The User Service Next Generation Project
Objective
The European Space Agency intends to re-define the User Service Data Access infrastructure to support effectively the GMES operational services. The level of evolution required by GMES justifies an in-depth analysis that will probably lead to a complete re-engineering of the service.
This challenging task will be carried out by Advanced Computer Systems S.p.A. (ACS) led consortium under User Services Next Generation contract.
The main activities to be performed within this project are:
- a detailed assessment of the data access needs and preferences of the different user communities and consequent critical revision of the service portfolio and user requirements
- a full end-to-end study for innovation of User Services for Data Access
- a pre-operational demonstrator of the revised User Service Data Access service portfolio
- planning and costing of all activities for operational migration from the present to the new infrastructure.
A New Business Process
The User Service requirements baseline re-definition has to be intended as part of a new and more general business process to be outlined in view of the GMES Services. A major role will be played by representative Users coming from different communities. The involved Users will have the opportunity to define in addition to their actual needs also new ideas that can be triggered by the ACS consortium presenting them technological hints and advanced features, following a proactive approach.
This Portal
The basic idea proposed for the re-definition of the requirement baseline is to organise an Open discussion on Data Access needs and preferences to be hosted into a web-based collaborative environment.
ACS has settled-up and will administrate this Requirements Discussion Portal. Different profiles will be created (with different privileges) and four macro-areas will be managed:
- Users area
- [Mission Managers ] area (and ESA staff)
- [System Developers] area
- [Other Operational domains] area
Each topic/requirement can be discussed and traded between the various actors, existing requirements can be proposed to be modified, or removed and new requirements can be proposed to be inserted, anyway, the re-definition process will be controlled and subject to a pre-defined work-flow.
The portal will be managed following different phases in order to ensure the convergence to a clear and shared requirements baseline.
The USNG Project General News
