Full document / COSOC-W-86-002 - the National Sea Grant Library

OPDIN Evolves with its User Community
In 1982, the first year the Network was routinely responding
to customer requests, less than one hundred requests were
serviced. OPDIN requests have nearly doubled each year since
1982. In an effort to statistically characterize and evaluate
the needs of this growing user community, an automated
'Customer Service Reporting System' was designed and
implemented on a personal computer in 1985.
A customer service report form was designed that contains
attribute fields useful for statistical evaluation of Network
efficiency and the user community. These fields include:
* customer name
* address
* customer class
* contact type
* expected use
* typo of products
* output media
* area of concern
* pollutants considered
* data/info files referenced
* response time
* cost information
These forms are completed at the time of request and entered
into the data base on a monthly basis. Quarterly statistics
characterizing the user community are compiled and interpreta
tion of these results are reported annually (CCRO, 1985b).
Network resources are enhanced to facilitate better response
to priority subjects identified from the quarterly statistics.
New initiatives are formulated to meet projected user
community concerns.
References
CCRO. 1985a. Handbook of Federal Systems and Services,
for Marine Pollution Data and Information, Central
Coordination and Referral Office, National Oceanographic Data
Center, NOAA, June 1985 (Revised).
CCRO. 1985b. Analysis of 1985 Marine Pollution Data and
Information Requests Received by the Central Coordination and
Referral office, Revised March 1986.
NMPPO. 1984. Inventory of Non-Federally Irunded Marine
Pollution Research, Development and Monitoring Activities:
South Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Region, National Marine
Pollution Program Office/National Oceanographic Data Center,
NOAA, November 1984.
NMPPO. 1985a. National Marine Pollution Program: Catalog of
Federal Projects « FY 1984 Update. National Marine Pollution
Program Office and National Oceanographic Data Center, June
1985.
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