ePortfolio Performance
Introduction
The JRCPTB ePortfolio is provided by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) on our behalf. To enable all interested parties to monitor information on ePortfolio performance, known issues and solutions we have created this dedicated page. If you are experiencing a technical problem not mentioned on this page please contact the JRCPTB's ePortfolio support team at ePortfolioteam@jrcptb.org.uk or 0203 0751 440.
Known Issues
Intermittent or slow ePortfolio access 15/05/2012
Performance update from NES on 15/05/2012:
We
have a number of automated and manual mechanisms for performance monitoring and
we have implemented a number of efficiency saving changes over the past weeks.
However, this has been matched each time with a substantial increase in site
activity by existing users.
Our
total user numbers have not increased significantly over the past year, but
their use of the site has followed a different pattern (eg increased session
length, more engagement with system features such as curriculum linkage). The
efficiency savings have been implemented as a direct response to these
unexpected spikes in usage.
We
have made considerable progress towards a more flexible environment (cloud or
virtual hosting), and have already migrated some of our processes to cloud but
need to conduct systematic testing before committing to a complete system
migration. We cannot take any known risk at the busiest time of year but remain
committed to that idea.
We
have continued to have periodic outages with the hosting company which accounts
for some of the issues with response time, and we are pursuing this with them
directly.
We
will shortly be adding the @NESePortfolio twitter feed to the ePortfolio home
page to provide at a glance updates to all ePortfolio users. We will ensure
that any updates from the hosting company are posted here, and any important
information for you to advise your users of any issues or changes of note.
As always we are
continuing to monitor and respond to errors and support calls, and appreciate
your assistance with first line support.
NHS ePortfolio minimum requirements
The ePortfolio is compatible with a number of browsers, however there is a minimum requirement if using Internet Explorer. Please read the document which will give you details of the minimum specifications and browser recommendations that will enable you to get all the functionality when using the ePortfolio.
Please also check:
1. Speed of your internet access
If you are accessing the ePortfolio from an NHS site you may have slow internet access. This is caused by how the NHS manages internet access in order to protect data and computers from malicious websites and computers. This effect can be reduced by asking your local IT administrator to add the ePortfolio website as a trusted site. The JRCPTB is currently writing to all Trusts with this suggestion.
2. Check you are using the most up-to-date version of your internet browser
There are browser compatibility issues when using older versions Internet Explorer. Please read the document above for further information and update your browser as recommended.
How to Report a Problem
In order to gather greater user feedback about problems with access, we are asking for anyone who has problems to send the following details directly to the JRCPTB at ePortfolioteam@jrcptb.org.uk :
- Where were you accessing the site from e.g. at home or from a particular hospital?
- What time did the problem occur?
- At what stage did the error occur e.g. sign in, or viewing the curriculum page?
- Any remedial action you have tried?
This information will be regularly collated and will be fed back to NES on a minimum of a monthly basis. We do rely on users to let us know when problems are occurring.