An exploration of strategies to facilitate software adoption within higher education.

1. INTRODUCTION
While
the
Provost
Office
supports
the
university
wide
use
of
these
systems,
our
strategy
for
VIVO
adop=on
focused
on
establishing
a
successful
implementa=on
of
Symplec=c
Elements
and
VIVO
for
at
least
one
school.
The
School
of
Medicine
was
iden=fied
as
the
first
candidate
based
upon
their
level
of
interest
in
having
a
system,
the
compa=bility
of
the
data
sources
within
Symplec=c
Elements
for
the
Health
Sciences,
and
the
alignment
with
ACTSI.
The
ini=al
commitment
promised
delivery
of
a
complete
system,
one
that
captured
professional
ac=vi=es,
grants,
publica=ons,
and
could
generate
a
CV
in
a
format
specific
for
the
School
of
Medicine.
While
working
with
Symplec=c
Elements,
we
also
undertook
the
building
an
alpha
connector
that
could
be
used
to
demonstrate
the
relevance
of
VIVO
and
the
poten=al
of
the
reuse
of
this
data
for
the
profile.
In
order
to
beIer
understand
the
adop=on,
we:
• Formed
a
School
of
Medicine
Advisory
Group
to
help
us
configure
and
shape
the
use
of
the
system,
understand
business
needs,
and
help
guide
the
adop=on
of
the
system.
• To
enhance
our
understanding,
we
have
performed
at
least
five
different
pilots
and
user
acceptance
tes=ng
with
different
faculty
within
two
of
the
largest
departments
with
the
School
of
Medicine.
• In
addi=on,
we
performed
a
“road
show”
where
we
demonstrated
the
system
during
faculty
department
and
division
mee=ngs
and
heard
direct
feedback
about
the
need
to
see
a
benefit.
Sample
Characteris/cs:
The
School
of
Medicine
consists
of
over
2,280
faculty
members.
Currently,
it
does
not
have
a
faculty
creden=aling
system.
Instead,
the
School
of
Medicine
has
used
a
paper
CV
to
drive
many
of
the
processes,
from
annual
repor=ng
to
promo=on
and
tenure,
and
the
CV
has
had
a
standardized
format
for
almost
30
years.
For
our
ini=al
adop=on
within
the
School
of
Medicine,
we
selected
two
of
the
largest
Departments,
the
Department
of
Medicine
with
around
700
faculty
members
and
the
Department
of
Pediatrics
that
has
approximately
350
faculty
members
and
formed
our
various
pilot
and
UAT
groups
from
these
departments.
METHODOLOGY
Analyses:
The
first
challenge
was
determining
an
approach
to
enter
data
in
Symplec=c
Elements
that
reflect
faculty
ac=vi=es.
The
Symplec=c
Elements
system
was
configured
based
upon
the
design
of
the
School
of
Medicine
CV
and
a
team
of
data
entry
specialists
were
hired
by
the
IT
division
and
entered
informa=on
in
the
system
based
upon
the
content
of
the
2012
CV
for
School
of
Medicine
faculty.
In
terms
of
Publica=ons,
we
assessed
two
approaches,
a
data
entry
specialist
accep=ng
publica=ons
on
behalf
of
a
faculty
member
using
their
CV
as
a
reference
as
compared
to
a
faculty
member
accep=ng
their
own
publica=ons.
For
a
faculty
member
with
over
300
publica=ons
in
a
pending
queue:
•
A
data
entry
specialist
took
approximately
two
and
half
days
to
complete
a
review
• A
faculty
member
took
approximately
15
minutes
to
complete
a
review
Based
on
having
the
faculty
members
accept
their
own
publica=ons,
we
found
from
our
UAT
sessions
that
we
needed
to
have
their
ini=al
queues
refined
and
engaged
representa=ves
of
the
Woodruff
Health
Sciences
Library
(WHSC)
and
various
department
administrators
to
provide
enhanced
support.
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
As
a
next
step
looking
at
university
wide
adop=on,
we
plan
to
create
a
broader
group
of
stakeholders
to
help
manage
the
larger
set
of
University
interests
and
help
priori=ze
features.
In
addi=on,
an
analysis
across
the
various
schools
needs
to
be
completed
in
order
to
create
a
common
set
of
ac=vi=es
and
standards.
We
will
also
begin
developing
out
a
group
of
data
stewards
to
help
facilitate
our
understanding
of
the
data
and
related
issues.
REFERENCES
Spencer,
Eugene
L,
Metz,
Terrance
J,
and
Ferguson,
Chris
D.
“Greater
Than
the
Sum
of
Its
Parts:
The
Integrated
IT/Library
Organiza=on.”
EDUCAUSE
Review
1
Jan.
2004;
31
July
2014
,
hIp://www.educause.edu/ero/ar=cle/greater-­‐sum-­‐its-­‐parts-­‐integrated-­‐itlibrary-­‐
organiza=on>
Abstract:
A
successful
adop=on
of
VIVO
at
a
university
requires
collabora=on
across
many
divisions.
From
different
units
such
as
Faculty
Affairs
to
Research
to
Scholarly
Communica=ons,
there
are
many
varied
interests
to
integrate
into
a
successful
adop=on
of
the
system
and
the
area
of
primary
advocacy
may
vary
from
one
ins=tu=on
to
another.
This
paper
will
explore
the
successes
and
challenges
in
bringing
VIVO
to
the
Emory
Community
and,
in
par=cular,
iden=fy
the
primary
mo=vators
from
the
respec=ve
units
to
promote
engagement,
lend
support,
and
develop
governance.
To
adapt
to
the
ever-­‐changing
environment
of
higher
educa=on,
strong
partnerships
and
collabora=on
are
more
cri=cal
than
ever.
Emory
University
has
gone
through
an
organiza=onal
restructuring,
forming
Library
and
Informa=on
Technology
Services
(LITS),
where
the
units
from
the
Library
and
IT
now
exist
within
the
same
division.
We
will
explore
the
relevance
of
this
restructuring
and
the
value
brought
by
the
organiza=onal
realignment
in
suppor=ng
collabora=on
and
building
synergy
across
mul=ple
projects
related
to
VIVO.
This
restructuring
has
also
created
an
enhanced
plaiorm
for
building
partnerships
across
campus.
In
par=cular,
it
is
cri=cal
for
higher
educa=on
IT
to:
• Understand
stakeholders
in
a
new
way
and
look
for
synergies
on
projects
across
the
organiza=on
• Understand
and
reevaluate
workflow
closely
from
a
user
perspec=ve
to
determine
how
it
can
best
be
incorporated
across
projects
• Understand
how
to
posi=on
ourselves
beIer
for
future
needs,
which
in
this
case
includes
enhancements,
eleva=on
and
discovery
of
research
through
VIVO
• Understand
appropriate
support
models
to
facilitate
adop=on
of
a
product
or
service
• A
successful
partnership
is
based
upon
trust
and
an
understanding
of
mutual
needs
and
a
shared
goal.
A
system
like
VIVO
provides
a
case
study
that
illustrates
how
essen=al
it
is
to
navigate
organiza=onal
dynamics
and
bring
them
into
harmony
for
genuine
synergy.
Jus/fica/on/Ra/onale:
We
are
very
early
in
our
implementa=on
of
VIVO
and
have
already
seen
great
benefit
of
the
collabora=on
between
different
units
across
LITS
in
the
implementa=on
of
another
system,
Symplec=c
Elements.
We
are
beginning
with
the
School
of
Medicine
and
as
we
consider
VIVO,
we
want
to
be
able
to
collaborate
with
an
even
broader
audience
as
the
stakeholders
grow
across
a
decentralized
university
structure.
In
addi=on,
we
recognize
the
need
to
maintain
integrity
with
our
academic
audience.
The
first
ini=a=on
began
around
Atlanta
Clinical
and
Transla=onal
Science
Ins=tute
(ACTSI)
with
a
commitment
towards
providing
collabora=on
for
our
consor=um:
Emory
University,
Children’s
Healthcare
of
Atlanta,
and
the
Veteran’s
Administra=on
along
with
many
others,
such
as
Morehouse
School
of
Medicine,
Georgia
Tech,
and
Grady
Health
Systems.
In
addi=on
to
providing
search
capabili=es
in
the
ACTSI,
there
is
also
interest
in
providing
federated
search
capabili=es
against
all
of
the
CTSIs.
Emory
University
was
founded
in
1836
and
is
composed
of
nine
schools:
Emory
College,
Oxford
College,
School
of
Business,
Graduate
School,
School
of
Law,
School
of
Medicine,
School
of
Nursing,
School
of
Public
Health,
and
the
School
of
Theology.
While
guided
by
central
administra=on,
the
schools
are
able
to
exercise
a
great
deal
of
autonomy
in
defining
academic
policies,
managing
budgets,
and
guiding
their
faculty
crea=ng
what
is
some=mes
called
a
“mul=versity.”
LITS
Library
&
Informa=on
Technology
Services
was
formed
in
2013
with
the
goal
of
beIer
aligning
the
IT
func=ons
across
the
Emory
enterprise.
When
considering
the
merger
of
the
organiza=ons,
there
is
an
opportunity
to
evaluate
the
poten=al
of
IT
becoming
enabler
of
strategic
change
because
of
the
new
organiza=on
(a
merger
of
what
is
a
service
unit
with
an
academic
unit).
Purpose:
With
the
merger
of
the
organiza=on,
LITS
can
benefit
from
synergizing
funding
opportuni=es
and
bringing
together
different
groups
of
people
from
across
the
university
with
poten=ally
different
business
needs
for
the
same
informa=on.
These
groups
of
people
range
from
subject
maIer
experts
across
campus,
different
academic
departments,
related
business
units,
and
other
representa=ves
from
source
systems.
LITS
is
uniquely
posi=oned
to
respond
based
on
past
IT
engagements
with
the
areas
and
a
cri=cal
view
of
understanding
data,
process,
and
systems.
The
Library
brings
an
enhanced
understanding
of
the
business
of
academia
and
the
challenges,
obstacles,
and
opportuni=es
within
research
and
scholarship.
The
unifica=on
of
these
two
units
broadens
the
reach
of
LITS
and
enhances
the
poten=al
for
adop=on
due
to
interac=ons
and
credibility
with
such
a
wide
range
of
people
as
well
as
the
poten=al
to
iden=fy
champions
to
speak
on
behalf
of
the
product.
LITS:
Library
and
Informa:on
Technology
Services,
Emory
University,
Atlanta,
GA,
30021
Mary
M.
Walters,
Tim
Morris,
Daniel
S.
Grant,
Michael
Mitchell
STRATEGIES
FOR
VIVO
ADOPTION:
COLLABORATION,
PARTNERSHIPS,
AND
SUPPORT
Emory
Libraries
Informa=on
Technology
Services
LITS:
Library
and
Informa=on
Technology
Services
Findings:
1. Three
Essen/als:
Data
in
the
System,
Clear
Benefit,
and
Stable
Data
has
to
already
be
in
the
system,
their
needs
to
be
a
clear
output,
like
a
CV
or
a
Profile,
OR
it
needs
to
replace
a
current
process,
and
the
system
cannot
be
in
flux
with
data
changes
and
re-­‐mappings.
2.
Evaluate
the
First
Adopter
in
Your
Implementa/on
Strategy
While
the
School
of
Medicine
benefits
from
the
data
sources
within
Symplec=c
Elements,
it
alone
represents
over
half
of
the
faculty
at
Emory
and
has
some
of
the
most
complex
structure.
In
addi=on,
the
two
departments
we
selected
are
the
largest
within
the
School
of
Medicine
and
it
may
have
been
more
manageable
to
start
with
a
smaller
department.
3.
Plan
the
Implementa/on
in
Phases
The
ini=al
commitment
included
a
full
system,
including
Publica=ons,
Grants,
Professional
Ac=vi=es
and
the
ability
to
generate
a
CV.
An
itera=ve
implementa=on
plan,
such
as
focusing
just
on
the
Publica=ons,
helps
manage
expecta=ons
and
allows
for
discovery.
4.
Engagement
of
the
Library
Enhances
Academic
Credibility
While
the
library
was
engaged
ini=ally
in
the
system
configura=on,
their
limited
involvement
in
subsequent
stages
proved
challenging.
The
full
engagement
of
the
Library,
in
their
role
as
representa=ves
of
the
faculty,
became
a
cri=cal
success
factor
As
one
Dean
described
the
nature
of
their
involvement,
“If
the
Librarians
aren’t
happy,
then
the
faculty
aren’t
happy."
5.
Data
Stewardship
and
Data
Quality
Issues
Develop
and
engage
data
stewards
early
in
the
planning
of
the
project.
As
we
began
our
implementa=on,
we
discovered
significant
challenges
around
our
person
informa=on
and
our
grants
informa=on
and
realized
it
would
have
been
helpful
to
begin
with
our
data
stewards
and
are
con=nuing
to
resolve
data
quality
issues.
6.
Execu/ve
Leadership
Establishing
support
from
the
execu=ve
leadership
at
the
School
of
Medicine,
both
at
the
Dean’s
Office
as
well
as
at
the
Department
level,
helped
heighten
recep=vity
towards
the
system
and
is
a
cri=cal
element
for
acceptance.
7.
Wanted:
Faculty
Champions
Faculty
adop=on
requires
peer-­‐to-­‐peer
interac=on
on
behalf
of
the
system.
Faculty
offering
tes=monials
to
other
faculty
carried
more
credibility
than
deans,
department
administrators,
or
IT
representa=ves.
LITS:
Library
and
Informa/on
Technology
Services
Research
Administra=on
Development
University
Communica=ons
Provost’s
Office
School
Faculty
Affairs
Ins=tu=onal
Research
Health
Sciences
Data
Advisory
Group
Person
Data
Teaching
Grants
Professional
Ac=vi=es
Publica=ons
Repor=ng
and
Analy=cs