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Functional Requirements for Virtual Community Features
Functional Requirements for Community-Oriented Software and Technologies
The following instrument was developed by Darren Cambridge, Soren Kaplan, and Vicki Suter, with contributions by members of the three NLII VCOPs
(E-PAC, LOVCOP, Bridging Community), and in particular by the co-facilitators of those communities. The instrument is a work-in-progress
that will be updated to include additional functional requirements, particularly those associated with interactive multimedia functions.
If you would like to give feedback about the functional requirements, priorities, or add functional requirements, please update the spreadsheet
with the information below, and e-mail to vsuter@educause.edu
Name: E-Mail Address:
Put an "X" to the left of the description that best fits the kind of community the software is intended to support (more than one X is OK)
Unstructured, Informal Virtual Community
Structured Learning Community
Virtual Teams/Workgroups/Task Forces
Priority (on a scale of 1 to 5,
with 1 being not very important, and 5 being essential)
REF NO CATEGORY FUNCTION PRIORITY
1.0 Social Structures
From an open "Self Joining" community to one that
is "Closed", a range of options exist related to the
process of becoming a member of the community
1.1 Levels of Openness and its sub groups
1.1.1 Access Control New users can self register
Creation of new user accounts can be limited to
1.1.2 Access Control administrators only
Provides ability to invite new members, exclude
1.1.3 Member Management members, etc.
1.1.4 Member Management Maximum number of users per web
Creation of new user accounts can be delegated to a
"member manager" who possesses limited
1.1.5 Access Control administrative permissions
The ability of two or more individuals to be
grouped together into named "subgroups" that
have designated group-related permissions to
1.2 Subgroups unique information and resources
1.2.1 Access Control Administrator can create subgroups
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Users can create subgroups (when user account is
created, admin should be able to set scope of groups
1.2.2 Access Control this user can create)
1.2.3 Access Control Subgroups can consist of both users and groups
For subgroups, users may designate which level of
nested group can access each resource, schedule
1.2.4 Access Control entry, chat room, or discussion thread
"Leaders" can be assigned to subgroups with
1.2.5 Access Control "administrative permissions" for given groups
Roles that support "community-building"
processes designed into permissions structure and
1.3 Role Distinctions collaboration tools
Site administrators manage features configuration,
1.3.1 Access Control permissions, role assignments
User and Group membership managers possess
administrative rights but which are limited to managing
1.3.2 Access Control group assignments and site membership
Cross-Group Leaders manage content and process
1.3.4 Access Control collaboration across groups
Group Leaders manage content and process
1.3.5 Access Control collaboration within designated groups
"Social awareness" of other community members
1.4 Presence and groups
Directory of members with customizable profiles
1.4.1 Member Management including photos
1.4.2 Discussions/Communication Supports "buddy list" (who's online right now)
Notifies members of new postings (files, discussions,
1.4.3 User Interface etc.).
1.4.4 Member Management Provides member activity summaries
1.4.5 Member Management Provides searchable, downloadable member database
Users can see others' group membership(s) (option for
1.4.6 Member Management hiding group memberships)
2.0 Core Community Activities
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Synchronous
2.1 Communication Tools for real-time communication
2.1.1 Discussions/Communication Provides instant messaging service.
2.1.2 Discussions/Communication Provides chat services.
Users can create new rooms, permanent and
2.1.3 Discussions/Communication temporary
Copy and paste into and out of chat works across
2.1.4 Discussions/Communication platforms and browsers
Users can create transcripts by clicking a record button
to begin and a stop button the end (users should also
have the option of having all their chats logged, and
then when a particular user leaves, they chose to keep
2.1.5 Discussions/Communication or discard that transcript)
Transcripts are automatically stored as resources in a
special folder accessible to group which could access
2.1.6 Discussions/Communication the room
Users should be able to refer to other
2.1.7 Discussions/Communication objects/resources from within the chat
2.1.8 Discussions/Communication Supports audio and video conferencing
2.1.9 Discussions/Communication Creates indexed archive of audio/video conferences
A whiteboard which becomes an extension of chat but
2.1.10 Discussions/Communication allows users to draw as well.
Ideally, users are able to place other documents (text,
pictures, pdfs, reports) on the whiteboard and comment
2.1.11 Discussions/Communication on them - as a group
2.1.12 Resource Sharing/Organization Supports real-time shared whiteboard
2.1.13 Resource Sharing/Organization Supports real-time application sharing
Asynchronous
2.2 Communication Tools for any-time communication
Provides well-organized discussion forums (discussion
threads can be grouped by category, so have at least 2-
2.2.1 Discussions/Communication level hierarchy of classification: category and thread)
Supports ability to view discussions in both threaded
2.2.2 Discussions/Communication and linear mode
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Discussions have their own e-mail addresses (so can
2.2.3 Discussions/Communication send copy of non-group e-mail to group)
2.2.4 Discussions/Communication Administrators can assign moderators to categories
2.2.5 Discussions/Communication Moderators can move posts between threads
Moderators can split threads (which have changed
2.2.6 Discussions/Communication subject)
2.2.7 Discussions/Communication Discussion posts can be spellchecked and previewed.
2.2.8 Discussions/Communication Messages can be searched
2.2.9 Discussions/Communication Threads can be archived but remain searchable
Resources from a resource section can be associated
2.2.10 Discussions/Communication with posts
2.2.11 Discussions/Communication Allow HTML in posts
2.2.12 Discussions/Communication WYSIWYG tools for styling text in posts
Discussions can be scaffolded (moderators may set up
identifiers that users can associate with each post that
designate the function of the post in conversation, e.g.
set up topic, provide resource/background, agree,
2.2.13 Discussions/Communication disagree, summary, etc.)
2.2.14 Discussions/Communication
2.2.15 Discussions/Communication Provides option for group polling/surveys
Integrates polling/resource sharing into discussion
2.2.16 Discussions/Communication (e.g., via live link)
Provides basic moderation tools (to invite/ban
2.2.17 Discussions/Communication members)
Tools for sharing and management documents and
2.3 Resource/File Sharing links
Provides shared file space, capability to do document
2.3.1 File Sharing sharing
Easy download/upload of documents, either via Browse
2.3.2 File Sharing dialog box, or via Windows click-and-drag
Provides ability to edit documents collaboratively,
2.3.3 File Sharing including support for document version control.
Supports viewing of documents in native format for
2.3.4 File Sharing Word and Excel files
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Supports editing of documents in native format for
2.3.5 File Sharing Word and Excel files
2.3.6 File Sharing Document version tracking
2.3.7 File Sharing Document check-in and check-out
Flexible, hierarchical (with at least 3 nested levels), well-
2.3.8 Resource Sharing/Organization organized directory and file structure
Supports association of resources with discussions and
tasks (e.g., If a resource is associated with a
discussion thread, there is a direct link to the thread
2.3.9 Resource Sharing/Organization from the resource)
Provides subgroup workspaces to share information,
documents, and organize work - including subgroup
2.3.10 Resource Sharing/Organization discussions, document sharing, chat)
2.3.11 Resource Sharing/Organization Provides community chronicle (history, archives)
Ability to share links as resource, organized by topic
2.3.12 Resource Sharing/Organization (e.g., web link repository organized by folders)
Provides resource library support, with subgroup
2.3.13 Resource Sharing/Organization access control of resources
2.4 Structured Data Sharing Tools for structured data gathering & sharing
Customizable database for entering, searching and
2.4.1 Resource Sharing/Organization organizing data
2.4.2 Resource Sharing/Organization Field validation options for data entry
2.4.3 Resource Sharing/Organization Export database to csv file
Customizable drop down lists that are reusable across
2.4.4 Resource Sharing/Organization database tables
Scheduling &
2.5 Coordination Tools for organizing activities
Provides work-flow based task administration (set up
2.5.1 Project/Team Management tasklists)
2.5.2 Project/Team Management Provides project(s) calendar(s)
2.5.3 Project/Team Management Provides group calendar
2.6 Finding & Searching Ability to easily find information and resources
2.6.1 Resource Sharing/Organization Provides search engine for site
2.6.2 Resource Sharing/Organization Provides search engine for subgroups
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All content objects (discussion posts, resources, etc.)
can be linked to directly via a URL which never
2.6.3 Resource Sharing/Organization changes
3.0 Integrating Mechanisms
Ability to easily participate in the community
3.1 User Interface (technology recedes into background)
3.1.1 User Interface Clear, familiar navigation metaphor (e.g., folder-based)
3.1.2 User Interface Uses browser interface (not dependent on client)
3.1.3 User Interface Supports both Macintosh and PC
3.1.4 User Interface Configurable user interface/user-controlled views
3.1.5 User Interface Supports icons and graphics for community identity
3.1.6 User Interface Community space represented by web page
3.1.7 User Interface Ability to set up sites without technical assistance
3.1.8 Member Management Single Sign-on/Unified Log-in throughout space
Balance between pushing information (listserv)
and communication vs. requiring users to login to
3.2 Push-Pull Options participate
User-controlled delivery modes (user has following
choices: send alert of postings; forward individual
postings to e-mail; send daily/weekly digest of postings,
3.2.1 User Interface don't send e-mail)
Users can manage all their notifications from a single
profile management form, or can select to be notified
3.2.2 User Interface from a particular thread or folder, etc.
The body of messages are pushed as well as links if
3.2.3 User Interface requested by user
3.2.4 User Interface Links in notifications point directly to the individual item
Supports automatic reminders and progress updates
3.2.5 Project/Team Management associated with tasklists
Ability to share data with or integrate with other
3.3 System Compatibility systems
3.3.1 Resource Sharing/Organization Provides for export of material to other system
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Provides ability to link easily into and out of other
3.3.2 Resource Sharing/Organization systems (external URL reference)
3.3.3 User Interface Does not require special browser for OS (e.g., only IE)
3.3.4 Resource Sharing/Organization Supports multiple media formats (embedded graphics)
3.3.5 Project/Team Management Synchronization with PDAs
3.3.6 Project/Team Management Synchronization with Outlook
Ability to sustain an activity with continuity (for
example, if discussing a document, there is no
barrier to discussion that is due to not being able
3.4 Sustained Continuity to find the document
Content and interaction are interwoven (not divided into
3.4.1 Resource Sharing/Organization silos)
3.5 Resource representation Accessibility and representations of relationships among resources
The relationships between and among resources can
be maintained, so that users can find things by the
community event to which they were associated, by the
other documents that were created at the same time
for similar purposes, by documents which have a topic
relationships, or contributed by same author (semantic
3.5.1 Resource Sharing/Organization web)
4. 0 Additional Interactive Multimedia Support
(e.g., webcasts, whiteboards, voice over IP, narrated Powerpoint)
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ogies
of the three NLII VCOPs
k-in-progress
he spreadsheet
Date:
mportant, and 5 being essential)
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Social Structure Core Features Integrating Mechanisms
Levels of Openness Synchronous Communication User Interface
Subgroups Asynchronous Communication Push-Pull Options
Role Distinctions Resource/File Sharing System Compatibility
Presence Structured Data Sharing
Scheduling & Coordination
Finding & Searching
