How Ocasta helps academics manage complex data in the simplest way

Universities are home to some of the brightest minds in the world - but if that knowledge is hidden away, what value does it have? From the sciences to humanities to arts - knowledge is gleaned, data is captured and world changing breakthroughs are made. But all too often data captured by researchers is stored away privately never to be seen again.

Tragically the same data is often captured again and again at great cost through money and time. Because of this, many research grants now require data to be made publicly available. 

It’s a big challenge, data wise it’s arguably the biggest challenge of all. Most online systems require storing and retrieving data - but what do you do when the data is the whole of human knowledge?

• How do you structure the wealth of human knowledge in a single online system?

• How do you find the right information once it’s stored?

• How do you encourage people to share their information freely?

• And how do you do it in a way that requires minimal guidance and training?

Ocasta’s role

Ocasta has had a big role in shaping the Open Research Hub, covering the full service design lifecycle. This is an ongoing project and the goal is to make sure the system is clear and easy to use for a wide variety of user capabilities.

The key features of the Open Research Hub are:

• Modular system with three, fully managed service options: end-to-end service, repository service, preservation service.

• Easy to use with an intuitive interface to deposit, approve and share data.

• Digital files automatically undergo preservation actions on deposit.

• Mediated deposit enables institutions to retain control over data access rights and licences.

The project required frequent rounds of user experience testing and data analysis. See the steps of what we did below.

1. Helping define the user experience governance framework.

2. Defining and evaluating user personas and stories through user interviews.

3. Competitor analysis and user testing.

4. Solution and user experience design.

5. Regular quantitative and qualitative user testing and interviews.

6. Visual Design in alignment with Jisc brand guidelines and creation of new design patterns.

The results

Our full and embedded role has meant we have gained a thorough understanding of this complex relationship between educational bodies and funders, educational institutions, their employees and also researchers themselves.

The results have been impressive and we have delivered significant improvements over the industry standards. This is a continuous project. We have an ongoing relationship with Jisc to make sure our solutions grow with the project and their user needs. We will carry on researching, refining and testing our solutions to ensure their system is as effective as it can be.