DOS Data Modeling Exercise Outputs

Different systems within MIT, Stellar / LNI, OCW and DSpace, maintain information in their own way. Over a period of time, common business entities have evolved their own semantics (metadata) making the communication difficult among these systems. As a part of the DOS initiative, defining a common ground in expressing these business entities and their metadata across different systems is essential. This will enable most effective exchange of information wherever business requires these systems to intersect.
 
Team took following steps to produce the deliverables –

Step 1 – Conceptual Modeling

1. Created Conceptual Modeling for Stellar, OCW and DSpace separately
2. Created a common conceptual model that can be applied to all units - Stellar, OCW and DSpace

Deliverables – Abstract Model, Stellar Model, OCW Model and DSpace Model

Step 2 – Information Modeling

1. Reviewed current metadata elements for Stellar, OCW and DSpace
2. Identified common business entities – Course and Resource
3. Created common Information model for Course and Resource

Deliverables – Common Course Level Elements and Common Resource / Item / Material Level Elements
 

Content Models

• Abstract Model
• Stellar Model
• OCW Model
• DSpace Model

Information Models

• Common Course Level Elements
• Common Resource/Item/Materials Level Elements

Action Items

• Current Status - Need to define the controlled vocabulary for “Current Status for Course”. The value should depend on the location (Stellar / LNI, OCW and DSpace) and the status of the course. For example – OCW course can have unpublished, staging, published and archived status. Regarding the Resource level, the question is whether we need current status for resources.

• Rights and License – Though these metadata fields have been separately defined in Stellar, OCW and DSpace but none of them represents access policy which can be applied globally to all the courses and resources irrespective of their current location (Stellar, OCW and DSpace) and status. We need to define an access policy that can be applied globally. Do we need to involve MIT Legal team for this?

• Relation Kind and Relation - We need to develop a vocabulary for Relationship Kinds in common level. This may include – Tracks, Pre requisites, Required Textbooks, Department and General Institute Requirements.

• Technical Requirements - one field should aggregate all requirements that may apply to the various resources in the Course. The requirement declarations should conform to the vocabulary of such statements. Further work to be done to finalize the verbiage. We may need to involve Stellar in that discussion.

• Course. Classification - Taxonomy needs to be identified for this element. Current use of CIP codes should be abandoned. This element should always be used in conjunction with a lom:lom/classification/taxonPath/source/string element that names the taxonomy.