CCV Renewal FAQ General Q: Why is the CCV building a new application? A: The current application was built in 2002, using the latest web technology available at that time. Over the last ten years the number of users of the CCV system has increased by more than ten folds. The current system was not engineered to support such a large number of users and has showed frequent signs of failure. To remediate to all these issues and to offer a new user experience using today s best web technologies, a new application is being developed Q: What will be different in the new application? A: Here is a brief list of the most useful improvements - A more user-friendly interface - A more robust and scalable application, running on solid hardware - A dataset that is common to all agencies - Agencies will be able to pick and choose (via templates) from the common dataset which sections and fields they want their end users to fill in during a CV submission - End users will only see the sections and fields that they need to fill in when submitting a CV - End users will be able to see their historical submissions and print them - End users have the option to maintain a generic CV and select which data entries they want to be included in their submission - End users will be able to automatically extract information from the PubMed repository and populate their CCV account - A single area where consents are managed by the end user - ISO standards will be used wherever possible (e.g. for countries, languages and date formats) Q: Will the current functionalities be maintained? A: Yes current functionalities such as the ability to preview a CV prior to submission, validate an agency s PIN or import / export an XML version of a CV will be maintained Q: When will the new application go live? A: The new application will go live on June 19 th, 2012 Q: What browsers will be supported? A: Internet Explorer (from version 6), Firefox (from version 3.0), Safari, Chrome Q: Will the new CCV schema be made public? A: Yes, the new CCV schema is posted on the Common CV s web site
CCV Application Login / Accounts / Password Q: Will I have to change my username and password when login the new application? A: Existing accounts will be migrated to the new system. Users will be able to login using their existing username and password. However they will be required to change their password if it does not meet the new security guidelines. Users will also have to enter new reminder questions and answers. Q: Will I receive a confirmation email when I register with the Common CV? A: No, we have changed the registration process. Users will be automatically logged in when they create an account. Q: What will happen to the data that I entered in the current CCV application A: Before the new system goes live, as much data as possible will be migrated to the new system. However, because of the new dataset and data structure, not all data can be migrated. It is very important that users verify their data and make changes as necessary when they first log in. Q: What if I forget my username? A: The system will provide an interface to retrieve a forgotten username by using the reminder questions Q: What if I forget my password? A: The system will provide an interface to reset a forgotten password. The password will be emailed to the account name. Users have to ensure that spam blockers or their mail servers do not block the emails sent from Common CV. Q: How many accounts can I have? A: Only one account is allowed. Filling a CV Q: Can I fill my CV without choosing an agency? A: Yes, choosing generic CV will allow a user to enter any data they want in their CV. No agency specific validation rules will be done and this CV cannot be submitted. Q: Can I start filling my information, log out and come back later to submit? A: Yes, once saved your data will be kept in our database. When you login again, all your saved data will be available Q: What if I start filling in some information and decide not to submit? A: That s fine. The data entered will be kept and, if applicable, will be reused at some other time
Q: I have lots of entries in a particular section of the Common CV. Can I decide which ones to submit to a particular agency? A: Yes, an end user will have the possibility to select which record to submit. If the selected records do not meet the validation rules they will be flagged as an error. Q: Do I still need a PIN for certain agencies? A: Yes, some agencies require a PIN to be validated prior to a submission and this functionality will be kept Q: Does selecting different agencies from the drop down change the data in my CV? A: No, selecting different agencies does not alter the data in any way. There is only one set of data. Choosing different agencies (and CV type) only shows a different view of the same generic CV data. CV Submissions Q: Will the submission procedure change? A: Yes. To submit a CV to an agency a user would now - Select the agency to which to submit - Select a CV Type (if applicable for that agency) - Fill in only the data required by that agency - Fix validation issues that are reported automatically during saving - Preview the PDF of the CV (if the user wishes to do so) - Submit the CV - If required by an agency, print a PDF of the submitted CV by accessing the history interface Q: Do I need to manually trigger a CV validation? A: No, in the new system the validation is done automatically Q: Will I have access to previously submitted CVs? A: Yes, by accessing the History page, a user can print any CV that was submitted previously in the new application. Q: I need to make a last minute change to my CV. Can I resubmit it? A: Unless the submission deadline has passed, a user can resubmit a CV at any time. However it is highly recommended to make only one CV submission to a funding agency to avoid unnecessary use of resources, both on the CCV and the agency system. Q: Will I get a confirmation that my CV has been submitted? A: Yes, you will get a confirmation that your CV has been submitted and a confirmation number Attachments
Q: Why is the CCV not allowing attachments anymore? A: Attachments is an easy way for users to incorporate their contributions to their CV submission. However, most of the time these attachments are parsed by human beings and unfortunately some key data can be missed. To remediate to such problems, users are asked to enter their contribution information in a structured way. Highly specialized software can thus parse, analyze and report on these information with great accuracy and to the benefit of the users. Q: Is there an automated procedure to convert attachments into CCV structured information? A: Unfortunately there is no automatic way to do that. It is virtually impossible (with today s technology) to scan a document and extract the right information and recreate a structured entry in the CCV. End users will have to enter the information manually. Q: What will happen to the attachments that I have in the current CCV application? A: When the new application is launched the current one will not be available. If you do not have an extra copy of your attachments, you are advised to download and save them from your current account as you will not be able to access them once the switch is done. Data Transfer Q: Will I still be able to import / export an XML version of my CV? A: Yes, the current functionality will be maintained. However the XML format will change Q: What if the application reports an error when I try to import an XML file? A: That s because the format is not recognized. It should be based on the CCV schema which is available on the CCV website User Help Q: As a user I am frustrated at the way the help functionality works today. There is a lot of textual information on the pages and they are not easy to follow. Will this be the same in the new application? A: No. In the new application the pages will not be swamped with help text. There will be three ways to get help - Click on the help icon for a field and see what info is required for that field - Click on the help button on top of a page. A contextual help text will be displayed - Click on the Contact button on top of the page to get a list of support groups Q: If I need to contact somebody to get help for the Common CV, who should I contact?
A: All end users, without exception should contact the CCV helpdesk of the agency to which they are applying for funding. The list will be available by clicking on the Contacts button on top of the page