When you have a better understanding of how sites are configured, you can modify the workflow to suit your requirements. One possible order is given in the proceeding procedure starting with Making Pre-Configuration Decisions.
We also suggest that you make a copy of the procedure below and keep it handy when configuring sites. Each step refers you to sections of this guide (or Developing a Website in Developing with Oracle WebCenter Sites) where you can find detailed information about the particular step.
The following topics provide information about the steps administrators should follow to configure all the WebCenter Sites systems:
Before you begin working on any of the tasks in the site configuration process, there are a number of decisions that must be made first. What data model are you using? Who are the users? What assets need to be created? How about security? We’ve provided you with a list of all the questions that require answers before you can think about starting the site configuration process.
We assume that you and your developers will code the data model at the development system, and after successful testing, migrate the data model to the management system. At the management system, you’ll complete the site configuration tasks, test the management system, and finally deploy the system.
The decisions to make before you start configuring are best handled in a certain order:
Determine the content management model:
Determine which of the models (1:1, n:1, and x:n) is most appropriate for your operation.
Determine which content assets must be shared and which must be copied. Do the same for Template assets.
Determine whether you are replicating the sites you are configuring:
If you plan to replicate the sites you are configuring, ensure template-coding and other requirements are satisfied for the source sites (the sites you are currently configuring). See Replicating Content Management Sites.
Determine data modeling:
What types of assets should be created?
Which asset types should use revision tracking?
Which users must have access to which asset types? on which sites?
What types of Templates must be created by developers?
Determine the user management method:
Your options are WebCenter Sites' native user manager, an LDAP plug-in, or an external manager.
While this guide is based on the native WebCenter Sites user manager, it does describe system behavior for LDAP-integrated systems. See Users, Sites, and Roles in LDAP‐Integrated Sites Systems. For information about configuring users in LDAP, see the LDAP product documentation.
Determine user management models:
How many users are required.
Who the users are.
What permissions the users must be given to database tables:
Regardless of which user management method you are implementing, you must have ACLs defined in WebCenter Sites. Examine the list of system ACLs (and custom ACLs, if any have been created) to determine which ACLs to assign to users, and whether you must create additional ACLs. Typically, the system ACLs are sufficient. For general information about ACLs, see Working with ACLs and Roles. For specifications, see System Defaults.
Which system ACLs the user must be assigned (without ACLs, no user accounts can be created).
Whether custom ACLs must be created.
(Note that you may also have to create ACLs to assign to visitors of the website to restrict them from accessing certain database tables.)
How many roles are required:
WebCenter Sites defines several system roles and additional roles for the sample sites. You can reuse the roles for your sites, or create your own. Typically, you must create roles to cover the full range of users' responsibilities on any given site.
For information about roles, see Exploring Content Management Concepts and Working with Roles for general information.
The types of roles that are required (writers, editors, illustrators). Ensure the roles are compatible with the users’ ACLs.
To which users the roles should be assigned.
Determine system security settings:
Before developers begin designing the online site, or contemplating changes to the user interface on the management system, you must determine and implement your security protocols. Decisions that you make about security affect the way that developers code and implement the online site. See Setting Up External Security.
Determine workflow processes:
Workflow processes can be optionally attached to asset types to ensure that newly created assets of those types are automatically engaged in workflow.
Should workflow be implemented
If so, which asset types require workflow processes
How must the workflow processes by designed
Which users and roles must participate in the workflow processes
Determine publishing system options:
Which type of publishing must be configured
Whether publishing schedules must be approved
User interface options. Determine which interfaces the user will require:
Contributor (Form Mode and Web Mode)
Admin
WEM Admin
Before beginning the configuration tasks, read Exploring Content Management Concepts for a general understanding of WebCenter Sites concepts, components, and content management models.
Now that all the pre-configuration decisions have been established, you’re ready to begin configuring your sites. As the administrator, you have a specific set of jobs to complete on all four systems (development, management, delivery, and testing); however, you’ll find that you’re going to spend most of your time on the management system.
When the specifications of the website and the content management sites are established, you are ready to begin your work. While developers are responsible for the data model and other code-based components, you are responsible for all other aspects.
As the administrator, you work on all systems in the WebCenter Sites environment during the development stage. After the website site is running, however, you will spend most of your time at the management system, a smaller fraction at the delivery system, and perhaps none at all at the development system.
The following topics provide information about the jobs you perform on each WebCenter Sites system:
The development system is where coding takes place. Configuration steps at the development system are also given in detail in Coding with Developer Tools in Developing with Oracle WebCenter Sites.
When coding at the development system is complete, the data model is migrated to the management system, where site configuration is completed.
Your job as the administrator is to provide developers with the specifications of the management system and to assist with content management operations, such as creating sites.
The developer’s job is to:
Create sites with the same names as those that are used on the management system. See Assembling Content Management Sites.
Create the data model (asset types and their definitions):
For developers to create a data model or any site used on the management system, the developers must be created and configured, preferably as an administrative user, at the development system. For more information about this, see Configuring the Management System, and create administrators on the developers' system.
Create content asset types:
Start by creating the assets with the broadest use to maximize reusability:
Create design asset types (templates), bearing in mind site-replication requirements, if any.
Create management asset types.
Create sample assets of each type.
For information about creating asset types, see Creating Collection Assets, Query Assets, and Page Assets in Developing with Oracle WebCenter Sites.
Test the data model in accordance with your company's QA requirements.
After the data model is complete and tested to the satisfaction of all collaborators, developers migrate the code to the management system.
Note:
In your WebCenter Sites environment, developers can choose to not migrate the data model, but to re-create the data model on the management system.
After development is complete, the development system continues to operate. One of its ongoing functions is to revise the data model in response to the evolving requirements of the website visitors, content providers, marketers, and administrators.
When the development system has been put into place, you can then configure the management system. Configuration tasks that require no coding are typically completed on the management system. Here, your administrative work is not collaborative unless you choose to make it so. For example, because no data modeling or coding takes place at the management system, you do not require assistance from developers. However, you can appoint developers (or other users) to be the site or workflow administrators, to manage specific sites or workflow processes for the system.
On the management system, complete configuration steps in this order:
Create the sites
Note:
In this release of WebCenter Sites, you can quickly spin off new sites by using the Site Launcher feature to replicate source sites. You can then modify the replicates as necessary. See Replicating Content Management Sites.
Configure the users (content providers and marketers):
Create their ACLs, as necessary. For procedures on creating ACLs, see Working with ACLs and Roles.
Note:
Under no circumstances should you modify or delete a system ACL.
Database tables. When the data model is migrated to the management system, assign ACLs to the custom database tables (asset types), as necessary.
Create user accounts, either through WebCenter Sites, or external user managers such as LDAP plug-ins. See Creating a User in the Admin Interface.
Create roles in WebCenter Sites, as necessary.
Create use profiles, if necessary:
User profiles are required for users who are working with:
WebCenter Sites content applications (Oracle WebCenter Sites: Engage).
Language packs and setting a default language.
Workflow processes, in which email messages are sent to notify workflow participants of their assignments. The user profile supports workflow actions by mapping a user name to an email address.
User profiles must be created in WebCenter Sites. See Creating and Editing a User Profile.
Set user attributes, if necessary:
If users require attributes beyond the locale and email attributes that are specified in the user profile, you can create the attributes. For instructions, see Modifying, Adding, and Deleting User Attributes.
Create workflow processes for asset types, as necessary:
Implementing workflow processes is a business decision, and not a WebCenter Sites requirement. If you must create workflow processes, do the following:
Table 4-1 Workflow for Asset Types
| Workflow Process | Details of the Process |
|---|---|
| Create the Workflow tree node for the site, if one does not exist. | Creating a Tree Tab |
| Plan your workflow process by sketching it. Then see your sketch and notes throughout this section. | Creating and Managing Workflow Processes |
| If you have not done so, create the roles that are required for the workflow processes. | Creating a Role From the Admin Interface |
Ensure that users are set up to participate effectively in the workflow:
|
Determining Roles and Participants |
Create the email objects that you require for your actions and enable the xcelerate.emailnotification property in the wcs_properties.json file. |
Exploring Content Management Concepts |
| Create the step actions, timed actions, deadlock actions, group deadlock actions, and delegate actions that you require. | Setting Up the Actions and Conditions |
| If your states have deadlines, be sure to configure the Timed Action Event so that the deadlines of assets are calculated regularly and the appropriate timed actions (if any) are called in a timely way. | Setting Up the Timed Action Event |
| Create your states. | Setting Up the States |
| Create your process. While creating your workflow process, you create the steps for that process. The steps link together the states so they occur in the proper order. Additionally, while creating your process, you configure any function privileges that you require. | Setting Up the Workflow Processes |
| Test your workflow processes. | Testing Your Workflow Process |
Set up your start menu shortcuts so that workflow processes are assigned automatically to assets when they are created. For help with start menu items, see Managing Start Menu Items.
Re-create the sites that were created on the development system:
For information and procedures on creating sites, see Assembling Content Management Sites.
Migrate the data model, if you have not done so:
At this point, the data model is necessary to complete most of the remaining steps. Real-time publish the data model from the development system to the management system by using procedures in the chapters on real-time publishing.
Assemble the sites:
Grant users access to the sites. For instructions, see Granting Users Access to a Site (Assigning Roles to Users).
Enable asset types for the sites by associating the asset types with the sites. For instructions, see Enabling Asset Types for a Site.
Note:
This step provides you with the option of allowing WebCenter Sites to automatically create Start Menu items for the asset types you are enabling. The Start Menu items New and Search allow site users to create and search for assets of those types. You can also create your own Start Menu items.
Make the site components available to users:
If you have chosen to create your own Start Menu items for various asset types, go to Managing Access to Asset Types Using Start Menus for additional instructions.
Set access permissions on assets. For instructions, see How to Set Access Permissions to Assets.
Give users access to the tabs in WebCenter Sites' tree. For instructions, see Options for Managing Access to the Tree (Admin Interface Only).
Configure the WebCenter Sites publishing process:
Determine which type of publishing your management system is to execute:
RealTime
Export to Disk
Mirror to Server
Export Assets to XML
Configure the publishing process so the information that content providers create can be made available to the delivery system.
For general information and instructions on configuring the publishing process, see the chapters on export and mirror publishing. For information about the RealTime publishing process, see the chapters on real-time publishing.
Configure user interfaces:
The user interface options are Oracle WebCenter Sites: Contributor, Admin, and WEM Admin. For instructions on making these interfaces available to content providers, see Configuring the User Interfaces.
Enable asset types for search engines:
In some cases, such as upgrades, it may be necessary to configure the asset types to be searched so that they can be indexed correctly and found by your search engine. For instructions on configuring the asset types, see Configuring the Lucene Search Engine.
Set up revision tracking:
Revision tracking prevents assets from being edited by multiple users at a time. When you enable revision tracking for a database table, WebCenter Sites maintains multiple versions of the assets in that table. For instructions on setting up revision tracking, see Managing Revision Tracking.
Set up the delivery system. For more information, see Set Up the Delivery System in Developing with Oracle WebCenter Sites.
Test all systems in accordance with your company's QA policies.
Give users the URL and their log in information to the WebCenter Sites installation. After users log in, they can then control and manage the content as you've configured.
The delivery system is configured by developers and typically does not involve an administrator until the system is ready for use. For Mirror to Server and RealTime delivery, the delivery system is the entire WebCenter Sites installation. For Export to Disk and Export to XML delivery, the delivery system is simply the web server component of the WebCenter Sites installation.
The testing system is where QA analysts test the performance of both the management system and the delivery system, and the online site itself before its launch. If the testing system is absent, the development system doubles as the testing system. Ordinarily, you are not involved in testing.
If your organization has more than one environment, you can switch one or more instances of WebCenter Sites or its component applications ( Visitor Services, Satellite Server, or Site Capture) from a source environment to a target environment , like Test environment to Production environment.
Once you’re in production, you’ll be performing most of your day-to-day tasks on the management system. For example, responding to user requests, adding new users, managing the publishing system, and so on.
In the management system, you:
Manage the users
Adjust their permissions to database tables
Add, delete, and re-organize users
Create workflows
Configure the users' interfaces
Manage the publishing system
And otherwise respond to the requirements of online site visitors, content providers, and the e-business.