TABLE OF CONTENTS Shared Workspace. Table of ContENTS...1. Introduction...1. who can apply?...3. What is a shared workspace...1. Product drivers...

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1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Shared Workspace Table of ContENTS...1 Introduction...1 Information Pack who can apply?...3 What is a shared workspace...1 Product drivers...3 Product Benefits...4 fees...4 Shared workspace service limitations...4 administration rights site owners...5 RealMe...6 INTRODUCTION The Department of Internal Affairs developed the Shared Workspace as a tool to provide a common, secure platform to support online collaboration for use by government agencies and their non-government partners. The Shared Workspace aims to: support interagency collaboration enable secure sharing of valuable information achieve better outcomes by allowing specialist groups and networks to share expertise, experience and good practice WHAT IS A SHARED WORKSPACE A Shared Workspace is a secure, online collaborative tool primarily designed for project management. Participants are invited to join the workspace and minimal technical knowledge is required to use the tool. Training material is available, as is one-on-one training to those who maintain the group s Shared Workspace (Site Owners). A Shared Workspace generally contains the following components: Document Library Wiki Library Announcements List Department of Internal Affairs 11 July 2013

2 INTRODUCTION The Department of Internal Affairs developed the Shared Workspace as a tool to provide a common, secure platform to support online collaboration between government agencies and their partners. Currently there are approximately 250 separate Shared Workspaces operating with 6000 active users. Forty percent of users are nongovernment. The Shared Workspace aims to: support interagency collaboration collaboration with non-government partners enable secure sharing of information achieve better outcomes by allowing specialist groups and networks to share expertise, experience and good practice WHAT IS A SHARED WORKSPACE A Shared Workspace is a secure, online collaborative tool primarily designed for project management. It uses SharePoint 2010 software with some customised member management functionality added. Participants are invited to join the workspace and minimal technical knowledge is required to use the Shared Workspace. SHARED WORKSPACE FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS Document Libraries Wiki Library Announcements List Contacts list Events/Calendar List Links List Discussion Board Custom permissions it is possible to restrict content to select members of a workspace by creating custom groups and associated custom libraries. This is useful for example, when a workspace has several vendors collaborating on a project and there is a need for each vendor to have their own private library for reasons of commercial sensitivity. 2

3 SHARED WORKSPACE DEFAULT PERMISSION LEVELS Owner The administrator of the SWS Member Can add and delete content formerly known as a contributor Visitor Can read content only formerly known as a reader WHO CAN APPLY? Any State sector-based group Local government groups Each application to use the Shared Workspace is assessed to ensure it meets the eligibility guidelines. HOW TO APPLY FOR A SHARED WORKSPACE Complete and return the application form to workspace@dia.govt.nz. The sponsoring agency must supply: workspace URL; workspace name; specific functionality required; custom libraries and group permissions; completed welcome message template. Provide list of initial Site Owners (first & last name, agency, address) Approval to launch When applying for a Shared Workspace, agencies simply choose the functionality they need and Internal Affairs builds the workspace. Components can be added or removed from the workspace as the project develops, as can membership to the workspace. Once a new Shared Workspace has been built, its Site Owners can invite people to join and use the Shared Workspace. Members can be from a mix of agencies, non-government people and private sector organisations. PRODUCT DRIVERS The strong drivers for uptake in agencies are: they need to consult widely (cross-agency and/or private organisations) to resolve issues they need tools and information to make this process efficient and secure using for co-ordinating across agencies is cumbersome and inefficient working by with organisations that do not use S.E.E. Mail, is a security concern 3

4 PRODUCT BENEFITS saves time for the agency by reducing number of separate lists for different classes of information, reducing level of communication required with each individual member reduces clutter ; members only need access information they require retains security of information for non-government distribution restricts access to different levels of information for groups of users controls versioning of information increases collaboration FEES Shared Workspace parent site $ 2250 pa Shared Workspace child site $ 750 pa Shared Workspace parent and child site setting-up $ 500 one-off cost The Shared Workspace Service is charged on an annual basis. Agencies will be invoiced once their Shared Workspace goes live, at an amount that reflects a pro-rata for the remainder of the year. Annually, agencies will be notified one month before the annual invoice is rendered. If they decide to renew their Shared Workspace they will be invoiced for another year. If Internal Affairs has not heard from an agency about the renewal decision one month after the due date, the Shared Workspace will be deleted. CLOSING A SHARED WORKSPACE If an agency decides to close a Shared Workspace they will need to archive the information on the Shared Workspace Internal Affairs does not have the resources to do this. Once archiving is complete, the Shared Workspace will be deleted from the server. SHARED WORKSPACE SERVICE LIMITATIONS The Shared Workspace does not provide the following functionality: Online editing - documents must be downloaded to a user s own device, edited and then the saved version uploaded back to the Shared Workspace. There is an option to overwrite the previous document or save as a new version on the Shared Workspace. Integration with Microsoft Outlook. Due to security reasons it is not possible for the Shared Workspace meetings and calendar functionality to connect with a members . Instead they should setup Alerts to receive notifications about content changes in the Shared Workspace. Types of web browsers. Generally the Shared Workspace will operate adequately in all modern browsers. However, the Shared Workspace uses SharePoint software hence it works best with Internet Explorer with 4

5 Microsoft Silverlight installed: a plug-in for web browsers running under Microsoft Windows and OS X that allows the running of rich Internet applications, with features and purposes similar to those of Adobe Flash. Use of mobile device. The Shared Workspace is accessible via mobile devices like tablets and smart phones if the device has a fully-fledged modern web browser installed. Currently there are several Shared Workspaces with members using ipads. Please note: the functionality is generally adequate but the userexperience of SharePoint 2010 has been optimized for the desktop pc. The Shared Workspace is optimised to work best with a limit of 60 members. The Shared Workspace teams cannot do customisation beyond what has being packaged in the SharePoint product i.e. Internal Affairs cannot do backend development. STORAGE CAPACITY LIMITATIONS Individual files uploaded to a Shared Workspace are limited to 100MB is size. Currently individual sites are limited to a total storage capacity of 5GB. SERVICE AVAILABILITY AND HELPDESK SUPPORT The Shared Workspace general hours of operation are standard business hours: 9am-5pm, Monday thru Friday. The service does run 24 hours/7 days per week, but there will be times outside of standard business hours when the service may be unavailable due to maintenance work. All site owners (admins) will be notified prior to any planned outage. The Shared Workspace helpdesk operates on standard business hours (9am-5pm, Monday thru Friday), and offers technical support for workspace queries. It can be contacted via: workspace@dia.govt.nz Telephone: Note: Shared Workspace users with any issues associated with RealMe logins/passwords, should direct them to the RealMe helpdesk (24 hours/7 days per week): Phone (toll free): From overseas: (overseas call charges apply) PUBLIC RECORDS ACT COMPLIANCE Site Owners are strongly encouraged to archive all content on the Shared Workspace that is out-of-date and not currently relevant to the project. This is to free-up of storage capacity. Site Owners should work with their records and information teams to ensure copies of all files are stored in appropriate systems within their agency. The site owner's organisation is responsible for ensuring any Public Records Act obligations are met. SITE OWNER MEMBER MANAGEMENT 5

6 Site Owners have access to an extensive range of workspace features and functionality, for example: Inviting new members to the workspace Create new membership groups Changing group permission levels Creating and edit welcome message templates Assign group permissions to access select content Please note: Site Owners have considerable functionality/power at their disposal. They are strongly encouraged to participate in member management training before they attempt to directly manage their own members. Contact for further information. INTERNAL AFFAIRS MEMBER MANAGEMENT Alternatively, Site Owners can request Internal Affairs (at no additional charge), to manage their workspace members on their behalf. To do this a Site Owner must workspace@dia.govt.nz with: 1. the url of the Shared Workspace 2. name of member 3. of member 4. permission level 5. membership to any custom group/library Site Owners should be aware that it may take Internal Affairs 2-5 business days to make the membership change. SECURITY The Shared Workspace uses the RealMe as its authentication service. That is, all users of a Shared Workspace must have a RealMe login to access their workspace. RealMe is an all-ofgovernment solution to provide a private, secure and convenient way for people to use government services over the Internet. It allows people, businesses and organisations to conveniently access government online services by using a single logon. RealMe means a higher level of security for all Shared Workspace users and much better self service for users. Members have greater control over setting their logon (username and password) and they are able to recover their password, view the usage history of logons to their Shared Workspace(s), and access RealMe support 24/7 at: Phone: Website: CREATING A REALME ACCOUNT 6

7 To access their workspace, members will first need to create a logon with RealMe. Instructions for the registration process are sent with the welcome message for new workspace users. SHARED WORKSPACE FUNCTIONALITY Common functionality utilised within the Shared Workspace are contained in web parts. Web parts are simply individually manageable parts of the site that can be added, altered or removed independently of other web parts. The most common web parts used in the Shared Workspace are: LISTS Announcements; used to make announcements to all the Shared Workspace users that have access to the particular Shared Workspace. Meetings and Events; conceptually similar to the Outlook Calendar system. It provides for a common calendar and scheduling system for all users of the Shared Workspace Service. This includes one-off and recurring events, but does not include pop up notification of upcoming events. Contacts; allows users to stored detailed contact information about themselves, or any other person or organisation. This information is then accessible to any other the Shared Workspace user with access to that Shared Workspace. Links; simply links to other web sites. Both the URL and descriptive text can be entered in. Tasks; allow details to be maintained of tasks due. This can be filtered to show all tasks or an individual user s tasks DOCUMENT LIBRARIES Document libraries are a web part that is used to store (almost) any type of document. This includes all common office-type documents (word, excel, PowerPoint etc), but also images, ZIP files and the like. For security reasons, document libraries are unable to store executable files (such as program and DLL files), although these can be placed in a ZIP file and uploaded that way. The library can be sorted by a number of views i.e. date or classification, with further sub-classifications possible. Custom libraries can be created for different subject areas with different access levels for users assigned to each library if required. For example, vendors that are working with a government agency on a project may have their own private library within a Shared Workspace. Access to this library is determined by the agency site owner. DISCUSSIONS Discussions are online, threaded or flat discussion boards (as distinct from instant messaging). These are useful for enabling users to comment on documents (which can be attached to the discussions) or concepts, suggestions and the like. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 7

8 Stewardship of information within a Shared Workspace is the responsibility of the agency that is sponsoring the workspace (the agency who has signed the Shared Workspace Agreement with Internal Affairs). Agencies should be aware of the relevant legal requirements and their own policies relating to information management. Legal obligations may include those under the Privacy Act 1993, the Official Information Act 1982, the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and the Public Records Act The agency must also ensure all material is archived when the Shared Workspace is closed. Internal Affairs does not have the resources to do this. SITE OWNERS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES MANAGING SHARED WORKSPACE MEMBERSHIP Provide new members access to the Shared Workspace Provide change of member details and access (security) level Ensure access is removed for members no longer involved in the Shared Workspace. MODIFYING WORKSPACE Create new lists e.g. create a new library/set library properties Add/delete/modify contents to various lists on the site Modify settings and columns of various lists e.g., 1. General settings: Only changes permitted are: change name, description, navigation 2. Columns: Add/change column settings, change order of fields 3. Views: Change default view, change name, columns shown/order, filter, style, number items shown WORKSPACE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT Provide first level support for members i.e. first port of call (the Shared Workspace Service team provides second level support). Site Owners should act as the gatekeeper between their members and the Shared Workspace Service Team - Internal Affairs does not have enough resources to attend to all 6000 Shared Workspace members directly. Site Owners should represent their members issues when they contact the Shared Workspace Service team. Ensure information created and distributed on Shared Workspace is also filed and archived in the agency s document management system. TRAINING NEW MEMBERS AND NEW SITE OWNERS Site Owners will need to: 8

9 Assist members to use the Shared Workspace. If necessary provide training for members in using Shared Workspace - the Shared Workspace Service Team is able to support with training materials. Advise Internal Affairs of a change to the workspace Site Owners and update documentation where it applies e.g., welcome message template. Provide on training and sufficient handover to new Site Owner. SITE PROMOTION Promote use of Shared Workspace to members and proactively encourage members to use Shared Workspace. Refer to the Shared Workspace Best Practice Guide which provides insights and ideas for Site Owners in terms of how to best engage their members and maximize their workspace. SITE MONITORING View usage data on the workspace Manage members compliance with protocols Notify the Shared Workspace Service Team of security incidents or problems Notify the Shared Workspace Service Team of any issues experienced with the Shared Workspace Service INTERNAL AFFAIRS SHARED WORKSPACE TEAM ROLES AND RESPONSIBIITIES Approving all requests for Shared Workspaces in accordance with the eligibility criteria Ensuring Shared Workspaces are operational from the Internal Affairs end o Maintaining SharePoint platform (hardware and software) Creating Shared Workspaces o Send Welcome Messages to members if requested by the Site Owner Adding/deleting/modifying Shared Workspace members if requested by the Site Owner Training o o Internal Affairs will provide initial training for Site Owners of new workspaces Provide training documentation Troubling Shooting Responding to Shared Workspace s and telephone calls Customising and modifying sites Changing background themes within the available options from Microsoft SharePoint. Adding logo s or images Adding Web parts Adding/modifying/deleting links on the quick launch bar 9

10 Configure lists settings and views. The Shared Workspace will consider any other requests on a case by case basis Providing advice - Shared Workspace team will work with the Site Owners on a case by case basis to help them get the most out of their Shared Workspace, should a Site Owner request it. Facilitating Shared Workspace User Group (SWUG) and encourage administrators to share best practice. Site Owners will be given access to the SWUG Shared Workspace. Here they will find training material and will be able to participate in discussions with other Shared Workspace Site Owners. CONTACT SHARED WORKSPACE SERVICE TEAM workspace@dia.govt.nz Telephone: SHARED WORKSPACE PRODUCT MANAGER: Will Huthnance Product Manager - Information and Knowledge Services Knowledge, Information, Research and Technology The Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Direct Dial: +64 (04) Extension: william.huthnance@dia.govt.nz 10