[Foss4g2009] OCS/Events Conferencing software integration
meeting minutes
Bruce Bannerman
bruce at bannerman.id.au
Wed Aug 6 05:50:25 EDT 2008
Some very good points Simon.
From memory, Tour Hosts had some significant concerns relating to the
integration of their Events software into their payments / bookings
functionality in particular.
During the Tender review process, I understood that we would not be
changing this. Sorry if I'm going over old ground, I missed the meeting.
Just what is it that we are trying to do with the integration that
requires 1-2 months effort?
More importantly, is Events Plus just an Australian product or is it
used in the international events industry as well?
Bruce
On Wed, 2008-08-06 at 19:29 +1000, mapbutcher wrote:
> Hey,
>
> I'd like to think we can approach this pragmatically and avoid over
> complicating things. Lets concentrate on what it is we want the
> conference website to achieve, keeping in mind our theme of 'user
> driven':
> * Attract people to the conference
> * Provide information about Sydney/Australia and what people can
> do and see while they are at the conference (other than attend
> sessions/workshops etc)
> * Provide accommodation information
> * Provide a single source of information on what it will be like
> to attend the conference
> * Registration
> * Paper Submission
> * Program\Schedule
> * Conference timeline
> * Contact/query info
> * ....
> We have limited resources and IMO we don't want to be using these on
> integration projects when we could possibly make a pragmatic decision
> now. Personally I still haven't heard a convincing argument for
> complicating the provision of the site by integrating two systems
> together. Should the local committee vote on the whether we:
> * Use either the Tour Hosts system or OCS exclusively - both are
> providing adequate sites for conferences currently
> * If we are going to integrate the two systems together then
> make a decision on the level of integration.
> I'm willing to put in time towards the website (sorry not 1-2 months
> PHP hacking :), I'll even make the effort to get to Sydney if needs
> be, but I would prefer to know that the time is not wasted on an
> integration that serves no other purpose than saying we have used open
> source conference software, especially taking into account previous
> comments on future reuse of any integration efforts.
>
> I vote for one system or the other, if that's not the way that the
> committee wants to go then I would vote for as basic an integration as
> possible.
>
> Cheers
>
> Simon
>
> 2008/8/5 Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
> Rrank,
>
> Gavin & Graeme explained the idea and hopefully will correct
> my interpretation of a proposed implementation:
>
> * OCS will accept user initial registrations.
> * OCS will pass registration details to Tour Hosts' "Events"
> package, and get a userId returned. (API needed here).
> Events package will process finances.
> * OCS will be able to query Events package to determine
> financial status of each member (by passing in the userId).
> (API needed here). This could be a push or pull interface, yet
> to be determined.
> * OCS will be responsible for processing papers and collecting
> information about delegates.
> * Events system is responsible for processing financial
> details, booking accommodation, and other things I can't
> remember.
>
> Indeed, this work could be quite simple if you have developers
> who are already familiar with the code base. People on the
> teleconference didn't have much experience in PHP. So yes,
> with the right hackers, this could be done much cheaper that
> my estimated 1 to 2 months. Do you have such a hacker in mind?
>
>
> Frank Warmerdam wrote:
> Cameron Shorter wrote:
> The proposed solution is to use OCS for
> collecting presentations, and some of the
> registration work flow, then hand the rest
> over to the ICS software. (I haven't captured
> all the details here. Will leave that to
> someone else). Changes will likely be written
> in PHP & MySQL, plus contractors might need to
> be hired to provide hooks into the Events
> system.
>
> Cameron,
>
> I don't really have a clear understanding of the
> integration proposed.
>
> My past suggestion has been to handle the presentation
> collection and
> management through OCS (something we have experience
> with), and handle
> registration completely in the service providers
> system. I don't see how
> this would require any expensive integration.
>
> This still leaves some question about whether the
> "front end" web site
> is managed by the local service provider's system or
> OCS. I'm ambivalent
> on this issue.
>
> In my optimistic opinion the only integration needed
> between the systems
> should be an url at the appropriate points. I will
> acknowledge that
> users may end up with two userids if they are
> presenting, one to
> register and one for the presentation management
> system.
>
> The objective - at least in the long term - is to get
> cheaper service from
> the service providers since they won't be expected to
> manage the presentation
> aspect, and to ensure greater continuity of operation
> in this aspect.
>
> The only integration I anticipate is working to ensure
> OCS uses the OSGeo
> LDAP database so that userid/password info is "OSGeo
> standard".
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> --
>
>
> Cameron Shorter
> Geospatial Systems Architect
> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>
> Think Globally, Fix Locally
> Commercial Support for Geospatial Open Source Solutions
> http://www.lisasoft.com/LISAsoft/SupportedProducts.html
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Foss4g2009 at lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/foss4g2009
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