# Presentation: 645381

## ADASS '98: Next Generation User Support Tools

**Sandy Grosvenor, Federal Data Systems**
**Anuradha Koratkar, Space Telescope Science Institute**

## Agenda

**Introduction**
**User support tools: the good, the bad and the ugly**
**New technologies**
**Emerging strategies**
**Conclusions**

## Need for user support tools

**Has been a large capital investment**
**Complex instrumentation**
**Limited resources**
**Overriding goal: maximize scientific return**

## Required proposal elements

**Observing is a pipeline **
**Starts with submission of a proposal**
**Ends with properly documented datasets in the archive**
**Two phases **
**Phase I:  basis for selection, initial planning and scheduling**
**Phase II: final executable program**

## What is a good proposal?

**Well defined, accurate, unambiguous, flexible, feasible, schedulable **
**Achieve goals through understanding:**
**Observational conditions**
**Instrument capabilities**
**Scheduling complexities**
**Need for success:**
**Documentation**
**Software tools**
**Human element**

## The Good (or would be)

**Easy to use across a range of expertise**
**Reduces manual user support**
**Intelligently integrates reference documents**
**Guides user towards success**
**Allows exploration of ideas and parameters**
**Esthetically pleasing**
**Common between observatory staff and end-user**
**Bottom line...**

**Let astronomers be astronomers!**

## The Bad (what is presently available)

**Text or form based tools**
**Little integration between tools**
**Reference document not integrated**

## The Ugly (what drives users crazy)

**Too slow**
**Too complex**
**Too inflexible**
**Difficult to locate help**
**Complexity reflected, not handled by tools**

## New technologies

**Emergence of distributed tools and languages: **
**Java, CORBA**
**Rapidly improving hardware: **
**More speed, more memory, more storage**
**Better visual tools and interfaces**
**Expert systems: **
**Visual, cheaper, faster**
**Data mining: **
**Promising, still evolving and emerging**

## Gemini 8m Telescopes Project

**What: ****Java-based observing environment for developing Phase II programs.  Supports hierarchical model of observations**
**Status: ****Beta period has ended successfully.  Now entering second round of development**
**Priorities: ****New development focus on planning and observation simulation**
**Strengths and expertise:**
**in final development phases **
**includes “sequences” for quickly defining sets of related observations and integrated target tuner**

## Gemini 8m Telescopes Project

## Gemini 8m Telescopes Project

## NGST/ Scientist's Expert Assistant

**What: **
**New approaches for proposal development to dramatically reduce costs to support general observer program**
**Joint effort of GSFC and ST ScI with funding from NGST  **
**Status: **
**halfway through two-year prototype effort**
**Priorities: ****visual tools, expert systems**** **
**Strengths and expertise: **
**Cutting edge prototype effort  **
**Able to explore riskier and more radical approaches**

**Now for a short demonstration...**

## NGST / Scientist's Expert Assistant

**Status: **
**finishing initial exposure calculator and visual tool interfaces  **
**Still to do: **
**visit planning, greater integration and development of expert system**
**Evaluation of effectiveness: **
**how much will it save in time and effort?**

## Workshop on Observing Tools

**October 28-29, 1998 (yes, last week)**
**Objectives:**
**Get to know each other, areas of expertise, project priorities**
**Develop understanding of common requirements**
**Consider common tools and integration possibilities**
**Discuss possibility of shared objects**
**Develop consensus of where/how to apply specialization**

## October Collaboration Workshop 

**Over 50 attendees from about 10 observatories, mix of astronomers and programmers**
**Consensus that time is right to work together towards common tools and object definitions**
**Process is fundamentally same: grounded or spacey**
**Established several working groups**
**focus initially on small areas of sharing and reuse**
**strive for common framework of targets, exposure time calculations, data services, observatory, scheduling, observation definition**

**Notes:**
Research Previous Images Across All Observatories:
Know Whats Been Done and in What Wavelengths
Develop a Multi-Observatory Program That Coordinates d Study of a Target Across a Large Range of Instruments and Wavelengths
Given a Target and Study Objectives, Research Which Observatory Can Do the Best Job.
Coordinate Observing Programs Between Systems... Maybe an Infared Program Misses the Cut at NGST, but Similar Results Can Be Gotten in a Spare Spot at Gemini
Process Should Be Easy, Gets Latest and Best Info About Observatory and Instrument Suite

## Wouldn't it be cool if you could:

**Given a set of science objectives, research which observatory can do the best job**
**Develop a program to study a target across a range of observatories/ instrument setups**
**At least we ought to be able to:**
**quickly review which observatories can do your proposed science**
**compare exposure times across instruments in different observatories**

## For more info: 

**SEA Home Page:**
**http://aaaprod.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEA**
**Gemini Home Page:**
**http://www.gemini.edu**
**Collaboration Workshop Page:**
**http://aaaprod.gsfc.nasa.gov/Workshop**