Skip to main content

Outpost FAQ

Does it send automatic reminders to providers that listings need updating or are out of date?​

Not currently. We send an email to let a service provider know that someone has left feedback (and some other triggers), but not specifically to remind them to review/update their listing.

Can the reminders be customised by type of provider, can they have different time intervals by type of provider?​

We don't currently classify the type of provider within Outpost since this would be different for each instance. You can however create a custom field to assign a type to a service. Using this information, you could create your own custom notification schedule application. Initially Outpost would only provide time-based prompts to service owners.

Are there any configurable security measures (2FA/MFA/SSO) for admin users?​

See security.

We currently only offer username and password for admin and service owners in Outpost. We have included password-less login on our roadmap and are open to suggestions for other implementation ideas as well.

The Outpost API and its database currently sit separately from Outpost. Outpost populates the API database with only public information. This means Outpost could be located behind a firewall or on an internal network while the API sits outside. Since the API database contains no sensitive data this makes it much more secure.

Outpost itself can also act as an oAuth provider for other applications.

If a LA wanted to adopt this but needed to add different age ranges than what currently exists in outpost, is it possible to customise the options?​

Admins can configure a minimum and maximum age; the age ranges with checkboxes are currently not configurable.

Does each registered provider have a way of tagging them so you can send emails specifically to them?​

You can apply labels to users and services - this could allow you to do that. You could pair this with custom fields on services to say "last emailed" as well.

Would Outpost be able to use data from another directory if the fields are the same?​

Currently you could combine the data within your front-end application or create another application to combine data sources to act as your source of truth. In the future we'd like to find a way to combine Open Referral UK data for multiple Outposts, so Outpost instances don't contain duplicate information, e.g., for services on borders or national services.

We hope to have a more modular system for outpost to be able add in more data in the future

Outpost isn't a resident-facing platform?​

Correct, Outpost is only the backend part of a system. The resident interacts with a Scout or a CMS that you're using to display the listings.

The only part of Outpost that is publicly accessible is the feedback form for each service, the login and register pages for users.

The rest of the application requires a login to view. Registered users are then divided into administrators and service owners.

image

Feedback form for a service - accessed via a link from the directory (in this case the 'suggest a change' link in the Scout directory)

image

Registration page, for admins and service owners. New users are defaulted to service owners.

image

Login page, for admins and service owners

image

The admin user view in Outpost

image

The service owner view in Outpost