Consultancy

I offer consultancy on a range of digital matters for public sector organisations, based on ‘hands on’ practical experience and a broad and holistic understanding of systems and interoperability. At present the office is at my home in Oxford.

Please note that currently most of my efforts are devoted to Sigala, so I am being more selective than usual.

Scope

In the following areas, I indicate the areas that I cover followed by relevant experience, both as an employee and a consultant. I have delivered consultancy projects for public sector organisations, mainly in higher education, in addition to my staff roles at these organisations. Links are provided to projects from my portfolio.

Web publishing lifecycle

I have authored both original (and sometimes idiosyncratic) Web applications and set up and developed content management systems, especially WordPress multisite installations at the Museum of the History of Science and the International Association for Religious Freedom. I have also been involved in every stage of the implementation of a centralised IT system (the WebLearn Virtual Learning Environment at Oxford University), from initial needs analysis, through procurement to operational management,

In the course of all this development, I have covered the full lifecycle, and have become familiar with key issues that affect long-term organisational and system sustainability. I generally seek the whole picture in order to properly identify gaps in in-house technical capacity and organisational processes, with particular sensitivity to how they impact staff roles.

 

Digital assets and Collections Management

In working for several years for fairly small- to medium-sized cultural institutions, I have experience of formulating policy – such as preservation and data protection – as well as the digital systems to fulfil these policies, from requirements, implementation (including ingestion), to documentation and training. I have worked on projects that integrate collections management and digital asset management systems, seeking the optimal exposure of information for internal and external audiences.

 

E-Learning

Rooted in a whole person view of online learning, I can advise on systems and platforms for teaching curricula at different levels, particularly for independent learning aided by lightweight (handheld) solutions.

 

What I don’t cover and where I particularly welcome collaboration:

• graphic design — I am happy to work with artists, typographers and web design specialists, as I have only rudimentary skills in these areas.
• usability analysis — whilst I value and have a solid grounding in usability and accessibility, I am not a specialist in this area and welcome collaboration to ensure that everyone finds using the site straightforward.
• marketing — this is another area where I lack knowledge, though I expect any approach to strongly support measures for privacy and data protection.

Research Projects

In addition to software development projects, I have also provided a range of advice, theoretical and research-oriented advice, to specific challenges. I highlight here one particular project involving final year business undergraduates in Japan. For other work, please refer to the main e-learning page.

E-learning mathematics for business studies undergraduates

Client: Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, Japan
Date: March-July 2011
URL (blog posts): https://paultrafford.blogspot.com/search/label/Gakushuin
Papers:
Trafford, P. & Shirota, Y., 2011. An introduction to virtual learning environments. Gakushuin University Economic Review, 48(3), pp. 143-151.
https://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/univ/eco/gakkai/pdf_files/keizai_ronsyuu/contents/contents2006/4803/4803paul/4803paul.pdf
Trafford P. and Shirota Y. 2011. Ubiquitous e-Learning: Designing Web Systems for Economics and Business Mathematics, Gakushuin Economic papers, Vol.48, No.2, pp. 111-128. It is available in HTML and PDF formats.

I worked with Prof. Yukari Shirota on strategic aspects in using e-learning to enhance the teaching of mathematics to business studies undergraduates at the university, ranging from the general promotion of learning management systems to consideration of mobility in the design of personal learning environments. I co-authored three papers, two of which were published externally, one only internally. The consultancy culminated in a week-long research visit to Gakushuin University in July 2011, where a series of discussions were held and I gave a seminar on Game Theory to an undergraduate group.
https://paultrafford.blogspot.com/2011/07/class-in-game-theory-for-management.html

This page was published on 12 May 2022 and last updated on August 29, 2022 .