Do You Really Know Your Data Users (and What Matters to Them)? Prepared by Timothy S. Dye Sonoma Technology, Inc. Petaluma, CA Presented at the Earth Science Information Partners Summer Meeting July 12-15, 2011 Santa Fe, NM STI-4166

Who Uses Your Data? Everybody Many Users 1,000,000s 10,000s Developers 50

Users: Some Examples from AIRNow

Website – Michigan DEQ

Apps and Email

Media – The Weather Channel

Epicenter – Health Monitoring Systems Pittsburgh, PA, April 15, 2008 -- Health Monitoring Systems (HMS) said today that it has released EpiCenter™ 2.0, an online system featuring robust new data and analytical tools that empower epidemiologists and others in public health agencies to operate more effectively and dramatically improve health surveillance programs in their communities. The open source EpiCenter incorporates advanced algorithms and other statistical management and analytical techniques that process and correlate multiple streams of heath‐related data in real time. The system pinpoints and manages emerging and current threats to public health and safety, such as infectious disease outbreaks. EpiCenter also features new collaborative work tools to enable public health officials to manage investigations and to share analysis and findings with colleagues and across regions. “With the launch of EpiCenter, we are ushering in a new era for public health, allowing them to move beyond the limited biosurveillance and syndromic surveillance systems to build true community health surveillance programs,” said Kevin Hutchison, HMS president and CEO. “The community health surveillance approach combines the tracking and classifications of the different older approaches, coupled with expanded data sets and task‐based functionality, into one comprehensive system for daily use, designed to more quickly identify and solve problems on the local and regional level.” Continued Hutchison, “EpiCenter gives public health users at all levels of government the ability to drill down into unprecedented detail and see patterns of health conditions on the national, state and local levels – even neighborhood by neighborhood.” Examples of health data processed real time through EpiCenter include hospital emergency department registrations, ICD‐9 (international classification of disease) codes, patient discharge records, electronic lab reports (ELRs), case management files and microbiology lab tests. EpiCenter can be customized with additional data sets, based on the needs of individual public health authorities.  EpiCenter features a number of innovations developed by HMS for its public health clients. Among them:

Genome Research Ozone concentrations influence dyes used in genome research.

Sound and Video Displays Traffic & AQ Airlight – Andrea Polli

Who Uses Your Data? Everybody Many Users 1,000,000s 10,000s Developers 50

Information Quality – Our Focus The basics Parameter names Units Time standard Time convention Simple format (CSV, JSON, KML) Documentation Ease of access Reliability Keeping information current Creating credibility (agency, responsiveness, contacts)

Characteristics – More or Less Important Timeliness Reliability Ease of access Reporting Precision Knowledge of data IT capabilities Volume of data Less Basic Research Applied Research Applications Public Health Size of User Community

Contact Tim Dye Senior Vice President Division Manager, Meteorological Programs & Public Outreach 707.665.9900 tim@sonomatech.com