Proquest

In the summer of 2013, I worked on the acquisition between EBL, ebrary, and ProQuest.

During the acquisition of ProQuest/EBL/ebrary, I played a pivotal role in the technology integration, ensuring the seamless alignment of critical features to unify the platforms and improve user experience. My work focused on several key technical areas:

SSO (Single Sign-On) Integration

Technical Details:

• Worked with engineering teams to implement SSO protocols, enabling users to log in once and access multiple platforms without repeated authentication.

• Integrated existing authentication mechanisms with modern identity providers (e.g., SAML, OAuth) to ensure security and compliance.

• Streamlined user account management across ProQuest, EBL, and ebrary systems to maintain consistent access without interruptions.

Impact and Significance:

• Enhanced user experience by reducing login friction and simplifying platform navigation.

• Improved security by standardizing authentication methods across all platforms.

• Supported scalability, enabling future integration of additional services under a unified authentication framework.

Content Search Across Platforms

Technical Details:

• Collaborated with engineers to unify disparate search algorithms, indexing methods, and metadata standards across ProQuest, EBL, and ebrary platforms.

• Addressed challenges in cross-platform search relevance, performance, and metadata normalization.

• Implemented APIs to facilitate seamless communication between systems, ensuring consistent search results across the integrated platform.

Impact and Significance:

• Provided users with a comprehensive and cohesive search experience, improving research efficiency.

• Enhanced discoverability of content across the combined library collections.

• Set a foundation for future innovations in intelligent search and personalized recommendations.

Integration of Information Architecture

Technical Details:

• Documented and aligned the structure of the information architecture across all platforms to ensure logical integration of features and workflows.

• Conducted gap analyses to identify redundancies and inconsistencies in navigation, data flow, and user interfaces.

• Designed and validated architectural models to guide feature implementation and future scalability.

Impact and Significance:

• Unified the user interface and improved platform navigation, ensuring a seamless user journey.

• Reduced technical debt by identifying and eliminating legacy redundancies.

• Facilitated future development, enabling agile additions to the platform’s capabilities.

Documenting Use Cases and Workflow Development

Technical Details:

• Developed comprehensive documentation of use cases for core features to ensure alignment across product, engineering, and management teams.

• Created Wiki pages and workflow diagrams to illustrate technical processes, architectural decisions, and integration workflows.

• Served as the central point of contact for cross-functional teams, ensuring all stakeholders had a shared understanding of objectives and progress.

Impact and Significance:

• Improved collaboration and decision-making by providing clear, accessible documentation for stakeholders.

• Increased transparency and efficiency during the integration process.

• Established a knowledge base for ongoing support and future reference, reducing onboarding time for new employees and preserving institutional knowledge.

Impact

My contributions during the acquisition ensured a seamless integration of ProQuest, EBL, and ebrary platforms. By focusing on critical technical areas such as SSO, content search, and information architecture, I improved the user experience, enhanced system scalability, and laid the groundwork for long-term platform innovation. My emphasis on documentation and cross-functional collaboration further ensured the success of this large-scale integration effort, providing lasting value for the organization and its users.