Brief Introduction to Using the GEOSS User Requirement Registry (URR)

You can search the URR for information on User Types, Application, Requirements, and the Links between them. You may also publish your information about these entities in the URR. Before starting to publish in the URR, it is recommended to read this brief introduction carefully. In many cases, it is also helpful to scroll through some of the URR Tutorials, in particular the General part of these tutorials.

Whether you would like to retrieve or publish information, it often is helpful to start with a search. Currently, the URR offers one search method, which is based on a search string. Furthermore, you can specify for which of the URR entities the search is performed. Currently, the search can include User Types, Applications, Requirements, Research Needs, Links, and the Lexicon. If the search string is enclosed in quotes, the search returns all those entries that contain exactly the search string in the entry name, description, and, if applicable, other attributes. For search strings consisting of several words that are not enclosed in quotes, entries that contain any of the words in the search string are returned. Thus, if the search string is "air temperature", only entries that contain the string 'air temperature' are listed. If the same search string is entered without quotes, all entries containing the string 'air' or 'temperature' or the combination are returned.

If the search string matches one of the keywords defined in the Lexicon, then the search also returns entries associated with this keyword, independent of whether the search string appears in the entry otherwise. The search for keyword matches is carried out independently of whether a search string is enclosed in quotes or not.

Start with a search ...

The result of a search is returned as a list of entries matching the search specifications. The lists are separated for the individual entities. Entries discovered through keyword associations only are listed separately. For User Types, Applications, Requirements, Research Needs, and Lexicon entries, the list includes the entry name and the entry description. For links, the list includes also information about the source and target entries (type and name).

Each entry included in the list can be loaded into the publishing form for edits by clicking on the entry name. Currently, all entries are open for edits by anyone. Before starting to modify entries or to publish new entries, it is recommended to consult the General tutorials mentioned above. Of particular interest are the tutorials on Edit functions, which provide detailed information on how the various edit functions work.

The URR provides extensive in-line help functions with each publishing form. Each input field comes with a symbol. Clicking on this symbol opens a window with helpful information on the type of input asked for and, if applicable, general and practical constraints and other considerations to be taken into account.

The URR aims to capture information that is as far as possible generic and not specialized to individual users or applications, or selected countries or regions. Therefore, the language used should be general enough to be applicable in all parts of the world, taking into account that terminology may have some geographical variations. The resolution of the entries should be chosen carefully in order not to over or under-sample the different entities. It is important to keep in mind that the goal of the URR is to capture user needs related to, and in support of, their decision making in terms of Earth observations or derived information.

User Types are generic groups of individual or organizational users having very similar relations to decision making and needs for Earth observations or information derived from Earth observations. The user type name has to be unique and chosen so that the type can be defined properly. Resolution of user types may vary in different SBAs and fields. Some examples of User Types are coastal zone manager, geophysicist, teacher, climatologist, scientist, offshore industry, and public health officer. As these examples illustrate, the user types may not be disparate and may have some overlap. For example, scientist is rather broad and includes geophysicist and climatologist.

Publish a new User Type ... or select one from the list of all User Types for editing ...

Applications are activities that in one way or another apply Earth observations or derived information in order to serve one or more user types, or to inform other applications. Importantly, applications are as far as possible described in a generic way. Applications can be rather different in extent and nature. Examples of applications are hydrology, numerical weather forecasting, tsunami early warning, malaria early warning, surveying, outdoor activities, disaster reduction, wild fire response, and earthquake damage assessment. Similar applications that have different requirements in terms of accuracy (e.g., point positioning for surveying and outdoor activities) have to be specified as different applications.

Publish a new Application ... or select one from the list of all Applications for editing ...

The quantitative requirements in terms of Earth observation properties are published in the Requirements form. Each requirement is formulated for a Earth observation property identified as such in the Lexicon (see below). Since requirements can be very varied, specification of requirements is demanding. In case of questions, it is recommended to consult the more detailed tutorial on requirements.

Publish a new Requirement ... or select one from the list of all Requirements for editing ...

Research needs that would enable new applications of Earth observations or improve the benefits of such applications can be published in the Research Needs form. The short name should indicate the field and issue while the long title should clearly indicate the required research. The research need should be related to a societal issue and one or more applications. The expected results should be described with a focus on the societal benefits.

Publish a new Research Need ... or select one from the list of all Research Needs for editing ...

Links between user types and applications associate user groups with activities that depend on earth observations or derived information and products. A given user type can be linked to several applications, and a given applications can be linked to several user types, thus reflecting complex networks of linkages between users and applications.

Links between entries in the Applications table and those in the Requirements table establish the dependence of applications on Earth observations. A given application can be linked to several requirements, and a given requirement may be serving several applications and thus be linked to the respective entry in table Applications.

An application may also depend on the output from another application. Links between different entries in table applications help to capture these dependencies, and they provide a basis for the analysis of value chains and networks of these chains. By publishing these links, the powerful concept of value chains or networks is implemented. In fact, since an application can be linked to several other applications, networks of value chains can be created. The analysis of these value chains allows the linking of observations through a number of applications to end users of products resulting from a potentially long sequence of applications.

Publish a new Link ... or select one from the list of all Links for editing ...

In order to have terms used to name or describe entries in the User Types, Applications, Requirements and Research Needs tables, it is important to collect these terms and their definition in a lexicon. The Lexicon form allows publication of terms and there defining description. Moreover, terms can be identified as keywords and/or as Earth observation parameters. A term identified as keyword becomes available for association with entries in the User Types and Application tables. Terms identified as Earth observation quantities are available for usage in the specification of Requirement entries. Examples of such quantities are air pressure, free surface water fraction, incidence of malaria, SO₂. Terms can also be attributes to Earth observation quantities, in which case they become available for this usage. An example is the term emission, which could be an attribute to the quantity SO₂. Finally, a term can also be identified as medium, in which case the term becomes available for usage in the specification of requirements. For example, the medium atmosphere can be used to specify a requirement for SO₂ emission into the atmosphere.

Publish a new Lexicon term ... or select one from the list of all terms for editing ...

For most entities, there is the option to augment the information published in the respective forms through reference to published external documents. These references are published in the Reference form. If available, entries in the References form can be associated with a URL point to on-line documents for the reference. All entries in User Types, etc. can be associated with one or more of the references published in References. A list of the associated references is displayed in the respective form if the entry is loaded into the form. If an entry is associated with a reference that has a URL, then this URL is included in the list and gives direct access to the reference.

Publish a new Reference ... or select one from the list of all references for editing ...

The URR is currently solely based on voluntary peer contributions. Since no login is required to search the URR or publish information, no information is collected by the URR on who published or edited what. However, a user of the URR can comment on any of the entries in the comment section included at the bottom of each form. It is strongly recommended that you add your name and e-mail address as well as a brief comment on the entry (e.g., whether you invited further edits) to each entry you publish. If so, you will receive a message informing you whenever somebody else edits the entry or comments on it. This simple convention will establish a discussion forum for each entry in the URR and ensure that over time, the contents of the URR improve by many peer contributions.