The document outlines the design and development of the GNM-DMS (document management system) and its extended version, which involves a partnership between ICS-FORTH and the Germanic National Museum. The system supports museum documentation and administration of objects, providing features like categorization, versioning, and detailed search mechanisms, while ensuring integration between its basic and extended components. It includes a web interface and technology based on Oracle 9i and J2EE for improved data management and organization.

1. Design & Development of
GNM – DMS Xtended
Giannis Alexakis

2. Contents
• Introduction – System Purpose
• GNM-DMS Basic
• GNM-DMS Xtended
– Specifications
– Technology
– Integration
– Improvements

3. Introduction - System purpose
• GNM-DMS
– Document Management System
– A partnership between
• ICS-FORTH
(Institute of Computer Science-Foundation for Research and Technology)
• Germanic National Museum
– Developed and Integrated (aprx 2000-2005)
– Available to be customized for other museums (ΣΥΝΘΕΣΙΣ system)
• System parts
– GNM-DMS Basic
– GNM-DMS Xtended
• My role
– Part of a team (4 developers – 2 supervisors)
– Implementation of the Xtended system prototype (2003-2004)
– Technical papers, user manuals writing
– Installation, maintenance, user support
– Basic and Xtended system integration (analysis)

4. DMS Basic

5. DMS Basic
• Assists the documentation
of the museum objects
• Based on the CIDOC (ISO 21127) standard
• Users
– Registration office: initiate the inventory documents
– Curator: scientific documentation, scholarly information
• Documents in XML format
– information using custom tags that describe the structure
and meaning of the content
– designers control how each document is formatted for
different delivery channels
– content creators concentrate on collecting, writing and
approving content

6. DMS Basic
• Important features
– categorization and search within tags
– documentation monitoring
– privileges
• efficient distribution of the documents
among the responsible officers
– versioning
• which information was added
• by whom
• when
• Historical information evolves constantly
– “History always needs to be rewritten” George Santayana
• Simplified example
<object>
<responsible curator> G. A. Shonbucher </responsible curator>
<type> painting </type>
<creator> El Greco </creator>
<created on> 1645 </created on>
<shows> self portrait of the painter</shows>
<object>

7. DMS Basic
•Web UI for document
navigation and access
•Customized Xmetal editor
for easy document editing
•Oracle iFS
(now Content Management System)
•XML document repository
in an Oracle 9i database

8. DMS Xtended

9. Specifications
• Apart from the basic DMS
• A system used in the administration of the
objects was needed - DMS Xtended -
• Documentation of the main Museum events
– Exhibitions outside the Museum
– Temporary Loan-Outs to other Organizations
– Object Moves (inside or outside the museum)
– Contractual agreements (Insurance, Transport
Agencies, Borrowers etc)
– Condition Checks
– Photo Orders

10. Specifications
• Entities involved in the administration process
– Objects
• documented through DMS Basic (Museum
objects)
• or not (belong to other Museums)
– Locations.
• storage places
• in house spaces
• external addresses.
– Persons
• museum Staff
• other individuals
• organizations

11. Specifications
• Procedures are co-related
• ‘Parent – Child‘ relationships
– An Exhibition may include a number of Loan-Outs and
Contracts
• ‘Next – Previous’ sequences
– An object group is involved in a series of exhibitions in
different places
• Object group hierarchies
– of unrestricted depth
– defined using scientific or other criteria
– objects containing parts
• Locations’ hierarchies
• Organization related locations (addresses)

12. Specifications
• Other system features
– easy to use web interface
– detailed search mechanism for all entities
– undo mechanism during single session
– ‘Cart’ support for objects working groups
– support for procedure status (past procedures
cannot be altered)
– detailed print-outs accompany object moves
– administration mechanism
– compatible with the SPECTRUM standard

13. Technology
•Web UI
(UIX framework)
•Oracle AS 9i
( Business Components
BC4J framework)
Oracle 9i database
(relational infrastructure)

14. Technology

15. Integration
• Most difficult task: integration of the two systems
Information Information
common
documented by documented by
data
DMS Basic DMS Xtended
• Example
– an object accidentally brakes during a move
– procedure becomes part of its history
• Example
– objects first documented in DMS Basic
– should be available in DMS Xtended
– without more data entry

16. Integration
• Detailed analysis of if-then-else rules
– if … & if …. etc in relational database then update XML repository
– if … & if …. etc in XML repository then update relational database
• Custom J2EE code integrated in the two systems
Update mechanism
using J2EE
DMS Basic DMS Xtended
XML repository relational
database

17. Improvements proposed
• Detailed documentation
– of already developed features
– specifications for future developments
• Later developed features
– Update mechanism
– Common users
– Links between the two systems
– Object’s photo support
– Scanned contracts support

18. Thank You
Thinking of Questions?