JISC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES Project Document Cover Sheet SUMOVER PROJECT PLAN Project Project Acronym SUMOVER Project ID Project Title SUpport for MbOne VidEoconferencing for the Research community Start Date August 2005 Lead Institution University College London Project Director Peter Kirstein Project Manager & contact details Piers O'Hanlon (p.ohanlon@cs.ucl.ac.uk) Computer Science Department University College London Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT Phone: 020 7679 3670 Partner Institutions University College London Project Web URL http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/research/sumover/ End Date July 2007 Programme Name (and number) Programme Manager Nicole Harris Document Document Title SUMOVER Project Plan Reporting Period Author(s) & project role Date Filename URL http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/research/sumover/documents/plan/ Access Project and JISC internal SUMOVER-ProjectPlan-webv0c.doc General dissemination Document History Version Date Comments 0a September 05 First Project plan draft 0b 10 October 05 Second draft – comments from Kirstein, Varakliotis 0c 27 October 05 Final draft - integrated budget and workpackages appendixes web-0c 21 December 05 Final draft - removed budget Page 1 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 Table of Contents 1 Overview of Project .......................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.2 Aims and Objectives .................................................................................................................. 3 1.2.1 Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Overall Approach ....................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Project Outputs .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Project Outcomes....................................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Stakeholder Analysis.................................................................................................................. 6 1.7 Risk Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 6 1.8 Standards ................................................................................................................................... 7 1.9 Technical Development.............................................................................................................. 8 1.10 Intellectual Property Rights .................................................................................................... 8 2 Project Resources ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.1 Project Partners ......................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Project Management .................................................................................................................. 9 2.3 Programme Support ................................................................................................................... 9 2.4 Budget ...................................................................................................................................... 10 3 Detailed Project Planning .............................................................................................................. 10 3.1 Workpackages ......................................................................................................................... 10 3.1.1 WP1: Management .......................................................................................................... 10 3.1.2 WP2: Code management systems .................................................................................. 10 3.1.3 WP3: Common code base .............................................................................................. 10 3.1.4 WP4: Tool support ........................................................................................................... 10 3.1.5 WP5: Workshop(s) .......................................................................................................... 10 3.1.6 WP6: Development projects ............................................................................................ 11 3.2 Evaluation Plan ........................................................................................................................ 11 3.3 Quality Assurance Plan ............................................................................................................ 12 3.4 Dissemination Plan .................................................................................................................. 12 3.5 Exit/Sustainability Plan ............................................................................................................. 13 4 References ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Appendix A. Project Budget .................................................................................................................. 14 Appendix B. Workpackages .................................................................................................................. 14 Page 2 of 16 1 Overview of Project 1.1 Background There is now a significant deployment of e-Science conferencing facilities around the UK, which run some form of software system to allow sites to utilise their multi-party audio/video interaction and display facilities effectively. In the UK, according to the Access Grid Support Centre (AGSC) [1], out of a total of 57 [2] registered nodes, approximately half the community run the open source Access Grid (AG2) [4] and the other half run the commercial inSORS [3]. Others also run Virtual Rooms Videoconference Service (VRVS) [5] system, or just standalone VIC and RAT. Both the AG2 and VRVS utilise VIC and RAT to provide for video and audio interaction. Thus currently a significant proportion of sites run VIC and RAT in the context of using their e-Science collaborative facilities. UCL has been involved in development of the media tools since their conception. The Robust Audio Tool (RAT) was wholly developed at UCL, and provides for high-quality multi-way audio communication. The VIdeoConferencing tool (VIC) is a multi-way video conferencing application, originally developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whilst it was developed further at UCL. Both the tools, VIC and RAT, depend upon a library of multimedia functions, called UCL common multimedia library. UCL maintains a source code repository containing the tools and the common library, into which it has incorporated extensive modifications and new features. To maintain stability and coherence the tools need constructive direction and the facilitation of a support base. However over the last few years UCL has only been able to provide a low level of support and guidance with respect to the tools since they have not been directly funded. Subsequently the tools have become somewhat divergent and fragmented. 1.2 Aims and Objectives The aim of this project is to setup and provide for ongoing support and development of the Mbone tools, and the associated UCL common multimedia library. Input from members of community will be obtained through the use of focussed workshops and the formation of an evaluation and steering advisory group (ESAG) which will assist in directing the tools development. The purpose of the project is also to maintain the continued successful incorporation and use of the Mbone tools, and associated libraries in the current generation of Advanced Collaborative Environments (ACEs). 1.2.1 Objectives The specific objectives include the following: Setup and maintenance of code management tools: These systems will provide for coherent evolution and development of the tools, with facilities tracking of bugs and features. Page 3 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 Creation of common code base: The code base of the tools has diverged over the past few years since there has not been consistent support for the tools. The project aims to bring together various versions, fixes and changes to the source code into one code base. Provision for support and bug fixing of tools: One of the core tasks of the project will be the actual work of identifying and fixing of bugs. The provision of the common code base and the bug and feature tracking tools will assist and expedite this work. Organisation of workshop(s) to foster collaboration and assist in direction: Consultation with community is essential in guiding the project’s development as to what needs to be addressed. In addition we aim to build and maintain collaborative links with the key organisations involved in this area. Creation of a small number of focussed development projects: To maintain a cutting edge the tools should evolve their feature set to include new innovations. The project plans to identify and work on a small set of extensions to the tools. Publish papers on development work done on the tools. The project aims not only to provide support but also to do some work on pushing the boundaries and generating new research. 1.3 Overall Approach A project management infrastructure will be instantiated, and supported through regular project meetings and the project website. The project management will liaise with JISC whenever required. In addition links with relevant external projects will be established and maintained, through use of workshops and the formation of the project ESAG. The project plans to hold an initial workshop to provide some guidance from the key members of the community, and establish collaborative links with relevant organisations. This initial workshop will assist in shaping the project’s direction and aid work in development and integration of the code bases. There are various issues of interoperation and functionality which require resolution through collaborative interactions. An initial assessment of all existing modifications and fixes to the tools will be made to ascertain their utility and suitability. In addition, existing bugs reports will be assed as to their applicability, and will be input into the deployed bug tracking system. In general obvious fixes will be contributed, and conflicting contributions will be flagged and will be dealt with through collaboration with the relevant parties. The goal of this work is obtain a common code base across all current stakeholders. For the management of continued support and development of the tools a software configuration management (SCM) solution will be required. These SCM systems include support of source code versioning, bug and feature tracking and testing systems. The available tools will be surveyed, assessed and tested for suitability. Tools for deployment will be selected from those surveyed tools. We will consider separately the needs for tool support and further feature development. In this we will work closely with the Access Grid Support Centre (AGSC). They have the responsibility for the support of that system as a whole, so that it is clearly imperative that there be a close collaboration between us. We aim to maintain full standards compliance in the tools such that they are able to interoperate with other systems supporting similar standards. The project does not intend to do work on the core of the various Advanced Collaborative Environment systems such VRVS and AG. We aim to work closely with such groups so that our efforts are complementary to their systems operation and development. Page 4 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 1.4 Project Outputs The project will issue a number of deliverables, which are all detailed in the workpackages section in Appendix B. These will include the core project documents: Project plan Project website Biannual progress reports Final project report Completion project report The project aims to provide other deliverables relevant to the workpackages: Code management systems report Common code base report Tools support report Workshops report Tools development projects report The software output will be the tools themselves, RAT, VIC and the UCL common multimedia library. Additionally the code support and management systems will be made available for continued access. 1.5 Project Outcomes The project aims to bring together the various strands of work on the Mbone tools into a common base. It is planned that this code base may enable continued use and development of the media tools for use within Advanced Collaborative Environments. With the initiation of collaboration between the interested parties we intend to facilitate continued cooperation in this area. Through the provision of code management systems and bug and feature tracking systems we will make available information the progression of bugs fixes and the evolution of new features sets. This provides for transparency of operations and enhances collaboration. We plan to publish research papers on the results of our development projects with the tools, contributing to research in the area of real-time media based collaboration. Page 5 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 1.6 Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholder Interest / stake Integration of the tools and development of desirable features. Use of the tools and development of desirable features. Integration of tools and development of desirable features. Use of the tools and development of desirable features. Continued support for AG systems. Integration of compatibility with AG and VRVS systems. Maintenance of compatibility with AG and VRVS systems. Use of the tools and development of desirable features. AG developers AG users VRVS developers VRVS users AGSC inSORS developers inSORS users Third party users Importance High High High High High Medium Medium Medium 1.7 Risk Analysis Risk Staffing Probability (1-5) 1 Severity (1-5) 4 Score (P x S) 4 Organisational 1 3 3 Collaborations 1 3 3 Action to Prevent/Manage Risk Good management and making available interesting development work. The project will strive to maintain a well coordinated effort. The project will endeavour to bring on board relevant parties and Page 6 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 Technical 1 3 3 External suppliers 1 2 2 External developments 1 3 3 Legal 1 3 3 maintain collaborative links. The project is based on open source software which is readily available. We plan to keep a check on the development process, planning any new work. The project is largely independent of any external suppliers The project aims to provide for high quality tools, however the project must maintain its awareness of related external developments There are limited issues of licensing with the use of certain codecs but this has largely been dealt with within the relevant projects. See section 1.10 1.8 Standards The collaborative environments which utilise the media tools rely on standardised transport and encapsulation of media payloads for interoperation. The media tools themselves implement a number of Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards, and have also contributed to the development of some of these RFCs. The IETF standards implemented include: From the Audio/Video Transport (AVT) Working Group: RFC3550 RFC3551 RFC2198 RFC2429 RFC2035 RFC2032 RFC2029 RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications RTP Profile for Audio and Video Conferences with Minimal Control RTP Payload for Redundant Audio Data RTP Payload Format for the 1998 Version of ITU-T Rec. H.263 Video(H.263+) RTP Payload Format for JPEG-compressed Video RTP Payload Format for H.261 Video Streams RTP Payload Format of Sun's CellB Video Encoding From the Multiparty Multimedia Session Control (MMUSIC) Working Group: RFC2327 SDP: Session Description Protocol Page 7 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 RFC3259 A Message Bus for Local Coordination 1.9 Technical Development The tools are developed in a combination of C/C++ and Tk/Tcl. Whilst Tk/Tcl is not in as wide use as other graphical toolkits (e.g. GTK, QT, WxWindows) today, however it is well maintained and still used in a relatively large number of systems. A structured approach will be taken to any modifications of the code, and all changes will be tracked via a source code versioning system. Workpackage 2 is dedicated to the evaluation and deployment of a bug and feature tracking system for the evolution of the tools. Since the developments in this project are largely concerned with programming they do not relate directly to Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER) type activities so most of the guidelines do not apply. However the project will endeavour to follow any guidelines that are relevant, such as in the case of the website and any dissemination material. 1.10 Intellectual Property Rights There are a number of different contributors to the tools. Some of the contributors hold copyright on certain files, whilst other files have slightly differing licenses, which allow for distribution and use of the software. One codec in RAT, specifically the WB-ADPCM codec, is licensed by British Telecommunications Plc with permission granted to use in for non-commercial research and development projects – however it is possible to exclude that codec as required. The licenses in use are mainly a BSD [6] style licence from University College London for RAT and the Common multimedia library, whilst VIC is mainly covered by a BSD licence from Regents of the University of California. Other source files are under a new-BSD licence from external institutions including Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam, Sun Microsystems Inc, Xerox Corporation, Apple Computer Inc, University of British Columbia, and WIDE Project. Others files are under the old-BSD license from Argonne National Laboratory/University of Chicago. Some files are freely licensed by the Internet Software Consortium. In addition to the license holders above there copyright holders including; Bell Communications Research, RSA Data Security, Inc. Nortel Networks, University of Sydney, Technische Universitaet Berlin, British Telecommunications Plc, Brook Milligan, Intel Corporation, HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY, Luigi Rizzo, University of Sydney Vislab, Software Research Associates, Inc, Telenor Research and Development. To summarise the main bulk of the software is distributed under licenses that make it suitable for general distribution and use. Page 8 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 2 Project Resources 2.1 Project Partners Project Manager: Project Director: Research Fellow: Piers O'Hanlon Peter Kirstein Socrates Varakliotis p.ohanlon@cs.ucl.ac.uk kirstein@cs.ucl.ac.uk s.varakliotis@cs.ucl.ac.uk Main contact Since there is only one institution involved in the project there is no consortium agreement. 2.2 Project Management The project manager will run the project with direction, as necessary, from the project director. The project manager will work closely with the research fellow on the project issues and tasks. The project manager will spend 30% of his time on project management tasks with rest being spent working on general project tasks. We expect to form a small evaluation and steering group (ESAG) to ensure that our project accords with those in the community. The composition of the steering advisory group requires consultation with the JISC programme manager. It is planned that representatives from JISC, AGSC, VRVS, inSORS and others will be invited for bi-annual consultation. However it is expected that some representatives will be not able to be present at meetings in person due to funding issues. Professor Peter Kirstein has extensive management and technical experience on many different projects over the years. Piers O’Hanlon has had some previous management experience on other projects. Piers O’Hanlon and Socrates Varakliotis have worked on the media tools on a number projects in the past, and have detailed understanding of their design and operation. It is planned that Piers O’Hanlon will be available throughout the project and Socrates Varakliotis during the first 18 months. The development and review of the project direction and budgets will be monitored regularly throughout the project. Project management and tasks will be addressed in regular project meetings. In view of the essential support nature of this work, it should fit into a support environment. For this reason it has been proposed, and UCL-CS supports, that the work should fit into the structure of the Open Middleware Infrastructure Institute (OMI). We have discussed this with the director of the OMII and it is not clear to us that this is still considered desirable; we will pursue this with our JISC programme manager, and the director of the OMI. Currently no training needs have been identified, though if such a need arises this may be considered. 2.3 Programme Support Currently no additional needs for support have been identified for the project, beyond working with the programme manager, attending programme meetings and cluster meetings, and responding to any advice from the programme advisory board. Page 9 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 2.4 Budget The budget is in Appendix A. [Note: Removed from this version] 3 Detailed Project Planning 3.1 Workpackages We give a brief overview of the workpackages here, whilst the actual planning and deliverables are detailed in Appendix B. 3.1.1 WP1: Management This workpackage will provide for the management of the project. This will be supported through regular project meetings, the project website, and a project email list. The project management will liaise with JISC whenever required. The formation of the ESAG will provide for links with relevant external projects. The development and review of the project direction and budgets will be monitored regularly throughout the project. Project management and tasks will be addressed in regular project meetings. 3.1.2 WP2: Code management systems The project plans to investigate code management systems in this workpackage. These systems will provide for coherent evolution and development of the tools, where problems and issues may be suitably tracked. Such systems include source code management, bug and feature tracking systems, and other systems to enhance collaborative working. 3.1.3 WP3: Common code base This workpackage intends to bring together the code base of the media tools and the UCL common multimedia library. The code base of the tools has diverged over the past few years since there has not been consistent support for the tools. In addition existing bugs reports will be assed as to their applicability, and will be input into the deployed bug tracking system. This workpackage aims to assimilate the various versions, fixes and changes to the tools and common library into one code base. 3.1.4 WP4: Tool support In this workpackage will provide for support and bug fixing of the tools and UCL common multimedia library. This work on the tools and library should be facilitated with the systems from WP2. 3.1.5 WP5: Workshop(s) The project intends the organisation of two workshops to foster collaboration and assist in direction of work. Consultation with community is essential in guiding the project’s development as to what needs to be addressed. As a result we aim to build and maintain collaborative links with the key organisations involved in this area. The formation of the project ESAG will be seeded at the workshops, drawing members from the key community organisations. Page 10 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 3.1.6 WP6: Development projects This workpackage is concerned with the inception and implementation of a small number of focussed development projects. The choice of potential features will involve consultation with the ESAG. To maintain their utility the tools should evolve their feature set to include new innovations. The project plans to publish papers on development work done on the tools. As the tools continue to evolve and develop, new features and functionality become necessary. We intend that some of this new functionality be contributed by the community, though incorporating other features may require a level of expertise and knowledge that is just not available from those not closely involved in the tools. We will establish a number of development projects to develop new features, and support those features actually developed. Some of these projects will be done on a collaborative basis by some of the other collaborator VRVS and AG groups by mutual agreement. Below is list of some possible new development projects. Integration of Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP) support Integration of suitable congestion control functionality potentially in conjunction with DCCP Automated bug reporting Add support for Secure RTP (SRTP) media streams Full lip-synchronisation Automatic Audio based active Video window highlighting Integration of high definition video streaming support Multi-channel surround sound audio system support Development and/or integration of new audio/video codecs Advanced multi-display management systems Video subtitling and vector graphics overlay support Integration of video tiling Integrate RAT 3D audio system with video Integration into Instant Messaging media tools The actual development projects chosen will be selected by the project only after we have held a workshop of interested parties. 3.2 Evaluation Plan The project intends to regularly formatively evaluate the project, whilst summative evaluation will be performed as part of the final project documents. This will firstly be performed as part of the bi-annual progress reporting. Secondly statistics will be logged on the usage of the various parts of the systems and made available for assessment. Such logs include those on site accesses, bug/feature status, source code revisions, and user feedback. The project ESAG will provide for evaluation of the project’s output via email and web based feedback. Page 11 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 Timing Factor to Evaluate Continuous Project website Continuous Deployed bug reporting and feature tracking tools Periodic Project progress Periodic Project progress End Jul 07 Final project report Questions to Address Usability, Utility, project status reporting Utility, accessibility, and effectiveness Internal project evaluation How project is progressing Assess project aims. Method(s) Usage stats and user feedback User feedback & issue status. Bi-annual project reports ESAG meetings, and feedback JSIC standards Measure of Success Positive user feedback Positive user feedback, and good percentage of issues solved. Conformance with aims and plans Evaluation team provides positive feedback Achievement of project’s aims. 3.3 Quality Assurance Plan The project plans to utilise JISC QA methodologies. We intend to check compliance of all deliverables according to JISC recommendations. Timing Periodic Compliance With Fitness for purpose Continuous Best Practice Continuous Adherence to specifications and standards Project aims and plans Accessibility Periodic Continuous QA Method(s) All project outputs will be QA checked for content The project intends to follow JISC best practices Code testing suites Evidence of Compliance Compliance with target description and guidelines Compliance with guidelines Positive compliance Evaluation team feedback The project will make all HTML resources available in W3C compliant HTML form. Positive feedback Positive compliance with HTML conformance tests. 3.4 Dissemination Plan Here we provide the dissemination plan, listing items that will provide for dissemination of information and outputs from the project. Page 12 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 Timing Continuous Dissemination Activity Website Periodic Workshops Periodic Deliverables Audience All Invited participants, Stakeholders All Purpose Project news and progress Dissemination, project steering Community input Disseminate work done within each workpackages Key Message Overall status Tackling specific issues Targeted information 3.5 Exit/Sustainability Plan Project Outputs Deliverables Action for Take-up & Embedding Made available for public consumption Remain available with continuing inputs from community Remain available for continued management of tools The tools (software) Code management and support systems Action for Exit Community based maintenance of website Community and basic support from UCL Community support and basic support from UCL Project outputs that have the potential to live on after the project ends: Project Outputs The tools (software) Why Sustainable These tools rely on community support Scenarios for Taking Forward Building of links with community Issues to Address 4 References [1] [2] [3] [4] AGSC – http://www.agsc.ja.net UKERNA news - http://www.ja.net/services/publications/ukerna-news/2005/news32.pdf InSORS – http://www.insors.com AccessGrid – http://www.accessgrid.org Page 13 of 16 SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 [5] VRVS – http://www.vrvs.org [6] Software licenses on wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software_licenses Appendix A. Project Budget [Note: Removed from this version] Appendix B. Workpackages WORKPACKAGES Month 1 2 Aug Sept Oct 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May 1: Management 2: Code management tools 3: Common code base 4: Tool support 5: Workshop(s) 6: Development projects Project start date: 01-08-2005 Project completion date: 31-07-2007 Duration: [24] months Page 14 of 16 Jun July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 Workpackage and activity Earliest start date Latest completion date Outputs Milestone Responsibility 1. Compile Project plan Aug 05 End Oct 05 Project Plan 1 PO, PTK, SV 2. Setup project website Aug 05 End Oct 05 Project Website 2 PO, SV 3. Maintain project website Aug 05 End July 07 4. Submission of biannual reports Jan 05 End July 07 Report @February 2006 Report @August 2006 Report @February 2007 3 4 5 PO 5. Final Report End Jun 07 End July 07 Final project report 6 PO,SV,PTK End July 07 Completion report 7 PO,PTK Aug 05 End July 07 Meeting minutes Deploy code management systems to facilitate ongoing support of tools 8. Identify and evaluate candidate systems Aug 05 Nov 05 9. Deploy chosen systems Dec 05 Jan 06 11. Code management systems report Nov 06 Jan 07 12. Maintain and evaluate systems Nov 05 July 07 WORKPACKAGE 1: Management Objective: Coordinate and manage project work Ensure timely delivery of outputs 6. Completion Report and Financial Statement 7. Internal project meetings PO, SV PO,SV,PTK WORKPACKAGE 2: Code management systems Objective: 10. Identify testing Page 15 of 16 Code management systems report 8 PO,SV SUMOVER – Project Plan – v0c – 27 Oct 2005 WORKPACKAGE 3: Common code base Objective: Formation of a common code base 13. Asses all external patches and updates to code 14. Integrate appropriate updates Aug 05 Feb 06 Common code base report @ Apr 06 9 PO,SV Tools support report @ Sept 06 10 PO,SV Workshops Report @ Mar 07 11 PO,SV Tools development projects report @ June 07 12 PO,SV WORKPACKAGE 4: Tool support Objective: Support ongoing development of tools 15. Document code: Oct 05 16. Address ongoing bug reports and fixes Aug 05 July 07 17. Organise workshops Aug 05 Jan 07 18. Run workshops Aug 05 Jan 07 19. Identify possible development projects Aug 05 Dec 05 20. Select a small number of suitable projects Dec 05 Feb 05 21. Implement, test, and document chosen projects Feb 05 May 07 WORKPACKAGE 5: Workshop(s) Objective: Organise and host two workshops WORKPACKAGE 6: Development projects Objective: Identify, select and implement dev projects Members of Project Team: PO – Piers O’Hanlon PTK – Peter Kirstein SV – Socrates Varakliotis Page 16 of 16