NILS Hub Member Guide

NILS enables NIC hub members to perform a variety of high-level functions within the platform, from authoring activities, to creating announcements, events, and groups, to authoring a driver diagram. Network hub capacities include the following:

• Issue Network Invitations
• Create Announcements
• Create Calendar Events
• Author and Edit Activities
• Curate Activities
• Author and Edit a Fishbone Diagram
• Create and Edit Groups
• Curate Groups
• Upload and Edit Resources
• Author and Edit a Driver Diagram
• Add NIC Learning Syntheses
• Change NIC Phase

Functional Note: Not all NILS capabilities are compatible with Internet Explorer. Use Chrome, Safari, or Firefox browsers when working with NILS for best results.

Nomenclature Note: To edit the “Hub” label, contact the Help Desk at [e-mail] with the nomenclature to replace “Hub.”

ISSUE NETWORK INVITATIONS

Invite Members to a NIC from the Directory

Select + Add a New Member from the Member tab in the Directory.

Add the member/members’ email address(es) to the Add new member popup and select Add new member(s).

Invited members will receive an email invitation to join the NIC.

Invite Members to a NIC from a Structural Group

Select the desired group from the Structural Groups tab in the Directory.

Under the Members listing in the group’s About tab, select + Add to NIC.

Add the member/members’ email address(es) to the Add new member popup and select Add new member(s).

Invited members will receive an email invitation to join the NIC, and will be automatically added to the Structural Group from which they were invited.

CREATE ANNOUNCEMENTS

To create a NIC-wide announcement, select + Add an announcement on the homepage.

Add your desired announcement and select Submit.

When prompted, Select Yes, I’m ready to post if you are satisfied with your announcement. Select No, I want to change if you want to edit your announcement.

Your announcement will appear on the network’s homepage. Notifications about your announcement will also be sent in-site and via email to members of the network.

To delete an announcement, select the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the announcement banner. Select whether you want to Delete this announcement or Delete & create a new announcement.

Deleting the announcement will remove it from the homepage.

CREATE CALENDAR EVENTS

To create a community event, recurring meeting, etc. for NIC members, select Add an event on the homepage calendar.

Add your Event Title, Event Description, Start/End date and time, and Venue Details. Select Submit Event.

AUTHOR AND EDIT ACTIVITIES

Author an Activity

In the NIC site, select Activity Center > Add an Activity.

Enter the activity Title, Phase, Category, Sub Category, and Activity Status.

Enter the activity Goal, Description, and any relevant Artifacts.

Select which Conversation Hub tabs to show for this activity by checking the tab, and edit the tab names as desired.

Note: The “Submissions” tab is designed for members to post their responses to an activity prompt. The “Support” tab is designed for members to ask for support with the activity. The “Reflections” tab is designed for hub members to author their reflections about the activity’s learning.

Show all activity submissions by default, or select “Conditionally Hide Submissions” to only show posts to those assignees who have already submitted their responses to the activity.

Select Save.

Edit an Activity

Select the activity from Activity Center > Edit Activity.

Add User Assignees to the activity by selecting + Add Users and typing the desired user’s name into the search box, or add groups by selecting + Add Groups. Select Save.

Select Save for the activity as a whole.

CURATE ACTIVITIES

Pin Posts

In the activity’s conversation hub: select the three-dot icon beside the post or micro-post to be pinned.

Select Pin this post.

Enter the rationale for why you want to pin this post.

Select Yes, pin this post.

Author Reflections

In the activity’s conversation hub, select Reflections.

Add a reflection via post or micro-post under Add Your Reflections.

Select Submit.

Delete Activities

Contact the Help Desk at [e-mail] with the following information:

• Activity’s NIC
• Activity name
• Rationale for deletion

The Activity will be removed from the NIC shortly.

AUTHOR AND EDIT A FISHBONE DIAGRAM

Author a Fishbone Diagram

In the NIC site, select Fishbone from the menu bar.

Select Edit from the menu bar to begin authoring the fishbone diagram.

Click into the Head box to add a problem statement.

Add the Head title, Details, Resource Materials, Links, and Resource People in the authoring panel, and select Update to save the information. 

Select the orange + icon to add Bones and Ribs to the fishbone diagram.

For each element, add a title, Details, Resource Materials, Links, and Resource People in the authoring panel, and select Update to save the information. 

Select Save to save the fishbone diagram, or select Exit to leave the authoring page without saving your edits.

Note: The fishbone diagram authoring tool can only be used by one member at a time. If an author has 10 minutes of inactivity in the authoring tool, a popup window will appear to prompt the author to continue editing. If the author does not continue editing after a further 10 minutes, the author will be removed from the authoring tool to make it available for other authors, and any unsaved changes made by the first author will be lost.

Edit a Fishbone Diagram

On the fishbone diagram page, select Edit.

If the Edit button is locked, another user is currently editing the diagram. The button will unlock once the other user completes his/her edits and exits the editing window.

Select the element of the fishbone diagram that you want to edit, and edit as desired. Select Update in the editing panel to save your edits.

To remove an element from the fishbone diagram, select the element that you want to remove. Select Remove in the editing panel and select Yes in the prompt asking whether you are sure that you want to remove the selected element.

Select Save to save your edits, or select Exit to leave the editing page without saving your edits.

Create a New Version of a Fishbone Diagram

On the fishbone diagram page, select Edit.

Select the gear icon on the fishbone diagram editing page.

Select Create a new version to make large-scale changes to your NIC’s fishbone diagram.

Edit the fishbone diagram as desired and Save.

Notify the Help Desk at [e-mail] that a new version of the fishbone diagram has been created for your NIC. An image of the previous diagram will be added to the Version history page, accessible through the diagram’s gear icon.

CREATE AND EDIT GROUPS

Create a Group

In the NIC site, select Directory > + Add a New Group from either group tab.

Enter the Group Name, Group Description, and select Create Group and Continue.

Under Group Relation, select whether the group is a Structural Group or an Affinity Group, whether to turn on Verbosity-level notifications for the group, and select who can add members to the group under Group Invitations. Select Next Step.

Select your File to add a cover photo, and select Finish.

Edit a Group

In the NIC site, select Directory > select the desired group from the Structural or Affinity Group tabs.

Select the camera icon in the group photo to edit the photo, or select Edit for the chosen field in the About tab: Title, notification Verbosity, About, Resources, + Add to NIC for new NIC members, or + Add to group for existing NIC members.

Edit as desired and Save.

Edit Groups/Labels Nomenclature

Contact the Help Desk at [e-mail] with the following information:

• Groups:
  • Group name to replace "Structural Group" and/or
  • Group name to replace "Affinity Group"
• Labels:
  • Label to replace “Lead” and/or
  • Label to replace “Expert”

CURATE GROUPS

Pin Posts

In the group’s Discussion tab: select the three-dot icon beside the post or micro-post to be pinned.

Select Pin this post.

Promote or Dismiss a Group Member to/from a Group Lead or Content Expert position

Contact the Help Desk at [e-mail] with the following information:

• Group name
• Member to be promoted/dismissed, and from which role

Delete a Group

Contact the Help Desk at [e-mail] with the following information:

• Group's NIC
• Group name
• Rationale for deletion

UPLOAD AND EDIT RESOURCES

In the NIC site, select Resources from the menu bar.

Select Edit to edit the page.

Edit the page title and content as desired and select Update.

Select + Upload to upload files.

Choose the desired files and select Attach. 

AUTHOR AND EDIT A DRIVER DIAGRAM 

Author a Driver Diagram

In the NIC site, select Create a driver diagram from the menu bar.

Select Start from the menu bar to begin authoring the diagram.

Click into the authoring page to add an Aim.

Select the purple + icon to add Primary Drivers, Secondary Drivers, Tertiary Drivers, and Change Ideas to the driver diagram.

For each driver, add a Title, Description, Measures, Data, Connected Drivers, Resource Materials, Links, Resource People, and a relevant Affinity Group.

For each change idea, add a Title, Goal, Details, Connected Drivers, Resource Materials, Learning Questions, Links, Resource People, and a relevant Affinity Group.

Select Save to save the driver diagram, or select Exit to leave the authoring page without saving your edits.

 

Note: The driver diagram authoring tool can only be used by one member at a time. If an author has 10 minutes of inactivity in the authoring tool, a popup window will appear to prompt the author to continue editing. If the author does not continue editing after a further 10 minutes, the author will be removed from the authoring tool to make it available for other authors, and any unsaved changes made by the first author will be lost.

Edit a Driver Diagram

On the driver diagram page, select Edit.

If the Edit button is locked, another user is currently editing the diagram. The button will unlock once the other user completes his/her edits and exits the editing window.

Select the element of the driver diagram that you want to edit, and edit as desired. 

To reorder elements on the driver diagram, hover over the element you want to move. Select the red Up or Down arrows as appropriate to move the element up or down in the driver diagram.

Note: The option to move elements up or down on the diagram will be disabled if any element is connected to more than one driver.

To remove an element from the driver diagram, select the driver or change idea that you want to remove. Select Remove at the bottom of the editing panel and approve the prompt asking whether you are sure that you want to remove the selected element.

Removing an element will also remove its child elements (e.g., removing a primary driver will also remove any attached secondary drivers and change ideas).

Note: You will not be able to remove an element to which PDSAs have been attached (i.e., if a PDSA cycle has been run on a change idea, that change idea and its parent drivers cannot be removed from the driver diagram). If you need to remove an element with attached PDSAs, contact the Help Desk at [e-mail] with the following information:

• NIC name
• Driver diagram element to be removed
• Rationale for removing an element with attached PDSAs (e.g., they were test PDSAs)

Select Save to save your edits, or select Exit to leave the editing page without saving your edits.

View Measures and Data on a Driver Diagram

To view all provided measures and data on the driver diagram, select the gear icon on the driver diagram page.

Toggle on Measures & Data.

All driver measures and data will appear as an overlay on the diagram.

To view measures and data driver-by-driver on the diagram, select the M star icon on a driver with measures or data to view the driver’s measures/data as a popup.

Create a New Version of a Driver Diagram

Select Edit on the driver diagram page.

Select the gear icon on the driver diagram editing page.

Select Create a new version to make large-scale changes to your NIC’s driver diagram.

Edit the driver diagram as desired and Save.

Notify the Help Desk at [e-mail] that a new version of the driver diagram has been created for your NIC. An image of the previous diagram will be added to the Version history page, accessible through the diagram’s gear icon.

Make the Driver Diagram Externally Visible

Select the gear icon on the driver diagram page. 

On the Publish Externally? toggle, select On to make your NIC’s driver diagram externally visible to the public.

A read-only view of the driver diagram will be accessible to viewers who are not members of the NIC, via a View driver diagram button on the NIC’s login page.

ADD NIC LEARNING SYNTHESES

In the NIC site, select NIC Learning > Share your learning.

Add a Title to the learning artifact, add applicable Content in the content field, and attach any Files. 

Add PDSAs

Select the circular arrow icon to search for PDSAs to add to the artifact, and Save.

Add Posts

Select the pencil icon to search for activity and group posts to add to the artifact, and Save.

Save the learning artifact as a Draft, or Publish it.

Published learning artifacts immediately become available for comments and likes by members of the network.

To Edit or Unpublish the learning artifact, select the three-dot icon beside the artifact and select an action.

CHANGE NIC PHASE

Contact the Help Desk at [e-mail] with the following information:

1. NIC name
2. Previous NIC phase (Chartering, Improvement Testing)
3. Phase to which to change the NIC (Improvement Testing, Spread)

The NIC phase will be updated shortly.

Note: Depending on your NIC’s NILS instance and phase, some items may appear differently in the menu bar.