1. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting Overview Perspective on inter-agency collaboration Thoughts on design for user interaction David Herring 301-734-1207 David.Herring@noaa.gov May 23, 2008 Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting

2. Think of specific users and their/our desired user experiences –Conversely, don’t try to serve scientists & educators & political leaders in one interface –Avoid beginning with “what we want them to know / have” For example: “We provide climate data & services to climate research scientists, climate modelers, & applied data & services users to… … help them advance understanding of Earth’s climate system … help them improve the accuracy and resolution of climate models … help them make more informed decisions in their lives & livelihoods … help them scientists improve societal decision support systems” First, define whom we seek to serve and why

3. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting

4. Rationale for an ‘umbrella’ NOAA climate data & services portal NOAA is the U.S. agency responsible for assessing the past & present state of Earth’s climate; and forecasting its future –Potential data & services users are likely to visit NOAA’s Web domain in search of climate data and/or services they can use –We should cultivate and reward users who come to NOAA for data & services Users would benefit from a comprehensive, one-stop shopping climate data & services portal that links together all NOAA data & services Web interfaces –There is a difference between availability and accessibility –The purpose of this portal is to make all NOAA’s climate data and services readily accessible to potential users

5. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting NOAA is positioning itself as the logical choice to lead and host the U.S. National Climate Service –Our portal should support the vision of branding NOAA as an ‘authoritative,’ ‘credible,’ ‘honest broker’ in service to science & society To succeed in its NCS vision, NOAA’s supporting labs, centers, & partners must work collaboratively –This does not obviate other Web interfaces across the agency designed to assist users in searching for / retrieving NOAA climate data & services The “brand” of our data & services portal should be NOAA & climate

6. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting Front-end Problems –Audience focus and feedback –Interface design for usability / navigation Back-end Problems –Subject and/or dataset expertise –Desire for identity, credit, and funding Both Front and Back –Tools and vectors for search and retrieval –Tools and vectors for user interaction Identify and address discreetly front-end versus back-end problems

7. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting Thoughts on design for user interaction Engage a usability design expert early in the design process –Conduct focus groups –Perform usability tests

8. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting Design for Intermediate users without frustrating Beginners or Experts Number of users Proficiency of users BeginnersIntermediates Experts Where do I start? What can I do here? What is the site’s scope? How do I search? How do I get help? How do I specify / change file format? How do I fine-tune my search? How do I import data into my analysis tools? How can I improve my proficiency? How do I rate my experience? How do I make standing subscriptions? Where are my shortcuts & fast paths to my goal? How can I avoid repetitive tasks? How can I provide design feedback?

9. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting Decision Makers Science Policy Leaders Educators & Students Science Attentive Public, Citizen Scientists Scientists & Data Users Science Interested Publics Residual Public Museums, Science Centers, and After School & Community-based Programs A simple model of target audiences* NOAA Advocates Public Media Public Continuum Moving up the pyramid, these publics decrease in size while increasing in their influence on science policy. Audiences in green are those typically targeted by agencies’ ed & public outreach programs There is typically no wider participation in science policy process than the top two strata. Appeals are sometimes made to science attentive publics when top two strata cannot agree.* Audiences in red play a role in setting policy about low-salience science issues. No others.* *Miller, J.D. (2004): “Space Policy and Science Policy Leaders in the United States.” A white paper presented to NASA Headquarters; on-line at http://esdepo.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/files/NASA_Leadership_Report.doc

10. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting NCS Home Page Climate Science Magazine Climate Progress Portal Climate Education Portal Data & Services Portal For Peers & Users For Policy Leaders & Peers For Public Continuum, Media & Peers For Educators, Students & Publishers Centralized access, decentralized process NOAA Data, Models, & Services Audience Expert Subject Expert Medium Expert NCS Partnership NOAA CommComm, Ed Council, Public Affairs, Leg Affairs, etc. For everyone

11. Climate Program Office Data & Services Portal Meeting Suppose you’re a [who] looking for a [what] because [why] …? Line OfficesRegional CtrsObservationsPublic AffairsData Ctrs Back-end approach to improved accessibility Labs …if we use a common ontology & tagging scheme, our information is accessible from anywhere in NOAA’s Web domain, thus it matters less where users enter.