Research-to-Operations (R2O) Processes for Better Translation of Scientific Knowledge into Operational Algorithms

The NOAA/NESDIS/STAR Algorithm Scientific Software Integration and System Transition Team (ASSISTT) facilitates the transition of research algorithms to the operational environment. The R2O process begins with deliveries from the scientific research teams of stand-alone algorithm software prototypes. The ASSISTT Process Lifecycle and Algorithm Integration Team (PLAIT) integrates the prototypes into the STAR Algorithm Processing Framework (SAPF) version 2.0. The code quality, readability, and stability of the prototypes are enhanced as part of the integration process, and the integrated algorithms undergo internal software code reviews for quality assurance. PLAIT integrators cultivate their scientific knowledge of the algorithms and engage in close communication and collaboration with the science teams. This close partnership with the science teams allows PLAIT to apply software optimizations and ensures the scientific accuracy, precision, and robustness of the integrated products. The integrated code is designed to align as closely with the prototype software as possible, which empowers the science teams to read and interpret the integrated code. In some cases, the science teams develop directly within the SAPF which makes the R2O process significantly more efficient. PLAIT also encourages the sharing of scientific knowledge between the science teams, including the use of common ancillary data sets and algorithm routines. In future work, PLAIT intends to further coordinate the sharing of scientific knowledge between teams, and will possibly develop scientific tools which add to the research team’s productivity by offloading repetitious work. PLAIT plans on improving the SAPF 2.0 environment to make it an appealing testbed and algorithm development tool which can further enhance the R2O process.