NRAO AIPS++ Users Group Meeting - Special Meeting with Fred Lo

Date: 2002-12-19 (Thursday)
Time: 1000-1100 MST
Rooms: SOC317, CV311, GB241, TUCN505 (audio only)
Audio Hub: CV (call 434-296-7082)

At the request of the Director, Fred Lo, who is visiting the AOC this
week, we are convening a joint NAUG and AIPS++ group meeting to be 
held in the upstairs conference room at 10:00am on Thursday 19 December.
Other sites (CV, GB, TUC) can call in (the video link is unavailable that
morning).  I understand that this schedule puts it during lunch time in
CV and GB (and there is a science lunch in GB), but there were only
a limited number of time slots available.  Sorry about that.

Fred wants to get a feel for what the situation is in the "trenches" here
in the testing, development, and coding of AIPS++.  Its also a good forum
for us to bring issues to his attention.  I have included a tentative agenda
(or at least of possible discussion topics) below, though we will largely play
it by ear as the discussion carries us in various directions.

Tentative Agenda (menu of possible topics):

1. The State of AIPS++ and NAUG

   o Interaction between the AIPS++ group and the NAUG
   o Changes in the AIPS++ project
   o Changes in the NAUG - what should the scope of the NAUG be?  
     (e.g. outside participation)
   o Key Issue: Are the NAUG and the AIPS++ group working together
     effectively?

2. AIPS++ and NRAO

   o The view of NRAO on AIPS++
   o Interaction between the NAUG and the NRAO staff
   o When should we offer AIPS++ as a recommended and supported (ie. with
     "AIPS++ friends") option to VLA users (as for GBT)?
   o NRAO and the AIPS++ Consortium
   o Key Issue: How can we get NRAO (as a whole) to get behind the AIPS++
     Project, and eventually use AIPS++ scientifically?

3. AIPS++ and the community

   o The view of the community on AIPS++
   o What outreach should we do and when?
   o Key Issue: How can we raise the level of confidence and expectations of
     the community (US and international) in AIPS++? (beyond just making the
     software work right?)

4. The Science Requirements and Auditing Process

   o The ALMA AIPS++ Audit and ALMA Offline Processing Requirements
   o GBT and EVLA Science Software Requirements
   o The VLA AIPS++ Audit
   o Key Issue: Is the proposed requirements, auditing, and acceptance 
     process the right way to go?

5. Future Development

   o Increasing user involvement in development - subsystem scientists
   o Priorities - ALMA, EVLA, GBT, VLA, VLBA.  What order?  Overlap?
   o The upcoming AIPS++ Technical Review, and possible ramifications
     (e.g. major changes to AIPS++)
   o Key Issue: What is the acceptable tradeoff between short-term and
     long-term development - should we defer some desirable items now in order
     to focus on fundamental changes with possibly big payoff in the future?
     What would the reaction of users (e.g. NAUG, GBT) be?

6. The Bottom Line

   o Resources - what do we need? (e.g. ALMA ~26 FTEs to requirmenent
     completion)
   o Key Issue: Are we on the right track (sociologically, managerially,
     technically, and resource-wise) now?

Feel free to suggest or bring up other topics!  Though we have only 1 hour...

    -Steve