Case Study: NWS Weather System Modernization

NWSCustomer: National Weather Service (NWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)
(Raytheon Company, prime contractor)


Goal: Deliver full lifecycle information technology support (including software development, integration, testing, network management and control, and mission assurance services) for the National Weather Service Advanced Weather Information Processing System (AWIPS) Operations and Maintenance contract.
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Case Study: NASA ECS Functional Test Management

Customer: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Flight Projects Directorate,
Earth Sciences Projects Division

(Raytheon Company, prime contractor)
NASA
Goal: The ESDIS (Earth Science and Data Information System) Project manages the science systems of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). EOSDIS provides science data to a wide community of users for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
Application: The ESDIS Project is responsible for:

  • Processing, archiving, and distributing Earth science satellite data (e.g., land, ocean and atmosphere data products)
  • Providing tools to facilitate the processing, archiving, and distribution of Earth science data
  • Collecting metrics and user satisfaction data to learn how to continue improving services provided to users
  • Ensuring scientists and the public have access to data to enable the study of Earth from space to advance scientific understanding and meet societal needs.
Challenges: Capturing high-volume observational earth science data across 12 different observing platforms with a heterogeneous mix of satellites, radar, sensors, models, and systems
FTI’s Approach: Perform sustaining engineering activities on the SDPS software baseline in accordance with Raytheon policies and procedures:

  • Support maintenance of existing system software, developing or modifying application programs for operations ranging from routine to complex to highly specialized.
  • Manage functional software test lab and test fixes for complex software systems
  • Generate test requirements during design, code, unit test and integration for subsystem components as required based on NCRs generated by the customer including Severity 5 NCRs
  • Develop scripts and tests for Software Functionality Lab
  • Support Integration and Regression Tests for new software releases
  • Utilize structured programming techniques and methods for all SDLC phases, including requirements, software design, software coding and testing, integration, and acceptance testing.
  • Utilize current software development techniques that exploit latest advances in computer technology to produce fast executing programs
  • Adhere to Raytheon Software Development processes
  • Provide code estimation support, as required.
Products Used: Red Hat 5 Enterprise Edition, Ubuntu 8.04, Magic Service Desk, LANDesk, C, C++, Java, Scripting Languages: Perl, C Shell, Korn Shell, Sybase, Eclipse IDE, Netbeans, Apache Tomcat Web server, ClearCase
Benefits:
  • Advance understanding of the entire Earth system — the atmosphere, the land, the oceans, the cryosphere, and the solar driving force
  • Provide improved project performance (“better, faster, cheaper”)
Delivery: On time, within budget. CMMI Level 3 project.