Inside eRA, October 30, 2001

October IMPAC II Deployment Postponed

The deployment of IMPAC II client/server applications scheduled for October 19 has been postponed to avoid potential data integrity problems. As you know, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) over a year ago mandated the incorporation of changes to ethnic and race reporting by FY2003. eRA decided to include these changes in its implementation prior to the deadline. Modules that were to have been deployed in October were recompiled to include modifications to the Common People screens that incorporated these required changes. Just before deployment, it was determined that modules that were not scheduled for deployment would have continued to use the old screens. This use of the old screens could have caused problems with the integrity of ethnic and race data.

In the mandatory deployment of all IMPAC II modules scheduled for November 16, any module that allows users to enter person data will be updated to conform to the new OMB requirements.

The postponed deployment impacted scheduled initiatives including changes designed to implement new NIH grants policy regarding expanded authorities and carryover. GM Advocate Marcia Hahn and members of the GM community involved eRA early in the process and invested substantial effort in preparing for the deployment. Marcia is working with analysts and developers to devise an interim solution until next month's deployment.

Reminder: Oracle Upgrade Scheduled for Veterans Day Weekend

The IMPAC II production environment will be upgraded to Oracle Version 8.1.7.2.1 during the Veterans Day weekend (November 10-12). As reported in the October 16 issue, the upgrade was scheduled for the holiday weekend to minimize disruption to IC users.

X-Train Phased Deployment Continues

On October 1, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Northwestern University, and Dartmouth University began using live data in the pilot version of the Extramural Training (X-Train) application, a module of the NIH Commons. On November 1, the system used by grantee institutions since 1996 to submit Statement of Appointment Form (2271) data electronically will be turned off, and twelve grantee institutions that used the old e-2271 system will begin using X-Train. With this deployment, the NIH Commons now has two operating business areas [see the October 10 issue for information about Interagency Edison, the invention reporting system].

Backlogged Statement of Appointment (2271) information must be entered in the IMPAC II Training Activities (TA) application before grantee institutions can process reappointments in X-Train. To support the successful deployment of X-Train, NIH staff are asked to ensure that all 2271 information is current in TA, including prior appointment information that was received on paper forms. Grantees are asked to report any data inconsistencies to Grants Management personnel.

IC staff will continue to use the TA application to process electronically received forms and to enter paper 2271s. On the Work-in-Progress screen in TA, registered users can view electronically submitted forms or paper forms that were entered manually and that require processing. Registered TA users also can use a query feature to list all in-progress forms for a specific grant number.

External to the TA application, a query designed by User Advocate Tim Twomey enables any NIH staff member to monitor electronically received information that was submitted either through the old e-2271 system or through X-Train.

For information on the role of Grants Management in the implementation of X-Train, contact Marcia Hahn, Grants Management Advocate, at 301-435-0932 or by email at hahnm@od.nih.gov. For more information on the X-Train pilot program, contact Dr. Walter Schaffer, Training Activities Advocate, at 301-435-2687 or by email at schaffew@od.nih.gov.

First Set of Materialized Views Implemented in IRDB

Users of the first set of Materialized Views (MVs) implemented in the IMPAC II reporting database (IRDBPRD) report a phenomenal performance increase over PowerViews (PVs). As discussed in the September 4 issue, one goal of the team dedicated to "redesigning" the IRDB is to develop MVs that expedite queries and that are more efficient than the PVs. We encourage you to test the MVs and judge for yourself; anyone with access to the IRDB can start using MVs immediately.

Users can easily migrate prior queries on PVs to MVs. There is one important distinction between the two; although MVs and PVs use the same name, Materialized Views have an underscore "MV" suffix (for example, PV_BUDGET_MV). Queries formerly written against PowerViews may require minor modifications such as consistent use of column names and abbreviations to work with Materialized Views.

Other goals of the redesign team are to reduce the learning curve for new and casual users and to reduce reporting errors caused by an incomplete understanding of the data model. The team is studying ways to create easy-to-use views that are subsets of existing MVs and that will not require users to remember unfamiliar codes and filter criteria. One possibility is an "NIH Reporting Concepts" library that would provide users with predefined views that include commonly used filter criteria. Users would no longer need to remember, refer to, or enter filter criteria for the most-used NIH reporting functions. An Office of Extramural Research (OER) presentation provides additional information about MVs, PVs, and the IRDB redesign process.

On October 16, technical staff from the Grants Management (GM) and Finance and Budget (F&B) business areas participated in the first focus group session for the IRDB "redesign" process. To inquire about participation in the IRDB focus groups, contact Carol Martin at martinc@mail.nih.gov. To provide suggestions, request changes in MVs, or obtain information on using queries with MVs, contact the Helpdesk at helpdesk@od.nih.gov.

Commons Working Group Meeting Slated for Washington

The Commons Working Group (CWG) will meet at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C., on November 14 -15 in conjunction with the 43rd Annual Convention of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA).

The November 14 afternoon session will be devoted to the Grant Application Subgroup of the CWG and a discussion of potential reengineering of the NIH competitive grant application business process. During the second half-day session on the morning of November 15, the Commons Interface Specifications Subgroup will focus on continuing issues related to functional requirements for the next version of the NIH Commons. The meetings are open to all interested parties.

For additional information, contact Dr. George Stone, NIH Commons Advocate, at 301-435-0679 or by email at george.stone@nih.gov.

Commons Project Manager for Application Development Joins eRA Team

Jerry Stuck has joined the eRA Project Team on a full-time basis as Project Manager for Application Development for the NIH Commons. Jerry is on detail from the National Science Foundation (NSF) where he spearheaded the development of FastLane, the NSF system for electronic receipt of grant applications. He also works closely with the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) to coordinate the interaction between various federal agencies and participating FDP institutions, with particular emphasis on electronic grants administration issues.

In his role as Commons Project Manager for Application Development, Jerry will coordinate all activities related to the design, development, and implementation of the NIH Commons portion (grantee interface) of the NIH electronic Research Administration (eRA) system. In addition to the NIH Commons, he will be responsible for the coordination of all NIH activities related to the inter-agency Federal Commons implementation. Jerry will continue to provide liaison support to the FDP on eRA-related initiatives and pilot projects of common interest to NIH and the FDP members. You can reach Jerry at 301-435-0690 x615 or by email at stuckj@od.nih.gov.

Reader Survey: Inside eRA Needs Your Input

As a communications instrument of the entire eRA community, Inside eRA is seeking your input. Let us know the type of information you need to stay informed about the information systems that support your work in extramural research administration at the NIH. Our goal is to provide timely content that keeps you informed of eRA issues, events, and opportunities to make your voice heard in the project. Please take a few minutes to respond to our interactive survey and help us to better serve you.

Understanding APIs

"Herding cats" doesn't sound very technical, but as a description for trying to accommodate variances in IC workflow in the enterprise systems, it is most apt. Stephen Hughes, eRA Advocate for IT Technical Staff, is responsible for application program interfaces (APIs) which, he says, unlike herding cats, do accommodate these variances for each IC.

Steve said that APIs allow IC extension systems, which were developed to answer the specific needs of the IC, to communicate information to and from the IMPAC II system. API development also has provided the impetus for many ICs to develop innovative and sophisticated extension systems.

Steve noted that there are some negative aspects to APIs, particularly as we move toward IMPAC II compatibility and the enterprise concept. To be compatible with IMPAC II, extension system business rules must complement (not contradict) enterprise system business rules. In addition, with the exception of the IC Operations (ICO) application, IMPAC II was not designed as a pluggable system, and security must be coordinated to ensure that data is not compromised. Finally, an IMPAC II approval process for any changes that impact published APIs must be put in place. This could restrict or slow down enterprise architecture upgrades.

Looking ahead, the ultimate goal of IMPAC II is to take advantage of the design and functionality of the "best of the best" extension systems, modify them to transcend and meet the needs of all ICs, and integrate the functionality into IMPAC II.

Helpdesk Responds to Peak Calling Periods

A TASKE® Call Center Management system installed in 2000 enables the User Support Branch (USB) to monitor user demand and identify changes in calling patterns. The system provides real-time monitoring, historical reporting, and traffic analysis. After evaluating call patterns, the USB determined that the highest call volume generally occurs from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. and from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. To provide more phone coverage during these times, the USB has adjusted staff lunch schedules.

The Helpdesk provides technical support from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 301-402-7469. If you prefer, email questions to the Helpdesk at helpdesk@od.nih.gov. To expedite a response, provide a complete description of the problem or question and specify whether you prefer to be contacted by email or phone.

Population Tracking API Design Meeting Held

eRA developers, analysts, and testers participated in an incremental design review (IDR) meeting on October 10 for the Population Tracking application program interface (API). Many ICs currently maintain extension systems that are used to define protocols and to track target and enrollment counts within ICs [see Understanding APIs in this issue]. Even after the IMPAC II Web-based Population Tracking application is deployed in mid-2002, ICs may want to maintain population information in their extension systems for some time. The API will enable IC staff to develop software that uploads population-tracking information from the extension systems to IMPAC II.

The design process is your chance to provide input into technical and user specifications. Additional information about the Population Tracking API design process is available online.

IMPAC II Software Release Schedule as of November 16, 2001

A mandatory deployment of all IMPAC II modules is scheduled for November 16. Check the IMPAC II website for current release notes after the deployment date.

The complete IMPAC II Software Release Schedule for the next six months is available on the IMPAC II website. You can email questions about the schedule to the IMPAC II Helpdesk at helpdesk@od.nih.gov.

IMPAC II Training Schedule

The Human Resource Development Division (HRDD) has scheduled the following IMPAC II courses for the first quarter of FY2002.

Course Title	Number	Date	Time	Location	Tuition
Committee Management for CMOs and CMAs	5834	10/24/01	9 am - 4 pm	Executive Plaza South	$221
Committee Management for GTAs and Review Staff	5833	10/31/01	9 am - 4 pm	Executive Plaza South	$221
Committee Management for SREA Staff	5835	11/07/01	9 am - 12 pm	Executive Plaza South	$184
CRISP Plus	5829	11/05/01	9 am - 4 pm	Executive Plaza South	$141
Peer Review	5825	11/08/01	9 am - 4 pm	Executive Plaza South	$221
Quick View	5830	11/20/01	1 pm - 4 pm	Executive Plaza South	$141

The following courses are also offered; however, there are no scheduled sessions at this time or scheduled classes are full. For more information or to request a class, visit the HRDD website or contact Mr. Ajoy Gadhok at 301-402-3384 or gadhoka@od.nih.gov.

Course Title	Number	Duration	Tuition
Grants Management (GM)	5827	1 day	$221
Institute Center Operations (ICO)	5828	½ day	$184