Some use cases are in, some use cases are out

Over the last few weeks we've been thrashing out the details of what's possible within DURA, in terms of the technical architecture of what connects to what, out of our system components (at least 2 out of the 3: Mendeley, Symplectic, and the repository).

We started by asking the big questions - how many different possible architectures could exist within the overall scope of DURA? what use cases might this sort of system support long term? - and then narrowed down to a set of use cases we feel are feasible within the project timescale and budget.  This means we aren't going to address every possible use case in the project, but will get some solid groundwork done, which other efforts can build upon in the future (by adding different repository platforms, or Repository Junction, or adding support for other reference manager systems, and so on).


So, what are we going to aim to do in the first instance?  The project has identified three major use cases we'd like to support:


Use case 1

The researcher in this case is on a campus which has Symplectic deployed (including the Repository Tools system, which connects to the institutional repository). They already have a Symplectic account and a Mendeley account.

The researcher starts using the DURA system when they are logged in to Symplectic.

This use case must work for Cambridge (ie. with our single sign on system and related requirements, and our DSpace repository) and ideally will work for the general case (ie. another campus with Symplectic and a repository) too.




Use case 2

The researcher has a Symplectic account, which they have used, and also a Mendeley account.

The researcher starts using the DURA system when they are using Mendeley.


This use case must work for Cambridge (ie. with our single sign on system and related requirements, and our DSpace repository) and ideally will work for the general case (ie. another campus with Symplectic and a repository) too.


Ideally, this also supports the case where the researcher hasn't used Symplectic yet, but does have an account (which will have been automatically created for them by their institution). (This might require a subtley different workflow.)


Optionally, this also includes the case where the researcher actually isn't eligible to use Symplectic on campus - for example, if they are a PhD student whose research publications are not monitored centrally by their university. In this case, the pattern of behaviour should smoothly segue into:




Use case 3


The researcher is a Mendeley user, who either isn't eligible to use Symplectic at their institution, or who is at a campus which doesn't have Symplectic deployed.

This use case must work for Cambridge (ie. with our single sign on system and related requirements) and ideally will work for the general case (ie. another campus with a DSpace repository) too.


The researcher starts using the DURA system when they are using Mendeley.