Phase 2 Overview
Phase 2 is coming together!
The design and documentation of Phase 2 is well under way and has been over the course of a year. Progress to date has been to build a potential design, create a working database, build a proof of concept and create a documentation site. As a software engineering project, process and planning are the keys to a successful development project that meets the needs of the entire PG community.
So far so good.
Project Plan for Phase 2
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Get people involved |
| 2 | Decide what goes in Phase 2 |
| 3 | Document planned design and new features |
| 4 | Develop a Proof of Concept |
| 5 | Build a Documentation Site |
| 6 | Do a demonstration and proposal, seek approval to proceed |
| 7 | Develop the database and website |
| 8 | Involve others in testing and feedback |
| 9 | Migrate Phase 1 pages and content to Phase 2 |
| 10 | Release in 6 months or less |
What’s good about a Project Plan?
This plan allows stakeholders an opportunity to provide input and review of all changes before accepting any proposal, and then have something to gauge later to see if we met the requirements. It also allows the developer to fully understand all the work ahead of time so that individual pieces fit together as a single unit. Writing documentation first, and having agreement with stakeholders, ensures we build the right thing. No design document is a contract, and not all code will adhere to the design. Things change. Documentation becomes a guide to make sure all the features requested are implemented in the final release. It avoids issues down the road, like a dispute of what was SUPPOSED to chang and didn’t. The problem with documentation is that it often becomes out of date quickly.
As such, I prefer a Documentation Site (pgfacts.org) because it is much easier to maintain vs a document folder containing many separate documents, or even printed versions or emails. A website becomes the only source of truth, and distribution is dirt simple just by visiting pgfacts.org.
Why is it called pgfacts? All Things PG purchased a number of domains early on, anythihng that sounded interesting. This one was of them not being used and seemed closest as a domain name for the purpose intended. It didn’t cost anything extra to use it and we were paying for it anyway.
What are the main steps to build Phase 2?
The key vision and objectives for Phase 2 will be:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Clarify the mission of All Things PG and the goals of the website (always the central goal) |
| 2 | Identify the audience, who will be using the website and why (also referred to as Use Cases) |
| 3 | Identify Phase 2 features that will support the mission and purpose of the ATPG website |
| 4 | Create a well designed and powerful database that supports all the new features and beyond |
| 5 | Enhance the user experience and make it easier to find what you're looking for (a more guided experience) |
| 6 | Collect data to support development of future releases (usuage data, logs, error logs, profile information etc) |
| 7 | Store data to support lists of patients, caregivers, providers, pharma, trials, research etc for the purpose of fundraising, newsletters, sending emails and more |
| 8 | Store data to have a data-drive website with menus and content |
| 9 | Provide better help and support to users of the website (maybe even an AI agent) |
What is the current status of things?
| Item | Description | % Done | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Design and create a Proof of Concept Database that supports mission objectives | 95% | 95% done. Still a bit of work on Registration |
| 2 | Plan some of the new features | 70% | Framework features are in good shape, need to include Leo additions after review. |
| 3 | Apply for and build a nonprofit technology platform based on Azure | 100% | Approved - M365 Business Basic license for 300 users plus a $2000 grant per year |
| 4 | Apply for a nonprofit organizational license with GitHub | 100% | Approved - Github is THE platform for source control and AI development |
| 5 | Explore current technology, given environment and circumstances | 50% | MS SQL, ASP.NET Core, GitHub Pages, Azure, AI. DB will be Azure SQL, in staging and production |
| 6 | Document planned changes in writing, host on pgfacts.org | 70% | On-going |
| 7 | Build a proof of concept (POC) that proves the new design concepts | 95% | Would like to flush out a Registration example |
| 8 | Demo the Proof of Concept | 50% | I was able to show the prototype to Strom at ODS. Want to present to the Board soon. |
| 9 | Work with Leo on Requirements | 5% | I was able to get a contact person to talk to about the phase 2 Leo requirements. |
How best to review the documentation?
Browse pages and ask questions by submitting comments (Contact Us). There is a lot to learn and understand about Phase 2 but can be worth the effort if you are a stakeholder. Be involved in the discovery process. If there is a concern, or if there are new feature you might be interested in, now is the time to make that known. Once the system is designed or even developed it becomes difficult to stop mid-stream to add anything significant without a redesign and reintegration. This happens all the time in the real world because things do change, but also because of the initial lack of attention to detail.
Try to understand the key reasons for building Phase 2 from the Executive Summary and the Phase 1 AI Analysis, and other documents. The main ‘feature’ is that Phase 2 will add a database, which will provide becomes a searchable and easily expandable Knowledge Base (KB) of published information about PG, on any topic, for any user. A search will quickly list all the menu items and articles that target the information you’re looking for.
Start by learning about DCMS as a design, which supports the main feature of the Phase 2 which is a searchable KB. DCMS was invented inside the database for curating dynamic content and associating with dynamic menu items, which is essential to both building the KB and enhancing the user experience.
Learn about the concept of a Portal. Each user has a visitor type, either Patient, Caregiver, Provider, Pharmaceutical or initially as a Guest. Each visitor type has a unique portal which provides a customized user experience. Different ‘portals’ can look identical, or they can look absolutely the same. What is a portal? Its just a view of the website from your perspective. But the concept, combined with DCMS, allows you to be a patient, or a doctor. If desired, the content displayed to a patient could be different than a doctor. A doctor will want to see doctor stuff. A caregiver may want more information about wound care. A pharmaceutical may want to know about how to do Clinical Trials for PG patients.
You never have to ‘log in’ or register to use the website, you can always view as a Guest, or any other visitor type. You can select another type if you wish to customize your experience. You can also register, which will save your selection and allow many other features like newsletters and such.
Identify the new features that interest you. Ask questions, submit feedback early and often. Make sure Phase 2 offers the solutions you need.
Report any errors in documentation. Very much appreciated.
Use of Tiles
At the top of every page you will see tiles, or bubbles as some call them. These are just buttons that take you to the most interesting content within that topic area. They act like menu items, so just click on them.
You can now proceed to the Executive Summary, or any other Tile or Menu Item of your choice.