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SOURCE: Documentation management model
EDIT, MINE AND UPDATE AS NEEDED
Proposal for a GBIF documentation management model
The following document contains, under Model Components, a description of a potential model for GBIF documentation management (including building and versioning). The model is a general approach and contains the components that we believe would be useful in the long term. VertNet would not be the lead of or responsible for the model, it would only participate as an Expert Task Group to develop a first step of documentation updating, described in another document.
Establish a collaborative effort to create and review GBIF-mediated documentation, based on the knowledge of experts and leveraging community involvement. Such an approach would provide uniform, reliable and reusable materials, nurturing community trust in the documentation available and fostering its use.
(see Fig 1)
The coordination of the following components might require the formation of an Editorial Panel, which may include representatives from the community, across broad geographic and thematic ranges, including members from different GBIF Nodes and the Science Committee. The main functions of such Editorial Panel would be to set documentation priorities, convoke pertinent expert task groups, and oversee the whole process. Other functions of the Editorial Panel would include determining the best practices for licensing and attribution of the documentation produced/updated.
Description: a group of experts with ample experience in the themes requiring documentation, with potential for consultation with other experts in relevant fields. Associated activities:
- Review and update existing documentation, including versioning.
- Create new documentation where needed. This may include different documentation formats (e.g., documents -text, pdf, videos and tutorials).
- Seek, compile and integrate community input into documentation.
- Associated deliverables:
- Expert-generated documentation, available in documentation repository.
- Community-vetted, expert-generated release version of documentation; ideally with versions in 6 UN languages.
- Needs:
- Compensation for time and resources contributed by the group of experts.
Description: a single public repository where all documentation can reside, including all revisions and releases over time (reviews/updates). Associated activities: Manage document creation and update activities in the repository Respond to issues and comments submitted to the repository Aggregate documentation packages or clusters for the community based on identified stakeholder needs and priorities. See component D, below. Associated Deliverables: GitHub-based documentation repository Needs: Set up a common repository to host documentation under the GBIF GitHub organisation. Grant editing access to relevant parties.
Description: the expert task group consults with the community to identify needs, solicit feedback, and create community-vetted versions of selected documentation, with broad dissemination and over a defined public comment period. Associated Activities: Identify the documentation that requires community feedback and review. Determine the broad or specific community of interest and the most effective means to communicate with this group. Determine an appropriate timeframe to gather feedback. Associated deliverables: Expert and community-vetted documentation; ideally in 6 UN languages. A short list of community needs and wants; a list of anticipated documentation needs. Needs: An efficient mechanism to seek and incorporate input. An effective mechanism to disseminate deliverables to all relevant stakeholders.
Description: aggregate documentation into customized packages according to stakeholders’ specific needs and priorities. Packages may be built from documentation available in the repository by any interested party (e.g., training modules for BID programme). Documentation may be served in different formats/media (e.g., text/pdf files, videos and tutorials, exercise sets). Associated activities: Create customized documentation packages for target themes. Publish documentation packages in relevant venues, when appropriate, to reach a broader audience (e.g., training modules in Biodiversity Informatics journal). Associated deliverables: documentation packages documentation publications. Needs: Identify and prioritize documentation packages needed.