NOAO imaging meta data quality improvement: a case study of the evolution of a service oriented system

ABSTRACT

Due to the natures of legacy astronomical imaging meta data acquisition and storage technologies and techniques at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the challenge of methodically improving the quality of such information has been insurmountable until now. The diversity of the sources and lack of cohesive effort along with technologies that enable silo style efforts have contributed to the current, disorganized state of the collection of astronomical imaging information. By meeting these issues with a solution that combines policy and technology support for implementing master data management, use of transformations that enable continued improvements and a history of changes made, and a modular architecture based upon services that are federated over a flexible, robust communications architecture, the NOAO Archive System can assure improvements in the quality of the imaging meta data now and into the future.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.0 GENERAL

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
        D.2.11 Software Architectures
            Subjects: Patterns (e.g., client/server, pipeline, blackboard)

General Terms:
Design

Keywords:
astronomy, data quality, integration, meta data, service platform, service-oriented architecture, soa, transformation, virtual observatory