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Development roadmap

2025 development roadmap:

  • Iteration 2025/#1 - Message Structure Update
    (includes increased support for     non-APC models such as S2O and diamond)
    (includes support for book chapters, as other research output types than journal articles)
    (includes better connections with stakeholders' workflows and systems (e.g. Institutional Repositories), adding integration partners on the receiving end of P1-messages)

  • Iteration 2025/#2 - Further improvements to My Account and 'reporting'.

  • Iteration 2025/#3 - Structural improvements (e.g. UI, security, delegates, webhooks)

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Not yet planned:

  • Usage Stats

  • OA Books

  • New Message Types

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Delivered in 2024:

  • Iteration #1 (theme 'Publisher Usability Improvements'):

    • For all: Remove the 'DLQ Messages' entry in the menu bar, and also the DLQ dashboard itself.

    • For publishers: Be able to see in one place, in the main dashboard, the difference between delivered and undelivered messages, and the reason for 'undeliverable'. Be able to analyse in the export files (both Excel and JSON) the undelivered messages and identify and target related 'organisations'. 

    • In the back-end: increased number of organisations (with consortia structures, if applicable) set-up to support publishers in their data analysis, and own OA Switchboard efforts to ​achieve wider adoption and widespread usage.
       

  • Iteration #2 (theme 'Scaling'):​

    • Scaled number of organisations significantly, by converting a large number of ROR entries into records in the organisation database table of OA Switchboard.

    • Made optimisations, to not overload the hub and router, and keep admin functionalities usable.

    • Enabled the addition of scripted organisations periodically, from messages sent to a ROR ID without an organisation in OA Switchboard.
       

  • Iteration #3 (theme 'Improve Admin & Reporting & Feedback Features for Participants'):​

    • Introduction of My Account for participants with various options:

      • see how your account is set-up (i.e. for consortia to see your members)​

      • change your password

      • manage the settings for E1-E2 messages (i.e. we have a Central OA Fund Y/N)

      • provide general feedback to OA Switchboard

    • Distinction between the existing 'export' option (all messages to-date, in JSON or Excel) and a new option for 'reports' (Excel only). Reports can be generated on message or unique DOI basis (article-level), and various filters can be set.

    • Recipients of P1-messages can send feedback on message-level to:

      • indicate the message was sent to them in error (feedback goes to OA Switchboard)

      • provide feedback to the sender (publisher) on the content of the message (metadata-level)​

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Delivered in 2023:

  • Iteration #1 (theme 'Core Router Update'):

    • For institutions: Further developed the existing ‘auto-cc’ feature via P1-PIO messages (Public Information Only). Now also delivering these alerts and metadata in case of non-primary affiliations.

    • For consortia: Extend the existing consortia routing, to receive P1-PIO versions of all messages sent to their members, including the additional messages sent due to the upgraded auto-cc feature.

    • For publishers: Improve the ability to track messages they sent, especially if copies of messages are delivered to more participants than the initial ‘send-to’. We introduce sender push notifications and a group id for all messages routed from a first P1-message. Publishers can now keep track of all messages sent in their name, including the ones via auto-cc and consortia routing.

    • Support for multiple destinations for one participant. 

    • Added more information about the routing to the message header, so the recipients have more insight as to why a certain message was sent and delivered to them.
       

  • Iteration #2 (theme 'Usability Improvements'):

    • A new Excel report format, that provides the granularity of the underlying JSON, but easier for the human eye to process.

    • The limit on number of messages that can be exported (previously 1,000 max.) is removed, via a new two-step export process.

    • The Excel export has been further improved with respect to granularity in the financial settlement data at article level.

    • Extra filter options have been introduced on the main dashboard to limit the display of messages to E-messages, P-messages, messages awaiting response, or 'primary' only. It is now also possible to filter per receiving institution/funder or sending publisher.

    • Primary messages (the ones that initiate auto-cc, consortia-routing or P1-PIO) are marked with an asterix.

    • All messages in a thread are now grouped together (regardless of sorting and pagination).
       

  • Iteration #3 (message structure changes):​ ​​
    Once a year we review and upgrade the data field schema of our 'messages'.  This iteration includes, among others, better support for non-APC models such as Diamond and S2O, for approval of charges, and a field for grant DOI.  A complete overview of all changes is in the attached PPT. There is no change to the API, as none of the new fields are mandatory. An updated overview of all current data fields with definitions (and indication if they are mandatory) is available from our repository.

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Delivered in 2022:

  • Iteration #1 (theme 'Quality Assurance'): Automated test procedures (development of unit tests and integration test scripts). Manual test procedures for UI. Monitoring script and notifications. Updated documentation. Various bug fixes (e.g. on P1-PIO, reporting, consortia structure, auto-CC). Improved UI for admins with features such as statistics, logs, management functions. Onboarding preview and overviews ((auto) create organisations that are not yet participant, especially funders).
     

  • In between: Improvements/fixes based on feedback and new requests; Parties integrating with API; Extending ‘smart matching’ beyond free text affiliations and Ringgold: leverage authoritative affiliation data from authors’ ORCID profiles.
     

  • Iteration #2 (theme 'Message Structure changes'): Versioning for API;  V1 > V2 upgrade with backwards compatibility. Added non-CC license type, original article type, transaction data, and current address. Charged information added to Prior Agreement and No Prior Agreement. Support fundref to message structure and Auto CC feature (ISNI as well). Support any combination of APC charges and extra charges/discounts (whereas amounts can be x, or 0, or missing). ORCID affiliation added to Smart Matching. Simplified exports. Improvements to consortia routing.
     

  • In between: Funder search functionality and retro-active delivery of messages; Quicksight BI tool; Generic connector Crossref submission reports; Various bug fixes e.g. in export functionality, dashboard features; Imports (especially consortia); Administrative features (e.g. creating participant/organisation records).
     

  • Iteration #3 (theme 'Institutions and Funders') - (partly) delivered: UX changes to Dashboard; Publisher versus institutional view; Fixes for sorting/grouping in Dashboard.

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Delivered in 2021:

  • Iteration #1 (theme ‘Integration’): Generic reverse connector (JATS XML to OA Switchboard standard message structure) & inbound (S)FTP (instead of http POST) & deals sheet (data extraction). Also: message structure changes (header and PO-field), reporting improvements (Excel) and various bugs and documentation (explanation of data fields in JSON message structure).
     

  • Iteration #2 (theme ‘Reporting & Integration’): Datamodel changes (split participants <> organisations), enabling new scenario’s and more flexibility to support different scenario’s. New type of participant: consortia. Restructured charges section of E1 and P1 message type. New field funder acknowledgement. Changed view for dashboard to display all sent messages, including undelivered ones. Changed view for DLQ to display messages that are sent to non-defined organisations. Pilot funders (implemented through deal sheet for custom connectors). Bug fixes.
     

  • Iteration #3 (theme ‘Admin’): Extend administrator view with maintenance option for participants, organisations, relations (i.c. all onboarding tasks & simple maintenance tasks can be done via the User Interface (UI). Improve dashboard to deal with long lists of messages (pagination, server-side search, server-side filtering). Implement database proxy service, to improve performance. Implement tests scripts, to improve stability. Implemented more detailed logging and monitoring for uptime and potential errors. Bug fixes.
     

  • Iteration #4 (theme: ‘Consortia & Email Notifications’): Consortia structure. (Implementation for some pending). Improved email notifications; Fixes around (email) notifications (e.g. deep links, missing info). Small fixes for admin UI (maintain organisations & participants, statistics).
     

  • Iteration #5 (theme: ‘Message Structure and Auto-cc’): Auto-cc feature (generating a P1-PIO message for other funders and institutions in VoR). Evaluation funder pilot. Various bug fixes (a.o. around VoR license in UI). Message structure changes (add ‘non-CC BY’ and change ‘other’ into ‘CC BY-other’). Admin features (e.g. maintain consortia structure).

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