Before society can reap the benefits of the improved capabilities of the GOES-R series, NOAA first faces the challenge to ensure that the user communities are ready to receive and use the information immediately following the start of operations. Issues to be resolved include: the processing and distribution of vast amounts of data and products; algorithm development and refinement for producing and analyzing products; development of automated decision aids to help users sort through the vast amount of information available for each specific analysis or forecast problem; user education on the use of data and products much more complex than from the current GOES series; and data and product archiving.

NOAA has been following the path to user readiness through the GOES Users' Conferences. The most recent user conference was held in May of 2006 in Broomfield Colorado. The more than 350 participants provided numerous valuable recommendations on how to ensure that the user communities will be ready at the start of GOES-R operations. One recurring recommendation is for the development of at least three GOES-R Proving Grounds at National Weather Service Forecast Offices (WFOs). NOAA's Satellite and Information Service plans to follow through with this recommendation by providing experts at each of these (to be determined) sites to test and apply algorithms and decision aid tools for present generation GOES products, simulated GOES-R products and proxy GOES-R products. Algorithms will be tested in real time and post event, with data from available operational and research satellites. Input will be provided by the WFO staffs to refine requirements for algorithms, decision aids, display techniques, and concept of operations. This presentation will describe the proving ground concept along with numerous additional user recommendations for user readiness, including user education, decision aids, and data archiving. A conference summary and other recommendations can be found in the final report, posted at: http://osd.goes-r.noaa.gov/.