Noaa enterprise archive access tool (NEAAT): Accelerated application development (XAD)

A challenge for any consumer of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) environmental data archives is that the disparate nature of these archives makes it difficult for consumers to access data in a unified manner. If it were possible for consumers to have seamless access to these archives, they would be able to better utilize the data and thus maximize the return on investment for NOAA´s archival program. When unified data access is coupled with sophisticated data querying and discovery techniques, it will be possible to provide consumers with access to richer data sets and services that extend the use of key NOAA data. A traditional waterfall methodology is unlikely to keep up with the ever increasing volumes of data and number of data sources, and as a consequence the ever increasing number of access (interface) requirements driven by a ever increasing and diverse consumers. A new methodology that is more agile while at the time preserves the tenants of formal configuration management and appropriate approval and review cycles is necessary to effectively address this challenge.