Transcript HESA Student Record 2007/08

HESA Student Record 2007/08
Catherine Benfield
Head of Operations Development
Kyle Summers
Head of Software Development
Session Outline
• Update on documentation
– Catherine
• Validation
– Kyle
Documentation
• Major update (Version 2.0) released before
Christmas
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*J specification
New guidance documents on Modules and Courses
Sample XML data
Responses to queries raised at seminars and to email box
Updates
• Documentation now at Version 2.3
• Further updates will provide more guidance
and necessary changes
What else is HESA working on?
• V0.1 validation rules
• Specification of the HIN process
• Standard groupings, populations and other
derived fields
• Internal database structure
• Formalising arrangements with JCQ
• Finalising specification for the Aggregate Overseas
Record
Software support
• Working with software houses
– Consultancy
– User groups
• Exploring other support mechanisms with
UCISA
– Institutions with in-house systems
For the future
• Re-specification of:
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–
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PIs
TQI
NSS population
POPDLHE
• Check documentation design
• What else do you need from us?
Validation kits
Student data
Validation kit
Validation result
View
Print
Save
Schema
Business Rules
Types of checks
• Structural (schema or XSD)
• Business rules
Structural
• Everything exists where expected
• Fields contain valid codes
An Instance must
appear within a
Student
This field must contain a
valid date
This field may contain one
of the following valid
values: xxx, yyy, zzz
Business rules
• Fields contain relevant values
Code x can only be used
if Instance.FIELD is
coded y
Instance.COMDATE
must be before
Instance.ENDDATE
Instance.FIELD must
exist where institution is
in Wales
Business rules
What do they do?
• Compare fields within an entity
• Compare fields across entities
Business rules
What don’t they do?
• Duplication checks across the entire return
• Checks for postcodes
• HIN checks
How do business rules work?
Introducing Schematron
A language for making assertions about
patterns found in XML documents
Schematron
• Uses XML to express rules
• Compares XML elements
<rule context="TTCID">
<report test="(.='0' or .='3' or .='4' or .='5') and ../TQSSEC">
Course.TQSSEC must not be completed if
Course.TTCID contains codes 0, 3, 4 or 5
</report>
</rule>
Schematron
• Rules used to produce XSLT files
<xsl:template match="TTCID" priority="4000" mode="M1">
<xsl:if test="(.='0' or .='3' or .='4' or .='5') and ../TQSSEC">
<li><a href="#{generate-id(.)}" target="_self"
title="Link to where this pattern was found...">
Course.TQSSEC must not be completed if
Course.TTCID contains codes 0, 3, 4 or 5
</a></li>
</xsl:if>
<xsl:apply-templates mode="M1"/>
</xsl:template>
Schematron
• XSLT files used to process student data
• Result is a list of errors formatted as … XML
Validation kit
• New validation kit software
– New validation techniques
– Graphical interface
– Check for latest rules
Graphical interface
• Hides the complexities
• Select data file and collection within the kit
• View results within the validation kit
– Optionally save or print the results
Latest rules
• Each set of rules identified uniquely
• Automatic check for newer rules
from the HESA website
Results
• List errors … or congratulations
• View erroneous data in context
• Save or print error list
Other software
How can other software systems use these validation
checks?
•Schema
– Ensures the data is in the right language
– Freely available on the HESA web site
•Schematron
– Ensures the data makes sense
– The XSLT files available for download
Uses industry standard techniques
Progress
• Basic techniques are working
• Performance testing the options available
• Provide more information on the web site