The attributes are presented in a table with five columns. The second column ('attribute') shows the attributes from the directory. In the other four columns additional information on the attributes can be entered. This information enables users to define target groups. The software will store the information, so it only needs to be entered once.
Figure 8: Explanation on the four rows and how to use them
| 1. | Use
|
| For every attribute in the directory the administrator can indicate whether or not users are permitted to use this information when defining target groups. Users will use these attributes to define target groups for their projects. If some attributes are not suited for defining target groups, simply leave the check box unchecked. Users will then not be able to define target groups based on these attributes. For every attribute that is suited for defining target groups, simply check the check box.
|
|
|
| 2. | Readable name
|
| In the column Readable name you can assign an attribute a name that can easily be understood by users. This readable name is a short, clear description of what the specific attribute mean. LDAP has many abbreviations (for instance 'c' for country and 'ou' for organizational unit) that are often unfamiliar to users. When making rules to define target groups, Metatude will display the readable names.
|
| 3. | Type
|
| In the column Type you can indicate what kind of data the attribute holds. The Metatude software recognizes the following datatypes:
|
|
|
| · | String
|
| · | Email
|
| · | Name
|
| · | Number
|
| · | Date
|
| · | Boolean
|
| · | Custom attribute
|
|
|
| When you check the 'use' box for an attribute, the MPM automatically shows what of datatype it is. You can make different selections for numbers and for textual information. With numbers, for example, you can define the rule 'more than', which is not possible with textual information. When custom attributes have been defined, they show in the drop down menu. These custom attributes can be assigned to any datatype. In order to invite people to give their feedback, the Metatude software needs to have their name and e-mail address. Please make sure that any name and e-mail information is in the directory and mark the appropriate attribute with the name and E-mail types, that are in the drop-down menu also. You can only assign the type e-mail and the type name to a database field of the type string.
|
| 4. | Value translation
|
| In the last column you can indicate if the attribute has a value that doesn't clearly express the contents. For example, in a directory the gender of people is stored often using values. In this case you can indicate that the numerical values used actually stand for 'man' and 'woman'. Simply indicate that you would like to translate values by clicking the checkbox in this column. Automatically an Edit button appears to the right of the checkbox. If you click this Edit button, the system presents a list in which you can indicate the original values (the ones stored in the directory) and the values that best describe the data. You can enter the values manually, or you can provide the name of a lookup table in the stakeholder database.
|
|
|
The last step in adding a database server is choosing a unique ID. The Metatude software uses this unique ID to deduplicate invitations. If multiple target groups are invited to join a particular questionnaire, these values must be unique. The software filters out duplicates. Take for example a situation where there are multiple employee databases and some people will be listed in multiple databases. We can avoid people being invited twice if we would have a unique ID that is the same for all databases, for instance a phone number or e-mail address.
Only when adding a database the administrator has to choose a unique ID. Be carefull when choosing the unique ID. Not selecting the rigth unique ID, causes people to be excluded unintentially. If not sure, use the email-adress, since this is unique to a person.
After all the four columns have been filled out for every attribute, you can store the information by clicking OK. The system returns to the overview of connected directories, this time including the directory you just added.