LNO/IM Collaboration and Communication Work Group

Looking for ways to enhance collaboration between LTER Information Managers (IMs) and the LTER Network Office (LNO)’ staff

LNO/IM Collaboration and Communication Work Group

Motivation and Mission Challenges Ideas Goals Products History

LNO/IM Collaboration

Motivation and Mission

• Needs from both groups that have to be met by their counterpart and are not being accomplished

• IM and LNO’s developers different perspective about the LTER sites’ problems and their solutions.

• LTER IM community have heterogeneous academic backgrounds and preparations

• Collaboration between members of different disciplines has been acknowledged to need an understanding the process involved in that collaboration.(*)

(*) McOwiti O. Thomas. 2007. Unique LNO virtual training launches in cyberspace. The LTER Network News 20(1):1,3

LNO/IM Collaboration Motivation and Mission

• Find possible ways to structure collaborations

• Become aware of the process we follow as we collaborate

LNO/IM Collaboration

Challenges (Time and Personnel)

There is a mismatch of allocation of time to do Network level projects and commitments (goals) between both communities

IM time not allocated for Network projects at site translate to: extra personal time put into IM Network projects OR little or no participation of site in IM Network projects

Sites are shorthanded for Network level projects needing more personnel staff

LNO/IM Collaboration

Challenges (Needs for info and products)

LNO needs initiatives from the sites to get information or scientific-based solutions

E.g., a protocol to define custom units at a network level; IM annual meetings are not a good venue

LNO awaits for next step definitions or actions' from the IMsE.g., Ontology/Vocabulary group next step

IMs individuals or groups await for certain promisedLNO products

E.g., Web forms to populate metadata

LNO uncertainty to say if project can be completed

LNO/IM Collaboration

Challenges (Communication)

Communication of projects and needs between two communities is sometimes inefficient

E.g., an IM idea: “LNO should create a tracking database of the actions, status and priority assigned to the IM site–related projects with open tickets that have to be responded to”

in the LNO’s very own PASTA (Provenance Aware Synthetic Tracking Architecture)...... “project tasks are tracked in an open source, web-based application called dotProject. Our version resides at http://fire.lternet.edu/dotproject “

LNO/IM Collaboration

Ideas

IMExec should have the initiative to bring up special network science related consultation

E.g., a protocol to define custom units at a network level

LNO/IM Collaboration

Ideas

Proposed LNO’s project affecting the IM community should go through a consulting process with the IM community:

Recruit IM with necessary skills to collaborate in the development of specs and design process

Assign a moderator for project

Move forward only those projects that go through this collaboration process

Maintain motivation by separating project in stages

LNO/IM Collaboration

Ideas

Proposed LNO’s project affecting the IM community should go through a consulting process with the IM community (continues):

Look for ways to compensate sites for the time their IMs spend in Network-related projects with money to get more personnel, rewards, or else...

Involve IMs in the definition of LNO’s goals and projects

Open channels for people to collaborate

e.g. UTF of the Unit work group

LNO/IM Collaboration

Ideas

LNO should Implement a timeline module

Use API web services to enhance the inefficient way we use web forms

e.g,. to access NIS databases

LNO/IM Collaboration

Ideas

Become aware of the IM role within the LTER community: IM are users IM are designers and developers at their site IM implement projects Metadata standard elements. IM know the technology IM are aware of their site’s scientific needs

SO make them co-designers of the network-wise products

e.g., EML, TRENDS

LNO/IM Collaboration

Ideas

Recruit a database manager person at the LNO that: will take care of the NIS databases (Climdb,

SiteDB. ...) develop online query capabilities to pull out subsets of

data

Allow network-projects’ working groups of IM to visit the LNO and get some products done

LNO/IM Collaboration

Ideas

Make Site Bytes a venue to get list of potential Network-level projects

Use surveys to show what IM do at their site to the LNO and see that:

Sites’ IM resources for the LNO Projects LNO staff resources for the sites IM

Sites’ IM LNO staff ≈ Collaborative relationship between the two

communities

LNO/IM Collaboration

Goals

• Create a structured mechanism for collaborations such that: IMs community actively participate in the sites’ information management activities related decisions made by the LNO

LNO staff receive the feedback they need from the IMs community in a timely manner

both communities work together in creating network-level science-facilitating projects

collaborations between LNO and IMC coordinate in an appropriate, effective way with the activities of the Network Information System Advisory Committee (NISAC)

LNO/IM Collaboration

Products

(1) effective mechanism to facilitate the interaction between the IM and the LNO personnel

• in the LNO’s projects designing process• providing feedback to LNO with in a timely manner

(2) list of possible IM-LNO projects in the near future to facilitate the information management activities at the sites and at the Network level, and

(3) general description of the different processes we have observed when this collaboration has taken place along with its outcome.

LNO/IM Collaboration

Products

Subsidiary Products: a list of past and present (up to August 2007) IM-LNO collaborations

LNO/IM Collaboration History

Project Name

People (O) = original group

Status Completion Date

Sites’ network resources assessment and education of sites in the use of Internet. Produced the Connectivity Report.

IM: John P.NO: James B. (then SEV site IM)

Completed 1989 - 1990

Design of the Bibliography data base

Carol Bledsoe (a sites’s PI?)LNO?: Harvey Chin

Design is Completed; ongoing

1993

LTER Personnel Data base creation

IM: John P.NO: Rudolf N.

Completed 1995

Data Table of Content (DTOC) transfer to the LNO

IM: John P.NO:

Design is Completed; ongoing

Design: 1996 – 1997; ongoing

LNO/IM Collaboration History

Project Name

People (O) = original group

Status Completion Date

Metadata standard elements. Evolved into “FLED” which produced the 1994 Metadata standards and 1997 Michener et al. paper which in turn evolved into EML

IM : Tom KirshnerBill M., Susan Stafford, more?NO: Others: NCEAS staff

Waiting for next step : mechanism to incorporate and/or update a unit by the community (LTER or Public?)

~1992

1994

1997

? to present

OBFS Training IM: John P.NO: Bill M.

Completed 2001 to 2004

EML implementation IM: All sites IMNO: Iñigo

ongoing Varies with sites

EML harvester and Metacat

IM: all sitesNO:

Next step? ~

LNO/IM Collaboration History

Project Name People (O) = original group

Status Completion Date

OBFS Training IM: John P.NO: Bill M.

Completed ~2001 - 2006

Unit Vocabulary IM: Karen B. (O), Jonathan W. Margaret O.NO: Dawaybe; Mark S. (O), Iñigo

LNO’ is waiting for next step : mechanism to incorporate and/or update a unit by the community (LTER or Public?); Reviewing list of customUnits, discuss a criteria for validation of cosumeUnits,

? to present

LNO/IM Collaboration History

Project Name People (O) = original group

Status Completion Date

Control Vocabulary IM: John P.NO: Dwayne. (O), Iñigo. Mark

Incorporate searching and browsing capabilities, looking for ways to interface with web services?; Re-direction

? to present

Cyberinfrastructure Strategic Plan

IM: Barbara B., Peter M.NO: John VC., James B.Don H. and John P.

Plan is complete, ready to be delivered to the EB

~2002 to present

TRENDS ECOTREND IM: Ken R., LaneyNO: Mark S.

Developed; in the implementation phase