Transcript A QA Framework To Support Your Library Web Site Review

A QA Framework To Support
Your Library Web Site Review
Brian Kelly
UKOLN
University of Bath
Bath
Email: [email protected]
URL: <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/>
This presentation and associated files are available at:
<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/presentations/lse-07-2003/>
UKOLN is supported by:
A centre of expertise in digital information management
Contents
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Background
A QA Approach
The QA Focus Project
Application To LSE Library
Advice
Questions
A centre of expertise in digital information management
Background
About Me
Brian Kelly:
• Funded by JISC to provide the Web Focus
advisory service to the UK HE and FE community
• Based in UKOLN, a centre of expertise in digital
information management
• Located at the University of Bath
• Project manager of the JISC-funded QA Focus
advisory service
A centre of expertise in digital information management
Background
Background
There is a clear need for checking processes for Web
services in order to:
• Ensure that resources comply with appropriate
standards in order to maximise their interoperability
and avoid platform- and application-dependencies
• Ensure that resources work correctly today in a
range of environments (e.g. Opera, Mac, … users)
• Ensure that resources can be repurposed:
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New devices such as PDAs
Accessibility aids
By software
Migrate to new formats (XHTML 2.0)
• Ensure that the content is accurate, relevant, timely,
… management
A centrecomprehensible,
of expertise in digital information
Background
Approaches
A variety of approaches can be taken:
• Centralised approach, with all publications being
vetted by central body
• Periodic reviews
• Peer reviews
• Independent reviews
• Automated testing
• Manual checking
which may:
• Check compliance against documented criteria
• Be open-ended
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Background
A QA Approach
An approach based on Quality Assurance (QA):
• Requires documented criteria
• Addresses work flow issues (why did the system
fail and how can we fix it)
• Based on systematic checking, audit trails, etc.
QA:
• May be considered bureaucratic and timeconsuming
• Can be implemented in a lightweight fashion and
provide clear benefits to organisations
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Background
QA Focus
QA Focus:
• Funded by JISC to support 5/99 programme
• Seeks to ensure project deliverables are
interoperable and comply with appropriate
standards & best practices
• Provides advice on appropriate QA procedures
• Provided by UKOLN and AHDS
Our approach:
• Surveys of communities
• Provide advice and commission case studies
• Recommend QA Policies
• Promote use of compliance tools
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• Seek to embed QA practices within institutions
LSE Review
Application To LSE Library
The QA Focus methodology has been applied to
selected resources on the LSE library Web site:
• Compliance with standards
• Formats
• Repurposing
• Key navigational aspects
In addition some suggestions for enhancement are
provided
Note the focus is on the technical aspects
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LSE Surveys
Surveys (1)
A number of surveys of a selection of resources was
carried out using a variety of automated tools
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LSE Surveys
Surveys (2)
Surveys (continued)
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LSE Surveys
Surveys (3)
Surveys (continued)
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Advice
QA Framework
Consider deploying QA Focus's methodology:
• Make systematic use of a self-assessment
toolkit to validate QA (as discussed)
• Provide policies which document standards and
best practices you will deploy, the architecture
used for implementation and the approach to
checking compliance
• Implement in areas such as metadata, software
development, digitisation, …
• Mandate QA when commissioning new work
See "Deployment Of Quality Assurance Procedures For Digital
Library Programmes" paper which outlines CDLR's comments on
this
methodology
for Victorian
Times
A centre
of expertise in digital
information management
Advice
QA Policies
You may find it easier to improve your Web site if you
have documented QA policies and procedures
Area: Web standards
Policy: Web resources will be based on HTML 4.0 and CSS
2.0. Resource will comply with these standards. We will
seek to migrate to XHTML 1.0.
Architecture: Dreamweaver is the recommended tool. HTML
generated by scripts will output to XHTML 1.0.
Exceptions: Proprietary format converted to HTML (e.g. MS
PowerPoint) will not necessarily be compliant.
Compliance Testing: Authors are expected to check
compliance when updating resources. Monthly batch
compliance reports will be carried out and an audit trail kept.
SeeA centre
<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/papers/eunis-2003/>
of expertise in digital information management
Advice
Compliance Checking Tools
You will need tools to ensure that you comply with
your policies
As an example of approach
Ask your Web manager if he can
implement this lightweight solution
which provides easier access
to testing tools, see the
,tools approach deployed
on UKOLN Web site.
This approach:
• Applies to all resources on
Web site
• Covers HTML and CSS
validation and various
other tests
• Some recursive apps
(,rvalidate)
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• Easily implemented with
single line redirect
Advice
Exploit Advice
QA Focus has a
range of advisory
documents, case
studies, papers, etc.
Feel free to:
• Use the advice
provided
• Contribute to the
case studies
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Advice
Change Control Strategies
Strategies for deploying new best practices:
• Training, organisational commitment, …
• New templates, updating scripts, etc.
• Use of automated tools
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The online
version of
Tidy can
convert
resources
to valid
XHTML
Questions
Any questions?
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