Backoffice Service

The Backoffice Service is a web-based interface designed to provide intuitive and comprehensive management of the EPOS Platform's metadata. It works in conjunction with a dedicated backend service to streamline the process of curating and maintaining service descriptions within your data catalogue.

Why the Backoffice?

Previously, managing metadata involved manual editing of complex Turtle files, a process prone to errors and requiring significant technical expertise. The Backoffice was developed to overcome these challenges by:

• Simplifying Metadata Management: Eliminating the need for direct interaction with Turtle files or the EPOS-DCAT-AP specification.
• Enabling Direct Manipulation: Allowing users to create, edit, and publish EPOS Data Model Entities (service descriptions) directly through a user-friendly graphical interface.
• Streamlining Updates: Facilitating immediate reflection of approved changes in the main Platform GUI, without requiring full application redeployments.
• Ensuring Data Integrity: Reducing human error through an intuitive interface and built-in validation, while exploiting Git version control for tracking changes.

Key Features

The Backoffice provides a robust set of features for metadata administration:

• Graphical Metadata Editor: Create, edit, and delete service descriptions using an intuitive web interface.
• Metadata Versioning: Leverage Git-like version control to track all changes to metadata entities.
• Secure Access Control: Implement a robust model of groups, users, and roles to manage permissions for metadata operations.
• Metadata Workflow: Manage metadata through a defined lifecycle (Draft, Submitted, Discarded, Published, Archived) with review and approval processes.
• Metadata Preview: Review changes in a dedicated preview section before they are published to the main Platform GUI.

Metadata Workflow and Entity Lifecycle

The Backoffice introduces a structured workflow for managing metadata entities, ensuring quality control and traceability. Each metadata instance progresses through a defined lifecycle:

Possible Statuses

• Draft: The instance has been edited but not yet submitted for review. It can be freely edited or removed.
• Submitted: The instance has been submitted and is awaiting approval to be published.
• Discarded: The instance has not been approved by a reviewer and needs further editing. An editor can create a new draft from this state.
• Published: The instance is public and visible in the production EPOS Platform.
• Archived: The instance is no longer actively used but is retained for historical purposes, allowing for potential rollbacks.

Life Cycle of an Entity

Entity Lifecycle

1. Drafting: An editor drafts a new entity or edits an existing one. (DRAFT state)
2. Submission: When the editor is satisfied, they submit the entity for review. (SUBMITTED state)
3. Review and Publication: A reviewer checks the submitted instance. If approved, the changes are published (PUBLISHED state), and the previously published version is moved to ARCHIVED state.
4. Discarding: If the reviewer disapproves, the changes are discarded (DISCARDED state). An editor can then create a new draft from this discarded version.

Metadata Approval Flow

Access Control and Roles

The Backoffice implements a granular access control system based on users, roles, and user groups to ensure secure and structured metadata management.

Roles

Every user interacting with the system is assigned a role, defining their permissions:

• Viewer: Can only view information without modification rights. Allowed to see drafted, submitted, discarded, and archived data within their assigned groups.
• Editor: Can edit metadata, create new drafts, and remove their own drafts. Operations are restricted to data within their assigned user groups.
• Reviewer: Can approve or disapprove submitted instances. Allowed to make changes only to data within their assigned user groups.
• Admin: Has full administrative privileges, capable of performing all actions across the system.

User Groups

Roles define what a user can do, while user groups define on which data a user can operate with a specific role.

• Each metadata instance belongs to at least one user group.
• Only users who belong to the same user group as an instance can operate on it. For example, a user group can correspond to a TCS (Thematic Core Service), allowing only users from that TCS to modify its entities.

Permission Matrix

External User	View	Draft	Submit	Publish	Discard
Viewer	✓
Editor	✓	✓	✓
Reviewer	✓			✓	✓
Admin	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Accessing the Backoffice

Benefits

By centralizing and simplifying metadata management, the Backoffice significantly enhances the usability and maintainability of the EPOS Platform for both data providers and administrators. It promotes a more agile and collaborative approach to data curation, ensuring that your data catalogue remains accurate and up-to-date with minimal effort.