Build update: Oliver build, user interface designs, HunchWorks UX, Spine design, Shunt

[Sara Farmer]

Hi all,

The build plan for the GlobalPulse platform ("Oliver") currently goes
like this:

1) Build a minimal Ruby/Rails/Mongo system that acts as a repository
for data sources and tools: this is the 'platform template'.

2) Create instances of the platform for the New York and Uganda labs.
Populate them with the dataset and tool links that we've collected
over the past months, including links for the 'crisis toolkit' that we
want to bundle up with the platform template.

3) Start getting user feedback on the repository part of the system,
and implement any changes we need to it.

4) Plan the second build - discuss the platform template's features
and further elements that need to go into it (e.g. situation awareness
tools).

5) Second build.

Right now we're at stage 1 and about to hit stage 2 and 3. How you
can help? The designs for this system are all in the Oliver github
wiki at https://github.com/global-pulse/oliver/wiki - specific help
needed here is:

* Discussion of the user interfaces (https://github.com/global-pulse/
oliver/wiki/User-interfaces)
* The database elements needed to support these user interfaces
* Coding help is also always appreciated: Ruby/Rails/Mongo for this
part of the system.

If you want to edit the diagrams used for user interfaces, they're all
done in Pencil. We've added them to the wiki but github makes it a
bit of a faff to get at them - basically, you need to git clone the
wiki or you won't be able to see the img directory they're held in at
all.

Oh buggrit. Right. All the Pencil diagrams will be in directory
https://github.com/global-pulse/oliver/tree/master/img - all the
diagrams used by the wiki will stay in the hidden directory for now.
If you're not a git maestro and don't fancy learning how to use it,
then just email your corrections/ suggestions to these for now.
Pencil is a Firefox addon (http://pencil.evolus.vn/en-US/Home.aspx)
with standalone versions available for Windows and Linux. There isn't
a FireFox4 or mac version yet, but it was the closest I could get to a
decent interface design tool that everyone could access.

Meanwhile, stuff happening elsewhere in this space:

* UX design for the HunchWorks is due to start mid-month. We're
planning to back this up with a back-end prototype build for this
during June. Designs for this will go here: https://github.com/global-pulse/HunchShare/wiki
once we've got the Oliver designs tidied up. This will probably be
another Ruby/Rails build.

* The top-level (Spine) operational designs are trundling along - with
stuff being slowly ported into https://github.com/global-pulse/Spine/wiki
- this is more of a "how do we get UN operational systems working
together" design exercise than a build.

* We're playing with tools and knocking up some small stuff as part of
analysis work - they'll migrate into the toolset design (Shunt) wiki
at https://github.com/global-pulse/shunt/wiki - the build for this
will be in Python, but we'll accept tools written in other languages
too.

Okay - that's about it on the builds at the moment. Will try to keep
you all posted as it happens.

Thank you,



Sara.