2023-02-13 Meeting notes: Workflow tools | next steps

Date

Housekeeping

Discussion items

  1. Workflow tools
    1. What are the differences and what are the similarities
    2. How can we make the solutions more adoptable?
    3. Next steps: e.g. create a Slack channel wehre people can share tools and experiences
  2. AI SIG survey

Minutes

Workflows

Workflow toolUsed by institutionType of tasks / workflowsNotes
CamundaTAMU
  • back and forth between automated tasks and human tasks
  • creates workflows as JSON
  • workflow interacts with FOLIO and communicates via e-mail with user
  • Camunda uses BPMN to express it’s flows (Business process modelling and notation)
  • defines business processes
JIRALehigh
  • Purchase Request Platform (developed in free version)
  • use Kanban boards
  • JIRA ticket enrichment to get pricing by title via API
  • e.g. speed up decision making
PrefectCornell
  • prefect is a python based workflow engine
  • different workflows, such as:
    • Ordering
    • PDA
    • cataloguing metadata corrections in FOLIO
    • setting holdings in OCLC
  • more data oriented workflows
  • 2023-01-25 Meeting notes: workflow management with Prefect

  • recording
  • use cloud based free version |  good accessibility
  • not plug and play; everything has python script behind it
  • python scripts are shareable
  • Similarity with Airflow: Prefect and Airflow both use DAGs and have a great deal of overlap in their functionality
  • needs upskilling people
AirflowStanford
  • bibliographic workflows
  • data loading
  • consists of DAGs → DAG: Directed Acyclic Graph (one direction)
    • each for separate workflow; different DAGs can be connected for migration
  • more data oriented workflows
  • different problem solved (rather migration)
  • manage loads of data efficiently
  • Next steps: e.g. create a Slack channel wehre people can share tools and experiences
  • Questions 
    • could the work that has been done for FOLIO to work with Camunda be used for Prefect or Airflow as well?
    • the closer tools are tied to FOLIO the more accessible?
    • will hosts support it?
      • for Elastic Search/Open Search they did
      • not for LDP
    • FOLIO internal vs. external solution for workflows - is there a preference - what are the thoughts of the TC?
    • How progress workflow discussion → PC?
      • would need PO and dev team to make progress
      • Heather will reach out to TAMU on their plans on Camunda

AI SIG survey

  • to improve the overall experience I would ask you to answer the linked survey, that will only take a few minutes
  • the survey will be open until Feb 22nd

Chat


 

Transcript

Future topics

  • Topic proposal by Owen Stephens for October:
    • Use of shortcut keys and macros for more effective cross-app working  - it also be good to have UX and Stripes/dev knowledge for this discussion I think. I know @Laura (she/they) uses macros so might have insights into the potential for cross-app working
    • Potential for external 'workflow' solutions for cross-app interactions
      • I think 'workflow' is a dangerous term here - in this context it's more about automation than user workflows, although I think there is overlap
      • I was particularly struck by the solution in production at TAMU (Jeremy Huff and Sebastian Hammer presented, the recording is at https://prod-zoom-recordings-openlibraryfoundation-org.s3.amazonaws.com/50dc6c87-3912-43fa-8287-56ec73b12bbb%2Fshared_screen_with_speaker_view%28CC%29.mp4 starting at 3 hrs, 14 min) - I think getting someone from TAMU to talk about how this is used would be v interesting (tick)
      • There was also a presentation on the use of a tool called Airflow at Stanford for "bibliographic workflow" but I've not watched that yet so not 100% sure if it is completely applicable - I think the core use case there was systems migration but it may go beyond that (tick)
      • Jenn Colt on using Prefect (tick)
      • does not need to be workflow across apps
  • UX/UI and implementers topics
    • should be Wednesdays
  • Comprehensive look at where data is copied and stored as opposed to live data | how it is represented
  • Date filters and how they work in different apps

Attendees

Present

Name

Home Organization


Brooks Travis

EBSCO


Charlotte Whitt

Index Data


Dennis Bridges

EBSCO

xDung-Lan ChenSkidmore College

Erin NettifeeDuke

Gill Osguthorpe

UX/UI Designer - K-Int

x

Heather McMillan Thoele

TAMU


Ian Ibbotson

Developer Lead - K-Int


Jag GorayaK-Int
regrets

Jana Freytag

VZG, Göttingen

xJenn ColtCornell

Khalilah Gambrell

EBSCO


Kimberly PamplinTAMU

Kirstin Kemner-Heek  

VZG, Göttingen

x

Kristin Martin

Chicago


Laura Daniels

Cornell


Lloyd Chittenden

Marmot Library Network


Marc JohnsonK-Int
x

Martina Schildt

VZG, Göttingen


Martina Tumulla

hbz, Cologne

x

Maura Byrne

Chicago


Mike Gorrell

Index Data

x

Owen Stephens

Product Owner -  Owen Stephens Consulting


Patty Wanninger

Product owner Users app


Rachel A SneedTAMU

Sara ColglazierFive Colleges / Mount Holyoke College Library
xSusanne SchusterBSZ Konstanz

John CoburnEBSCO

Zak BurkeEBSCO

Daniel HuangLehigh

Maccabee LevineLehigh

Robert ScheierHoly Cross

Jeremy NelsonStanford

Ingolf Kusshbz

Action items

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