EuroVO-AIDA Work Package Management Team (WPMT)

Chair: Mathias Depretz (Project Manager)

WPMT members

The list of WPMT members is available here.

WPMT meetings

• 1st WPMT meeting: 20 & 21 November 2008, Villafranca del Castillo, Madrid (Spain)
• Mid-term Board-WPMT meeting: 29 June 2009, Paris
• 3rd WPMT meeting: ?? November 2009, Telecon

WPMT Role and tasks

Role and composition

The EuroVO-AIDA Work Package Management Team (WPMT) is a panel appointed by the EuroVO-AIDA Board. It acts as the project technical management body. It is chaired by the EuroVO-AIDA Project Manager, who reports on its activities to the EuroVO-AIDA Board. The WPMT is composed of the Work Package leads, and of one representative of the partners which do not lead a Work Package, to ensure optimal circulation of information.

Tasks

The management of risk for the EuroVO-AIDA project is via a risk register. The risk register is established and maintained by the EuroVO-AIDA WPMT throughout the project. A preliminary list of performance indicators will be maintained by the EuroVO-AIDA WPMT throughout the project.

The WPMT also maintains the Census of European Data Centres initially produced by the EuroVO-DCA project. During the project kick-off phase, the Board and WPMT will be careful to ensure the proper transition between the EuroVO-DCA and VO-TECH projects, gathering their findings about the preceding phase of the VObs development and taking them into account in the EuroVO-AIDA global program of transition to widespread operations.

The interfaces between the different tasks are managed at WP2 level by the WPMT.

Meetings

The WPMT meets every six months, receives and discusses reports from the EuroVO-AIDA PM, from the Work Packages and from the partners, assesses the project activities and produces a review report. At the end of the first project yearly cycle, it proposes the EuroVO-AIDA work plan for the following cycle. The yearly Board meetings and the bi-yearly WPMT meetings are important milestones of the project.

Project Schedule

The project will last 30 months and it will be organised into several phases, a kick-off phase of 3 months, two one-year Cycles, Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, and a final phase of 3 months:

• The kick-off phase is used to establish the project detailed work program, taking in particular into account all the findings of the EuroVO-DCA and VO-TECH projects, and the partners’ input on the different aspects of the EuroVO-AIDA activities. WP1 and WP2 will be fully active in this stage, and there will be assessment and preparatory work in the WPs 3-5 Service Activities and WPs 6-8 Joint Research Activities to provide elements for the detailed project plan. The Project Manager is hired as early as possible during this phase. The first meeting of the Board constitutes the project kick-off. The Board nominates the WPMT and IST members, which then hold their kick-off meetings. At the end of the kick-off phase, WP2 produces the project detailed work program for Cycle 1.
• Management of the two one-year Cycles: the project activities are assessed by the WPMT every six months; the detailed work program is assessed and adjusted if required at the end of the first yearly Cycle. WPs 3-8 present their activities at each WPMT meeting. They produce respectively a mid-term and a final report. The reports are assessed by the WPMT. At the end of Cycle 1, the WPMT prepares a mid-term report and proposes a plan for future activities to the Board; in parallel, the IST produces a report which is submitted to the Board; the Board adopts the detailed work program for Cycle 2.
• During the final phase, the WPMT assesses the WP final reports and prepares the final activity report. The WPs and WPMT prepares elements for the Euro-VO medium term strategic plan. WP2-1 prepares the final version of the ‘Astronomical VObs description’. The Board adopts the final products of the project: (1) the Medium Term Strategic Plan for Euro-VO; (2) the final document describing the organisation of the astronomical Virtual Observatory and possible liaison with other communities.

The Service Activity Work Packages are fully active during Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, as shown below. They report on their Cycle 1 accomplishments and propose their Cycle 2 activities to the WPMT at the end of Cycle 1, and provide a final report to the WPMT at the end of Cycle 2.

All three JRAs follow the basic EuroVO-AIDA work plan, with a kick-off phase, two year long work cycles, and then a wrap up phase. All WPs prepare their detailed work programme during the Kick-off phase, to be included in the Preliminary Project Plan. The Joint Research Activity Work Packages are fully active during Cycle1 and Cycle 2. They report on their Cycle 1 accomplishments and propose their Cycle 2 activities to the WPMT at the end of Cycle 1, and provide a final report to the WPMT at the end of Cycle 2.

-- FrancoiseGenova - 22 Feb 2008

-- MathiasDepretz - 15 Oct 2009