MAP stands for "MIT Application Platform." MAP is a set of services provided by IS&T for software developers in the MIT Community.

The mission of MAP is to:

  • Make local system implementation and software development faster and easier by providing more standard infrastructure.
  • Allow for easier and secure access to enterprise data stores for the Community to use in innovative ways.
  • Make all the services we provide useful options without turning them into barriers to entry. 

A service is any supportable technology component. We will continually evaluate application-server environments, code and project management systems, integrated software-development environments, and any other type of technology that the developer community needs and that IS&T can successfully support.

The MAP Working Group designs and develops MAP. The MAP Steering Committee provides research and direction to the Working Group, and prioritizes the rolling out of services to formal support. The Infrastructure Platform Support team supports all MAP Services and provides the infrastructure for the Working Group's development.

The MAP Working Group

Membership: Working-Group contributors are Programmer/Analysts who do hands-on programming projects at MIT. They are not project managers, supervisors, or senior architects. Working-Group membership is an assignment. The supervisor of the contributor must allow for 2-3 days per month to work on tasks related to MAP.

Contribution: Working Group members can contribute any or all of their work to MAP under "map-contrib" status. This contribution is supported by the Working Group and possibly ISDA on a best-effort basis. Map-contrib materials must go through the Steering Committee (below) to graduate to "map-official" status.

  • Members develop reference implementations and developer documentation useful to one another.
  • They evaluate products that ISDA can use to provide useful services to developers.
  • They prototype, with ISDA, systems for software-development infrastructure.
  • They have access to ISDA web-services, source-control, and other systems that are designated part of MAP to extend or enhance on their, per the review of the rest of the Working Group.
  • They are the liasons between ISDA and their own respective development teams. ISDA expects them to represent their department accurately and responsibly.
  • To limit membership to a manageable size, each interested DLC can select only one developer for Working Group membership. (1)

The MAP Steering Committee

Membership: Members must be senior technology architects in IS&T. Membership is voluntary.

Contribution: The Steering Committee evaluates all "map-contrib" materials for promotion to "map-official" status.

  • Members review the Working Group's code contributions and determine which should migrate from "contrib" status to the official MAP Handbook and code repositories.
  • They review the Working Group's documentation contributions and determine which should migrate from "contrib" status to the official MAP Handbook.
  • They review the processes and systems prototyped by the Working and help IPS formalize them into supportable services.
  • Based on the current problems being examined, Steering Committee members research technology trends and advise the Working Group and IPS on solutions to consider.

The Infrastructure Platform Support Team

  • Based on the Steering Committee's input, IPS polishes map-contrib material for inclusion in the MAP Handbook and code repositories.
  • They support Working Group members with their use of MAP systems.
  • They are the liason to vendors whose products become part of MAP, representing the needs of the Working Group and the Steering Committee.
  • They support and update the fundamental MAP infrastructure.
  • They gate the roll out of work to "map-official" status based on the ability of the IS&T infrastructure to support the overhead of a new service.

Notes

  1. One member per DLC is the normal rule for the community. However, IS&T has so many software-development teams that several divisions of IS&T are represented by one member each from 1) Student Information Systems, 2) SAIS Technical Services, 3) SAIS Administrative Computing, 4) ISDA Content and Collaboration Services.
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