Introduction
This plugin is being developed for the Information & Sign posting project and specifically to advertise 'PLINGs' places to go and things to do.
The specification of this plugin is being driven from the Output API:
http://plings.info/wiki/index.php/Plings_Output_API
and the more specific activity data content as defined within the activity data definition:
http://feeds.plings.net/xml.activity.dtd
Localisation
The plugin infers the local authorities (for the purposes of all searches except postcode radius) from the microsite through which the plugin is accessed. When the plugin is accessed through microsites which have no LAs assigned in the CMS (e.g. Looking Local) the search scope will expand to "national".
Architecture
The plugin uses a local database of activities and venues populated using the Output API. This database contains activities and associated venues for the next 24 months, with one month's worth of activities (and all venues) updated from the Output API every hour.
The local database is used for all workflows other than postcode search, which uses the live API directly.
This approach allows us to search by multiple LA, sort search results, and search/browse venues ("places"). None of these things are currently possible using the live API. We also get performance benefits (faster page transitions) since we're not experiencing web services lag.
We need to validate this architecture with PLINGS, as there are obvious scalability concerns as data grows.
Workflow
Overview
List Activities workflow
Search workflow
Browse Places workflow
Screens
PLINGS Introduction Screen
| (click thumbnail to enlarge) |
Screen Title - About PLINGS
This screen contains a description of the PLINGs service. Selecting "Start" button navigates to "PLINGS Main Menu".
PLINGS Main Menu Screen
| (click thumbnail to enlarge) |
Screen Title - PLINGS Main Menu
A menu screen permitting access to lists of activities and places to go.
The relevant number of activities or places to go that are viewable within the local authority accessed is displayed in brackets for each menu option.
"Back" button returns to "PLINGS Introduction Screen"
Activity List Screens
| (click thumbnail to enlarge) |
(click thumbnail to enlarge) |
| (click thumbnail to enlarge) |
(click thumbnail to enlarge) |
Screen Titles - As per selected "PLINGS Main Menu" option.
List the activities for the given date range within the Local Authority by default.
Back from the first page of activities will return the "PLINGS Main Menu" screen.
By selecting "Change Search" option the date range and area of the search may be changed (postcode radius search). (Navigates to "Let Me Search What's on")
Selecting an activity from the list displays the "Activity Details" screen.
Activity Details Screens
| (click thumbnail to enlarge) |
(click thumbnail to enlarge) |
(click thumbnail to enlarge) |
Screen Title - Activity Details (No.# of # found)
Displays the following details for an individual activity:
Activity Name
Activity Starts
Activity ends
Activity Details
MinAge
MaxAge
Cost
ProviderOrganisation
ProviderContactName
ProviderContactNumber
ProviderContactEmail
ProviderContactAddress
Venue Name
Building NameNo
Street
Town
PostTown
County
Postcode
Navigation options:
"See other events at this venue" Displays activities for the next 31 days that are taking place at the same venue as the current activity.
"Next Results" button is presented on the final page. Navigates to detail of the next activity in the list.
A map showing the location of the activity venue with zoom controls is also presented on the final page.
Back from the first page will return to the previous list of activities.
Let Me Search What's on
| Initial search screen |
Request for detail |
| (click thumbnail to enlarge) |
(click thumbnail to enlarge) |
Screen Title - Let me search 'What's on'
Search for activities on within a specific date range and within the local authority area or postcode.
If either "Let me pick date" or a postcode search is selected a second screen is presented to obtain further detail from the user.
Back from either screen returns to the "PLINGS Main Menu" screen.
Places to Go
| List of places |
Activities at that place |
| (click thumbnail to enlarge) |
(click thumbnail to enlarge) |
Screen Title - # Places to Go
List places to go within the local authority area that have activities on in the next 31 days.
Selection of a place displays those activities at that venue on in the next 31 days.
Back from first page or "Back to PLINGS Menu" returns to "PLINGS Main Menu" screen.
From: David Carpenter david@substance.coop
Sent: 26 March 2009 10:00
To: Jason Hillier
Cc: Ian Wiebkin
Subject: RE: Activity Classification
Hi Jason
My first comment on the document is: check you're API calls. There are a
number of them in there that have missing parameters, or that might not
return the data you are expecting.
You can do this simply by putting the URL's in your browser and looking
through the returned data.
Secondly - use the wiki as your reference for documentation whenever you
can - I believe all the google doc stuff is now in the wiki.
Thirdly - to me your searches all hinge around how you handle the data
that comes back. The problem is that you don't know what's in the data
until you request it!
I would suggest you look at caching data and then try to present the
options a user has around the data you've got. (Once you have the data,
you can perform operation on it, e.g. If at 5pm I want to know what's on
today, a call to the API for what's on today will tell me everything
that's already finished as well as everything after 5pm. If I already
have a day's worth of data, then I can to just show anything starting
after 5pm (although anything ending after 5pm might be a better choice.
Why?)
By having fixed categories, fixed look-up lists, you greatly increase
your chances of providing 'no results' more often than not.
The problem here is, that until you build it, you won't see the problems
in the spec. And, until you have a good play around with the data to see
what you're really getting, writing the spec isn't going to be easy.
Hope that helps.
Cheers
David
From: "Jason Hillier" <jason.hillier@digitv.gov.uk>
To: david@substance.coop
Cc: "Ian Wiebkin" <ian.wiebkin@digitv.gov.uk>, "John Latham" <john.latham@digitv.gov.uk>, "Steven Flower" <steven@substance.coop>
Sent: Thursday, 26 March, 2009 17:30:46 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal
Subject: RE: Activity Classification
Hi David,
Many thanks for sending back some comments.
I recollect running most of the API calls that I included in the doc; is
there a specific one which doesn't look right ? I will however check
them out again when reviewing.
I have made a couple of changes to accommodate the wiki links and move
away from the google references.
I totally agree with the comments about the data being returned. But I
do however feel that we should be able to influence the quality of the
data being submitted using the Input API. I assume I'm right here in
that there will be constraints around what the local authorities can
enter in terms of Input API mandatory fields and given that certain
fields are mandatory, records cannot be entered into the PLINGS database
unless they are populated. Thereby protecting both the integrity of the
data records and ensuring a richer experience for anyone obtaining
details of an activity.
I do feel that there should certainly be a business requirement for
youngsters to request data according to a specific interest and the four
basic categories we have at the moment should enable a means of meeting
that need. If there is a need to extend the classification, I think
you're right in that it could become harder for a person to interpret
which category their activity fits into and increase the chances of a
nil return. If this categorisation is likely to change, I'd welcome the
chance to discuss as it will mean a retrospective change to the DigiTV
service. Perhaps we can have another discussion around this one as I'm
not sure that I fully understand the proposal; the Input API (according
to the wiki) doesn't stipulate that Activity Type is a 'required field'.
The concept of caching is another interesting one. I'm sure John will be
able to ensure that the most efficient means are adopted in managing the
data and the timely application of such taking into account data
capacity and filtration for particular activity requests.
I have this afternoon circulated a copy of the DigiTV spec (as attached)
to both John a couple of friendly Local Authorities (Jo at Leicester and
Emma at Blackburn); no doubt they will have a few questions or
suggestions that may need me to give you a call to talk through.
If there's any other comments that may come to you, should you have
another look through the spec., then feel free to let me know and I'll
include when I perform a collective review next week.
Kind regards
Jason Hillier