Standardized Administration Tools (SAT) Accounts Management sub-project

Table of Contents

Project Objective: Purpose

The purpose is to investigate and implement a tool set for administering system accounts in Computer Science and Math, as part of the Standardized Administration Tools (SAT) project. This tool set will replace the text-file accounts-management interface, supplying equivalent accounts-management functionality to a wider number of administrative users.

Project Scope/Deliverables

The high-level outcomes of this project are as follows:

• identification of SAT Accounts Requirements for inclusion
• specification of a scope and timeline for Spring 2019 and following
• implementation of SAT Accounts Database
• implementation of SAT Accounts API
• implementation of one or more user front-ends

Scope Includes/Excludes

Includes

• Investigation includes discussion and buy-in with identified end users.
• One administrative access level in the web user interface- eg., for technical staff in CSCF and MFCF.
  • Design will consider multiple access levels, so in a future version a faculty member can view and modify data such as class TAs.
• The app will cover data for Grad Students, Faculty, Researchers, Visitors, Staff and Undergraduates - anyone with a watiam account.
• Where feasible, data will include the entire campus
• Necessary documentation
• Importing- or access to- back-data from existing accounts-management system; as much as to be useful

Excludes

See SATAccountsRequirements#Future_work

• Creating accounts for users who do not have a watiam account.
• Tools to deploy accounts outside CS-TEACHING and CS-GENERAL
  • Notably, this doesn't include other clusters in CS or deploying MFCF accounts yet - MFCF currently plans to follow along later.
• UI for non-administrative users
• Finalizing multiple administrative permission levels controlled by groups

Constraints

• These tools need to be at least as easy to use as the tools staff currently use to make queries and updates from the command-line.

Assumptions and Risks

• Assumption that we can identify all of the staff workflow and data needs- without leaving out seldom-used but critical requirements.
• Assumption that existing ancient software was designed with features we don't need to include.
• Risk that while workflow and data needs are stable, they could be affected by new rules and requirements.
  • which we can mitigate by considering likely changes, such as MFCF needing to go back to billing more clients (so including billing specifications in the database)
• Risk that our understanding of existing software is incomplete and we'll discover further requirements during testing.
  • which we can mitigate by being as clear as possible about actual requirements.

Project Members

drallen (project manager), ldpaniak, ijmorland, dlgawley, ctucker, arpepper, rblander

Project Stakeholders

CSCF, CS ISG, MFCF

Project Sponsor

Craig Kaplan

RT

• /RT#777635

See also

• School Administration Tools

Implementation Plan

• 2018-01 - 2019-01
  • Work done by Isaac and Clayton on SAT Accounts Database
• 2019-01 - 2019-04
  • 2019-04-04: Agree on SAT Accounts Requirements
  • 2019-04-18: Have roadmap for Spring 2019
• 2019-05 - 2019-08
  • 2019-08: Have roadmap for Fall 2019
• 2019-09 - 2019-12
  • 2019-10: Understand database requirements
  • 2019-11: Have a UI for feedback
  • 2019-11: Have details about SAT Accounts API
  • 2019-12: Have roadmap for deployment in Winter 2020
• 2020-01 - 2020-08
  • 2020-06: Have fully-featured dev API for testing
  • 2020-04: Have fully implemented database and critical command-line tools
• 2020-09 - 2020-12
  • 2020-09: Understand UI update requirements
  • 2020-10: Have UI iteration for testing
  • 2020-12: Have deployed UI

Meeting Notes

• See SAT Accounts Requirements

-- DanielAllen - 2019-03-25