Unidata User Support
Summer/Fall 2009

Unidata User Support Inquiry Metrics

Above are histograms that portray the number of Unidata email responses for individual topics of support for a one year period ending September 29, 2009. The histograms are arranged by yearly activity averages with the highest on the left and lowest on the right. Each quarter year within the period is depicted from oldest to newest from left to right. The number of responses has been normalized to weekly averages so that the support load over the various periods can be easily compared.

Comments:

• The numbers represented in the current plots are measurably less than in reports for previous meetings due to movement of activities related to email lists being moved to a different system. The 'nws-changes' category was left in the plot to remind the reader of this movement.
• The LEAD numbers are an underestimate of its activity since few LEAD email transactions go through User Support (but the numbers continue to increase).
• Support numbers for individual packages, groups, and lists can be seen in full support statistics.

• The total support provided by the UPC remains high, and yearly totals have been steady for the past two years. Overall support activities vary by somewhat by quarter. Spikes in support for individual packages is largely correlated with the release of new distributions, and, for the IDV in particular, jumps after training workshops.
• Support for the legacy visualization packages GEMPAK and McIDAS continues to be substantial. The IDV support load has grown steadily and is second only to that for netCDF.
• Support for LDM, IDD, and data continues at a high level and shows some variability throughout the year.
• Support for netCDF remains substantial, but is considered modest given the large number of users of the package worldwide.
• The high numbers for outreach reflect the high level of activity in organizing a special session for the AGU 2009 Spring Joint Assembly.
• Taken as a whole, the support required for visualization packages (GEMPAK, IDV, and McIDAS) is comparable to the support related to data reception (LDM, IDD, noaaport).
• Support for any package increases after a new version of the package is made available.

These numbers and conclusions should not be taken too literally, for several reasons:

• For some packages, multiple responses in the same thread may be bundled into a single archived email. Other packages have each response in a thread counted separately.
• After a new release of software, there may be a flurry of the same or similar questions, which can be answered in separate emails or in a single mailing list posting.
• The graph primarily represents support of end users and site administrators, not developers. Support for non-Unidata developers in projects such as THREDDS, IDV, GEMPAK, and McIDAS requires significant resources, but is difficult to assess.
• Not all support records were indexable for this report. Given this, the above numbers are an underestimate of the actual support being provided by the UPC.