Goals

Discussions with metadata generators from Climate Science Centers (North Central, Southeast, Northeast) suggests the following:

• ArcGIS users want to work within ArcGIS. They are unlikely to use an external editor for their metadata creation, even if it is non-spatial data. The use of the Metadata Wizard has spoiled these users. In addition, ESRI has agreed to review their current support for ISO within ArcGIS (generating an XML output that does not fit cleanly into any ISO definition).

• Experts will work with NOAA tools and XMLSpy or similar direct editing tools.

• The user population that is currently unserved is the data steward/metadata support role. These users are either coordinators or students who have no ArcGIS skill or training. They also have no deep knowledge of XML or the tools supporting the NOAA tools/transforms. These users universally want a wizard approach that both explains what the input really is (context sensitive help) and limits their range of inputs based on the type of product they are documenting.

Data steward comments:

• If I add a contact name in one screen, that name (person, organization) should be clickable in other screens (don't make me add the same data more than once).
• Distribution information depends on where the data ends up. Shouldn't that be automatically filled in by the repository that takes the product?
• Don't make me scroll through any long lists. I should start typing and the weaned-down list should appear and let me select one or many of the words from the list.
• I don't want to wait two weeks to get a login to use a metadata editor.
• I want to pass the partially filled out metadata record to the PI so they can add things that only they know. I want to be able to highlight what info I need from them.
• Once I think I am done I want the tool to tell me how I did -- is this complete? What problems are there with the file.
• I don't need the tool to do anything once I am done. I can upload the file to the right catalog(s) myself. My records have to go into several different catalogs (ScienceBase, my Center's case files, the PI's records, ...).
• Nobody sends me partially filled out metadata asking for me to do the rest. Either they do nothing or they do everything -- I get complete metadata or I get no metadata.
• I need a way to score the metadata I get from others, to see if if is any good.
• I have to deal with spreadsheets/CSVs, client software (R, python, dotNet, java) including models and decision support systems, web sites and web applications, images and videos, MSAccess databases, XML dumps from other databases, netcdf, geotiffs, shapefiles, map packages, and ASCII files. See ATTACHMENT E: APPROVED FORMATS FOR DATA SUBMISSION of https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/images/DataMgmtManual_v2.pdf. Each one has specific metadata needs and does not need other parts of the standard metadata entry. I want the wizard to work for the specific product type I am dealing with.
• When I get metadata from PIs it is usually CSDGM/FGDC. I just need a way to convert that to ISO and then have the tool tell me what it did not deal with and what my options are.