DDWG

The Data Design Working Group (DDWG) is a group of experts that provides advice and advocacy for changes to the PDS4 Standards, principally in support of the needs of the science community. The DDWG oversees, coordinates, and monitors the Issue Resolution Process (IRP) for enhancements, omissions, and ‘fixes’ to the Information Model (IM), to the Data Dictionary (DD), to the discipline and mission level dictionaries as extensions to the IM, and to the associated documentation.  More detailed information can be found in the DDWG Charter.

Specifically, the responsibilities of the DDWG and its members are to:

  • Evaluate Change Requests (CRs) for merit based on, among other factors, the underlying PDS4 design principles.
  • Keep Discipline Node managers informed of DDWG activities and decisions.
  • Coordinate design decisions with international partners (specifically, IPDA).
  • Respond to requests for support from the Change Control Board (CCB).
  • Respond to requests for clarification of the PDS4 Standards.
  • Review proposals and extensions to the PDS4 Standards in support of community needs.
  • Provide assessment of CRs at the mission and discipline levels.

Members of the DDWG include one representative from each of the following:

  1. Atmospheres Node (ATMOS)
  2. Engineering Node (EN)
  3. Cartography and Imaging Sciences Node (CIS)
  4. Geosciences Node (GEO)
  5. Navigation and Ancillary Information Node (NAIF)
  6. Planetary Plasma Interactions Node (PPI)
  7. Radio Science Advisor (RS)
  8. Ring-Moon Systems Node (RMS)
  9. Small Bodies Node (SBN)
  10. International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA)

The DDWG also includes a DDWG Chair, DDWG Coordinator, IM Representative, Document Authoring Team representative, and a DDWG Reporter.  These are non-voting positions; but the people holding these positions may vote if one of the ten representatives above.

Change Request Submission

Change Requests are submitted via JIRA (under the PDS4 Standards Change Control Board Project):  https://pds-jira.jpl.nasa.gov

For access to JIRA and login credentials, contact Vivian Tang, (vivian.tang@jpl.nasa.gov) or Ronald Joyner (ronald.joyner@jpl.nasa.gov).

DDWG Meetings:

The DDWG meets regularly at a time and place set by the DDWG Chair.  Typically, the DDWG meets on Thursday at 9:30 AM Pacific Time, every other week.  The DDWG Chair may convene an ‘emergency’ meeting to address time-critical topics as necessary.

Previous DDWG Meeting Minutes

Concatenated minutes from previous DDWG meetings from 2017-2024 under the current DDWG Charter may be found using the links below:

Single meeting minutes from previous DDWG meetings under an earlier charter may be found using the links below.  Minutes from meetings prior to 2016-01-14 may be obtained from Emily Law or Ronald Joyner (see above for contact information).