Unified Communications Phase 3 (September 2009 - September 2010)
Last updated October 9, 2009
The next phase of the Unified Communications project will ensure that the tools we are adopting, namely,
- Email/Calendaring: Zimbra
- Learning Management System: Sakai
- Voice Messaging: AVST CallXpress
- Institutional Portal ("MyWellesley"): Luminis*
are configured and made available in a way that supports the academic and administrative work of the college. Discovery and documentation of existing processes and workflows embedded in our current tools (e.g., e-reserves, Copy Center requests, shared office calendars) will be developed into a plan to support these processes using the new tools. Once a shared plan for use and migration is in place, implementation and rollout to the community can begin.
*Important note: The Luminis portal ("MyWellesley") is part of this project as an integration point of new tools, access to Banner Self-Service, delivering personalized content, as well as having its own collaboration tools.
Opportunities to participate in the implementation discussion will be available soon. We would be delighted to talk about this project with you at any time. Please contact any one of us, or email our FirstClass conference, UC3.
>> More about the selection phase of this project
What is Unified Communications? Why is it important?
Unified Communications involves the integration and intersection of email, calendaring, learning management and collaboration tools (conferencing), voice mail, and messaging systems in coordination with a web portal to improve accessibility (including ease of use), communication, information creation and sharing, mobility and thus, productivity.
What is the timeline?
Please note that this timeline is subject to change.
- October - November 2009: Discover tool functionality, and map workflows to tools.
- November 2009: Piloting/testing of the Luminis portal ("MyWellesley") begins.
- Late January 2010: MyWellesley available. Provides access to Banner Self-Service.
- Late January/early February 2010: New voice/messaging system rolled out.
- Spring 2010: Piloting/testing email/calendaring and Learning Management Systems (LMS).
- May 2010: MyWellesley available as Entering Student Portal for Class of 2014.
- June 2010: Email/calendaring and LMS available.
- June - September 2010: Migration to new tools.
The following assumptions are being made about this project:
- Day-to-day functions of personal email and calendars will continue to be supported. Input will be requested early in the process to identify the processes and workflows that need to be supported.
- Tool functionality and options will be outlined early on in the process. Collaboration tools exist to a lesser or greater degree in all of the products; it needs to be decided which tools will provide the best functionality.
- Minimal modification will initially be made to the tools we have chosen in order to satisfy the planned schedule.
- Workflow plans and specifications for product design will be shared with the community as soon as possible.
Who is involved?
| Faculty Advisor Group |
Beth Hennessey
David O'Steen
Faculty TBD
|
| Student Advisory Group |
John O'Keefe
Heather Woods
Students TBD |
| Staff Advisory Group |
Donna Ng
Terry Ballantyne
Staff TBD |
| Email/Calendaring (Zimbra) Implementation Team |
Megan Adams Brooks, leader
Michael Sullivan
Leonor Martins
Rebecca Atwood
with Heather Woods, liaison to advisory groups |
| Learning Management System (Sakai) Team |
Rebecca Darling, leader
Mary Sprague
Betty Febo
Tim Cantin
with David O'Steen, liaison to advisory groups
|
| Voice/Messaging (AVST) Team |
Lisa Diethelm, leader
Don Nightingale
HanSu Kim
Marie Zou
with Sandy Roberts, liaison to advisory groups |
Senior staff will decide on principles surrounding the purpose of tools (e.g., moderation, public/private access, etc.).
Advisory groups of faculty, staff, and students will be formed to make recommendations to senior staff on policy, provide guidance on information collection, public communication, migration strategies, timelines, training, answer questions from Implementation teams, and order priorities for implementation if needed. Advisory groups will not be determining the look & feel of the tools, since minimal modification will be made in this phase. These teams will be co-lead by an IS staff member who will be a conduit between the Advisory Teams and the Implementation teams, providing product detail and design guidance.
Implementation teams are responsible for technical implementation: developing a project plan including timeline, decisions on services/workflow path, identifying policy issues, and recommending a migration strategy. The leader of this team will be responsible for coordination/integration with other products/services.
Throughout the process, members of the community will be encouraged to participate in data collection, feedback, and testing.
