Aerospace provided evaluation criteria to help NOAA choose a suite of software tools used to develop the observing-system architecture called for by the Information Service Enterprise.
NOAA selected the Metis modeling program for use in establishing the baseline architecture. NOAA's decision to use Metis for this initiative set the stage for its later use throughout the agency. A different requirements-management tool, DOORS (Dynamic Object-Oriented Requirements System), remains under consideration because it is already in use in several large program offices in NOAA; Aerospace also has significant experience with this tool.
ArcIMS is one of several geographical information system tools used by NOAA to help visualize and analyze data in geospatial databases. It's particularly useful in identifying gaps between system needs and capabilities and recognizing duplicative systems.
CasaNOSA is a Web-based collaboration tool developed by NOAA to collect basic information about the observing system and other architectural elements.
Some of these tools are also under consideration for architecture development efforts at the federal and international level where NOAA is a member of the working groups and where Aerospace has been providing key technical support.