Report for March 2021

MVM125: Connectivity - Off-campus  - RAG Status: GREEN

Report by Alan Gilchrist  

Achievements this period

• Lothian GP representative was contacted to discuss the distribution of up to 10 teaching tablets to GP practices, however due to potential changes in the GP provision, they have asked to delay distribution for at least a month.
• Child life and health representative was contacted to distribute teaching tablets to specific tutors of theirs.  They want to wait to check connectivity once they move into the new sick childrens hospital before taking any.

Issues

• None

Next Steps

• Continue to deploy teaching tablets to relevant locations.

MVM136 Practique Roll-out - RAG Status: GREEN

Report by Susan Ridder-Patrick

Achievements this period

• Filming for Vets March OSCEs completed
• Supplier delivered CSP (Critical Stop Point) functionality 
• DPIA/Privacy note work completed 
• Revised costs agreed with supplier
• Drafting of closure report underway

Issues

• Issue with payment of invoice in period 5 being investigated by Head of IT

Next Steps

• Marking in Practique of Vets OSCEs completed in April - this is final delivery
• Complete project closure

MVM139 Curriculum Mapping Tool (COMMAND) RAG Status: AMBER

Report by Arek Juszczyk

Achievements this period

• No development work done

Issues

• Live system server is case sensitive and this causes issues deploying the site

Next Steps

• Finish the work on deploying the site live

MVM140 CMVM eAssessment RAG Status: AMBER

Report by Alistair Wallace

Achievements this period

• None

Issues

• It became clear that the existing operational processes in BAU were not as effective as the business wanted.  A practical example with non UoE staff's names not feeding through evidenced that additional support was required in this area.  This issue has been highlighted again.  It has taken longer than anticipated to discuss and agree the operational processes required in BAU.  Target date is now end April 2021.
• Problems have been identified with the data download associated with reporting from Pebblepad.  While filtering can take place within the app, the download contains all the data and therefore is substantial and requires manual effort.  Investigation is taking place into the use of Power BI to assist and Pebblepad are being approached to identify if the download can be more easily managed.  A meeting has taken place with Pebblepad although the solution proposed by them has been rejected by the Business.  The business has built a Power BI report that meets their needs however the overhead to format the data to be used is still significant.  A meeting took place with Pebblepad on 31 March to explore solutions to address the worsening problem.
• ITIL have arranged a meeting to discuss the requirement for IS processes on 7 April

Next Steps

• Engage with ITL to review IS processes relating to support for Pebblepad

MVM141 Replacement for PathCAL/EROS and Labyrinth RAG Status: AMBER

Report by Susan Ridder-Patrick

Achievements in this period

• Student recruited for Flask conversion work and induction completed
• Students have completed initial conversion work for majority of "easy" flash conversions and requests are with academics for approval
• Requirements gathering for replacement system(s) completed and sign-off process underway

Issues

• It is proving difficult to get right engagement with academics for review of converted Flash work - escalation in progress
• No resource yet identified for the more challenging flash conversions
• No response from JISC Collections so advisory banner being applied to application to advise that service will be ending imminently and JISC have been advised that the service will be ending.

Next Steps

• Complete Recruitment resource for challening Flash conversions
• Gain input/approval from academics on content already converted from Flash
• Complete process to identify owners of content that does not contain Flash
• Complete sign-off of the Business Requirements Document (BRD)
• Design of future state for replacement of PathCAL/EROS and Labyrinth
• Re-estimate project as part of Design stage

MVM142 CMVM Study Spaces RAG Status: GREEN

Report by Sheila Fraser

Achievements this period

• Comms to dental students completed, and change of booking system to SeatEd went live for Dentistry on target date of 15th March.
• Risk of non-Dentistry students booking restricted space became an issue as non-Dental students were ignoring the "[**ONLY DENTAL ACCESS**]" label. All bookings were checked, and non-dental students immediately notified that they were unable to access the space and the booking cancelled. A temporary fix was implemented, which will be superceded in approx July when restrictions will be included in functionality.
• Temporary MS Booking solution - functional accounts confirmed as removed, MS Booking site deletion requested via Helpline

Issues

• Initial issues with non-dental students booking - RESOLVED
• Reduced ability to undertake manual workaround due to new COVID restrictions impacting project manager availability - RESOLVED

Next Steps

• Complete decommissioning of existing MS Booking solution
• Determine whether further actions are required to support planning assumptions for Semester 1, or whether project can close
• Close project

MVM143 Upgrading of Teaching Spaces 2020/21 RAG Status: GREEN

Report by Alan Gilchrist

Achievements this period

• AV contractor for the Greenfield Suite rooms and Henry Littlejohn rooms have been provided with relevant network details, so that equipment can be preconfigured in preparation for the installations beginning in April.
• Manufacturer of the SMOTS system has been contacted to provide a quote for the replacement of equipment located in the Chancellor's building.

Issues

• None

Next Steps

• Receive quote for replacement SMOTS equipment and cost permitting raise a purchase order and organise an installation date.
• Confirm installation dates for the remaining rooms from last year's list and book in the AV installers.
• Decide on final list of rooms to upgrade this year based on limited funding (if any is available).
• Create AV designs and then tender documents for each of the new room upgrades.

MVM144 Upgrading of student computer labs, teaching and meeting room PCs 2020/21 RAG Status: GREEN

Report by Alan Gilchrist

Achievements this period

• Purchase order for 14 x teaching spaces computers has been raised.

Issues

• None

Next Steps

• Discuss replacements with local IT teams to identify suitable dates for delivery and install.
• Purchase remaining replacement computers.
• Peter to start to look at possible alternatives to the standard student computer lab devices.

MVM145 Accessibility for MVMLAT applications RAG Status:  GREEN

Report by Karen Howie

Achievements this period

• 1 new accessibility statement completed this month.
• Still working on a full site audit

Issues

• None

Next Steps

• Complete project brief
• Continue compiling full side audit

MVM146 MBChB Supported Student Database RAG Status: GREEN

Report by Richard Lawson

Achievements this period

• Added contexts to db tables and updated code so that the site is multi-tenant. Means that vet and medical students can use site and be unaware of each other.
• Altered various drop downs, so that medical school users see different option when creating a new request for student support etc.
• Added ability for admin to add multiple actions for a student support request. Previously, this was restricted to a single action.

Issues

• It's possible that the feed may not be set up by the end of April. We have requested that apps alter the feed to include interrupted students, but have yet to hear back.

Next Steps

• Allow medical school admins to search by follow up date
• Handle interrupted students on site
• Complete DPIA for live feed
• Organise set up of live feed
• Setup hosting for live site

EEMeC and EEVeC

The programme has been and continues to complete projects to close down functionality on both EEMeC and EEVeC with a view to eventually decommissioning.  There is a requirement to maintain (read only) access for a period and the programme is in the process of determining those dates for its 3 year plan.

TEL056: Edinburgh Surgery Online Learn go-live - RAG Status: CLOSED

• This project has now closed. The Closure report is available.

DTP001: Apps to User Devices - RAG Status: CLOSED

• This project has now closed. The Closure report is available.
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HSS022: CAHSS WAM Deployment  - RAG Status: BLUE - Closed

• This project has now closed. The Closure report is available.

TEL057: Learn Foundations - RAG Status: RED

Achievements in the last period

• Continued Phase Three programme of engagement.

• Continued Phase Three programme of user experience (All Learn Foundations user experience work completed with final analysis undwerway).

• Continued with Phase Three workstreams, including:

  • User Experience: Providing additional information around both student and staff requirements in relation to hybrid teaching (particularly virtual classrooms);
  • Support and Guidance: Looking at additional support and guidance when using Learning Technology to make the most of out each course;
  • Best Practise: Provision of sharing best practise to afford colleagues the opportunity to review other courses that may enhance the delivery of their own course (or in turn, share their best practise for others to benefit from);
  • Student Recruitment: Recruitment of student interns across the summer of 2021 to support with the delivery of the project.  Still to be undertaken once go-ahead from IS confirmed.

Issues

• Project has been raised to RED due to the recruitment freeze imapcting two core project team members.

Next Steps

• Continue Phase Three programme of engagement.

• Continue Phase Three programme of user experience.

• Continue with Phase Three workstreams, including:

  • Support and Guidance: Looking at additional support and guidance when using Learning Technology to make the most of out each course;
  • Best Practise: Provision of sharing best practise to afford colleagues the opportunity to review other courses that may enhance the delivery of their own course (or in turn, share their best practise for others to benefit from);
  • Student Recruitment: Recruitment of student interns across the summer of 2021 to support with the delivery of the project.
  • Template: Final decisions to be made on the next iteration of the template in preparation for the Phase Three build being created.
• Support the Learn User Base Navigation Project with user experience activities - pulling from the work undertaken by Learn Foundations in Phase One and Phase Three

TEL068: e-Assessment Procurement and Implementation - RAG Status:  GREEN (This is February's report)

Last month.

• The Invitation to Tender has been drafted and is being reviewed.
• The budget has been approved.  The purchase of this QMP replacement will come from existing funds.
• Although delayed as the budget was approved we remain on schedule to deliver the replacement service in the summer of 2021.

Issues

• None

Next steps

• Approve and release the ITT

TEL071: Provisioning of Teams for Teaching - RAG Status: RED

An interim options appraisal report updated on the 19th of Jan can be found here. https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/p0345

Last month

• Use Case gathering has continued with fifteen use cases detailed so far for our final report which will arrive at the end of April.
• The Technical Working Group have a discussion paper looking at a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that could be put in place for the next academic year.
• The MVP will look to automate the creation of an MS Team (M365 Group) for all courses, where one is required.  This was identified in our December options paper as the most helpful first step towards automation that 
• The technology is being developed by Applications Service Management, in conjunction with colleagues from CSE and CAHSS.

Issues

• All issues reported in previous months remain and the project team wish to highlight this again.

  • MS Teams as part of M365 has critically limited Service Management resource as an application for teaching and so this work will be slow to take forward.
  • The technical work we are doing is not backed by any design and development budget and so may fail, or have a sub-optimal solution such as a poor data source, or most likely be delayed beyond the start of term.
  • Should MS Teams usage increase the support on offer must increase to match this.  That service enhancement requires backing and budget from the SLT.
  • Some of the uses of MS Teams can be covered by policies such as the Virtual Classroom, but that still leaves many gaps and not enough service resource to examine them.  For example, what will the retention policy be for MS Teams created for teaching purposes? 
• This small options project cannot be expected to take this work further than the report we are due to submit at the end of April.  To take this work further requires a new programme/project with resource, plus a comprehensive governance structure help tackle the issues highlighted in this section.  Should this not be initiated in April, then theTEL071 project should close and our work taken forward within service instead.
• To move forward 0.5FTE is required in Apps Service Management as dedicated Service Management resource for MS Teams to cover projectr work and the ongoing service. 0.5FTE will be required within LTW (most likely EDE) to support the use of MS Teams for Teaching during the project.  Dev Services resource will be required to curate an appropriate data source for the automated creation of an MS Team for each course.  Additional allocation of resources within Apps Service Management will be required to build the M365 application and a MS Teams User Group setup to consider who, within schools will have access to the Application for creating MS Teams.

Next Steps

• The team will continue within the confines of our resources and scope to deliver the end of April report on Use Case activity across the campus and a prototype for the programmatic creation of MS Teams for each course.

TEL072: Zoom integration for Teaching - RAG Status: AMBER

An interim options appraisal report can be found here. https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/p0345

Last month

• Zoom Test has now been setup which means the testing of the necessary changes to Single Sign On (SSO) can now proceed.

Issues

• No additional issues.

Next Month

• Conduct the Test for changes to SSO.