Memo for John Baird

The ASC MSRC’s “Database development team” is nearing completion of another phase in our Database enhancement.  The original design was a joint MSRC effort that was developed using the consolidated data requirement’s document that Virgina Sotler's “x-MSRC coordinated team” developed.  We are currently at a crossroads as to what should/could be done to further enhance this development process.  

We at ASC are looking for guidance from the HPCMO office as to how to proceed on three issues.  
a.	Do we (each MSRC) continue to develop systems that meet specific local requirements of a single MSRC or do we look across the MSRC’s and maybe develop a consolidated “database” that all MSRC’s and DC’s can use?
b.	Or, do we do both items in a. above and feed data from our own systems into this “consolidated database” and generate HPCMO wide allocation, utilization and metrics data from this “database”?  Still giving us the capability to generate “local specific” requirements.
c.	We also need to discuss who can review allocation and/or utilization data. Attached is a Powerpoint chart that depicts our data structure and the proposed Database Roles for this type of data.  Should the Air Force have access to data from the Army or Navy or vice versa?  Should the S-AAA’s have access to all data from their “Site” down to the project level data?  These issues need to be discussed with both HPCMO and the other MSRC’s. 

This memo has been coordinated with Brad Comes and Paul Shahady.  Brad’s additional comments are in red.  Hank has made his additional comments in blue.

Brad Comes said in a December 19, 1998 email to Paul Shahady, 
         	“we (CEWES) have a project about to be implemented but it is not in conflict with what you (ASC) are doing.  The application supports both the automation of our userid management (create, delete, modify, resource accounting,.....) and utilization data (coupled with the previously mentioned resource accounting).”  CEWES’s  efforts and ours could be used as the baseline to develop a “consolidated database” extracted from these sources.  “This common data source would in turn meet the “Larry Davis metrics” reporting requirements as well as serve as a data source to meet S/AAA information needs (See later discussion of PC based MAUD)”, Brad added.

John Blair’s direction to ASC’s “Database Team”, chaired by Hank Maas, was to have “Timely, Accurate and Automated” information available to all levels of management: HPCMO, each Service, by Sites (S-AAA’s), Challenge Project leads, Principle Investigators (PI’s), CTA leads, and others.  We would like to have the capability to track all Air Force project’s resource allocation and utilization data across all MSRC’s and DC’s and we believe that the other services would like to do the same.  Our database at ASC can answer this kind of question.  ASC’s database has been structured to allow ASC allocation and utilization data as well as other MSRC’s and DC’s data and report on their individual MRSC data or provide total data across the HPCMO if needed at the levels as described above.

	We at ASC have developed our Oracle based “SMART” database (see attached powerpoint document on “SMART”) that also does what Brad stated CEWES has developed.  Brad adds that, “One would like to reason that one design and implementation could serve all four MSRC’s.  However, when you get beneath the surface, the design and implementation quickly becomes a strong function of local business process, policies, and individual systems installed at each Center.  It is for this reason that we proceeded with separate designs based upon one common data dictionary.”  

The three ASC modular development included the

1.	Purchasing and Records Keeping System (PARKS)
2.	Service Tickets and Account Request System (STARS)
3.	Machine Allocation and Utilization Database (MAUD)*

* A PC based MAUD system, using Microsoft’s Access (relational database) product, was demonstrated by Hank Maas at the SRCAP meeting where you, John, were first introduced about a year ago.  This system was developed using the “x-MSRC coordinated team” requirements to provide the baseline requirements for the basic structure of the overall database and to develop and review report requirements to be developed in MAUD.  This has been very effective here at ASC.

All three of these systems are basically complete.  The next two phases are well under way and will include the automation of the

1.	Metrics requirements per Larry Davis’s requirement document being currently developed and will be implemented sometime in January using our database, 
2.	A “training tracking” module for PET being developed in conjunction with Syracuse University.  This module will allow ASC (or other MSRC’s if required) to register and track students wanting to take training courses sponsored by PET.  Syracuse is now reviewing the structure (subset of MAUD) we developed and will have their development schedule back to us in January.

I will be part of the discussion at Wednesday’s (January 6th) mbone session.…tHANKs…Hank Maas

Autovon 785-2126 x 392 or  henry.maas@msrc.wpafb.af.mil