First steps after installation - wiso-forschungslabor/hroot-documentation GitHub Wiki

Once the initial installation and Web Setup Wizard (/setup) are complete, hroot is connected to your database and outgoing mail server. To tailor the system to your laboratory's workflows, follow this recommended sequence of configuration steps in the Site Settings (/options).

Table of Contents

Recommended Setup Sequence

1. System Branding & Regional Settings

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Design & Layout (/admin/options/design) and System & Plugins (/admin/options/language_settings).
  • What to do:
    • Verify system health under System Check (/admin/options/check).
    • Set your primary default language (e.g., German, English), active locales, and local timezone.
    • Upload your laboratory logo, configure brand colors, and customize the public navigation layout.
    • Toggle global feature switches (e.g., enable Admin 2-Factor Authentication, Staff Tasks, or Usability Status).
  • Detailed Documentation: See Basic configuration, Language configuration and timezone, and Settings.

2. Participant Pools & Verification Rules

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Participant Pools (/admin/options/pools).
  • What to do:
    • Set up your target participant databases (e.g., a Student Pool requiring enrollment proof vs. a Public / Citizen Pool vs. an Online Survey Pool).
    • Configure verification modes (None, Shibboleth SSO, or Document Upload) and rules for student status expiry transitions.
  • Detailed Documentation: See Pools Management.

3. Custom Participant Fields & Master Data

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Custom Fields (/admin/options/custom_fields) and Courses of Study (/admin/options/study_programs).
  • What to do:
    • Define lab-specific profile questions (e.g., field of study, handedness, vision impairments, smoking habits, or student ID numbers).
    • Configure field types (text, dropdown, date, checkbox), conditional display logic, and validation rules.
    • Add the list of academic majors and study fields for participant self-registration.
  • Detailed Documentation: See Custom field definitions and Settings.

4. Legal Policies & Inactivity / Retention Limits

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Privacy & Public Texts (/admin/options/privacy, /admin/options/public_texts) and Plugins / Features (/admin/options/features).
  • What to do:
    • Store localized Privacy Policies (Datenschutzerklärung) and Terms & Conditions (AGB).
    • Set Inactivity Warning Limits (e.g., 1st warning after 12 months) and Grace Period Days (reaction interval before automatic account blocking/anonymization).
    • Configure email domain restrictions and registration blacklists under Blacklist (/admin/options/blacklist).
  • Detailed Documentation: See Deleting users and Settings.

5. Communication Matrix & Message Templates

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Communication Matrix (/admin/options/communication) and Participant Texts (/admin/options/emails_participants).
  • What to do:
    • Activate the notification channels (Email, SMS, Push) you wish to use for each event.
    • Customize system-wide email templates (experiment invitations, session confirmations, reminders, no-show warnings).
    • Enable multi-language email templates if your lab conducts sessions in multiple languages.
  • Detailed Documentation: See Sending messages, Invitation emails, Confirmation emails, and Session reminder emails.

6. Laboratory Rooms & Calendars

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Lab Locations (/admin/options/locations) and Appointment Emails (ICS) (/admin/options/ics_templates).
  • What to do:
    • Add physical lab rooms, buildings, and seat capacities for on-site experiments.
    • Customize ICS calendar invitation templates for calendar sync.
  • Detailed Documentation: See Calendar and Managing Experiments.

7. Finance, Payment Methods & Cash Registers

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Payment Types (/admin/options/payment_types) and Finance (/admin/options/finance_settings).
  • What to do:
    • Configure payment types (cash, bank transfer, course credits / VP-Stunden, or online vouchers).
    • If paying cash on-site: enable cash advances and set up physical cash drawers (Kassenbuch / denominations).
    • If paying via wire transfer: enable banking data collection (IBAN/BIC) and set minimum payout thresholds.
  • Detailed Documentation: See Finance.

8. External Integrations (Optional)

  • Location in UI: Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Shibboleth Integration (/admin/options/shibboleth) and Kimai Synchronization (/admin/options/kimai).
  • What to do:
    • Shibboleth SSO: Enable university Single Sign-On for automated student authentication and pool assignment.
    • Kimai: Connect to your Kimai instance to synchronize lab helper hours, project budgets, and session expense reports.
    • SMS / Push: Configure SMS gateways (sms-gate.app or email-to-SMS) and WebPush VAPID keys for mobile notifications.
  • Detailed Documentation: See Shibboleth Integration, Kimai Integration, and SMS and Push Notifications.

9. Staff Accounts, Roles & Permissions

  • Location in UI: Users (/admin/users) and Site Settings $\rightarrow$ Experimenter Settings (/admin/options/staff_settings).
  • What to do:
    • Create accounts for your laboratory team and assign them to the appropriate roles:
      • Users / Participants: Self-registered experimental subjects.
      • Experimenters: Researchers conducting sessions, inviting subjects, taking attendance, and filling lab reports.
      • Administrators: Lab managers managing pools, experiments, locations, email templates, custom fields, and task assignments.
      • Banking-Administrators: Holds all administrator capabilities plus exclusive access to sensitive financial data (viewing/editing participant IBAN/BIC, generating SEPA transfer files), managing the Kimai integration (/options/kimai), and full team-wide task & availability scheduling (editing all staff members' hours and reassigning/deleting any task).
    • Define default experimenter access permissions (e.g., editing sessions, viewing participant lists, contacting participants) and standard procedure templates / checklists.
  • Detailed Documentation: See Roles: Users, Admins, Experimenters and Staff Management.

Next Steps

With the basic configuration complete, you can begin regular lab operations: