Specify Training

There are two levels of proficiency with Specify software: Support and User-level proficiency.

Support level

Support (or database administrator) level understanding is needed for the person(s) providing database configuration, customization, technical support, data migration, etc. These technically savvy support personnel will find it necessary to understand Specify’s database schema and the Specify application’s customization options. They will understand Specify’s core data tables and the relationships among them: data scoping and sharing across institutional hierarchies, XML for configuration, form layout customization, as well as other Specify software tools.

User level

The second level of Specify understanding is User level. Collections scientific staff, collections managers and curators will need to understand how to operate Specify to efficiently enter and edit data in forms, create and execute queries for retrieving information, import and export data, create loans and other transactions, print labels and reports, among other daily activities of daily collection management. To master collection data processing tasks, users will need a general familiarity with Specify’s core concepts, interface menus and web data forms. For User level training, we would recommend one or more in-person workshops led by SCC staff in Norway. We can propose various options for organizing user training. Options might be a two-day workshop for all of the Buyer institutions or a combination of a single general workshop with on-site sessions at each institution. During half-day sessions, the SCC staff could work with the collections staff to highlight key Specify concepts, demonstrate core features, and interactively discuss methods and approaches to collection-specific issues. We would ask the Buyer to be responsible for the travel and hosting costs of the workshop(s).