With the cost and complexity of research infrastructure used across organizations today the need for an effective resource management tool is vital. In order for a resource management tool to be valuable to an organization the following key concepts should be kept in mind:
openiris.io was establised to meet these needs and provide a practical implemention of these concepts. The openiris.io platform is designed specifically for allowing organizations to showcase their resources, allow users to easily discover what's available, and ensure efficient use of infrastructure. openiris.io is a web-based platform that seamlessly coordinates and schedules access to services, resources and essential research facilities. The openiris.io platform offers customizable features tailored to the research community, enabling booking of infrastructure, tracking availability, and preventing scheduling conflicts. openiris.io enhances productivity, collaboration, and research output with an intuitive solution designed to simplify the management of research infrastructure.
The OpenIRIS Association was founded to ensure openiris.io is effectively governed, allowing our users to effortlessly use the services of the platform. Beyond just providing a non-profit association to govern the openiris.io platform, our aim is to strengthen connections among research institutions. Through transparent resource access and collaborative utilization, we're committed to cultivating a supportive environment where research institutes can thrive together.
The key concepts of what makes openiris.io a competitive research infrastructure booking and management tool are further elaborated in the sections below. A further description about entities used in openiris.io are found on the Glossary page.
Recognising that multiple specialist equipment/tools/services are commonly needed in a researcher’s daily work, it is essential to have a platform that can be used to discover any resources within a research group, within an organization, or at neighbouring organizations. Having a single entry point web-based solution for this resource management allows the following benefits:
However, together with enhancing resource discovery one must be able to control visibility and access to said resources. This must include support for fine grained visibility and access settings that support users, organizations, groups, departments, projects and communities. This includes the ability to decide if the information on resources or resource providers can be publically available or restricted to a small subset of users.
Intuitive scheduling and requesting of resources are crucial features in a resource management tool because they streamline the entire process for both users and administrators, enhancing overall efficiency and satisfaction.
For users, having clear sections on where to book resources and where to request services reduces the time and effort required to find and book the necessary resources. Along with this having all the necessary information visible to the users when booking equipment is benefiial. Making booking equipment intuitive allows researchers and staff to easy make bookings and request services from facilities that share infrastructure or provide central services. This leads to increased productivity and a more seamless experience.
For administrators, having the scheduling process or the process to request resources intuitive simplifies the management of resources. An efficient experience of booking and requesting services by users enables administrators to oversee bookings and usage of their infrastructure. It also allows administrators to monitor availability and enforce policies with minimal hassle. Having an intuitive scheduling system also minimizes conflicts and double bookings, ensuring optimal utilization of infrastructure.
Ultimately, an intuitive booking and management tool fosters a more organized and productive environment, benefiting the entire research community.
There are essentially two ways to optimize resource usage, which are by billing for usage of resources or having a way to enforce usage restrictions of resources.
Billing: Charging for resource usage has a two-fold purpose, on the one hand it is to recover the costs of the usage of the equipment and on the other-hand to ensure people only use the amount of resources they need. However implementing billing of resources/infrastucture can be intensive in terms of effort as it takes the time of researchers, facility administrators, and finance groups. In order to effectively bill for usage of resources charge calculation must be able to leverage complex rules based on:
Usage restrictions: Typically users are expected to behave fairly when using resources, but this is not always observed in reality due to the nature of research work. The concept of “fair share scheduling” can be used in resource booking by implementing “usage restrictions” to enforce certain rules which will ensure fair usage and optimize the usage of the resource. Some example rules are:
In order to further optimize resources, these rules should allow selective enforcement based on day, time and people.
For organizations and research facilities to determine where and on what infrastructure to invest, having a comprehensive overview of resource utilization is essential. The types of reporting that can be useful are:
These are important reports that can be generated, but just as importantly is the ability to filter for or exclude certain types of resource usage based on people (user, group, or organization), time (office hours, weekends, or holidays), and type of bookings (operator assisted, training, out of service, maintenance, and regular usage).
The resource management system must also be able to support project management concepts for large complex projects. It should include the ability to track time of individuals, milestones, and Gantt charts to chart project schedule. In addition as research is increasingly cross disciplinary it is important that the resource management system can be used for a wide variety of technologies, with the ability to share and link information across technology platforms or labs. It facilitates better communication and collaboration among team members by providing clear visibility into resource bookings and schedules, allowing everyone involved to stay informed and aligned. This transparency reduces the risk of conflicts and misunderstandings, ensuring that all team members can access the resources they need to contribute effectively. Overall, a resource booking and management tool streamlines project execution, improves resource efficiency, supports effective time management, and enhances team collaboration, contributing to the successful completion of projects.
Another important aspect of project management is the ability to assign and monitor resources used for a project, which then can also be enforced on the logins of the resources with a local agent. This can be done via requests, which permit access specific resources for a defined period of time to a specific person. These requests can then be linked back to particular project which can span several labs or core facilities. From the point of view of a user, tracking the resources used for a project helps with writing acknowledgements in publications, and with future resource requests.