Welcome to the Projects User Guide – a place to learn how to start and manage a project, and how to use project tools for collaboration and data management.
This guide is specific to Purdue University Research Repository hub and describes key capabilities as of September 2011. We will be adding more information as documentation becomes available, or as new features are added.
1. Introduction
Projects offer a new convenient way to collaborate with your team on a variety of tasks, such as application development, proposal writing, data collection, etc., and help effectively manage your data, workflow and communication.
With each project you get:
- Git-based repository for your data with a simple built-in web browser;
- Wiki area for your project notes;
- To-do list management;
- Facebook-like microblogging tool providing a stream of project updates from all team members, with the ability to comment on certain activities (project ‘wall’).
In the works are an application development and management tool and a publishing tool to deliver project data and apps as hub publications, as well as several other features to facilitate collaboration and make your project a success. Access the introductory Projects page via the Projects link in the top menu of this hub. Learn more about available and planned features on the Project Features page and submit your suggestions!
2. Explore Projects
2.1. Public and private projects
Projects can be made public or private.
Public projects are listed in the public project directory, with the basic project information visible to users and visitors of the site.
Private projects do not appear in the public directory or in search and are accessible only by their project team members.
By default, all newly created projects are private, unless the project creator decides to make it public from the start. Managers can change the privacy of the project at any time by editing project information. The public/private status of a project is displayed on the right-hand corner of the project page when viewed by project members.
Public project view.
Public projects have a special public view of their project page, which shows project thumbnail, title, description, owner, creation date and status. Managers can configure their project to also list members of its team on the public page. Members of the project team can preview the public page as it would appear to non-members by clicking on “View public profile” link in Manager/Collaborator options box.
2.2. Projects and groups
Groups and projects are both collaborative tools and can be effectively used together, or apart. To clear up any possible confusion: the key difference between groups and projects is that projects almost always involve data management and file sharing. That is, data management is the main purpose for starting a project. In a way, projects extend groups to support data management, and a group can create multiple projects to manage different data sets. At the same time, projects do not require group ownership. They can be started and owned by an individual user. The project team can then use the project space for collaboration. This works well for task-focused projects, where the team is assembled to complete a particular task (e.g. writing a proposal) and there is no immediate need for communication outside the scope of the project.
If you wonder where to start, ask yourself whether you are planning to work with the same team of people on other projects in the future. If so, it may be better to start by creating a group and making it a group project. Otherwise start directly by opening a project. Please note that on this hub only Purdue faculty and staff can create projects.
The system is flexible, and there is new functionality in development (e.g. transfer of ownership) to allow even more flexibility as your project evolves.
The diagram below demonstrates possible relationships between users, groups and projects.
Learn more about Groups.
Project ownership
Projects can be owned by individual users or groups. Ownership matters mostly for project presentation and discoverability. The owner name shows next to the project name on the project page and project listings. All projects belonging to a user or a group can be easily found under the user profile or the group page.
Starting group projects.
You can start a group project by clicking on ‘Start a Project’ link on your group projects page:
When a group-owned project is created, the project team is pre-populated with the active members of the group. All group members except for the project creator are added to the project in collaborator role. The project creator is added in manager role and can set project roles as desired for each added member individually.
Adding groups to a project.
When a project manager adds a whole group to the project team, the group is always treated as one entity. Their project membership is valid as long as their group membership is valid, which means that if you joined a project as part of a group and later decide to leave the group, you will no longer be able to access the project. At the same time, when you join a group, you instantly get access to any projects the group owns.
TIP: If you want only particular members of a group to join your project, do not invite the whole group but rather add people as individuals, so that you have more control over their membership in the project.
2.3. Finding projects
Every project has a unique alias name which helps build the project URL. For a project named ‘myproject’ the URL would be thishub/projects/myproject.
All of the projects you have access to will be listed on the main project page (https://research.hub.purdue.edu/projects), if you are logged in to the site.
Additionally, you can find your projects by going to (My HUB) page accessible via the top site menu. If you do not see the My Projects module already, you can activate it by clicking on the Personalize link on the top right and adding the module to the page. The module will list some or all of your projects with a link to your profile page, which has the full list of projects you own or have access to. The module will also show you if there have been any updates to the project since your last visit.
Another way you can find your projects is by going to the Projects tab on your profile page (click on the My Account link in the site header, then click on the Projects tab). There you will find the full list of projects you own and other projects that you have access to, along with an Updates Feed collecting activities across all your projects.
Similarly, each group has a listing of all group projects under the Projects tab of a group page. The Updates Feed will show recent activities across all group projects.
2.4. Project team roles
A project team member can be either a project manager or collaborator. Only managers can set member roles.
Collaborators can:
- upload and manage project files,
- edit project publications,
- use available project tools, e.g. notes and to-do’s
Managers can:
- invite or remove other team members,
- change project information and global settings
- do everything that a collaborator can do
3. Start a project
Important! Projects on Purdue University Research Repository hub can be created only by Purdue University faculty and staff. If you’re coming from another institution but working with Purdue on a sponsored research project, ask your Purdue contacts to create the project area for you and invite you as a participant.
You can start a project from the main Projects page, from My Projects module on My HUB page and the projects listing under your profile.
Group projects must be started from the Projects tab on the group page.
Project setup consists of three easy steps. Required information inlcudes the project title, alias name, project team with at least one member and a privacy terms agreement. You have the option to provide further details at the time of project registration or any time after the setup is complete. If you start the setup process and abandon it, you can always get back to the place where you left off and continue.
3.1. Setup step 1: Describe your project
Whether your project is a complex application, a code library or a simple download, – you’ll need to give it a short but descriptive title and a unique alias name to be used in your project URL. You can edit the title of your project at any time, but the unique name cannot change, so pick a good one now! It is best if the name sounds similar or related to your project title. For example, if the title is ‘CNTbands Simulator’, a good choice for the name would be ‘cntbands’. You would then access your project by going to thishub.org/projects/cntbands.