Enterprise Actor

Description

GEOSS User

The GEOSS User spans a wide range of user types that continue to be challenging to distinctively categorize and describe. The GCI Concept of Operations provides two categories:

-       The GEOSS-Experienced users, who understand the concepts of GEOSS and seek registered resources through the GEO Web Portal or other applications

-       The Issue-Oriented user, such as researchers and science-to-policy analysts who work on specific issues that fall within one or more SBAs

In the AIP-2 scenarios, the GEOSS Users were represented by Air Quality managers/analysts, electricity producers/investors, consulting companies, research organizations and scientists.

Based on the AIP-2 experience and discussions with the UIC and ADC (during the May 2009 meetings), the AIP-2 summary report recommends further clarification, elaboration and description of the GEOSS User (in collaboration with the GCI Task Force and the User Interface Committee).

GEOSS Integrator

The GEOSS Integrator uses the GCI and Community Resources to deliver solutions for the GEOSS User or to create value-added Community Resources. 

This is consistent with the GCI Concept of Operations definition of Software and services integrator as a class of users typically engaged in support of one or more application areas who is able to use GEOSS to locate suitable services, data, and related resources, and to develop and deploy integrating software solutions that cater to a specific context or subject area.

Community Resource Provider

Resources provided by a Community Resource Provider include services, models, tools, community catalogs, community vocabularies, community portals/clients, etc.

GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) Operator

The GCI currently consists of the following elements: the GEO Portal, the GEOSS Clearinghouse, the GEOSS Components and Services Registry, the GEOSS Standards and Interoperability Registry, the Best Practices Wiki and the GEOSS User Requirements Registry.

This Actor category also incorporates the entities responsible for overseeing the above GCI elements (such as the SIF).

In the future, the GCI could be coupled with a Test Facility/Tool to support Community Resource Providers and Integrators in testing their resources prior to registration in GEOSS (This concept was demonstrated in AIP-2 using the Test Facilities provided by the ESA-FAO GEOportal and the FGDC Service Status Checker).

The GCI may also grow to include common ontologies or vocabularies.