USER NEEDS AND GAP ANALYSIS: FROM A USER REQUIREMENTS REGISTRY TO A GEOSS KNOWLEDGE BASE LINKING USERS TO KNOWLEDGE

Hans-Peter Plag, Old Dominion University, VA USA

The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is focused on the creation of knowledge required to address societal issues. The experience with the development of the User Requirements Registry (URR) during recent years provides a basis for the development of a collaborative platform, the GEOSS Knowledge Base, for co-creation and co-usage of knowledge derived from Earth observations, socio-economic data and models. Designing a platform attractive to both users, providers and those engaged in the creation of system and transition knowledge requires innovative and foreward looking thinking anticipating the future technological capabilities. Artificial intelligence helps in extracting user needs from existing resources and from user activities on the collaborative platform, and it facilitates the linkage between these needs and those that can meet them. Providing an engaging decision-preparation platform coupled to a diverse social ecosystem of users, knowledge experts, and Earth observation providers creates a “crowd-sourcing” environment for the identification of knowledge needs and the determination of gaps in the layered system of knowledge creation down to the level of individual data services and sensors.

An initial step is the Socio-Economic and Environmental Information Needs Knowledge Base (SEE-IN KB), which documents relationships between Earth observations, socio-economic data and the processes (models, workflows, algorithms) for creating knowledge serving a wide range of user needs. The SEE-IN KB includes the rules for defining observational needs and linking them to knowledge needs. Existing knowledge repositories are leveraged as far as possible. User feedback concerning the fitness for purpose of data and processes is collected. The networks model allows for the construction of business processes to answer "What if?" questions in support of policy development facilitating progress towards societal goals. User types, applications and requirements are linked to actual users, models and dataset and this allows execution of business processes.

Oral presentation at the ISRSE 37, May 10, 2017, Tswhane, South Africa.