Customer Use Cases and Analytics for Climate Data at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information

NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is the world’s largest repository of climate data. Customer analytics and uses of NCEI information are critical to understanding and evolving NCEI’s suite of use-inspired data and information to make them applicable to decision making. Over the past three years, NCEI’s Center for Weather and Climate has made a concerted effort to: 1) Establish a system for collection of user requirements, 2) Ensure that collected information informs product area management and prioritization activities, and 3) Include user insights into future products and product versions. These process changes require a long-term commitment to climate services are success is not possible with a “build it and they will come” mentality nor with a “drop-in, drop-out” customer engagement strategy. This presentation will focus on the path necessary to get from effective user engagement, centered on collection and adjudication of user requirements, all the way through the outcomes of the changed products and services and how those have benefitted users, including economic examples.