The Vision
The aims and objectives of the project were described in the bid document in terms of envisaging scenarios. The full list of scenarios is included in the project final report. Together these scenarios formed the vision of the system in a way that could be easily conveyed to potential users of the system and the project team. This was important to promote a shared understanding of what the team intended to implement at the start of the project. An example scenario from each of the partners is shown below.
SURF
I am a student at Staffordshire University who works flexibly as I am a single parent. I connect to the University’s Portal over the Internet. When I log in, I can see a list of all the modules I have taken so far and the modules I am currently registered for. By clicking on their entry, I can see more detail about each module. I can also see my personal details, such as address, transcript, etc, as held by the University. I have just changed my phone number so I click on a button and enter the new number. (This is sent to the relevant people at the University who change the entry in the MIS system).
WETN
I am sales manager at Spencer Davies Engineering in Burry Port, South Wales. I have responsibility for the company web site and, more recently, for the development of our ability to carry out supplier and customer transactions on-line. To develop my skills in this area I am enrolled as a graduate student at Coleg Sir Gâr on an on-line Foundation Degree in e-Commerce validated by the University of Glamorgan. When I log on, I connect to the Virtualcollege Portal which gives me access to the modules I am currently studying, as well as a range of other resources and information including my Learner Record and ePortfolio. This information is important to the company as it confirms progress against my Personal Development Plan and, along with those for other employees, contributes to the company’s IIP status. As I understand it, the modules for this course were developed across Wales by a network of all the colleges in the country a and I am supported by the tutors at those colleges as I progress through those modules.
NIIMLE
I’m in the final year of my FE course and want to go to university. I log onto the NIIMLE portal using my current username and password from my college and select the pathways service. From here I can view details of courses I can progress to in HE institutions. Each course is supported by an online mentoring service where I can link directly to an academic in a discussion forum. I can also drill down to the FAQs section relating to the course for answers to the most common queries.