Overview
Background
LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system; it includes features designed for the production of technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is the de facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents and is used currently by the University as a stand alone tool for users.
ShareLaTeX and Overleaf are online LaTeX editors that allow real-time collaboration and online compiling of projects to PDF format.
Currently there are a number of users across the College for OverLeaf and ShareLaTex, primarily of their free services, and it has been raised as to whether the university could get a license for OverLeaf. Some initial polling of opinion has been gathered from academics and research assistants in Engineering and almost all responses have been positive and encouraging (approx. 30).
Initial investigations have also shown that many of the high end competitors of the University (Imperial, Cambridge) have site licenses for OverLeaf or ShareLaTex which they offer to both academics and students.
The Senior User of the project has secured a discount with OverLeaf to pilot it for one year, which started in January 2018. The aim of the pilot is to demonstrate that there is enough interest in the product which will be used as evidence to support the business case for purchasing a site wide license.
In Scope
This project aims to support the Project Sponsor and Senior User in putting forward a viable business case for the on-going funding of an online LaTeX collaborative writing and publishing tool. The project will achieve this by:
- Defining and implementing appropriate measures that will help support the business case
- Identifying and implementing methods for encouraging user participation in pilot across additional schools
- Summarising and presenting collated data in a format suitable for inclusion in business case.
Out of Scope
The following is out of scope of the project:
- Writing of Business Case
- Managing of licenses
- Providing any training or guidance on how to use tools
- Implementation of business case outcome
Objectives and Deliverables
|
ID |
Description |
Priority (MoSCoW) |
Owner |
|
O1 |
To define and implement appropriate measures that will help support the business case |
Must |
Project Services |
|
D1.1 |
Project Approach Plan (Data Gathering) |
M |
Project Services |
|
O2 |
To identify and implement methods for encouraging user participation in the pilot across additional schools |
Must |
Project Services |
|
D2.1 |
Project Approach Plan (Marketing) |
S |
Project Services |
|
O3 |
To summarise and present collated data in a format suitable for inclusion in business case. |
Must |
Project Services |
| D3.1 | Project Approach Plan (Data Presentation) | S | Project Services |
|
D3.2 |
Business Case Metrics Report |
M |
Project Services |
Benefits
ShareLaTeX and Overleaf are online LaTeX editors that allow real-time collaboration and online compiling of projects to PDF format. These tools provide a number of benefits to academics and students who have a need to produce technical and scientific documents in a collaborative setting:
- LaTeX on your iPad - Edit online from anywhere and on any device - Overleaf works on iPads, tablets and smartphones.
- Effortless Sharing - Every project created has a secret link. This can be sent to co-authors so they can review, comment and edit.
- Merges changes from all authors transparently, so everyone always has the latest version.
- Real-time Preview - Compiles the project in the background
- Shows errors & warnings throughout, so they can be caught early and are shown inline so no need to find them in the LaTeX log
Success Criteria
|
Deliverable Reference |
Description |
Measure |
|
D1.1 |
Project Approach Plan (Data Gathering) |
Signed off by Project Sponsor |
|
D2.1 |
Project Approach Plan (Marketing) |
Signed off by Project Sponsor |
|
D3.1 |
Project Approach Plan (Data Presentation) |
Signed off by Project Sponsor |
|
D3.2 |
Business Case Metrics Report |
Signed off by Project Sponsor |
Project Milestones
Target Date |
Previous Date | Title | Stage | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28-May-2018 | No date available | Planning Phase Completed | Plan | No |
| 11-Jun-2018 | No date available | Project Approach Plan Implemented | Execute | No |
| 11-Jun-2018 | No date available | Project Suspended | Execute | No |
| 01-Oct-2018 | No date available | Project Restarted | Deliver | No |
| 30-Oct-2018 | No date available | Business Case Metrics Report Delivered | Deliver | No |
| 06-Nov-2018 | No date available | Project Closure Completed | Close | No |