Overview

Background

The Visitor Registration System (VRS) is mainly used to create records for people who need access to University computing services but who aren't contracted members of staff or matriculating students. The process for creating a visitor is manual, requiring an authorised user to create each visitor record individually. This is a very time-consuming process with some schools experiencing peak periods of visitors resulting in an unsustainable spike of effort being required. In addition, the process is error prone given its manual nature. 

There are many areas across the University that currently have to create large numbers of visitor records, both staff and students.

Several points worth noting:

• The VRS system is currently used as the default route to get a non-staff or a non-matriculating student access to university services. However, it is the IDM service that actually provides the computing accounts that are being sought.
• VRS is an old system, written in code that is now unsupported and as such should be deemed as no longer fit for purpose. Therefore any work done with the system has to be viewed as for the short-term only until the University has developed an alternative solution for this type of identity relationship with the University. Any solution with the current VRS should also be considered as running with a higher level of risk than normal supported services. Support for this project's VRS deliverables can only be provided on a "best endeavours" basis.
• For issuing credentials to new students ahead of their start date, a process has been implemented which uses a second security challenge for EASE.
• The University already has COL students registered in CESAR and ideally identities created in one system will be perpetuated in all systems rather than eg autogenerating v1xxxx identities.

• MVM did have bulk end date updates completed on the VRS system, not bulk creation, but the project will reflect on what was done in Unidesk calls (I191112-1015 and I180821-1134) and re-use logic where possible. In addition, for the external examiners staff groupings, the project will refer to the University procedures for how the University has to engage External Examiners to ensure HMRC rules are met.

Scope

• The ability to bulk create visitors' computing accounts, assign services to those accounts and to issue credentials are all in scope. This project's scope is to be delivered in as simple a solution as possible and in as short a timescale as resources permit. Therefore the analysis and design will look at the most basic solution that sufficiently satisfies the scope.

Out of scope

• Any dependency with the People and Money (P&M/Core) programme. If the P&M programme provides a solution for the issuing of credentials within this project's timescales, that is also applicable for visitors' accounts, then this project will aim to re-use this. If the P&M programme delivers a re-usable mechanism after this project has closed then the recommendation will be to move to the same issuing mechanism as a future improvement.
• Any enhancements or work on VRS that is not required for this project's deliverables.

Objectives and Deliverables

Benefits

Success Criteria

• Schools/Colleges can bulk create Visitors' computing accounts
• Bulk process assigns services to Visitors' computing accounts

Project Milestones

Please note that until the Analysis and Design are completed, it is unclear what will be approved to be built and implemented. At the re-estimation checkpoint, the project's build to delivery scope and milestones will be agreed. The delivery date should be considered at risk at this stage.