Hi! I’m Robert Allen and I am a Director of Software Engineering here at Innovative. Some of you already know me from working with us as a beta tester, or as a development partner, or through an IUG or ALA meeting. For those that don’t, I’ve been at Innovative for 7 years working primarily on the patron facing applications- Encore, WebPAC, WebBridge, Research Pro, Web Access Management and AirPAC.
My prior experience was in the development of enterprise financial applications. I can’t tell you how much better I feel at the end of the day working for and with libraries. I don’t know if it was arrogance or naivete but I thought this job would be a piece of cake. I quickly learned that I was wrong. I was pleased to learn how technologically advanced libraries were and demanded we be too. Thanks for keeping me on my toes!
I hope to use this blog as a way to expose some of product development’s challenges and triumphs. But, as mentioned in my bio, I hope to also use this space to shake things up. In that respect you can think of me as the contrarian not-quite-librarian.
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March 16th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Hi Robert,
Yes, it could be argued that we might be more advanced were we not held back by the slow development processes of large LMSs ;-)
On a less flippant note, as you mention AirPac, what’s the reason for not being able to get usage statistics?
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:41 am
I guess I’d argue the opposite, that libraries are at the forefront because of the robust infrastructure systems that run their every day operations successfully and reliably. We can’t forget this in the face of all the hoopla about new discovery interfaces, whether ours or from some other source.
AirPAC is a product that never really caught on, and thus, additional development on it was limited. Today, with smarter and smarter browsers on phones, it’s not obvious that enhancing AirPAC for this purpose is worth the effort. AirPAC is not just a version of WebOPAC and thus we didn’t get any statistics for free. Early enhancements to the product were deemed more important, like getting AirPAC internationalized for the sites in Asia who were using it. Then, as interest dwindled, we just never got to statistics.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Thanks for the background info re AirPAC statistics. Due to the high data download charges from mobile phone companies here in Australia, access to any web sites via mobile devices has been slow to catch on, however we are now seeing changes in the charging structures and many more companies, news organisations etc are offering web site versions suitable for viewing on mobile devices.
I still believe that AirPAC will be very useful for users who want to do searches, verify a citation or manage their record on the hoof.
Maybe interest dwindled for other reasons such as cost or lack of time to implement etc, rather than no interest in the product - also if you think about it a lot of take up of newer interactive products like this are based on word of mouth - there are so many to chose from these days, we have to be selective about what we put efforts and money into - and if we were able to say to fellow universities “oh yes our Airpac usage is now (e.g.) 10% of our total search stats”, wouldn’t that make people think it was worth investing resources into?
May 28th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I’ve had several conversations about this topic lately and I suspect blame could be tossed all around. We at Innovative could have done more to improve the product, including better support for libraries to promote it to their patrons. I also think that volatility in the wireless market has been part of the problem. Besides the changing pricing models you’ve mentioned there have been regular and radical changes in devices. When we started Airpac we were trying to provide library services via WAP. That’s a far cry from what you can now do on an iPhone or even that old-timer the Treo.
I think we have no choice but to offer services to our wireless customers. I’m just not convinced that every function available via the library’s website/opac needs be available via a phone. Once again, we must really focus on the patron’s expectations and needs.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Hi,
What’s up with Research Pro? Your web page on it has not been updated recently. No news since ‘06?
http://www.iii.com/products/research_pro.shtml
Is it just becoming part of Encore?
Thanks,
Lydia