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EPA’s Environmental Terminology System and Services (ETSS)

EPA’s Environmental Terminology System and Services (ETSS). Michael Pendleton Data Standards Branch, EPA/OEI Ecoiformatics Technical Collaborative Indicators Workgroup October 25, 2006. Why Terminology?. So that we know what we mean Key business terms and acronyms

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EPA’s Environmental Terminology System and Services (ETSS)

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  1. EPA’s Environmental Terminology System and Services (ETSS) Michael Pendleton Data Standards Branch, EPA/OEI Ecoiformatics Technical Collaborative Indicators Workgroup October 25, 2006

  2. Why Terminology? • So that we know what we mean • Key business terms and acronyms • So we can find information • Indexing, cataloging, keyword management • Others are counting on us • Emergency response • Other Federal Gov’t • International efforts Gary Larson – The Far Side

  3. EPA’s Terminology History • Terminology Reference System (www.epa.gov/trs) • Searchable repository developed in 1997 • Over 250 distinct vocabularies; over 11,000 terms • Environmental regulations and laws • EPA Program glossaries and term lists • GEneral Multilingual Environmental Thesaurus (GEMET) • Significant limitations • Limited search capability • Lacks web services • Lacks editing functionality • Doesn’t support multilingual capability • Insufficient for concept management

  4. What is ETSS? • Content – A repository of terms of importance to the EPA and its partners • Data Model – to hold various types of terminologies from pick lists to thesauri and eventually ontologies • Tools –create, store, maintain, harmonize (compare), and distribute terminologies • Collaborative governance – that will bring communities of interest together to create terminology consistency and mapping/documentation of differences • Services – accessible to humans and other systems

  5. Key ETSS Customers • Human Customers • EPA vocabulary developers like the Web Taxonomy Project • Policy makers defining terms in regulations • System developers selecting XML tags and defining data elements • Program managers and researchers seeking terms and glossaries perhaps via the portal • Non-EPA vocabulary developers interested in environmental terms • People trying to use terms and definitions consistently • Public interested in environmental management • System Customers • Search engines – to expand searches or provide the basis for taxonomies or folders • Enterprise content management – source of value domains and controlled vocabularies • Other systems that use pick lists

  6. Software Selection Process • JAD sessions with stakeholders • System Requirements Document developed • Several vendors responded to RFI process • ETSS Options Document further clarified vendor responses • Selected Synaptica from Factiva

  7. Synaptica High Level Data Model Meta DataVocabulary & Relationship Definition & Rules Terms Subjects, Names, etc. Relation Links Extended Attributes Notes fields, etc. Data model is ANSI/NISO Z39.19 compliant Used with permission of Factiva. This slide is proprietary and not for redistribution.

  8. User Roles and Functions • Administrator • Set user accounts/functional privileges • Define new vocabularies and metadata • Control task views (user profiles) • Editor • Add and delete terms • Add and modify relationships • Add, delete and modify other content such as definitions • Advisory Groups/Communities of Interest • Full record access for read only depending on task view • Use Oracle Collaboration Suite to comment on terms and definitions • “Public” • Read Only Access depending on task view • Comment view standard comment box

  9. Status Current situation • Editorial system and resource page are available • TRS vocabularies migrated over; new Web Taxonomy added • Synaptica held train-the-trainers session Next Steps • Finish clean-up of migrated terms by November • Establish governance and workflow • Complete ETSS-specific training materials and conduct first session • Develop end-user interface • Integrate with collaboration tools and portal

  10. Where do we want to go? • ETSS supports the ability to connect multiple vocabularies: • Put an umbrella concept system over all the vocabularies to which the individual terms can be linked • Increase the links between terms, including across vocabularies • Create richer relationships between terms • Continue to add definitions

  11. Contact Information Linda Spencer, U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Information spencer.linda@epa.gov (202) 566-1651 Michael Pendleton, U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Information pendleton.michael@epa.gov (202) 566-1658 “Commentary.” Government Computer News – August 14, 2006

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