Launch Day

On the launch day we had to alter our invitation message before we sent it. This was because Ning did not allow us to attach a file in the invitation message (e.g. guide on how to access Ning); hence we thought we needed to send this file under a separate email to the users.

Another issue was that Ning did not let us input more than 200 characters in the invitation message text area.

Sue L, Sue K and I had a thorough discussion on the invitation message and the best format that should shape our message. Our challenge was to introduce the project by email to the university in as few words as possible. Most people do not have the patience to read a lengthy email so we agreed that the email had to be brief and concise and also mention the forthcoming events & project introduction. The invitation message has been transformed

FROM:

TO

We decided to send award leaders:
An email which will briefly explain the project details with a guide attachment on how to access Ning.

An invitation through Ning where they will be asked to try the questions on the main Forum.

We tweaked the community interface (e.g. we hid the QIS Panel member training event, Introduction to DIVAS, etc…). We temporarily removed the old questions (e.g. New User & Expert User) from Ning and replaced them with

1. Introduce yourself to the community
2. Tell us about your own experience of the validation process.
3. What is your expectation of this community of practice?

We changed the launch day to Tuesday 16th Sep as we thought it would be a less busy day and decided to launch the system at 10.30am (normally it is a coffee-break time for the staff.)

Sue K exported the CSV file from Outlook and uploaded it to Ning using Invite More People function. However on that day only 2 staff joined in who had requested the invitation individually. The following day, Sue investigated the issue and realised that she needed to change the format of the email address in the spreadsheet (e.g. she had to change it from “SMITH John (j.smith@staffs.ac.uk)” to “j.smith@staffs.ac.uk”) surprisingly it worked and staff were able to access the network.

Ben S, Sue L, Sue K and I had an informal discussion on Wednesday morning. It was agreed to change the name of the network from DIVAS to Validation Support Network. This would sound more familiar to colleagues who are involved in validation so we removed DIVAS words from the whole network.

We decided to spread the word beyond the award leaders and thought of inviting the whole staff in the schools, faculties and relevant departments.

These alteration had been made on Monday 15th Sep.