Online Community Setup

This document contains the typical criteria we use to setup your Online Community. Some of the items in this document may not be universally applicable. You may skip anything you don't feel is relevant, or supply corrections, comments, and questions.

Please save your changes frequently if you are worried about losing your work or are waiting on information from other staff.

Getting Started

1. What is your Online Community going to be called? Common examples: Connect, Exchange, Link, Community, Hub, Groups
AAU Connect
2. What sub domain would you like to use? Typically matches your community name, but may be a shortened version. Example: connect.myassociation.org
connect.aau.edu
3. What email domain would you like to use? Typically matches your sub domain. Example: connect.myassociation.org; this means emails from the community are sent from group-email-address@connect.myassociation.org
connect.aau.edu
4. If you are purchasing a mobile app option, what would you like your mobile app for your Online Community to be called? Typically matches your Online Community name. Example: My Association Connect
n/a
5. Who is in charge of the community? This would be the person in charge of the project typically or in charge of operations. Example tasks: approving group subscription requests (optional), moderating (optional), etc.
TBD - but for now.: Tom Bozzo is PM, and Raquel McKeveny@aau.edu (raquel.mckeveny@aau.edu) and Charles Gushue (charles.gushue@aau.edu) will be primary community operators.
6. Please list all staff who should have full administrative rights in the Online Community for tasks such as setting up content, operating the community, adding other staff, etc.
Andrew Parrish (Andrew.parrish@aau.edu) Tom Bozzo (tom.bozzo@aau.edu) Raquel McKeveny (Raquel.mckeveny@aau.edu ) Charles Gushue (Charles.gushue@aau.edu)
7. Please provide a logo file for the community. Dimensions are less important than aspect ratio. Ideally the logo file is roughly 2 parts width to 1 part height (a rectangle), and should be much larger than required (ie perhaps 1000 x 200px wide). We will resize and crop as needed.
Unsure. Use the one already created in the sandbox community for the moment and we will address once we speak to our internal graphic designer.
8. Who is the technical contact we should send DNS changes to? These DNS changes are for the website and email hosting of the community on our servers.
Tom Bozzo (tom.bozzo@aau.edu)
9. Who is the billing contact we should send the setup invoice to?
Eileen Fox (invoices@aau.edu)
10. Would you prefer electronic payments or mail payments? If electronic please send an invitation request, or ACH form template used by your accounting department.
Electronic. Will send necessary supporting resources.
11. Is there a specific date you would like to fully launch by (production)?
Targeting early October (October 1 or thereabouts)

Discussion Groups

1. What types of groups do you want to include in the Online Community? Common examples: Committees, Sections, Chapters, Task Forces, Regions, Interests, other Demographics, etc.
Constituencies, Task Forces, Committees, Working Groups
2. Do you want an Open Forum? This is a forum where all members in good standing have access and can talk about any general topics. What do you want the Open Forum to be called? Common examples: Open Forum, Discussions, General, General Discussions.
No,
3. Will non-members have access to the Online Community? What groups if so? Examples: Students, Candidates, etc.
Not at start.
4. Of the groups you've mentioned for the community, which ones should be have no ability to be joined? (ie can only be accomplished via your AMS)
Constituencies and Committees.
5. Of the groups you've mentioned for the community, which ones should be have approval based ability to be joined? (ie staff must approve subscription to the group)
Task forces and working groups – with some exceptions.
6. Would you prefer members of groups be automatically opted in to receive emails? In this scenario we recommend daily digest by default. Members who participate in these discussions will receive immediate emails to keep the discussion going. Alternatively you may want your members to receive an invitation email in order to opt in to receive emails. This is basically: ask forgiveness or ask permission. Members can easily unsubscribe from these discussions from any emails the system sends.
Yes. Opted in for instant emails as the default setting.
7. Please mention anything else you feel is important related to Discussion Groups:
We have some task forces that are open to join BUT only for existing members of certain member groups. What we would like is the ability for members of one group whose membership is driven by the AMS (“CFR”) to be able to see and join, if desired, certain designated CFR Task Forces.

Events

1. If utilizing our Events solution, when would you like to pilot the solution with a smaller event?
EventPilot$$
2. If utilizing our Events solution, when would you like to roll out the solution for a larger member event?
EventRollout$$

Integration

1. What indicates a member in good standing?
Our AMS(Fonteva) Conditions: 1. if a contact is an active record AND 2. belongs to one of our primary constituent groups (defined in the AMS), which in turn authorizes them for website login.
2. What indicates a non-member who should have access (if they should); this is typically if they are a member of a group in the community, assuming non-members are otherwise typically not allowed in the community.
If they are a member of a particular group in AMS.
3. What is your AMS? What version? (this may have already been mentioned, but this is for our records)
Fonteva/Salesforce – latest version
4. What CMS are you using for your website? What version? (this may have already been mentioned, but this is for our records)
Drupal 8
5. Who develops and supports your website if not the same as your AMS? Please include a best contact.
Taoti Creative is our web developer. Our primary contact there is Susan Steele (ssteele@taoticreative.com), however our internal POCs/leads for web-related requests are Tom Bozzo (tom.bozzo@aau.edu) and Daniel Kleine (Daniel.kleine@aau.edu – webmaster).
6. Who is hosting your website if not the same as the vendor who develops and supports your website? Please include a best contact.
Same as above. Taoti/Pantheon is the host.
7. Are there any types of records you feel are critically important that synchronization be as real time as possible? Examples include: member records. Synchronization schedules are typically 5 minutes (minor incremental data), 60 minutes (bulk incremental data), and 24 hours (full synchronization for sanity check and recovery from intermittent network issues).
Member records
8. Please mention anything else you feel is important related to Integration:
We recently set up successful SAML integrations for a Board Portal and secure voting service authenticating against Fonteva/Salesforce using mostly internal resources, so we may be able to accomplish the login integration with just AAU staff (primary POC Tom Bozzo – tom.bozzo@aau.edu) For the integration, we’ll just need to pass the login through our website (which should enforce restrictions we have for major constituent groups) but then read what groups they belong to off the record to auto-populate certain groups.