CAP Portal? / My.CAP.gov

[Nick]

Yeah, you're basically describing AFPIMS (the Air Force Public Information Management System) but with a member portal-esque content vs. public content.  The whole thing is extremely easy to deploy, you just need to be holding the keys to cap.gov to make it happen.

[shorning]

...you just need to be holding the keys to cap.gov to make it happen.

Is that like keys to the airplane?  Or keys to the HMMVV? 

[Nick]

Exactly.

[swilliams]

NIN, et al (if anyone is still listening)....

In addition to several others (tedda, NIN, whoever I forgot). Erick & I pitched the same idea to NHQ/IT on a couple different occasions. We even put together a white paper to discuss the idea of one (or more) CAP owned and co-located servers to host a site for every unit. Of course, it went no where - and now we're working on this type of idea at a more local level. Maybe we all should put our heads together & make something happen for real, regardless of what national thinks?

[Pylon]

Our very own "General" Colgan's efforts to develop a superior E-learning site for CAP education, training and professional development have made me rethink this idea that I would love to see happen.

Project Idea: My.CAP.gov
Summary:  A central website communications portal customized for each CAP member.  A replacement for E-services, adding in additional capabilities to address other issues.

End User Experience:  Each CAP member would have an individual account, similar to how E-services currently operates.  Each user would have a homepage with a variety of dynamic information boxes, each box feeding various information to the user.  Features would include internal CAP news feed, calendar of upcoming events, standardized email for all CAP members, notifications of personnel actions and pending authorizations, and unit specific functions as well, etc.   Different modules could be developped and added to the user's homepage, allowing for increasing functions overtime.  In essence, my.cap.gov would function very much like social networking sites such as Facebook, but with a shift of emphasis from networking to information flow.

Members would be able to log into one source to get CAP news, CAP-related email, conduct CAP business, manage personnel, and more.

Features

Standardized Email
Each account would generate a standardized CAP email.  Email addresses could look something like mkieloch@members.cap.gov or michael.kieloch@members.cap.gov.  Portal would offer web access, but members could also use POP3 to access email.

Automatic unit distribution lists would be generated.  For example, mailing to NY408_all@members.cap.gov would distribute emails to all members of record at NY-408.  NYWG_all@members.cap.gov would distribute emails to the entire Wing (whereas NY001_all@members.cap.gov would allow distribution to just Wing HQ).

Member News Feed
National Headquarters needs serious improvement on member communications.  One central news feed (with RSS capability) to distribute news pertinent to members would be a great improvement.  Information like posting of new publications, publications for comment, interim change letters, conferences, notices to the membership, improvements to the site, updates from the national commander, etc.   It would not contain most national PAO news.

This would enhance memberships awareness of changes, provide NHQ an easy way to push news out to the membership and create a true internal/"employee" communications program.

National Calendar
Units at all levels would be strongly encouraged to enter CAP activities into the calendar system.  Host unit information would be entered, as would scope of event (national, wing, group, squadron).  Members within the designated scope would see the event on their upcoming events module, along with the opportunity to click on the event to get more specific information (description, application process, POC, etc.)

Commander (or his designee) at the level hosting the event would have to approve the event to be posted.  i/e: Squadron Activities Officer posts event, squadron commander approves it to be distributed.

Member Search/CAPWATCH
This feature would remain essentially the same, with a few additions or tweaks.  When viewing member records, quick link would exist to quickly send that member an email through Web Mail.  Also would show last date/time member logged into my.cap.gov.

Basic reports could also be easily generated.  For example a useful report might be Squadron Active Roster, showing all current members and their contact information or Squadron Birthday Listing, breaking down each month and showing who has birthdays in that month (much like SIMS).    A very handy report would be Recently Expired/Removed Members, which would show members that have dropped off the MML recently.

Additional Modules
A wide variety of modules could easily be developed for this, including integrating things such as E-Learning, professional development tracking (i/e: reports generating lists of seniors due for promotion and lacking SLS or CLC, then sending out specific notices to those people of upcoming SLS or CLC opportunities), knowledgebase integration, ad infinitum.  Really the possibilitie are endless with the right structure and framework.

Layout
Envision a very simple, clean interface.  Modules would work much like they do on iGoogle or Facebook.  Certain pieces would be a permanent part of your homepage and not movable.  Other modules you could move around to your likeing, and with certain optional or restricted ones, you'd have the ability to add or remove them (or the WSA would add or remove certain ones), hide them/show them, and move 'em around.

This principal is not new.  Many colleges have similar portals for their students and faculty, iGoogle and Facebook and other sites clearly use successfully many concepts and pieces of this with millions of users, and it solves a number of issues and ultimately improves membership knowledge and communication.

[JC004]

Outstanding.  We should protest outside NHQ until we get it.  And HEY, did you steal my e-Learning site?!   

After giving some thought to this concept...Pineda said we can contact the Deputy Chiefs of Staff directly with ideas.  Is this something we could pitch to them? 

We should make this happen and there is no reason why certain parts (like e-Learning) can't be built largely by volunteers.  I've got a lot of people raising their hands and saying "I'll put together a course outline for ____" One technological concern that I have is the underlying systems (for instance, Moodle, the e-Learning stuff, is PHP based, but NHQ is using ASP currently) - but I am sure this can be resolved.

[Tim Medeiros]

in regards to the news feed, they are starting to put up announcements of publications and such (Yost, Aug 2007)

Many of the reports your talking about in the Member Search/CAPWATCH section exist in Member Reports restricted application.  The one you point out that doesnt exist is the member birthdays one, if you want it bad enough, request it in the CAP eServices Help Desk, thats how we got the Members in Specialty Track report

[jayleswo]

I've been dreamin gof such a portal for years. It would be a fabulous accomplishment. For email addresses, perhaps <name>@charter.cap.gov (example: jayleswo@ca151.cap.gov). Same nomenclature for addressing for websites charter.cap.gov (ca151.cap.gov). Keeps the names short and you've got a standardized addressing mechanism.

[Tim Medeiros]

but then you have members changing units more often then they change socks having to constantly change email addresses on things like business cards

[SAR-EMT1]

but then you have members changing units more often then they change socks having to constantly change email addresses on things like business cards

Is this really a huge problem?

[JC004]

but then you have members changing units more often then they change socks having to constantly change email addresses on things like business cards

Is this really a huge problem?

it would probably make it more complicated for keeping e-mail lists up to date and all, at least.

[NIN]

Outstanding.  We should protest outside NHQ until we get it.  And HEY, did you steal my e-Learning site?!   

After giving some thought to this concept...Pineda said we can contact the Deputy Chiefs of Staff directly with ideas.  Is this something we could pitch to them? 

We should make this happen and there is no reason why certain parts (like e-Learning) can't be built largely by volunteers.  I've got a lot of people raising their hands and saying "I'll put together a course outline for ____" One technological concern that I have is the underlying systems (for instance, Moodle, the e-Learning stuff, is PHP based, but NHQ is using ASP currently) - but I am sure this can be resolved.

This is why Directory Services such as LDAP and x.500 exist to serve common authentication/information exchange across platforms.

An LDAP server authenticating users would be huge for things like unit websites.  Point your squadron's instance of Joomla with the LDAP patch at the NHQ LDAP server and say "let anybody who attempts to login authenticate against NHQ's database and only those with 'NER-PA-002' in their unit code can acutally get in.."  Poof!  If a guy transfers, there is nothing you have to do. He just stops being able to login to your unit site.  Done.  No extra administration on your part.

I enquired about this earlier this year.  Apparently the auditors would have a fit.

[JC004]

Outstanding.  We should protest outside NHQ until we get it.  And HEY, did you steal my e-Learning site?!   

After giving some thought to this concept...Pineda said we can contact the Deputy Chiefs of Staff directly with ideas.  Is this something we could pitch to them? 

We should make this happen and there is no reason why certain parts (like e-Learning) can't be built largely by volunteers.  I've got a lot of people raising their hands and saying "I'll put together a course outline for ____" One technological concern that I have is the underlying systems (for instance, Moodle, the e-Learning stuff, is PHP based, but NHQ is using ASP currently) - but I am sure this can be resolved.

This is why Directory Services such as LDAP and x.500 exist to serve common authentication/information exchange across platforms.

An LDAP server authenticating users would be huge for things like unit websites.  Point your squadron's instance of Joomla with the LDAP patch at the NHQ LDAP server and say "let anybody who attempts to login authenticate against NHQ's database and only those with 'NER-PA-002' in their unit code can acutally get in.."  Poof!  If a guy transfers, there is nothing you have to do. He just stops being able to login to your unit site.  Done.  No extra administration on your part.

I enquired about this earlier this year.  Apparently the auditors would have a fit.

::sigh:: this has been my dream too... Auditors as in Colonel Webb (HE IS FICTIONAL, I TELL YOU!)?

[Lancer]

::sigh:: this has been my dream too... Auditors as in Colonel Webb (HE IS FICTIONAL, I TELL YOU!)?

You mean Col William W. Webb? The man with the keys to all things DNS? No, he's very real, in fact I had a rather lengthy conversation with him at our wing conference this year. Great guy. Considering the fact too that he walked into managing our DNS with pretty much no technical background, I think he understands it very well.

In regards to pass-thru authentication, I'm all for it, but considering the unfounded hesitation folks like Lt Col Ninness are receiving when the idea is proposed, we 'IT folks' need to put together a case study and proof to them it can be done. In this organization, if you want something done, you sometimes need to do it yourself. Such as what your doing with your Moodle implementation. Kudos BTW.

[Sgt. Savage]

I like it. From an OPSEC point of view, it makes our training schedule secure and keeps the location secret; accessable only to members of the organization. One of OUR big problems is what to e-mail and what not to email. Though it happens here (MEWG), I have issues with telling everyone that N740CP is going to be out for its 100hr and that we have no available aircraft. I can see Muktada peeling my email out of Outlook by hacking my wireless....

I like it. Did I already say that?

[JC004]

::sigh:: this has been my dream too... Auditors as in Colonel Webb (HE IS FICTIONAL, I TELL YOU!)?

You mean Col William W. Webb? The man with the keys to all things DNS? No, he's very real, in fact I had a rather lengthy conversation with him at our wing conference this year. Great guy. Considering the fact too that he walked into managing our DNS with pretty much no technical background, I think he understands it very well.

In regards to pass-thru authentication, I'm all for it, but considering the unfounded hesitation folks like Lt Col Ninness are receiving when the idea is proposed, we 'IT folks' need to put together a case study and proof to them it can be done. In this organization, if you want something done, you sometimes need to do it yourself. Such as what your doing with your Moodle implementation. Kudos BTW.

He doesn't exist.  You lie.  How could our .gov control guy have the initials WWW and the last name Webb?  LIES, I SAY, LIES!   

I think we should make this happen, if we can.  It would make life a lot easier for the wings and probably their subordinate units.  Moodle = good.  Thank you, btw.  We need to get you pre-registered too.   

[pixelwonk]

* tedda folds arms... bobs head

done!

[JC004]

* tedda folds arms... bobs head

done!

ladies and gentlemen...THE AMAZING TEDDA!

[addo1]

Thoughts?  Ideas?

  It might be quite complicated to do, but I think it would probably be worth it in the long run..

Tags - MIKE

[floridacyclist]

I'm working on trying to get phpgroupware ( www.phpgroupware.org ) working on our website, but Godaddy doesn't offer complete mysql permissions...just heard from our wing web guru that I can host on the wing website which does.....we'll see