Setting Up the Observation Deck
Observation Deck is managed with an open source software platform called Directus. When you download the Odeck, it comes preloaded with a starter set of data to help you understand the structure of the tool. To get your own institution set up using the Observation Deck, follow these instructional Videos
Create Your Institution
When you download the Observation Deck onto your server, it comes preloaded with Madison Public Library as the institution and Madison Bubbler’s Making & Learning Framework.
If you would like to keep the Bubbler framework as an option for your institution - you can have as many frameworks as you like - you can simply add a new one and edit the name of the institution, locations, and partners.
Or you can start from scratch by creating a new institution. You will need:
- The name
- The “sliders” to gauging the vibe or feel of your programs
- The locations (you may have more than one where programs take place)
- Any community partners you would want to also link to data.
Follow these instructions for setting up an institution, locations, and partners.
*If you wish to remove the Bubbler as an institution completely you can change the status within directus to “archived”. This may be easier than deleting it completely. This way, if you change your mind it will always be available. Archiving is a best practice within Directus as a mistaken delete may irrevocably unlink data in a way you weren’t intending.
Setting up user roles
Once you have created or edited your institution, you are now ready to think about your users and permissions. There are three different roles with the Observation Deck
Administrator
The Administrator login for the Observation Deck will be determined with an Administrator email address and password during the installation process. These steps are included in the documentation for the Open Source program available at: https://github.com/bytestudios/observation-deck/
This Administrator is the operations manager of the Observation Deck. This might be an IT person, web developer, or the ambitious administrator or librarian.
This person can extend the usage of the Observation Deck with Directus’ additional features, but they can also break the predesigned tool. This person should be comfortable with data systems, or confident leaving things as is.
This person will need to set up the users initially before institutional managers and observers have access to the tool. An administrator is a separate account only managing the back end of things. They cannot log into the Observer or Reporter tools. Those roles are for the Institutional Manager and Observers.
An administrator can delete or edit anyone’s data, they can also archive data.
The Administrator also has access to create API accounts to integrate with other library systems if they have the data systems knowledge to do so. This is a more complex process than we will cover here - interested parties are welcome to reach out to the development team via Github where our Observation Deck code is stored.
Institutional Manager
The Institutional Manager will be your project manager who is observing and analyzing data in your library or libraries. You can have more than one.
They can add users, locations, and partners, add frameworks, dimensions, and indicators, and delete or archive data in Directus. They cannot add additional features and should not be able to “break” the predesigned structure.
In Observer mode, they can see their own data of programs they have observed.
In Reporter mode they can see and sort through everyone’s data. Using the filters in the Reporter mode, they can filter by location, observer, age group, date range, or framework used to have a broader picture of library outcomes.
Observer
These may be individual staff like librarians or library assistants at your locations.
They are not interested in adjusting the back end of things like adding frameworks or users, rather they are using the tool their institutional manager set up. They will just be focused on Observations.
In Observer mode, these individuals can see their data of all the programs they have observed.
In Reporter mode they can collectively see all of their data to look at programs or program series over time. They cannot see data and observations from other observers.
Follow this video for adding user roles
Adding a framework
When you download the Observation Deck onto your server, it comes preloaded with Madison Public Library as the institution and Madison Bubbler’s Making & Learning Framework.
You may want to create a framework using the tools on the Observation Deck website. Frameworks for Observation are designed in tiers:
Framework > Dimensions > Indicators > Observed Data
In the back end of the Observation Deck they need to be added in the same order.
Follow these Instructions for Adding a New Framework:
*It is important to note that all of your data is linked together - observations linked to indicators, linked to dimensions etc. Which means changing a framework once data is already collected can be challenging and confusing.
Small tweaks are ok - changing a name or wording, or making an addition, but moving or deleting elements once data can cause all kinds of back end issues.
So it is better to be sure of your framework, having tested it during observations on paper first, before taking the time to enter it into the Observation Deck.
Or, you might consider a “Beta” framework that you can then archive and create a new version if you have substantial changes you are planning on making in the future.