The CollectionSpace commitment to user-centered design and development approach means that we strive to engage our community members in every phase of the application's design and development process. Our work will emphasize finding solutions to the real-world problems of creating, administering, and publishing information about collections by the people who work and interact with them.

One way the project team interacts with community members is through working groups. Initially formed at the CollectionSpace community design workshops in March and May of 2008, the groups continue to expand as new community members share their experience and insight with the project team. If you are interested in joining or just learning more about the working groups, contact contact Megan Forbes, CollectionSpace Project Manager. You can also visit the archives of the working group mailing list.

Development and Sustainability Working Group

The Development and Sustainability Working Group will be responsible for grounding the project in the community and contributing to a sustainability model for the future. To help us keep focused and keep in contact with the community we serve, this committee will be engaged to discuss issues of integration, prioritization, and partnership. This group is comprised of experts from the cultural heritage community, and stakeholders in the development of CollectionSpace products. Goals and objectives of this working group include:

• assist the project with priorities and direction, based on community needs;
• define how CollectionSpace may tie into existing technologies and systems that allow collaboration and facilitate contributions;
• identify community partners with whom we can develop specific components or tools;
• work with the Steering Committee on issues of sustainability;
• advocate for CollectionSpace within the community.

This group will be convened by Angela T. Spinazze, Museum of the Moving Image.

Requirements Working Group

As part of our work to define functional requirements, and the overall development scope for the pilot phase (2008 - 2010) we will engage a Requirements Working Group. The goals and objectives of this working group are to:

• assist in the prioritization of data capture, management, and presentation features and functionality for the pilot phase of CollectionSpace;
• ensure that these functions adhere to community-based standards, processes and workflows;
• provide user testing and feedback for the Technical and Accessibility Working Groups.

This group will be convened by Megan Forbes, Project Manager, Museum of the Moving Image.

Technical Working Group

As part of our technical review of existing code (i.e., open source code that already exists as part of other tools that might be useful to CollectionSpace), we will convene a Technical Working Group comprised of experts in the field. The goals and objectives of this working group include:
• identify and review code from existing OpenSource/Community Source applications for inclusion in the CollectionSpace library;
• define rules of engagement for code development, testing, and deployment;
• ensure CollectionSpace tools and components adhere to community-based standards and requirements;
• develop code within the context of the project (as possible);
• test and vet code developed specifically for CollectionSpace;
• implement and provide feedback for components, tools, and documentation developed by the project.

This group will be convened by Patrick Schmitz, Co-Technical Lead, University of California, Berkeley, and Colin Clark, Co-Technical Lead, Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto.

Accessibility Working Group

As part of our user experience, interaction, and design work, we will engage an Accessibility Working Group. The goals and objectives of this working group are:

• redefine the user experience with regard to collections information capture, management and presentation;
• consider how a web-based solution can be personalized while at the same time universally accessible;
• implement a solution that adheres to current W3C accessibility guidelines.

This group will be convened by Jess Mitchell, Project Manager, Fluid Project, University of Toronto.