U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Data Management IG Discussion WGISS #28 September, 2009 Pretoria, South Africa Lyndon R. Oleson U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Sioux Falls, SD, USA

2 Data Management IG Discussion Action from WGISS #27 (Toulouse):  Draft a purpose and scope statement for a Data Management Interest Group (IG) and provide a context description of how this IG would relate to other IGs and Projects and also provide examples of the kinds of Projects or activities that might be hosted by such an IG. (27-3)

3 Data Management IG Discussion As background, at WGISS#27, we discussed:  Scope of IG? How would it support and complement other Interest Groups? How would it be different from Web Services? What kinds of topics would it focus on? What kinds of Projects might it host?  Examples of potential activities hosted by a Data Management Interest Group? Data, Metadata & Products Harmonization Project? NOAA's National Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS): - Developing Access and Archives for Multi-Model Ensembles (Glenn Rutledge, NOAA/NCDC)  Consistent with advice from Wyn Cudlip and others, we agreed to not refer to it as a Data “Services” IG but rather a Data “Management” IG to lessen confusion and broaden the potential scope

4 Data Management IG Discussion Scope of Data Management IG?:  Data, meta-data and product topics  Concerning data content, metadata content, data formats, data preservation (archiving)  The functionality of tools and data services User functional focus, not technical  Data and meta-data format and exchange standards and guidelines  Common best practices for storing and exchanging data and meta-data

5 Data Management IG Discussion Relationship to other IGs?  Web Services Interest Group? - The WSIG is about the underlying technology and client/server technical interactions and not about the content or the services other than from a technical perspective. The DMIG would be about data content, products and functional services.  Sensor Web Interest Group? - It is unclear what the primary intent of the SWIG is given the applications prototypes (e.g. Flood Sensor Web Emergency Response Prototype), but, if the SWIG is primarily about the technical mechanics of Sensor Web technology and less about the data and information being served, then the DMIG could be a complement.

6 Data Management IG Discussion Relationship to other IGs? (cont.)  Disaster Response Interest Group? - Since it appears that the DRIG is primarily about data related to disasters, it could be confusing about its relationship with DMIG. Does the DRIG fit under DMIG since it is primarily about data? Is the DMIG on the other hand more about processes and best practices of data and metadata management and not about the data itself?  Global Datasets Interest Group? - Similar to the DRIG, the GDIG seems to focus on the availability of data and support for derivative products of a global nature, but it is not so much about data best practices and services. If, again, the GDIG wouldn’t fit under the DMIG, then what is the unique niche for DMIG?  WGISS Architecture and Data Contributions (WADC) Project?

7 Data Management IG Discussion Relationship to other IGs? (cont.)  Constellation Interest Groups? - These IGs (e.g. LSI, AC, etc.) seem to focus on enhancing the availability and access to specific kinds of discipline data collections and the products and services associated with them. How does DMIG complement these? By staying in the data structures, formats, documentation, preservation and storage best practices arena and not about the data and products?  Grid Interest Group? -

8 Data Management IG Discussion Purpose of Data Management IG (Draft):  Enable the sharing of new agency investigations, developments, and lessons-learned relating to earth observing data products and services.  Share experiences and lessons learned  Draft common cross-agency best practices or guidelines for data management for possible adoption by WGISS. This would include such areas as data archiving and long-term preservation practices, data structures and formats, meta- data generation and maintenance, data description lexicons and glossaries.  Sponsor technical exchange forums at WGISS Subgroup meetings or elsewhere (e.g. workshops, Q&A sessions, telecons)  Draft potential project proposals and project plans for WGISS

9 Data Management IG Discussion Scope of Data Management IG (Draft):  Data, meta-data and product topics  Concerning data content, metadata content, data formats, data preservation (archiving)  The functionality of tools and data services User functional focus, not technical  Data and meta-data format and exchange standards and guidelines  Common best practices for storing and exchanging data and meta-data

10 Data Management IG Discussion Next Steps?  If general interest to proceed Seek volunteers for IG lead Identify initial agency reps or points of contact Determine which subgroup is most appropriate to host  If not significant interest, table for another year before testing interest again.