Implementation of NWIS on the Data General Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 16:33:04 -0500 To: "E - All WRD Employees" From: "Robert M Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, Reston, VA" (Robert Hirsch) Subject: Implementation of NWIS on the Data General Cc: "Joanne C Taylor, Secretary (Typing), Reston, VA" I am pleased to announce the start on April 7, 1997, of the installation of the converted National Water Information System (NWIS) on the Data General and the transfer of data from the PRIME. The first two installations are Idaho and Arizona and will be followed in 2 weeks by Texas and Maryland. These four installations, referred to as Beta sites, are used as final verification that the system is working correctly and the instructions for implementation are effective. Installation and data transfer for each of the remaining sites will be scheduled in one of three cycles by the Regions in coordination with the NWIS conversion team leader, John Briggs. The first cycle is scheduled for May 27 - June 3: the second cycle July 7 - August 8, and the third cycle August 11 - September 12. In April 1996, based on the analysis of the NWIS staff and recommendations of Computer Policy Advisory Committee (CPAC), the WRD Senior Staff decided to proceed with the conversion of NWIS to the Data General. The goal was to complete the installation of NWIS and transfer of data at all sites by September, 1997, when the current PRIME maintenance contract expires. To meet that schedule with the resources available, no enhancements or modifications were made unless needed for data integrity or data security. With few exceptions as provide in an NWIS "Whats New" document, the system operates the same as on the PRIME including some PRIME bugs. System performance will be similar to the PRIME. Although the NWIS team has made some performance improvements, the priority has always been to make the September deadline. Resources for support during the installation and data transfer are limited to the NWIS staff and the Regional Computer Specialists. Support for the implementation in 16 Districts every 5 weeks is a challenge. To make the effort go as smoothly as possible, with as little down time as possible, each District in the last two cycles are asked to pair with another District in an earlier cycle to gain hands on experience with the process. Patience and cooperation is key. To assist Districts in preparing for the NWIS installation and transfer, several tasks must be done ahead of time. NWIS has provided a home page of the information and several emails will be sent providing information and announcing additions to the home page. The URL for the home page is: http://wwwnwis.er.usgs.gov/. To make the implementations as smooth as possible, resources were made available to extensively test the software with standard software engineering procedures. The NWIS team members assigned to testing did much to automate the process, four user test groups were used, and an Alpha test was done in Idaho with members of the test groups and Idaho District staff. Special thanks to the Idaho District for taking time from their busy schedules to go through the NWIS installation, data transfer, and subsequent testing. Thanks to the Virginia for the use of their hardware and personnel for the SWUDS Alpha test. I was particularly impressed with the problem tracking system the NWIS team used throughout the testing phases which provided me graphs every week on the status of the project. Once installed at all sites, the NWIS team will provide an enhanced version of NWIS in the fall of 1997 that will correct PRIME bugs and provide minor improvements. Suggestions for enhancements should be sent to Alan Lumb. I wish to express the Division's appreciation to the testers who interrupted their regular schedules to participate in the testing process. They are Vern Sauer, SW User Group Chair; Keith McFadden, GW User Group Co-chair; Linda Geiger, GW User Co-chair; Ed Putsay, QW User Group Chair; Nancy Barber, WU User Group Chair; Bill Barlett, Melanie Clark, David Cohen, Mike Cunningham, Kathy Fitzgerald, Kerry Garcia, Susan Grams, Terry Holland, Julia Huff, Richard Hunrichs, Joel Johnson, Penny Johnson, Gail Kalen, Gail Keeter, Barbara Kerans, Bill Kirby, Norman Mitlyng, Bunny Miller, Leroy Pearman, Kathleen Rowland, Pat Strelakos, Judy Tegeler, Wayne Webb, Judy Wheeler. I wish to express my appreciation to the NWIS conversion team, Alan Lumb, NWIS Chief; John Briggs, team leader; Colleen Babcock, Ileana Arroyo, John Atwood, Todd Augenstein, Scott Bartholoma, Carman Baxter, Candice Bostwick, Roland Bryant, Mark Farmer, Andy Halper, Dave Kemper, Lari Lopp, and Gary Rogers, and the support team for testing, system administration, and documentation, Charlie Merk, BJ Bour, Maria Calderon, Jeff Christman, Jim Kirk, Lee Lenfest, Sharon Mathay, Bill Roddy, and Robin Seven. As this conversion process nears completion, the WRD Senior Staff will be discussing (at their meeting on April 14-16) our long-term strategy for continued enhancements and modifications of our data management systems. Your thoughts on approaching this important task are welcome. Please send them to me (email: rhirsch), to anyone on the WRD Senior Staff, or to members of the CPAC. ************************************************************* Robert M. Hirsch Phone: 703/648-5215 Chief Hydrologist Fax: 703/648-5002 409 National Center Internet: rhirsch@usgs.gov U.S. Geological Survey Reston, VA 20192 *************************************************************