HTWK Leipzig ǀ OA-WFMS ǀ Research Project

Research project

The aim of the joint project is to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the various processes in the open access publication workflow and the assigned roles. Both general and publisher-specific business processes will be identified, which will serve as the basis for a future workflow management system (WFMS). The WFMS should be able to flexibly control work-sharing processes and document project statuses. In addition, this WFMS should be reusable, customisable and multi-client capable for the majority of OA university publishers.

Procedure

The research project is funded for a period of two years and will run from September 2023 to August 2025 in cooperation with the University Library Potsdam and the HTWK Leipzig.

Workshop

In an opening workshop, the needs of established university publishers for a WFMS are collected and analysed, best practices are recorded and ideas for their own work are identified. Read more ...

Development of specifications

A procedure and extensive working materials for the creation of specifications are developed on the basis of the existing workflow model. Read more ...

Interviews with publishers

Expert interviews with selected publishers are used to determine requirements, working methods, environments and structures, which serve as the basis for an actual and target analysis.

Market analysis of software systems

WFMS available on the market are researched, compiled and the functional scope of the systems documented. The analysis serves as a tool for the selection of an optimal WFMS.

Pilot publishers

Using the example of two pilot publishers, their specific workflows are described on the basis of the abstract workflow model and two specific specifications are created using the materials for developing a specification sheet.

Selection & testing of tools

Based on the specific specifications and the market analysis, suitable software systems are selected, tested and checked to see whether a suitable software solution could be used by the majority of OA university publishers.