical - could be installed with minimal difficulty on top of any existing interface and improve the usability of an otherwise hard to navigate system.
3. The system can make extensive and practical use of machine-learning algorithms.

Please let me know your thoughts!

eRaUI Project Chart - First Draft

Here is the first draft of the project plan for eRaUI. This Gantt chart indicates the expected start and completion dates for the various deliverables which make up this project.

Meeting with eRaUI Developer

Hi,

Eamonn and myself met today for around 3hours to discuss and kick off eRaUI JISC project.In this meeting we went through the bid document and discussed and shared the understanding of the aim and each of the objectives of the eRaUI project.

We also set some tasks and deliverables for August 2011:
1. Eamonn will develop in a week a detailed Gnatt chart for each of the workpackages updating the dates from within August 2011 till March 2011 (One week).
2. Sart developing the project plan according to JISC project plan guide and also Ben's e-mail for the blog (one Months)
3. Introduce Eamonn to NaCTeM team so they can discuss ways of collabarating with them and also discuss the possibilities of how to integrate eRaUI and NaCTeM. Eamonn may travel to NaCTeM team in Manchester if that is required.
4. Start prototyping eRaUI interface reflecting the different objectives of the project and also accessing related research papers on machine learning and content based retrieval and also browse through open source codes such as Taverna, Kartoo, etc...

Regards,

Farhi

eRaUI Project Development

As from the 1st August I have been hired to work on the eRaUI project, and am looking forward to getting underway with this exciting new project!

First tasks will be to familiarise myself with the project, the documentation and so forth. The next priority will be to concentrate on some components of Work Package 1, such as the project plan in the first month, and also develop use-cases for eRaUI, so that we can find ways in which we can maximise the usefulness of the project.

If you have questions regarding the eRaUI project, please feel free to contact me.

Eamonn