Basic features

The following common principles and general features have been gathered from focus groups at Bates College and are presented for further discussion amongst participants in the IKE project. Numbering is for reference purposes only and doesn’t reflect ranking.

For community members and visitors

• Be dependable — Is it available whenever and wherever I need it?
• Be intuitive — Can I easily explore, find, and contribute?
• Be useful — Is content relevant, accurate, and up to date?
• Be engaging — Is the experience appealing? Does it draw me in?
• Be personalizable — Can I find, save, and subscribe to my interests?
• Be welcoming — Are a variety of perspectives and voices presented?
• Be meaningful — Is the experience valuable and worth my attention?

For editors, designers, and authors

• Simplify content creation — Can I add or edit content without training?
• Streamline organization — Can I quickly add categories and tags?
• Make content easier to find — Does the publisher improve findability of deep content?
• Improve access for everyone — Can content be used by people with differing abilities?
• Integrate multimedia — Can I upload or embed audio, video, and Flash?
• Customize look and feel — Can I make changes to the colors or layout?
• Manage content versions — Can I compare versions and roll back to a previous one?
• Tailor features to abilities — Do I just see the functions I need to do my work?

For publishers and architects

• Be simple — Can all roles do work with little training or support?
• Be accessible — Does code support W3C and ADA/508 standards?
• Be flexible — Does the framework allow for future enhancements?
• Be extensible — Can the framework integrate with external services?
• Be sustainable — Does the vision include support to keep it vital?