NASA's On-line Project Information System (OPIS) Attributes and Implementation 2006-01-2190

The On-line Project Information System (OPIS) is a LAMP-based (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) system being developed at NASA Ames Research Center to improve Agency information transfer and data availability, largely for improvement of system analysis and engineering. The tool will enable users to investigate NASA technology development efforts, connect with experts, and access technology development data.

OPIS is currently being developed for NASA's Exploration Life Support (ELS) Project. Within OPIS, NASA ELS Managers assign projects to Principal Investigators (PI), track responsible individuals and institutions, and designate reporting assignments. Each PI populates a “Project Page” with a project overview, team member information, files, citations, and images. PI's may also delegate on-line report viewing and editing privileges to specific team members. Users can browse or search for project and member information. Project search options include critical project categories and attributes, team member names and relationships, and project report content. Export compliance for project and report information has been built-in to OPIS as a strategic feature. Two other key faculties of OPIS include restriction of information to users with access approval, and a feature to record historical research and technology development information. OPIS reporting has been designed to fulfill management requirements, thereby allowing PI's to share project information with peers without adding to their workload.

Although system design requirements were modeled after the ELS Program, OPIS has been built to resolve data availability challenges throughout the Agency. The system has been built in a modular manner, allowing for immediate customization per program requirements.