| Project Description: |
The following RFP issued by ARL and ASC provides a basic description
to the project, subject to minor modifications subsequently agreed by
all parties.
1. Purpose
The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the Aeronautical Systems Command
(ASC) Major Shared Resource Centers (MSRC) Programming Environment and
Training (PET) Program propose to establish an Intranet Operating
Environment (IOE) that facilitates day-to-day operations. Development of a
PET IOE will facilitate PET project management, enable effective
dissemination of information to members of the PET community and facilitate
remote collaboration.The IOE will serve as a single access point where all
members of the PET community can access information about the PET program
and related research efforts.In addition, the IOE will provide tools to
support project execution through collaboration, document repositories,
application access, and database access. The IOE will be deployed to each
center as a unique deployable tool in two phases; the first phase for PET
activities, and the second phase for MSRC activities.
2. Summary Scope of Work
2.1. Introduction
Leveraging the lessons learned in development of the Alliance Intranet, the
IOE will be implemented for use by ARL/ASC MSRC PET to support collaboration
among the ASC/ARL MSRC PET team and MSRC HPC users.The IOE will be
implemented incrementally by providing increasing capability as applications
and tools are identified which meet user needs.This Summary Scope of Work
describes capabilities to be provided in the first phase of the IOE
development.Phase II scope of work will be a separate increment of work that
will deploy the IOE to the MSRC for management of site infrastructure,
integration, and sustainment.
2.2 System Users
The users of the initial IOE include PET Management, PET Academic Partners,
and HPC Users at ARL and ASC.Initial implementation of the IOE will focus on
a subset of this user set and will expand to all users as capabilities are
added.The IOE will also be designed to enable the addition of users from the
CEWES and NAVO MSRC PET sites.
2.2. Capability Categories
There are a number of potential capabilities that could be provided by the
IOE to support the PET Community.The capabilities identified so far fall
within five major categories: MSRC PET Management; MSRC PET Communications;
Computational Technology Areas; Collaboration Tools; and HPC User
Support.Each of these categories are listed and described as follows:
2.2.1. MSRC PET Management
The MSRC PET Management category will provide PET Management and University
Partners with capabilities that facilitate management and execution of the
PET program.This category has been broken into three subcategories - Program
Management, Project Management, and Training Management.
Program Management capabilities will support the day-to-day activities of
the PET Program Managers.Potential applications include a Project Database
containing proposals, SOWs, budget data, and activity reports; report
generation (Deliverable Status, Quarterly Status Report, Lab-of-the-Year
Report, Success Stories, etc.); a Briefings Repository; and Discussion
Forums.
Project Management capabilities will support the day-to-day activities of
the PET Academic Partners.Potential applications include Budget Management;
Status Reporting to PET Program Managers; Project Planning (Proposal
development, scheduling, budgeting); Document Repository; Discussion Forums;
Travel Notification; and Trip Reports.
Training Management capabilities will support the day-to-day activities of
PET Training management staff.Potential applications include a consolidated
PET training calendar and a Training Management Database.
2.2.2. MSRC PET Communications
The MSRC PET Communications category contains links to applications that
support dissemination of information on PET activities and community
members.When this information can be made available to the general public,
it will reside on the PET public Internet.Links to non-secure information
will be provided within this category so those members of the PET Community
do not need to leave the IOE environment to access the information.Potential
links and applications include a Calendar of Events, Announcements, and a
Repository of Technical Publications.PET contact applications include a
Membership Listing and Email Aliases.
2.2.3. Computational Technology Areas
The Computational Technology Areas category is comprised of links to sites
for the ten Computational Technology Areas addressed within the PET
Program.These areas are:
1. Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM)
2. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
3. Computational Chemistry and Materials Science (CCM)
4. Computational Electromagnetics and Acoustics (CEA)
5. Climate/Weather/Ocean Modeling and Simulation (CWO)
6. Signal/Image Processing (SIP)
7. Forces Modeling and Simulation/C4I (FMS)
8. Environmental Quality Modeling and Simulation (EQM)
9. Computational Electronics and Nanoelectronics (CEN)
10. Integrated Modeling and Test Environments (IMT)
Each site will serve as a single access point to information and
applications relevant to researchers and HPC users in each area.Through
access to these sites, users will be able to find information about the
subject area, obtain software, and collaborate with other users.
2.3.4 Collaboration Tools
The Collaborations Tools category is comprised of links and applications to
support collaboration among the PET Community.The initial version of the PET
IOE will provide links to online meeting tools such as NetMeeting, Tango,
and IChat.
2.2.5 HPC User Support
The HPC User Support category will provide a variety of applications to
support PET HPC users.Potential applications include an online User Services
Help Desk; Software Repository; HPC Resource Information; Usage Data;
Allocations; Job Status; and Training Information.
2.3 Functional Requirements.
General functionality required of the PET IOE include (1) web browser
independent, (2) interface with the more commonly used database management
systems,(3) desktop platform and operating system independent, (4) master
events calendar, (5) master training calendar, (6) selected operating and
collaboration tools, and (7) secure access for authorized users.
2.4.1 User Interface
The user interface for the system will be based on the Web portal model.A
portal is a site that gathers links to a variety of web resources in one
place and is designed to be the home page that loads when the browser is
first opened.The purpose of a portal site is to provide an array of
resources that meet the needs of the intended audience so that they will use
it as their single entry point to web resources.For commercial sites,
building a large audience results in increased revenues from
advertising.Examples of such sites include yahoo.com and msn.com.However,
portals may also be subject specific attracting a particular audience with
highly focused interests.The PET Portal will be the latter type with
specific content of interest to PET managers, researchers and users.
Tasks:
2.4.1.a. Design a PET specific portal homepage based on input from PET IOE
project managers.Limit use of complex graphics to ensure quick page loading
times.
2.4.1.b. Provide topic categories on the portal homepage to each of the five
major categories listed in paragraph 2.3 above.The applications to be linked
to within these categories are described under paragraph 2.4.3 below.A
hierarchical representation of these categories and the applications/links
contained within them is provided in Appendix A.
2.4.1.c. Provide a personal links category on the portal homepage to enable
users to define their own links.
2.3.2 Security
Only researchers, managers, and users within the PET Community will be
granted access to the PET IOE.A variety of security levels are required to
ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information supplied on the
site.Users will be given a login with permissions based on their need to
access specific information.
Tasks:
2.4.2.a. Customize the Alliance Intranet security mechanism to enable
security at appropriate levels within the PET IOE.
2.4.2.b. Establish a protocol for approving new logins to the PET IOE.
2.3.3 Applications
Several applications have been identified for inclusion within the initial
version of the PET IOE.All applications will provide the capability to enter
original data, modify existing data, and add update data as required.The
following paragraphs provide a brief description of these applications.
Tasks:
2.4.3.a. Customize the Alliance Intranet Quarterly Status Report application
to meet PET reporting needs. The application shall enable collection of
information from PET Academic Partners that can be rolled up into weekly,
monthly, and quarterly reports for use by PET Program Managers. This
application shall interact directly with the project database application
developed in Task 2.4.3.c.The capability to automatically post reports to
the Document Repository developed in paragraph 2.4.3.e. shall also be
provided.
2.4.3.b. Customize the Alliance Intranet Master Calendar to meet PET needs
for program management and training scheduling needs. This includes
providing a master training calendar and a direct link to the existing
training course description database and the student registration database.
2.4.3.c. Develop a database application for storage and retrieval of PET
project information to include proposal, Statement of Work, budget,
deliverables status and activity report data.Specific reports to develop, in
addition to those developed in Task 2.4.3.a, include Deliverable Status;
Lab-of-the-Year; Success Stories; Budget Status; Project Listing; and
Statement of Work Listing.Security mechanisms shall be established to enable
update and retrieval of data by appropriate PET staff.
2.4.3.d. Provide links from the Computational Technology Areas category on
the IOE homepage to each of the ten CTAs and provide individual,
customizable homepages for each of the ten Computational Technology
Areas.Initial links to be included on the CTA homepages will provide access
to CTA specific software repositories (if available), a discussion forum,
and the PET document repository developed in Task 2.4.3.e.
2.4.3.e. Develop a Document Repository application to enable storage and
retrieval of PET documents. Views of the documents in the repository will be
different depending on the permissions of the user's login and the access
point of the repository.For example, if the document has been flagged by the
document's owner for public viewing it shall be viewable by all registered
PET IOE users from the PET Communications category document
repository.Specific document viewing authorizations shall be established in
conjunction with PET IOE project managers.
2.4.3.f. Provide Discussion Forums to be used by groups identified by PET
IOE project managers.
2.4.3.g. Provide an Announcement capability to enable users to communicate
important events and news items to the PET community.Provide a link to a
complete listing of current and archived announcements and post the most
recent announcements on the PET IOE homepage within the PET Communications
category.
2.4.3.h. Customize the Alliance Intranet Member Directory and Email Alias
applications to provide quick access to PET contact information and PET
email lists.
2.4.3.i. Provide links to available collaboration tools from within the
Collaboration Tools category on the IOE homepage.Specific tools to be
included are Tango, NetMeeting, and IChat.
3 System Maintenance
Tasks:
3.1 The development contractor shall perform maintenance of the
developed IOE system through a contract mechanism.
3.2 The developing contractor shall host the IOE system on its
proprietary hardware until each increment is fully completed and deployed at
which time it will be moved to the respective PET centers' hardware.
3.3 The developing contractor shall provide technical support for system
upgrades, enhancements, and modification of the system.The developer shall
be available for a reasonable amount of remote consultation.The developer
shall schedule one site visit within 90 - 120 days after deployment of each
completed increment for the purpose of validating the system work deployed
and to offer additional training on-site.
4 System Development Plan
Development of this system will be evolutionary.Initial capabilities
provided are as stated in paragraph 2.4.Upon acceptance of the SOW, a
prioritized list of projects will be developed and used to guide expansion
of the system.
Appendix A: Hierarchy of PET IOE homepage categories and applications
contained within those categories.
MSRC PET PROGRAM MANAGEMENT (Described in paragraph 2.3.1)
Program Management
o View Project Information from Project Database containing proposals,
SOWs, budget data, and activity reports
o Generate Reports
o Deliverable Status
o Quarterly Status Report
o Lab-of-the-Year Report
o Success Stories
o Document Repository
Project Management
o Budget Management
o Status Reporting to PET Program Managers
o Project Planning (Proposal development, scheduling, budgeting)
o Document Repository
o Presentations
o Reports
o Travel Notification
o Trip Reports
o Document Templates
Training Management
o Training Management Database)
o Training Calendar Maintenance
PET COMMUNICATIONS (Described in paragraph 2.3.2)
o Calendar of Events
o Announcements
o PET Membership Listing
o Email Aliases
o Document Repository
COMPUTATION TECHNOLOGY AREAS (Described in paragraph 2.3.3)
Links will be provided from the IOE home page to separate homepages for each
of the following areas:
o Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM)
o Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
o Computational Chemistry and Materials Science (CCM)
o Computational Electromagnetics and Acoustics (CEA)
o Climate/Weather/Ocean Modeling and Simulation (CWO)
o Signal/Image Processing (SIP)
o Forces Modeling and Simulation/C4I (FMS)
o Environmental Quality Modeling and Simulation (EQM)
o Computational Electronics and Nanoelectronics (CEN)
o Integrated Modeling and Test Environments (IMT)
COLLABORATION TOOLS (Described in paragraph 2.3.4)
o Links to Online Meeting Tools (NetMeeting, Tango, IChat)
o Discussion Forums
HPC USER SUPPORT(Described in paragraph 2.3.5)
These capabilities are not included in the initial IOE development
o User Services Help Desk
o Software Repository
o HPC Resource Information
o Usage Data
o Allocations
o Job Status
o Training Information
|