Presenters:
- Eric Kim: VP User Experience, Modo Labs
- Marshall Vale: VP Engineering, Modo Labs
Kurogo Mobile Campus: What a Year!
- 3 major releases (2.1, 2.2, 2.3)
- 20+ packages released
- Major work at every level of the tech & product
What’s new for End Users?
- New map module features pathfinding, which uses data from either google maps or campus ArcGIS data. Does turn-by-turn navigation.
- Tour 2.0: maps, curated linear paths, with ability to skip stops. Allows multiple layers of information. Card-based photos. Friendlier browser-based management tools for non-technical administrators has drag-n-drop content editing that dynamically adjusts the map routing.
- Indoor maps. This is driven in large part by our corporate customers, but is frequently requested by our .edu customers. Find nearest items of interest such as fire escapes, accessibility, info of interest such as A/V in room.
- Native tablet apps. Split views, native OS controls like iOS popovers, sign-in / sign-out, Android ActionBar control, etc.
- Favorite modules: loss of customized layout. With 2.3, users can “promote” modules they use the most. These items are shown in a “My Favorite Modules” section at the top of the main page.
- Facilities (Report a Problem): allows creation of tickets.
- Resources Module: availability of resources such as laundry facilities (integration with a system I didn’t catch). It connects to a number of different structured data, and can be used by computer labs.
- Performance improvements: ON THE SERVER: improved data-source fetching, parsing, and caching; faster HTML sanitization; cache priming on every deploy; faster HTML generation and minification. ON THE DEVICE: more granular, persistent, and intelligent client-side caching, AJAX-loaded in-app notification banners for more cachable pages, native app asset cache (requires 2.3 server and apps)
- Federated search now included publisher content
- Typographic improvements to aid readability
- Ongoing accessibility updates and improvements
- Many visual updates and refinements
- More diversity of content presentation via Publisher
- More robust theming
- Comprehensive theming documentation
- Webfonts (support for Google fonts, Adobe TypeKit, Uploaded font files
- Fonts will appear across all platforms, including native apps (aside from navbar & navmenu)
- Publisher Templates: more flexible and attractive
What’s New for Administrators?
- Redesign KPM for more flexibility during dev lifecycle
- Shopping cart model allows you to select packages before install
- Introduces provider types (git, github, packages). Github is now a first-class citizen within Kurogo.
- Package Manager 2: new channels for stable, beta and dev status; can change permissions to only show subset of channels; can change provider type; new Package Server
- Admin Roles: additional role types; can now restrict a user’s role to all modules, module instance, module type; Example: can limit a user to only edit a single Publisher module
- List Filter: accelerator for finding matching items in long lists of components; enabled for data sources, modules, and services
- List Sorting: select column to sort asc/desc; available in most areas of Admin with a table list; works with filter by
- Deploy Changes: new in progress status for data sources, modules, and authentication authorities; limits deploying to only Edit and Test targets; limits deploying to only edit and test targets; allows changes to be made to production without deploying unfinished modules; can deactivate modes.
- Additional: New job worker queue handles many background tasks (2.2), mail service provider for forms (2.1), published status indicator for edit pages; edit UI; new inspector assist in Edit; UI created for many settings which required Advanced Config; Sharing settings config; additional access to server status info & logs
What’s New for Developers?
- Documentation: thorough update of kurogo core docs for 2.3, class hierarchies;
- Lots of objects!
- Package Manager 2: new meta-data info in the package format; stable, beta, dev status; more detailed minimum and maximum version dependencies
- Additional improvements: parse map types; AJAX flash message support; Custom URL Parameters in Data Models & Objects (bookmarks for aggregate feeds)
What’s Next?
- Self service & Enhanced App Assembly
- Quick theme builder: rapidly change your Kurogo app’s overall theme via the Admin panel; simplified options streamlines the process; builder auto-computes and sets 500+ theme variable from a few settings; 6 color schemes; primary and secondary brand colors; Serif, Sans, or Custom fonts; Upload a logo.
- Marshall gave a quick demonstration of what the Quick Theme Builder can do
- Focus on self service: full theme editor, fine grained modification of theme variables and asset files; more data sources will allow file upload for situations where live data source available, i.e. CSV for Calendar; improving navigation management; portlet management
- “Longform,” a new much more flexible, more modular content focused template
- Capabilities: indoor maps (custom amenities, detail screens for amenities, feed support for POI and amenity data); Direct alerts; import/export of Edit content; duplication of Edit content; Banner ads (promote events and activities around campus); Tighter integration between Indoor Maps, Outdoor Maps and Facilities
