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NZERN Pipi 2003 – 2005 Development Plan

By: Mike Peters, Greg Comfort, Denise Ford, Pipi Steering Committee

NZERN: 09/10/2003

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NZERN Pipi 2003 – 2005 Development Plan 

Version 2.8 

9 October 2003 

“A way of providing really useful information to local communities protecting and restoring our native plant and animal ecosystems.” 

 

Mike Peters, Greg Comfort, Denise Ford, Pipi Steering Committee 2003 

Pipi 2003-2005 Development Plan 

Published by the Bush Telly Trust for NZERN. October 2003.  

© NZERN 2003 

Printed by the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) Printery on a Xerox 6180. 

Version 2.8 

Permission is given to make copies if they will not be sold for a profit. Excerpts may be used as long as the source is acknowledged. 

Disclaimer 

Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the information included in the plan. NZERN accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions in the information. 

Funding 

NZERN would like to especially thank the Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) Programme for financial assistance towards the preparation of this development plan.  The TFBIS Programme is funded by the Government to help to achieve the goals of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, and is administered by the Department of Conservation. 

Document Locations 

NZERN intranet 

Project:\NZERN\Pipi\122_2003_0205PipiPlan\2_8\Plan.doc 

Publisher BushTelly:\Publications\report\PipiDevelopmentPlan0305ver2_8.doc 

Restoration Library 

Completed Projects > 122 Pipi 2003 – 2005 Development Plan 

NZERN website 

http://www.members.bush.org.nz/project/index.cfm?NavItemId=550&ProjectID=122 

New Zealand Ecological Restoration Network Inc (NZERN) 

PO Box 9000 Christchurch New Zealand 

Web:  www.bush.org.nz Email:  office@bush.org.nz 

Phone:  64+ 03 338-5451 

Fax:  64+ 03 338-5481 

Contents at a Glance 

• Summary          11 
• Introduction          13 
• Section A: Existing System       15 
• Section B: What our Members Need and Want    35 
• Section C: System Required       41 
• Section D: Production System Hosting Options    47 
• Section E: Action Plan        51 
• Appendix          61 
• Background Material        67 

Hosting Agreements            www.bush.org.nz/support/ 

Health & Safety Plan                     www.bush.org.nz/support/ 

CONTENTS

• 1. Summary 
• 1.1 The purpose of this report 
• 1.2 A living document 
• 1.3 Summary of recommendations 
• 2. Introduction 

SECTION A: EXISTING SYSTEM 

• 3. NZERN organisational framework 
• 3.1 NZERN members 
• 3.2 NZERN structure 
• 3.3 Pipi volunteers 
• 3.4 Bush Telly Trust 
• 4. Pipi operations 
• 4.1 Hosting 
• 4.2 Budget 
• 4.3 Development system 
• 4.4 Production system 
• 5. Information management 
• 5.1 NZERN information sources 
• 5.1.1 Form input   
• 5.1.2 Pipi Database 
• 5.1.3 Restoration Library 
• 5.1.4 Spatial data 
• 5.1.5 Other databases 
• 5.1.6 Email mailboxes 
• 5.1.7 Expert knowledge 
• 5.2 Member organisation information sources 
• 5.2.1 New Zealand Trust for Conservation Volunteers (NZTCV)  
• 5.2.2 Trees for Survival Trust 
• 5.2.3 New Zealand Native Forest Restoration Trust 
• 5.2.4 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NZ) 
• 5.2.5 Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust (QEII) 
• 5.2.6 Iwi 
• 5.2.7 Other groups 
• 5.3 Department of Conservation (DoC) information sources 
• 5.3.1 DoC Website 
• 5.3.2 Bioweb 
• 5.3.3 DOCgis 
• 5.3.4 Publications 
• 5.3.5 Biodiversity Information online 
• 5.4 Landcare Research information sources 
• 5.4.1 Landcare Research Website 
• 5.4.2 NZ Plant Names Database 
• 5.4.3 NVS database 
• 5.4.4 Manaaki Whenua Press 
• 5.5 Other information sources 
• 5.5.1 NIWA 
• 5.5.2 Ornithological Society of NZ 
• 5.5.3 NZ Threatened Plant Conservation Network 
• 5.5.4 NZ Landcare Trust 
• 5.5.5 Forest & Bird 
• 5.5.6 LENZ 
• 5.5.7 LINZ 
• 5.5.8 CommunityNet Aotearoa 
• 5.5.9 Coastal Dune Vegetation Network (CDVN) 
• 6. How system was developed 
• 6.1  Resources 
• 6.1.1 Volunteers 
• 6.1.2 Software & hardware 
• 6.1.3 Training & books 
• 6.2 Methodology 
• 6.3 What could go wrong? 

SECTION B: WHAT OUR MEMBERS NEED AND WANT 

• 7. Fast cheap simple access 
• 8. One-stop-shop for very busy people 
• 9. Data integration of Pipi’s Components 
• 9.1 Group & Membership Management 
• 9.2 Site Management 
• 9.3 Nursery Management 
• 9.4 EcoTrack 
• 9.5 Financial & Project Management 
• 9.6 Planter Guide 
• 9.7 Online magazine 
• 9.8 Downloads 
• 10. Accessibility 
• 11. Localisation 
• 12. Formats 
• 12.1 HTML 4 
• 12.2 XHTML 
• 12.3 WML 
• 12.4 Flash 6 
• 12.5 Web Services 
• 13. Computer literacy 
• 14. Support available 
• 15. Web hosting 
• 16. Outsourcing for bigger groups 
• 16.1 Messaging 
• 16.2 Help Desk 
• 16.3 Databases 
• 16.4 Document store 
• 17. Data sharing 

SECTION C: SYSTEM REQUIRED 

• 18. Rapid Development 
• 19. Content Management 
• 20. Maps 
• 21. Video & radio 

SECTION D: PRODUCTION SYSTEM HOSTING OPTIONS 

• 22. Option 1: Hosting plan with ISP 
• 23. Option 2: Use co-located leased servers 
• 24. Option 3: Use co-located owned servers 
• 25. Option 4: Use NZERN in-house servers 
• 26. Option 5: Mixed environment 
• 27: Cost benefit analysis of options 

SECTION E: ACTION PLAN

• 28.  Implementation 
• 28.1 Option selected 
• 28.2 Fix the obvious first 
• 28.3 User driven 
• 28.4 Development best practice 
• 28.5 Action steps 
• 29.  Requirements 
• 29.1 Data requirements 
• 29.2 Applications 
• 29.3 Software 
• 29.4 Hardware Platform 
• 29.4.1 Development environment 
• 29.4.2 Production environment 
• 29.5 Spatial 
• 29.6 Broadcast 
• 29.7  Hosting 
• 29.8 Books and training 
• 29.9 Security 
• 29.10 Documentation 
• 29.11 Disaster recovery 
• 30.  Timeline 
• 31. Costs 
• 31.1 Operational budget 
• 31.2 Capital budget 
• 31.3 Human resources 
• 31.4 Management structure 
• 31.5 Suppliers 

APPENDIX 

• 32.1 Acknowledgements 
• 32.2 Schedules 
• 32.3 Hosting charges 
• 32.4 Glossary 
• 32.5 References 

BACKGROUND MATERIAL 

Web Statistics September 2003 

Writing for the Web 

HOSTING AGREEMENTS 

HEALTH & SAFETY PLAN 

1. Summary 

1.1 The purpose of this report 

The scope of this report is to look at where we want to be in one to two years time with Pipi and the www.bush.org.nz website it drives. Having a plan is important so work can be done without wasting volunteer effort, scarce resources or duplicating services. 

Pipi is the computer application that drives the website of the New Zealand Ecological Restoration Network (NZERN) at www.bush.org.nz. NZERN is dedicated to encouraging public involvement in conservation. The website was designed and built by volunteers from dozens of community groups. 12,000 hours was donated from 1997 - 2003 for this massive design task. Members of NZERN get a password to enter their own information into Pipi. All the information available at www.bush.org.nz comes from Pipi.   Current challenges faced with the development of Pipi: 

• The growing complexity of Pipi & growing number of users. 
• Pipi needs to be quick and easy to use for most users. 
• Pipi requires a well thought out plan to add new features. 
• Greater code efficiency is required to prevent rework for volunteers. 
• The volunteer skill requirements and training to meet any gaps. 
• The scale of hardware & software purchases needs a clear migration path. 
• The budget requirements for successful operation of Pipi. 

The authors are the members of the Pipi Steering Committee, a committee of NZERN  with information technology management expertise that has been delegated the control over the direction, development and day-to-day operation of Pipi.   

1.2 A Living Document 

This report will be available as a document at www.bush.org.nz/download/ 
It will also form the basis of the online documentation of Pipi at www.bush.org.nz/support/ and will evolve over time. 

1.3 Summary of recommendations 

• Make Pipi a lot easier to use for members when logging on with passwords. 

• Upgrade Pipi’s content management system to quickly collect, manage and publish information in any format required. This includes multiple languages and caters for different users. A magazine format shall be presented at the front of www.bush.org.nz. Maps, sound files and video will be introduced. 

• Provide hosting for member groups including access to databases and maps over the Internet (GIS). 

• Reorganise the volunteer teams who work on Pipi so that 24 hr production of services has priority over development of new services. This to be done within 6 months. 

2. Introduction 

NZERN is a non-profit community organisation founded in 1997. It has become a membership-based network of community groups, native plant nurseries, runanga, schools and farmers involved in the hands on protection and ecological restoration of native habitat in Aotearoa-New Zealand. 

NZERN also has the active support and membership of many agencies who support community lead conservation efforts, including DoC conservancies, regional & local councils, QEII, WWF-NZ, NZTCV etc. 

NZERN is organised into regional branches and is run by volunteers from 200 organisations when they are not busy knocking off possums or planting native trees. 

NZERN provides cooperatively owned support services to save duplication of scarce resources so more planting, weeding and pest control gets done including: 

• Informal network to foster collaboration and the sharing of information 
• Database driven public website at www.bush.org.nz with free passwords for members to enter information using standard forms 
• Free materials for school & community nurseries in some areas 
• Funds for field days 
• Print Publications 
• National training program 
• Help desk. 

Information is provided in different formats: 

• Field days 
• Print publications 
• Video 
• Web. 

Pipi, the computer application that supports the website, is highly cost effective in meeting these objectives. It can reach many more people, more cheaply, than any of the other information formats. Information can be found whenever it is needed and can be updated easily by members. 

NZERN has been financed since inception from membership fees, in-kind donations of labour, donated goods, use of homes and vehicles to the value of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

NZERN has won official recognition and so received significant government funding over the last 12 months. However a majority of NZERN services and projects continue to rely on private donations. 

SECTION A: EXISTING SYSTEM 

3. NZERN organisational framework 

3.1 NZERN members 

Members are made up of a large range of people, from all walks of life, all interested in protecting and restoring the natural environment. NZERN is structured around group membership (family, non-profit, small business and corporate). Individuals usually get free membership simply by belonging to a group that is itself a member of NZERN. 

3.2 NZERN Structure 

NZERN has a national office, and three existing branches (Southern, Central, Northern). There is an Auckland organising committee, to form a branch there. Branches are added as NZERN grows. The elected National Council supported by an Advisory Panel leads NZERN. The day-to-day responsibility for project management is the responsibility of the National Management Committee. 

3.3 Pipi volunteers 

The Pipi computer system is managed and run by a volunteer subgroup of NZERN: 

• Pipi Steering Committee 
• Development & operations team. 

3.4 Bush Telly Trust 

A separate charitable trust to provide television, radio and print media services. 

4. Pipi operations 

4.1 Hosting 

Although the NZERN website is hosted in more than one place the user sees a single site.   Prior to 2000 the website was hosted at no cost to NZERN by Plain Communications and Converge.  

From 2000 – 2002 Landcare Research provided 100Mb of space at no cost to NZERN for www.bush.org.nz 

Since 2002 a commercial ISP has hosted www.members.bush.org.nz. 

Since 2003 Landcare Research has generously provided 500Mb of space at no cost to NZERN for: 

• www.bush.org.nz 
• www.images.bush.org.nz 
• www.maps.bush.org.nz 

This arrangement is secured by a 5-year hosting agreement covering 2003-2005 between Landcare Research and NZERN. 

www.bush.org.nz

Frame hosted on Landcare Research web server 

Visitors to web site see this page 

members.bush.org.nz Content from ISP hosted ColdFusion server 

images.bush.org.nz 

Images hosted on Landcare Research server 

maps.bush.org.nz

Static map images hosted on Landcare Research server 

ISP hosted database server 

4.2 Budget 

Generalised annual operational costs 

Most of the other costs of maintaining this system are hidden as part of in-kind donations and sponsorship. 

4.3 Development system 

A development system is located at the NZERN office for the design and pre-testing of databases and additions to the website. Raw bulk data is massaged, compiled and uploaded to the production database. It comprises a database server and advanced database manipulation tools, test website, web, video and graphic design suites, office software, programming language tools and much more. 

4.4 Production system 

The production system is located on servers at Landcare Research and a commercial ISP. It comprises a Microsoft SQL 2000 database server, Microsoft IIS5 web server, Macromedia ColdFusion 5.0 server, and Macromedia ColdFusion MX server. 

5. Information management 

This section lists the sources of information that NZERN uses for Pipi. 

5.1 NZERN information sources 

NZERN has its own information resources. 

5.1.1 Form Input 

Members using standard forms, supply a regular stream of data directly into Pipi. There is a system of editors to check and approve much of this data. 

5.1.2 Pipi Database 

Data is stored on a Microsoft SQL2000 Database. It has 448 tables. Currently 20% of the data held in the database is accessible from the website www.bush.org.nz to end-users.   

5.1.3 Restoration Library 

Information is stored in print publications. Much of the information has been deposited by member organisations of NZERN.  

The publishing unit of DoC Science and Research have been generous in providing copies of publications to be stored in the restoration library. Manaaki Whenua Press have also generously provided copies of publications for the restoration library. 

Formats include books, pamphlets, clippings, magazines, maps, badges, and photos. The information is organised by the NZERN reference number given to the “owning” or publishing organisation. An index of organisations can be found at www.bush.org.nz/organisation/. The information is stored on wooden shelves and in cardboard file boxes. 

The library is used both as a resource by the NZERN help desk to answer user enquiries and as a resource for the projects of NZERN. 

5.1.4 Spatial data 

Valuable ESRI shape files, DEM files, coverage’s and raster imagery (air photos) are stored on a development server accessible to the GIS workstation. Copies of shape files exist on CD-ROM.  Various institutions have been generous in providing these data sets for use for conservation by a non-profit group and access for commercial use is prevented. 

5.1.5 Other databases 

Other smaller databases are regularly received (normally in Access format or Excel) and are stored while waiting to be integrated into Pipi’s central database. 

5.1.6 Email mailboxes 

NZERN has received a treasure trove of email since 1997 from active or informed people across New Zealand. Much of this email correspondence includes attachments or useful information in the body of messages and waits processing. 

5.1.7 Expert knowledge 

There is a vast wealth of knowledge and experience presently buried in the heads of NZERN members. Part of the mission of NZERN is to capture this information overtime and deposit it into Pipi where it can then become part of our collective knowledge. 

5.1.7 Project files 

A vast amount of information is stored in cardboard file wallets. Each wallet contains information for one project and is numbered and named. An index is found at www.bush.org.nz/nzern/project/. The wallets are stored in metal filing cabinets. Information in electronic form is stored on a file server using a directory structure similar to the cardboard file wallets. 

5.2 Member organisation information sources 

Much valuable information is held by organisations that are members of NZERN. Most is in print format in archives and cardboard boxes. Some is in electronic format on workstations. An even smaller proportion is publicly available via websites. As www.bush.org.nz develops into a major portal for public involvement in New Zealand conservation, bringing attention to these other data sources becomes very important. Being able to assist these conservation groups with their data management requirements and web hosting has been a priority. 

5.2.1 New Zealand Trust for Conservation Volunteers (NZTCV) 

The Trust acts as a national volunteer broker for local conservation groups, DoC and other agencies. Many NZERN members are grateful for the help from volunteers that NZTCV provides. The trust holds information about project providers and interested volunteers. Has a database driven website. 

www.conservationvolunteers.org.nz 

5.2.2 Trees for Survival Trust 

Rotary NZ set up this trust some years back. Local service clubs find the resources to provide a school with a propagation unit for growing native plants for conservation projects. They also supply seedlings and growing materials each year to the school. The trust supports schools with 92 growing units nationwide. Holds information about schools, what they are propagating and the sites where the plants end up. 

www.treesforsurvival.org.nz 

5.2.3 New Zealand Native Forest Restoration Trust 

Campaigns tirelessly for the purchase of large blocks of land to restore back into native forest. There is a wealth of knowledge about land purchase and forest restoration. 

www.nfrt.org.nz 

5.2.4 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NZ) 

“Since its establishment, WWF-New Zealand has worked with researchers, scientists, other conservationists, local communities, business and government to address pressing conservation issues. 

In New Zealand, WWF has made significant contributions to conservation through on-the-ground projects, advocacy and environmental education. 

WWF-New Zealand's Head Office is based at the Treehouse in Wellington's Botanic Gardens, and is governed by a Board of Trustees. It has a Conservation Advisory Panel, which provides specialist information to the Board on its conservation programme. The panel draws on a wider professional peer network.” - WWF 

WWF-NZ administers the Tindal Foundation funded Habitat Protection Fund (HPF) that has aided many schools and community groups to carry out restoration projects. 

WWF-NZ also provides educational resources and training to schools. 

www.wwf.org.nz 

5.2.5 Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust (QEII) 

One of the National Trust's principal functions is to protect privately owned areas of open space, without jeopardising the rights of ownership. While private landowners may sell or gift land to the Crown or a local authority as a reserve, many wish to protect their land while retaining ownership: Open Space Covenants allow this to occur.  

A Queen Elizabeth II National Trust Open Space Covenant is a legal agreement between the National Trust and a landowner to protect a special open space feature in perpetuity (or, occasionally, for a specified time). Open space covenants are usually initiated by the landowner, as the National Trust recognises the importance of the landowners goodwill and commitment for the ongoing care and management of the covenanted area.  

To date, around 1,700 Open Space Covenants covering in excess of 62,000 hectares have been registered. These covenants protect a variety of open space, including forest and forest remnants, wetlands, lakes, peat lakes, coastline, tussock grasslands, tracts of rural landscape, archaeological sites, and geological formations. 

Open Space is the official publication of the QEII National Trust. It contains feature articles on Open Space Covenants, Land Management, Conservation and Biodiversity issues. National Trust members receive the 20+ page full colour magazine as part of their subscription. 

57 issues of Open Space have been published to date. 

The trust is currently integrating their information resources and migrating to a comprehensive database/GIS setup. 

www.nationaltrust.org.nz 

5.2.6 Iwi 

Information relating to Mahinga Kai species, their cultural use and correct names for places has been supplied. 

5.2.7 Other groups 

Pipi is expected to handle other sources of information that will become available over time. 

5.3 Department of Conservation (DoC) information sources 

The Department of Conservation is the New Zealand government agency with responsibility for managing the publicly owned conservation estate. It has a lot of information of value to community lead conservation efforts. DoC has a legacy of 800 Access databases that are currently being moved to an integrated SQL server platform. This work will be in a ready state in 18 months. 

5.3.1 DoC website 

There is a wealth of information on DoC’s public website. 

• Recreational opportunities, facilities and services available 
• Natural, cultural and historic values, and their conservation 
• Active conservation – the role of DoC in actively conserving managed areas, community involvement and education, etc. 

DoC also has a number of useful emailed publications including “What’s up Doc”. 

www.doc.govt.nz 

5.3.2 Bioweb 

“BioWeb is a system that allows DOC to record facts and figures about flora and fauna and archaeological sites of interest to the Department on a national basis. It allows DOC to see what New Zealand has, where it is, its condition, what DOC is doing about it and with what success in dealing with specific threats. When it is complete it will contain species, monitoring and management data on weeds, native/threatened plants, archaeological sites, birds, herpetofauna, invertebrates and casual field observations as well as links to complementary systems.  The various subsystems store the key information that is required to assist DoC staff at all levels. Species information captured includes descriptions, references, New Zealand threat status (or the status of the threat to NZ) and photographs. Observations made by DoC staff are entered into the system whose visible face is a web application that has many features. All species searches automatically search common names and synonyms in addition to scientific names. Pre-formatted reports provide data for the most common questions while an ad-hoc querying tool allows further interrogation of the data. All reports can be created as pdf, doc or xls files. The system is available read only to all DoC staff and Extranet users, and information can be added by DoC staff who have undergone training.” - DoC 

NZERN has access to some of BIP via an account. 

5.3.3 DoCgis 

GIS information is being made publicly available via DoC’s extranet. An updated version will be available any day. 

http://extranet.doc.govt.nz/bip/ 

5.3.4 Publications 

The publishing unit of DoC Science and Research publishes results of research in printed form. These publications are available for purchase and through the public library system. Increasingly, these are being made available freely in downloadable PDF format. 

www.doc.govt.nz/publications/ 

5.3.5 Biodiversity Information online 

“…provides information about Aotearoa New Zealand’s native biodiversity, what is being done to help conserve and manage it, and who is involved. The information and work programmes covered in this site are part of New Zealand’s long-term commitment to conserve its natural heritage under the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy. 

The site pulls together existing resources scattered across other websites and publications. 

It provides up-to-date information on the government programmes set up to help halt the decline of New Zealand’s native biodiversity, and it provides information and links to the valuable work of other agencies, organisations and individuals.” 

– Biodiversity Information online 

www.biodiversity.govt.nz 

5.4 Landcare Research information sources 

Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research is New Zealand’s crown research institute charged with environmental research, sustainable management of land resources including conserving and restoring natural ecosystems. 

5.4.1 Landcare Research website 

This award winning website is an increasingly important resource to find out about the excellent environmental research being done by Landcare Research. 

www.landcareresearch.co.nz 

5.4.2 NZ Plant Names Database 

This is a nationally significant database. It is a searchable website. Developing Web services. 

http://nzflora.landcareresearch.co.nz 

5.4.3 NVS database 

The National Vegetation Survey Databank (NVS) is a physical archive of sample plots.  NVS is a nationally significant database funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST). NVS is currently being remodelled. 

http://nvs.landcareresearch.co.nz 

5.4.4 Land Resource Inventory 

A spatial database of polygons, each of which describes a parcel of land in terms of rock, soil, slope, erosion and vegetation. 

www.landcareresearch.co.nz/databases/nzlri.asp 

5.4.5 Manaaki Whenua Press 

Manaaki Whenua Press is the publisher of fruits of research by staff at Landcare Research. Produces and distribute New Zealand natural history and science publications. It has an online bookstore and an extensive backlist of titles going back 40 years. 

www.mwpress.co.nz 

5.5 Other sources 

5.5.1 NIWA 

NIWA is a crown agency that specialises in research of freshwater and marine areas. It has a number of valuable resources coming on line. 

www.niwa.cri.nz 

5.5.2 Ornithological Society of NZ 

Founded in 1939, the OSNZ now has about 1000 financial members worldwide. A feature of OSNZ is the diversity of its membership, which ranges from professional ornithologists and government institutions in New Zealand and overseas through secondary and tertiary students and experienced amateur observers to learners and beginners. No special qualifications are required for admission and membership is open to all who are interested in birds. OSNZ is the gatherer and holder of taxonomic and observational data about birds with the New Zealand Recognised Bird Names (NZRBN) Database and the long running Birds Distribution Atlas. 

www.osnz.org.nz 

5.5.3 NZ Threatened Plant Conservation Network 

The network distributes information about the conservation of threatened native plants and their threat status. It has an online database. 

www.nzpcn.org.nz 

5.5.4 NZ Landcare Trust 

The trust provides practical assistance to rural landcare groups in a wide range of areas of sustainable land management. Its website includes a great deal of useful information resources. For example, the SHMAK kit guide. 

www.landcare.org.nz 

5.5.5 Forest & Bird 

New Zealand’s oldest and largest conservation organisation. There is a lot of detailed information mainly from a web version of their excellent magazine. Also conservation campaigns to protect NZ biodiversity. 

www.forest-bird.org.nz 

5.5.6 LENZ 

LENZ (Land Environments of New Zealand) is an environmental classification intended to underpin a range of conservation and resource management issues. Data is available in GIS-system format (ESRI shape files) on CD-ROM 

www.lenz.landcareresearch.co.nz/public/publichome.aspx 

5.5.7 LINZ 

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is responsible for providing New Zealand's authoritative land and seabed information. 

Data for download available includes Topo-online, Ortho photos, some free maps and the NZ Geographic Placenames Database. 

www.linz.govt.nz 

5.5.8 CommunityNet Aotearoa 

Dept of Internal Affairs sponsored website with loads of useful information about formally establishing a group, starting a community project and other resources. 

www.community.net.nz 

5.5.9 Coastal Dune Vegetation Network (CDVN) 

The Coastal Dune Vegetation Network is a collaborative research network involving Forest Research and coastal managing agencies and user groups. More than 200 organisations and individuals are involved in the Network, including Regional and District Councils, other CRIs, forestry companies, tertiary education institutes, iwi, consultants, nurseries, and community groups such as Beach Care and Coast Care. 

A high quality full colour technical bulletin series outlines practical guidelines and key information on different issues of interest to coastal managers and users. 

www.forestresearch.co.nz 

6. How system was developed 

Pipi was designed and built by volunteers from dozens of community groups. 12,000 hours were donated from 1997 - 2003 for this massive design task. 

6.1  Resources 

6.1.1 Volunteers 

Pipi Steering Committee 

Six volunteers with information technology management expertise act as the Pipi Steering Committee. The committee includes a voting nominee from Landcare Research. The committee have been delegated control by NZERN over the planning, development and day-to-day operation of Pipi. 

The committee members are: From Wellington - Parker Jones (MIRO). From Christchurch - Greg Comfort (Landcare Research Nominee), Denise Ford (Travis Wetland Trust), Dave Evans (Native Habitats), Mike Peters (Addington Bush Society), Crile Doescher (Otamahua/Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust) (till May 2003) and Harry Boufal (Bexley Wetland Trust) (since August 2003). 

Denise Ford is Operations manager. Jason Gleason (Tararu Valley Sanctuary and Conservation Trust) and Dave Evans are responsible for the System administration, security, and networking. Mike Peters is Development manager, System architect and reports to NZERN’s National Management Committee. 

Pipi Developer & Operations Team Twenty volunteers make up the “Pipi Developer & Operations” team. The team is spread from across NZ and overseas. The range of skills found among the team include: 

• Visual Basic 
• Java Script 
• Cobol 
• ColdFusion 
• SQL 
• Development of Access & SQL 7/2000 Server databases 
• GIS (ESRI) 
• Networking and system administration 
• HTML, XML & WAP 
• Flash 
• Project management 

Some of the team are frequent contributors to Pipi’s development and operations. Others occasionally provide skilled advice or work on a short-term project. All contributions are valuable and appreciated. 

6.1.2 Software & hardware 

Software 

Software has been purchased or donated for NZERN with the generous assistance of the TFBIS Programme, Parker & Carol Jones Trust, ESRI US, Eagle Technology Group Ltd, WWF-NZ (Habitat Protection Fund) and Microsoft Software Foundation. 

This software includes: 

• Adobe Photoshop 7, Premier 6.5 
• Embarcadero 
• ER Studio, DT Studio (both owned by supporter) 
• ESRI 
• Arc View 8.2 
• Macromedia 
• Cold Fusion Studio 4, Macromedia Cold Fusion Server 5.0, Studio MX (Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, FreeHand) 
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional IIS 5.0, Office 97 Professional, Office 2000 Professional, Office XP Professional, Project 2000, Visio Professional 2002, Visual Studio 6, SQL 2000 Server, Front Page 98, Publisher 2000 
• Seagate Crystal Reports 8.5 

Hardware 

Workstations, Servers and network equipment have been purchased or donated. This has been possible due to the generous assistance of The Community Trust, Poneki area office of DoC, WWF – NZ, Redworks Ltd, the TFBIS Programme, The Court Theatre, Dave Evans, Edith Jones, Fujitsu New Zealand, Christchurch City Council, North Canterbury area office of DoC. 

6.13 Training & books 

Training Many volunteers are self-taught. NZERN organises learning opportunities for volunteers thru working on projects. Software books are made available and access is provided to workstations. On-line help forums have also been a critical means of up skilling. The NZ Computer Society, Project Management Institute (PMI) and ESRI User Group evening functions have proved invaluable. 

Books 

Volunteers have paid for and donated $4K books prior to 2002. Generous donations of $500 from Poneki DoC in 2001 and $3K from the TFBIS Programme in 2003 enabled the purchase of more software books. A generous discount has been provided by Dymocks – Wellington on all software book titles.  Many books come with content in PDF on a CD-ROM or companion website. 

Some of the software books currently found in the Pipi Library are listed here. 

Addison Wesley 

• Broadband Internet Connections 0-201-73827-9 

Adobe Press 

• Adobe Premier 6.0 User Guide 
• Adobe Photoshop 7.0 User Guide 

Bigelow 

• Troubleshooting, Maintaining & Repairing PCs 0-07-213272-8 

Computer Step 

• Photoshop 7 In Easy Steps 1-84078-218-8 
• Flash MX in Easy Steps 1-84078-229-3 

ESRI Press 

• Mapping Our World 1-58948-022-8 
• Modelling Our World The ESRI Guide to Geodatabase Design 1-879102-62-5 
• GIS for Everyone 1-58948-0560-2 
• The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis 1-879102-06-4 
• Geographic Information Systems and Science 0-471-89275-0 
• Marine Geography GIS for the Oceans and Seas 1-58948-045-7 

Hentzenweke Publishing 

• Essential Source Safe 1-930919-05-0 

IDG 

• Access 97 Bible 0-7645-3035-6 
• Teach Yourself  Visual Basic 6 0-7645-7516-3 

Macromedia Press 

• Macromedia Cold Fusion MX Web Application Construction Kit 0-321-12516-9 
• Advanced Macromedia Cold Fusion MX Application Construction Kit 0-321-12710-2 
• Macromedia Flash MX Production Techniques 0-321-12398-0 

Marron 

• Teach Yourself Visually Fireworks 4 0-7645-3566-8 
• Master Visually Windows 2000 Server 0-7645-3426-2 

M&T 

• MSDE Developer’s Guide 0-7645-4698-8 
• Microsoft Press 
• Microsoft Visio 2002 Inside Out, Microsoft Press 0-7356-1285-4 
• Microsoft Window 2000 Professional Resource Kit 1-57231-808-2 
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Operations Guide 0-7356-1796-1 
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Deployment Planning Guide 0-7356-1794-5 
• Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000 0-7356-0998-5 
• Users Guide for Microsoft Project 98 
• Users Guide for Microsoft Project 2000 

New Riders 

• Inside Coldfusion MX 0-7357-1304-9 
• SQL Server 7 Essential Reference 0-7357-0864-9 
• Flash MX Audio Magic 0-7357-1194-1 
• Photoshop 7 Magic 0-7357-1264-6 
• Windows 2000 Server Professional Reference 0-7357-0952-1 

O’Reilly 

• Pearl in a Nutshell 1-56592-286-7 

Osborne 

• MCSE Lab Manual Windows 2000 Server 0-07-222301-4 
• Visual Studio 6: The Complete Reference 0-07-882583-0 
• SQL: A Beginners Guide 0-07-213096-2 

Peachpit 

• Macromedia Dreamweaver MX for Windows and Macintosh 0-2018-4445-1 
• Macromedia Flash MX: Visual QuickStart Guide 0-2017-9481-0 
• Macromedia Flash MX Advanced: Visual QuickStart Guide 0-2017-5846-6 
• HTML 4 for the World Wide Web Visual QuickStart Guide 0-2013-5493-4 
• XML for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide 0-201-71098-6 
• Macromedia Flash MX Production Techniques 0-3211-2398-0 
• Premiere 6.5 for Windows & Mackintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide 0-321-13008-1 
• Macromedia ColdFusion MX Development with Dreamweaver MX: Visual QuickPro Guide 0-321-15802-4 
• SQL: Visual Quickstart Guide 0-201-11803-0 
• Microsoft Powerpoint 2002/2001: Visual Quickstart Guide 0-201-77585-9 
• PDF with Acrobat: Visual Quickstart Guide 0-201-74144-X 
• FreeHand 9 for Windows & Mackintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide 0-201-35489-6 

Premier Press 

• Macromedia ColdFusion MX Professional Projects 1-59200-012-6 

Prentice Hill 

• Advanced Macromedia Flash MX Action Script in Action 0-1303-8460-7 
• The Streaming Media Handbook 0-13-035813-4 
• Essential ColdFusion 4.5 for Web Professionals 0-13-040646-5 

QUE 

• Techtv Guide to Creating Digital Video Like a Pro 0-7897-2656-4 
• Absolute Beginners Guide to Personal Firewalls 0-7897-2625-4 
• The ColdFusion 4.0 Web Application Construction Kit 0-7897-1809-X 
• Advanced ColdFusion 4.0 Application 0-7897-1810-3 
• Special Edition Using Microsoft Project 98 0-7897-1252-0 

Sams 

• Teach Yourself ColdFusion Express in 24 Hours 0-672-31662-5 
• Microsoft Access Developer Guide to SQL Server 0-672-31944-6 
• Apache Server Survival Guide 1-57521-175-0 

Sybex 

• Mastering Windows 2000 Server. 4th ed 0-7821-4043-2 Mastering ColdFusion 4.5 0-7821-2773-8 
• Photoshop Savvy 0-7821-4110-2 

Wiley 

• Adobe Premiere 6.5 Bible 0-7645-1830-5 
• 50 Fast Adobe Premiere 6.5 Techniques 0-7465-2445-3 
• The Data Model Resource Book 0-471-38023-7 
• Complete Flash Remoting MX 0-7645-2586-7 
• Content Management Bible 0-7645-4862-X 

Wrox 

• SQL Server 2000 Stored Procedures Handbook 1-86100-825-2 

6.2 Methodology 

Pipi has been built iteratively, brick by brick with each component having to be immediately useful. This is similar to Extreme Programming in some respects. So each new feature is designed and built in a basic state. It then gets used and then added too (“tweaking”). This is a low risk strategy but not necessarily efficient use of human labour. 

Several times a year a new little database is contributed by a community group and ends up as a new module to Pipi. Examples include: 

• Addington Bush Society nursery database added in 1997. 
• Native Habitats “volunteer database for Christchurch” added in 1998. 

As Pipi has grown, crises occur every few years, leading to qualitative transformations to its inner workings to overcome a development roadblock. 

Pipi 1 

1998-1999 

Multiple linked Access databases render static html pages. Pages are transferred to website. Input by 1 volunteer from paper forms mailed in. 

Pipi 2 

2000-2001 

Access database using Visual Basic stored in tables, render static html pages. Pages are transferred to website. Input by 1 volunteer from email generated by forms on website. Members have passwords to access forms. 

Pipi 3 

2002-2003 

The current system. A live MS SQL Server database and ColdFusion generated website. Input by many members who have passwords to access forms. System of editors approve changes using forms. 

6.3 What could go wrong? 

Security Any web site on the Internet is potentially threatened by a direct attack from hackers or "infection" by destructive computer programs. Computer sites connected to the Internet permanently, or for long periods of time, are commonly targeted by hackers looking for suitable bases for launching attacks on other organisations. The larger the number of computers making up Pipi the harder it is to make sure they are all secure. The first line of defence is a hardware firewall device between the Internet connection and all the computers making up the site. The firewall freely permits outgoing connections to the Internet, but allows incoming connections only for specified purposes and to defined machines. This makes it difficult for hackers to gain access to the Pipi computers. 

Each computer behind the firewall is also protected by firewall software that only allows Internet activity by software that has been approved by the user. This measure helps guard against the use of the computers by viruses and "Trojan horse" software. A security policy is in place to ensure that passwords are complex enough to be extremely difficult to discover by trial and error. Regular changes to passwords are also enforced. Accounts for the many users have privileges tailored to the requirements and level of trust accorded to the user. This protects against not only malicious damage, but also inadvertent destruction of files by an inexperienced user. 

Several of the databases hosted by Pipi are extremely valuable and access to them must be controlled scrupulously. Preventing unauthorised access to the computer directories where they are stored is a vital part of the security policy. Demonstrable security of these databases is necessary to ensure the ongoing privilege of hosting databases such as these. The need for privacy and security in the area of printed documents is also recognised and all sensitive papers are shredded before disposal. 

The web site and database software making up the publicly visible part of Pipi must also be secured against subversion. Hackers are constantly on the lookout for ways in which legitimate program operations can be redirected to compromise the security of publicly accessible computers. To guard against this necessitates keeping the software constantly updated with the latest security measures introduced as security holes are discovered. An automatic process ensures that all machines are updated with the latest updates from Microsoft without need for human intervention. NZERN is grateful to Kaon Technologies for a pro bono security audit of the web site.  This audit did not discover any unknown vulnerabilities, but pointed up the necessity for constant vigilance and a periodic audit process. 

Software is in place to scan incoming email and disks for viruses and other forms of destructive software. This software is also updated automatically to ensure up-to-the-minute protection against threats transmitted over the Internet. 

Hazards The computers are also vulnerable to physical damage. Being continuously connected to the mains they are susceptible to the destructive effects of lightning strikes on the power network. To guard against this the computers are connected to the mains via an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). The UPS not only provides protection against mains borne lightning energy, but also power surges due to other malfunctions in the power network. In the event of a power outage the UPS is able to sustain the computers for long enough to be shut down gracefully, hence protecting the validity of the databases. 

Fire is another significant hazard. Smoke detectors are in place. 

Earthquake damage is also possible to equipment and volunteers. The building is quite sturdy and timber framed, which minimizes this risk. 

Theft or break-in is a risk. However, having security monitoring in place minimizes this risk. Also, someone is always living at the location, even if the owners go on holiday.  

Water damage from leaking roofs is also a potential problem.  But, as it is in a modern, well-maintained building, the risk is minimised. 

The strongest feature of NZERN, and at the same time potentially the weakest link, is the community of volunteers that does all the work. Often the knowledge central to the contribution by a volunteer is not recorded on paper, or in a computer file, but resides solely within their brain. Should this volunteer suffer a fatal accident, or simply burn out through overwork, this knowledge could be impossible to recover. This would jeopardise the operation or efficient development of the systems for which that volunteer was responsible.  To protect against this risk, NZERN is in the process of documenting the computer system.  NZERN does have a large network of volunteers, and many of them share a growing knowledge base.

SECTION B: WHAT OUR MEMBERS NEED AND WANT 

80 people participated in Pipi workshops held June-August 2003 in Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton, Dunedin, and Auckland. The workshops were made possible for NZERN with funding from the TFBIS program. Regional council and DoC conservancy staff kindly provided venue hosting, equipment and a cup of tea for participants. The workshops generally lasted 3 hours. The main purposes of these workshops were to: 

• Find out how useful www.bush.org.nz was seen to be 
• Discover what the needs and wants of NZERN’s users were 
• Discuss the potential needs of agencies and national organisations 
• Avoid duplication of services 
• Sound people out on the main ideas in the Pipi Plan as it developed 

It was a collaborative planning process, leading to the development of this plan. During the discussions, participants generally thought www.bush.org.nz was useful; the simple low bandwidth layouts was appreciated, and Pipi had enormous potential yet to be realised. Criticisms were made of NZERN’s apparent lack of formal consultation with agencies that had plans of their own. It was explained that NZERN had started from the grass roots, was until recently poorly resourced, and its volunteers were very busy working on Pipi or other services. These workshops were in fact the first opportunity since 1997 to discuss openly with a wider audience the hopes that many community groups had in meeting their own needs by wanting to run their own ecological restoration support services.  

As a result of the workshops, a number of groups joined NZERN, supporters in Auckland are now working to establish a local branch, and more volunteers have come forward to work on Pipi and other NZERN provided services. 

Staff at agencies also offered to host another round of report-back workshops in 2004 when the plan was completed and implementation was underway. 

7. Fast cheap simple access 

The information supplied by Pipi needs to remain very easy to access, fast to download with dial up access and an old computer, and be dirt cheap. Such access is required for farmers living in rural areas with poor line quality and low bandwidth. Simple layouts are a priority, with the optional use of more graphical formats (eg Flash). 

8. One stop shop for very busy people 

The www.bush.org.nz website needs to be a place anyone can go to and quickly find useful information about conservation in general and ecological restoration in particular. Our target audience tend to be active busy people. One password should access all services, with a common interface except for server administration. 

9. Data integration of Pipi’s Components 

Databases are integrated with common fields. The data should only need to be changed once in one place to update that information throughout the system.  Eg. the name of a group or the maximum height attribute of a plant species. 

The main components of Pipi are listed here. 

9.1 Group & Membership Management 

 Pipi provides many features to support the management of an ecological restoration group. These features include membership management, allowing for online invitations and approval of membership applications. Contact details and roles for the principal members of the group may be recorded and contact details made available, along with a summary of the purposes of the group. An event calendar may also be created. This records regular and one-off events for advertisement on the NZERN noticeboard and via the weekly email newsletter Kereru and its derivatives. Relevant World Wide Web links may also be added to the group’s area on the web site. 

Forums and email lists can be created and used by a group. 

Once a user has become a member of a group a personalised account on the web site is available to them. If they wish they can make their personal details available and contribute articles and photographs to the site. They can control personal subscriptions to email newsletters, such as Kereru, and join online forums in order to share knowledge with the wider restoration community. 

9.2 Site Management 

Forms to record the protection, maintenance and ecological restoration of an area of land or water habitat need to be made available. 

9.3 Nursery Management 

A special web based application useful for the functions of a native plant nursery – seed collection, production and sale or distribution. 

9.4 EcoTrack 

A data entry and data storage area to record the biodiversity health of an ecosystem. Automated data analysis provided by Pipi. Import/export facility of data. User can send data on to NVS, DoC etc. 

9.5 Financial & Project Management 

Keep track of projects and budgets. Different user levels available, public and private. 

Reporting for funding applications, wages, volunteer hours, recording costs & income against projects. 

9.6 Planter Guide 

A web based tool for the selection of suitable plants for planting. Pipi will supply regular automated updates to Landcare Research for its green toolbox database. 

9.7 On–line magazine 

A page updated daily of news and items of interest to readers. This will mine the www.bush.org.nz website for content and provide links to content on other useful websites. Eg: DoC, Landcare Research, NIWA, Forest & Bird and Landcare Trust, fencepost.com. A national version needs to be located on the main home page. Regional versions need to be located at the regional home pages.  Examples of what could be included: 

• “What’s up Doc” content linking to DoC website 
• Weather maps 
• Maps to add more information to a story 
• Links to articles in newspapers 
• Events for the day 
• Features introducing a particular group or restoration project. 

9.8 Downloads 

Provide database driven PDF documents that can be downloaded and printed. Restoration Directories will be automatically updated monthly. 

9.9 Tool Box 

An integrated toolbox for conservation needs to be built. This is a place to go while carrying out a restoration project. It will be designed to work with popular printed texts including the QEII Revegetation Manual and DOC’s Protecting and Restoring our Natural Heritage – a Practical Guide. Worksheets, forums, step-by-step examples need to be available. This is another way to mine the www.bush.org.nz website and other resources. 

10. Accessibility 

NZERN will adopt W3C accessibility and web standard guidelines. Special pages will be created for Braille readers. Linear layout for voice software needs to be provided. 

11. Localisation 

The website needs to have different languages, so that it is in the language of the user eg English, Maori, Chinese. There have also been requests for Pipi to drive similar websites for small island nations of the Pacific. 

12. Formats 

The information needs to be presented in different formats to maximise the usefulness to end-users. Some people have ancient computers that can only access the most basic of web pages. Others have modern machines that are built to work with all the bells and whistles. Some users prefer text to read, others want more graphical forms. Pipi can provide for all these options by enabling users to choose how they want www.bush.org.nz to appear on their computer. 

12.1 HTML 4.0 

This is the current standard used on the website. No java script is used. 

12.2 XHTML 2.0 

This is the new international standard for the web. 

12.3 WML 

The Internet for cell phones and other portable devices. 

12.4 Flash 6 

There is an option of database driven flash version of website using Flash Remoting. NZERN plans to use small graphic files with Flash to enable fast downloads. This is for those who want a visually rich website. It should work well on slow lines but will require a modern machine capable of installing the Flash plug-in.  

According to research, Flash is installed on 90-95% of browsers using the Internet. 

12.5 Web Services 

This is a technology using XML for sharing information between servers, servers and clients. 

13. Computer literacy 

There are three skill levels found among users of the www.bush.org.nz website. Each has specific requirements that are very different. Pipi needs to cater for each skill level, by providing alternative interfaces. Members will be able to choose and change their own personal interface. 

Beginner

80% of Pipi users need simple interface with simplified menu –see only what is needed. Wizards are provided for entering information. 

Intermediate 

15% of Pipi users are confident enough to use an interface with tree menu on left and forms on right. They can use a searchable FAQ. 

Advanced 

5% of Pipi users require an interface similar to Dreamweaver or Photoshop. This interface has advanced editing properties and a searchable knowledgebase. These people are often the administrators on the website and need to get a lot done fast. 

14. Web hosting 

Pipi needs to provide web hosting for member organisations. NZERN has decided to provide web hosting, access to databases, GIS mapping, and other services to financial member organisations of NZERN. We are able to do this because we have a large and growing team of volunteers skilled in computer systems, grants from DoC and support from the IT industry. This service will be provided on a cost share basis with the aim to keep costs as low as possible for everyone. 

15. Support available 

NZERN needs to provide hand holding by pool of volunteers, and provide a “club” for webmasters of conservation groups. We need to assist conservation groups to have reliable anti-virus and back up measures in place. 

16. Outsourcing for bigger groups 

Larger groups and national organisations have different needs. Pipi needs to provide extra services to assist these groups so they can focus on their conservation efforts. Pipi will effectively be acting as their computer department. 

16.1 Messaging 

Pipi needs to provide a central database to store email. 

16.2 Help Desk 

Pipi should include help desk facilities for groups that act as agencies by supporting others. Catering for various contact methods - phone, email, fax, postal, visit. 

16.3 Databases 

Databases need to be developed on request or links to sets of data contained in Pipi. 

16.4 Document store 

NZERN needs a central archive, containing all of NZERN’s information as well as member group documents. This will improve document security with the option of sharing of particular documents enabled. 

17. Data exchange 

NZERN will need to send and receive data by automatic processes with a number of mainly government agencies. DoC, Landcare Research and NIWA seem the most obvious. This will put a lot of information at the fingertips of the public in a way that’s useful. None of these government agencies are ready yet to undertake automatic data exchange with NZERN because they are all very busy sorting out their own systems. However very close contact is being maintained with key people to enable this to happen in the future. There is every reason to expect this to happen. The main thing to ensure now is that the respective systems are being built in a way that enables data exchange to take place in the easiest way possible. Methods could include web services, linked servers and transfer of database files. Automatic data exchange with regional and local government also seems very possible and interest has been expressed at recent presentations given about Pipi. Some early experimental examples can be built that will encourage other agencies to co-operate and exchange data with community driven conservation efforts. 

SECTION C: SYSTEM REQUIRED 

18. Rapid Development 

Elegant systems are required at the core for Pipi to provide new features in a flexible and rapid manner needed by the conservation movement. Reducing the dependence on hand coding of web page templates is required and increasing the role of automation will reduce the load on volunteers. 

Form Engine 

Forms are used to collect information. There are currently 200 forms. The form engine will create web page forms on the fly by way of a configuration page. This will make redundant many hundreds of pages of existing hand written code. The form engine will be a rebuild of the form engine in Pipi 2 that worked well. Publicly available open source code snippets can be successfully integrated with the form engine. The forms can automatically be provided in a format chosen by the user. Both HTML and Flash, choice of language and written script will be options. 

Source control 

Source control will enable different teams to work independently on developing different parts of Pipi at the same time. A web-based form can collect changes to the ColdFusion code. Changes can then be uploaded on an automated nightly build. This can be done using the existing Pipi render engine, and the resulting templates sent by FTP to the production website. Volunteer developers will book out code and version tracking will be standard. Access to FTP accounts is available for Pipi volunteers. 

Project Management  & Documentation 

The successful completion of Pipi’s complex projects involving remote volunteers will require strict project management. The project management website, documentation and diagramming will be available over the network to all team members. 

Object orientated architecture 

(This section borrows heavily on the writing of Benoit Hediard found at www.benorama.com)  

The objective of the latest web technologies and architectures is to avoid the syndrome of the "spaghetti" code usually found in the web applications developed few years ago and also found in Pipi. In a single ColdFusion page, there will be a direct SQL query to the database, some internal business logic to handle the data, all this mixed inside HTML in the middle of the page with some presentation logic! This is very fast to develop but impossible to maintain, to re-use or to display on a mobile device. 

Some examples of problems with such code structure: 

• Impossible to re-use code (presentation or business or data access logic are completely mixed together) 
• If the name of a field is modified in a table, all scripts will have to be checked and corrected 
• It is nearly impossible to use another output than HTML, to output WML or connect to Flash. The application would likely have to be completely be rewritten.  

A new development methodology for Pipi is required. MCV (Model View Controller) teases the various components out into self-contained modular blocks of code sitting in layers. This will make it much easier for development work to be broken up amongst different volunteer teams – reducing backlogs. Security is enhanced especially protection of the database from hackers. 

The View Layer with ColdFusion Pages View pages call the model layer and output the content (HTML 4.0, XHTML 2.0 WML, Flash, XML). The pages can use simple scripts or more advanced XSL transformations if the model layer returns XML.   As in ASP.NET, it is a very good practice to organize code on the top of the page, put all the business/data calls and bind them to the rest of the page. 

The Controller Layer with ColdFusion Scripts Controller scripts handle the data submitted by a user, call the appropriate business/data access logic and redirect the user to the correct view page.  

The Model Layer with ColdFusion Components ColdFusion components encapsulate all the business logic and all the data access logic related to the application. 

 In a perfect world, each layer should be independent. But, most of the time, trying to apply a 100% pure MVC architecture to the web is pretty difficult. With current thin HTML client and HTTP protocol, the controller cannot call the view layer. Moreover MVC has been designed for application development, not web sites.  In the following guidelines, the ColdFusion controller layer is only used to handle data submitted through HTTP POST (through forms).   The most important thing in web application is to separate the content from the presentation and logic, because there may be many different View layer types (HTML, WML, Flash), many data sources (SGBD, XML ...) and it may be required to re-use or share presentation/business/model logic.  The main advantages of the MVC pattern: code-reuse, multi-channel capability and ease of maintenance.  In .NET web applications: 

• View/controller layers are built with ASP.NET pages 
• Model/business layer are built with .NET components and/or web services. 

In J2EE web applications: 

• View/controller layers are built with JSP pages and servlets 
• Model/business layer are built with beans/EJB (and in the next release web services) 

 In MX applications: 

• View/controller layers are built with CFML pages and/or Flash applications 
• Model/business layers are built with CFCs and/or beans/EJB and/or web services 

In many cases, CFML and CFCs are easier and more productive than JSP and java beans.   

JSP is a prehistoric language compared to the richness of CFML or ASP.NET.  And for many web applications, the complexity of java and EJBs is not required, except for very high-end distributed and transactional applications such as in financial institutions. 

19. Content Management 

A robust enterprise content management system (CMS) is able to collect, manage and publish information to any format required. Such a system will be required for all the text and image information flowing thru Pipi. 

It will include the following processes: administration and a workflow system to control work done on editing and publishing information. 

And these three systems: 

Collection 

• Creation by users (web forms, file uploads) or acquire information from an existing source (WebCrawler, XML feed, database). 
• Conversion to master formats 
• Aggregation of information into system 
• Segmentation into components 
• Add metadata 

Management 

• Repository of database records and files to store content components and administrative data 

Publishing 

• Extract components from repository 
• Construct publications (websites, printable documents, faxes, CD-ROMS, syndicated material for other organisations and e-mail newsletters) using templates that integrate modular components, functionality, standard surrounding information and navigation 

Proper consistent collection of metadata or “data about data” will be key to ensuring the content management system delivers useful information to Pipi’s end users. 

The Bush Telly Trust will administer the content management system. 

20. Maps 

An integrated geographic information system (GIS) is able to edit, store and distribute spatial data. Such a system will be required to manage all of the spatial data flowing thru Pipi. 

It consists of 4 key parts. 

Desktop editing 

• Integrated suite of applications able to perform any GIS task, simple to advanced including mapping, data management, geographic analysis, data editing and geoprocessing 
• Desktop GIS is able to tap into spatial data and resources served over the internet via map services and spatial databases 
• Using extensions, 3D visualisations and flybys can be generated for use on videos and CD-ROM 
• Static map imagery can be created for use in print publications and web site 

Database management 

• Storage of information in a geographic database (geodatabase) 
• ESRI shape files, raster data (eg air photos) can be stored in a relational database and then be integrated in with other Pipi data 
• Raster images can be seamlessly tiled

Internet based publishing 

• Distribute data and services to a variety of clients 
• Presenting information spatially using maps in a variety of formats 
• Points, lines and polygons can be collected from registered users at the web site map interface and entered into the database 

Print publishing 

• Map books 
• Downloadable maps in PDF format  

The Pipi teams will administer the GIS system. 

21. Video & radio 

A modern broadcast system is capable of collecting, editing and storing audio and video content in digital format. Such a system will be required to manage all of the audio and video content flowing thru Pipi. The Bush Telly Trust will use this system: 

Collection 

• Recording or copying 
• Digital and non digital 
• Field based and studio 

Editing 

• Digital non-linear editing to DV Cam format 

Storage 

• Archive to DAT tape 

Broadcast  

• On-line web radio station broadcasting interviews and news 
• Later short video clips 

Note: A separate planning document is being written by the Bush Telly Trust, which goes into more detail about video, radio and print media issues. 

SECTION D: PRODUCTION SYSTEM HOSTING OPTIONS 

There are five hosting options to cope with the growing complexity of Pipi and its website www.bush.org.nz. At one end of the spectrum, NZERN could continue with its existing arrangement of a shared hosting environment provided by an ISP.  At the other end of the spectrum, NZERN could host Pipi on its own servers and pay for bandwidth. Each of these 5 options has their advantages and disadvantages as outlined below.  It is highly probable that the hosting of Pipi will evolve over time as NZERN grows and develops.  The option that best suits NZERN’s needs today may not be the one that suits our needs in a year or two. 

22. Option 1: Hosting plan with ISP 

Advantages 

• Fixed hosting cost 
• Simplifies operations (somebody else’s worry) 

Disadvantages 

• Poor integration potential of databases and formats – GIS, Broadcast servers 
• Restrictive hard drive space due to cost 
• No changes possible to server environment including applications. 

23. Option 2: Use co-located leased servers 

Advantages 

• Plenty of hard drive space for members websites 
• Fixed costs 

Disadvantages 

• Costs of ISP technicians doing maintenance 
• No changes can be made to server configuration – will void lease agreement. 

24. Option 3: Use co-located owned servers 

Advantages 

• High control over operational environment 
• Plenty of hard drive space for members websites 

Disadvantages 

• Costs of ISP technicians doing maintenance. 

25. Option 4: Use NZERN in-house servers 

Advantages 

• Makes maximum use of NZERN’s existing equipment 
• Volunteers can do all work at no cost 
• Total control over server operational environment 
• Easy integration of GIS, Broadcast, Content management systems 
• Plenty of hard drive space for members websites 

Disadvantages 

• Bandwidth charges are main expense 
• Something might go wrong with our equipment is the main risk 
• Responsible for everything 24x7x52 
• Volunteers have to sleep. 

26. Option 5: Mixed environment 

(Using mixture of NZERN in-house servers, ISP hosting and a co-located owned server, virtual account for hosting of NZERN member websites) 

Advantages 

• Enables volunteers to gain experience of running a live system 
• Bandwidth load on ISP hosted space with fixed cost 

Disadvantages 

• Complexity by having everything spread out 
• High costs to provide web hosting for member groups 

27. Cost benefit analysis of options 

The following analysis weighs up the relative benefits of the five proposed options for the total cost of ownership.  

1 = poor benefit, 5 = excellent benefit 

SECTION E: ACTION PLAN 

28.  Implementation 

NZERN has a plan, funds, books, software, computer equipment, volunteers with a passion for conservation, public support, and the window of opportunity. All that’s required is time. A forced march will be required to rapidly carry out this plan in the most efficient order. Excellent information and organisation will be key. 

We don’t want to disappoint the dreams of active conservation groups that have backed NZERN from day one. 

28.1 Option selected 

Option 5 is recommended – a “mixed environment”. Option 4 comes out with the maximum benefit to NZERN and conservation but it is the judgement of the authors that it is not possible yet to implement this option. Funding difficulties, training requirements of volunteers and the current need to focus on completing the building of Pipi’s systems quickly make Option 5 more realistic. However the situation may change unexpectedly, making Option 4 an immediate possibility. 

28.2 Fix the obvious first 

There are some obvious things to change first: 

• Migrate to object orientated internal architecture for www.bush.org.nz  
• Reduce pages of code from 2000 to 200 
• Reduce dependence on coding – shifting emphasis to operations. 

When those changes are made, we will then make an improvement in the usability of the website. People need to see progress. 

28.3 User driven 

A sense of reality will be required. Big things that need to be done must to be balanced against carrying out simple jobs that users request. 

Most of the underlying system changes required will make it easier in future to rapidly meet the wishes of users. However these system changes involve a lot of work. Running regular user feed back surveys and keeping good user statistics will be important for keeping a finger on the pulse. 

28.4 Development best practice 

• Develop iteratively 
• Manage requirements 
• Use component architecture 
• Model visually 
• Continuously verify quality 
• Manage change 

28.5 Action Steps 

Building Pipi 4 in the first 12 months requires these steps: 

1. Migrate existing members.bush.org.nz website from Cold Fusion Server 5.0 to Cold Fusion MX server. This is to take advantage of new features provided by Macromedia including Flash remoting, which enables database driven Flash. 

2. Install a form engine that creates forms on the fly by way of a configuration page. This will reduce many hundreds of page of hand written code. The form engine will be a rebuild of the form engine in Pipi 2 that worked well.

3. Redesign the password protected user area to make it easier to use. This will include providing control to the individual user over the presentation of this area and wizards

4. Separate format from content by stripping out the presentation layers into a couple of standard templates that could produce HTML 4, XHTML 2.0, WAP, XML web services, Flash pages etc for users to access how they wish.  

5. Provide web hosting for member groups, with access to shared databases, GIS and other extras. 

6. Strip out the queries from the cold fusion code. These are to be recreated as reusable black box blocks of code in a data layer that accesses the SQL Server.

7. Install full source control. This is to include a web-based form for all cold fusion code that is uploaded on a nightly build using the existing Pipi render engine, and the resulting templates sent by ftp to the production website.  

8. Restructure what’s left into a "black box" logic layer.

9. Migrate all GIS data to Arc SDE and integrate into Pipi's existing data store.

10. Build the new multi browser formats. 

11. Provide integrated services by recombining many of the existing Pipi modules. 

12. Provide a simple Internet mapping service that presents geographical information in a familiar way to landowners and local groups. 

13. Begin web casting of audio content. 

14. Reorganise the volunteers working on Pipi around production requirements.  Building Pipi 5 in the second 12 months with these features. 

• Pipi ‘thick client’ application 
• Distributed by CD-ROM and DVD to public 
• Free 
• Highly visual 
• Runs on the desktops of computers 
• Will run on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems 
• Designed to be occasionally connected to the Internet  
• Will require a valid current password to connect to Pipi Server 

Pipi 5 is proposed as an alternative method for users to connect to the Pipi Server. Using well-known technology, a ‘Flash like’ program is installed on the users own computer. Pipi 5 would connect via the Internet to the Pipi server to send and get updates of data. The CD-ROM or DVD would contain a lot of extra video and sound files as well as GIS mapping information. This could be a way to get around the bandwidth roadblock. This feature is not discussed further in this plan, and will need to be worked up over the next 12 months by the Pipi Steering Committee. 

29.  Requirements  

29.1 Data requirements 

Government funded data that is currently difficult to access needs to be obtained. There are also other data sets required. Examples of useful data to obtain are: 

• LENZ 
• Catchment shape files 
• Geology 
• DEMs 

29.2 Applications 

Source Control 

• Visual Source Safe Server set up on a server 
• Server to be accessible by remote clients over network. 

Remote Access 

• Secure IP address to access server administration using terminal services 
• FTP accounts to access document store 
• Run applications. 

29.3 Software 

Additional software required. 

Adobe

• Acrobat Distiller Server
• Acrobat 6.0 Professional
• PageMaker 7.0 

Embarcadero 

• ER Studio
• DT Studio

ESRI 

• ArcINFO 9
• ArcPad 6
• ArcSDE 8.3 Server
• ArcIMS 9 (2 CPU)
• ArcGis Extensions including Spatial Analyst Spatial Analyst CU
• 3D Analyst CU
• Tracking Analyst CU
• Survey Analyst CU
• Geostatistical Analyst CU 

Macromedia  

• Macromedia Cold Fusion Server MX
• Director MX 

Microsoft

• SQL 2000 Server Standard (1 processor license) Charity 

or 

• IBM Informix Dynamic Server 9.30.TC1 

Nullsoft 

• Shout Cast Server (free)  

Sony 

• Sonicfoundry
• Sound Forge 6.0 

29.4 Hardware Platform 

29.4.1 Development Environment 

Servers 5 rack mounted servers in 48U rack. Intel processors. Twin drives, redundant power supplies, hot swap SCSI drives. 

• Windows domain server 
• Database server 
• Web/FTP/source control 
• File server or SANDS. Either option with plenty of big Raid 5 drives on 1000mb network and network capable backup device 
• Mail server. 

Network 

• 10/100/1000 network switch 
• ADSL Router 250kb/s ADSL connection via Telecom/Xtra 
• KVM switch and monitor 
• Firewall. 

Power 

• UPS 
• ADSL line surge protector 
• A standby generator will be required if option 4 is selected in future. 

Workstations 

6 workstations. Running Windows 2000/XP professional. 

• GIS desktop 
• Digital Video/audio editing 
• Office admin 
• Database admin 
• Isolated email/downloads only workstation 
• Laptop 

29.4.2 Production Environment 

Option 5 

Intel hot swap SCSI Raid Servers (1u) 

Option 4 

Intel hot swap SCSI Raid Servers housed in a second 48u rack. 2 web servers sharing the same IP address would be preferable with a load-balancing device. Single database Server. 

29.5 Spatial 

ArcIMS 9 coupled with ArcSDE to make available GIS spatial data over the Internet. 

29.6 Broadcast 

Audio 

MP3 broadcast to Winamp, RealAudio, Media Player, and QuickTime players. 

Video 

Inclusion of video in Flash. 

29.7  Hosting 

NZERN will provide hosting accounts for its member organisations by allowing its content management system to store their web pages. This reduces web space but increases database storage. Many websites would benefit from having database driven pages. Control panel administration will be provided along with FTP access for account holders. ArcIMS provided GIS information can be generated with help from Pipi’s Help Desk staff. 

29.8 Books and training 

Purchasing of software books should be budgeted into every project. Other resources can be found on CD-ROM and PDF. User help forums and Goggle are essential sources of help. These books would be useful. 

Adobe Press 

• Adobe Premiere 6.5 Classroom in a Book 0-321-15885-7 
• Adobe Photoshop 6.0 Web Design 
• Real World Adobe Photoshop 7 

Bigelow 

• Troubleshooting, Maintaining and Repairing Networks 

Computer Step 

• Windows 2000 Professional In Easy Steps 2nd Edition  

ESRI Press 

• Salton Sea Atlas  
• Beyond Maps - GIS and Decision Making in Local Government  
• ArcIMS Documentation 
• ArcGIS Data Models 

Macromedia Press 

• Documentation Set - ColdFusion MX 
• Reality Macromedia Cold Fusion MX: Flash MX Integration 
• Macromedia Cold Fusion MX: Intranets and Content Management 
• Macromedia MX Developer Resource Kit Vol 1 
• Macromedia MX Developer Resource Kit Vol 2 
• Macromedia Flash MX Creative Web Animation and Interactivity 0-3211-1785-9 

Marron 

• Master Visually Dreamweaver MX and Flash MX 0-7645-3696-6 
• Teach Yourself Visually Adobe Photoshop 7  0-7645-3682-6 

Microsoft Press 

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant. 2nd Ed 0-7356-1792-9 
• Microsoft Computer Dictionary 5th Ed 0-7356-1495-4 
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit 1-57231-805-8 
• Stupid Web Tricks  
• Microsoft Internet Information Server Resource Kit 1-57231-638-1 
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reference Library 0-7356-1280-3 
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Administrators Companion 0-7356-1051-7 
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Performance Tuning 0-7356-1270-6 

New Riders 

• Fireworks MX Fundamentals 
• Dynamic Publishing with ColdFusion MX 0-7357-1312-X 

Peachpit 

• Creating Web Video with Adobe Premier 6.5: Visual QuickStart Guide 
• Photoshop 7: Visual Quickstart Guide 
• Pagemaker 7 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide 0-2017-7584-0 

Sams 

• Teach Yourself Extreme Programming 

Wiley 

• ColdFusion MX Bible 
• Dreamweaver MX Complete Course 0-7645-3686-9 
• Fireworks MX Bible 

Wrox 

• SQL Server 2000 Programming 1-861004-48-6 

29.9 Security 

Disposal of paper records 

Document shredder of all paper to preserve privacy and prevent accidental release of confidential information including passwords. 

Remote Access

Some of the volunteers working on the management and development of Pipi live outside Christchurch and sometimes outside New Zealand. Others, even though the live in or near Christchurch, wish to contribute without having to leave their home or workplace. In these cases a remote access facility is required. The Internet supports many protocols that allow for remote access, but security is a matter of concern. To guard against eavesdropping on the exchange of information and especially passwords, protocols that encrypt all data passing over the Internet will be used. Specifically this will be done by the provision of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) built on the Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) suite of protocols.  

Hosting

Should NZERN decide to host its www.bush.org.nz in-house, the firewall hardware will be reconfigured to provide a third level of security. The publicly accessible machines used to host the site and drive the databases will be attached to a third firewall port called the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). This small network of servers is physically isolated from the Pipi machines used for development and management so that if the security of the servers is breached the hacker will still not be able to easily access the private computers. 

Fire

Ideally the machine room should be smoke alarmed, with the alarms able to trigger a power shutdown. Cutting the power is frequently sufficient for controlling an electrical fire that is detected before it becomes established. Sprinkler systems are not advisable since they can be more destructive to computer equipment than a fire. 

Earthquakes

Computer racks are to be secured so that they cannot topple and crush staff and equipment.  

Financial Transactions 

Industry standard secure server software (SSL) will be used for all financial transactions. This encrypts personal information, including credit card number, name and address. 

29.10 Documentation 

Expert Knowledge 

It is essential that each volunteer working on Pipi record his or her related knowledge so that someone else could relatively easily pick it up. Ideally the volunteers should share their knowledge with each other on a continuing basis. This not only helps with disaster recovery, but also makes it easier to cope with temporary absences. 

Code Documentation of the databases, network, processes and code is required. Visio diagrams will be kept on a project directory. The object-orientated structure of Cold Fusion part of Pipi will self document. Tables will be kept on the server of all objects, their methods and functions. 

Documentation guidelines 

Guidelines need to be developed or this will become a burden, and developers will skip it unless easy to do/comply with. 

29.11 Disaster recovery 

Data and software backed up onto tape and/or DVD and/or CD-ROM and stored at Landcare Research. A recovery plan shall be developed. 

30.  Timeline 

Time lines using Gant charts will be used on the Project Central web site. Project management plans need to be drawn up before work starts. A summary needs to be publicly available at www.bush.org.nz/nzern/project/ 

31. Costs 

31.1 Operational budget 

Estimates range from $1000/month for option 5 to $2000/month for a full implementation of option 4. Detailed budgets need to be drawn up and reported against. 

31.2 Capital budget 

A lot of equipment and software is sought to implement this plan. Sponsorship, fundraising and in-kind donations will be required. 

31.3 Human resources 

More complex system requires higher skilled volunteers than in past. Some ways to deal with this include. 

• Attract interns’ and recent graduates seeking work experience 
• Provide for professional development including seminars 
• Offer places for Royal Society teacher fellowships. 

31.4 Management structure 

The Pipi Steering Committee will oversee the implantation of this plan and report to the NZERN Management Committee. Responsible competent people need to be put in charge of different areas of work. The teams formed will need to be flexible as tasks change during the development phase. As the emphasis shifts to production changes will need to be made resulting in a mature structure for the long-term organisation of Pipi’s volunteers. As the working relationship with DoC develops, at a certain point – having a DoC nominee on the Pipi Steering Committee would be valuable. 

31.5 Suppliers 

NZERN purchases with invoices and has the following suppliers 

• Big Byte  
• Dick Smith Electrical 
• Digiweb 
• Dymocks Wellington 
• Eaglenet 
• MagnumMac 
• Mastertrade 
• PC Anytime 
• Redpaths 
• Redworks 
• Telecom 
• The Laptop Company 

APPENDIX 

32. Appendix 

32.1 Acknowledgements 

Joseph Arand (DoC), Greg Jones (Landcare Research Ltd), Hewlett Packard Development Centre staff, NZ Computer Society, Kaon Technologies, NZ Broadcasting School, Market Truths. Thanks to the 80 people who participated in Pipi workshops held June-August 2003 in Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton, Dunedin, Auckland. A special thank you to Frances Sullivan (Environment Canterbury), Tony Charles (DoC Head Office), Marie Alpe (DoC Auckland Conservancy), Jan Simmons (Doc Waikato Conservancy), and Nicola McGrouther (Otago Regional Council) for hosting these workshops. 

NZERN would like to especially thank the Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) Programme for financial assistance towards the preparation of this development plan.  The TFBIS Programme is funded by the Government to help to achieve the goals of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, and is administered by the Department of Conservation. 

Edith Jones (Home Creek) for editing this document, Parker Jones and Dave Evans for contributions on technical issues. 

32.2 Schedules 

Draft implantation schedules 

X indicates work underway 

32.3  Hosting charges 

These are the draft hosting charges to NZERN members if they would like their web sites/databases hosted by Pipi on the Internet. 

Stage 1 (till NZERN has its own servers co-located or other wise) 

These charges are based on cost share and are what the ISP charges NZERN. Domain name costs are additional. If NZERN’s content management system is used to store web pages the effective size is not limited by the disk space indicated. 

Stage 2 (NZERN has its own servers co-located or other wise) 

These costs are based on cost share and will drop to the levels indicated depending on the number of accounts NZERN is able to set up. It will get cheaper once the target of 100 websites hosted is reached because there is some fixed overhead costs. Domain name costs are additional. If NZERN’s content management system is used to store web pages the effective size is not limited by the disk space indicated. 

32.4 Glossary 

Applications  

Programs designed for and used by end users ie: Word Processing, Spreadsheets.  

Bandwidth  

The amount of data which can be transmitted in a certain amount of time.  

Browser  

A Browser is your interfaces to the World Wide Web. Examples of a browser are Netscape, Opera and Microsoft Internet Explorer.  

Client  

A client requests and receives information from a server. When you log onto a server the word client can refer to you, to your computer, or to the software running on your computer. When you access a web page from an Internet server you are the client.  

ColdFusion  

Software used to create web pages that access information from databases.  

Database  

A database is a collection of data. It can consist of text, graphics or even sound.  

Database software helps users to organize and retrieve such information.  

Firewall  

A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet.  

Flash  

Software which allows web pages to include animations and other special features.  Flash is a plug-in that can be freely downloaded and installs as part of your browser.

FTP  

File Transfer Protocol.  

FTP is used on the Internet for exchanging files. It is most commonly used to download or upload files from a server.  

GIS  

Geographic Information Systems.  

GIS are tools used to gather, transfer, manipulate, analyse and produce information related to the surface of the Earth. This data may exist as maps, 3D virtual models, tables and/or lists. 

HTML  

Hypertext Markup Language.  

HTML is a collection of commands that create Web Pages. When you point your Web browser to a URL, the browser interprets the HTML commands embedded in the page and uses them to format the page's text and graphic elements.  

Intranet  

A network based on the same protocols as an Internet belonging to an organization, which is only accessible to the organizations members, employees or others with authorization (ie user name and password). An intranet's web site looks and acts like any other Web sites. 

ISP  

Internet Service Provider  

ISP is a company that provides access to the Internet. For a fee the service provider gives you a username, password that allows you to connect to the Internet and browse the World Wide Web and send and receive e-mails.  

Network  

A group of two or more computer systems linked together.  

OS  

Operating system  

An operating system manages the computer functions and provides an interface for the users.  

Eg: Windows 95, Linux, Mac OS, Unix. 

Protocol  

A protocol is an agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices.  

i.e.: a way of computers, printers etc communicating. 

SCSI 

Small Computer Systems Interface. 

Computer hard drives can be controlled by SCSI.  

Server  

A server is a computer that provides the information, files, Web pages, and other services to the client that logs on to it. (The word server is also used to describe the software and operating system designed to run server hardware.)  

Software 

A set of instructions that a computer follows to complete a task. These instructions are written in a computer language eg: ColdFusion, Visual Basic, PHP, Perl. 

Templates  

A template can be the basis of a Web page layout. The information shown depends on what web page is being displayed. 

URL  

Uniform Resource Locator, Universal Resource Locator. 

URLs are the Internet equivalent of addresses. An example of a URL is: http://www.bush.org.nz . This tells your browser where to look for the web pages of NZERN. 

WAP 

Wireless Application Protocol  

Allows users to access information instantly by handheld wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers etc.  

XML  

Extensible Markup Language  

XML is a specification developed by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).  

It is designed especially for Web documents to allow easier transmission of data between applications and organizations.   

XML is not itself a markup language. Rather it's a metalanguage, a language used to create other specialized languages. 

Web Hosting  

Web Hosting is where space, bandwidth and email accounts are provided to a user on a web server allowing them run a website. 

Wizard  

A wizard is a step-by-step guide, which provides detailed procedures on how to accomplish a task. i.e.: installing a new printer on your computer.  

32.5 References 

• MVCF Methodology – MVC pattern applied to CFMX By Benoit Hediard 
• Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion MX Application Development by Ben Forta, Macromedia Press. 2002. 
• Various articles about web content management by Gerry McGovern 
• Content Management Bible by Bob Bako, Wiley Publishing. 2002. 
• Queen Elizabeth II National Trust Spatial Information Management Strategy. June 2003 
• DoC BIP documents 
• Landcare Research NIVS PDF Documents 
• WWF-NZ website 
• OSNZ website 
• QEII website 
• CDVN website 
• Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman, Indianapolis: New Riders, 2003. www.zeldman.com 

A Fight for the Soul of Science

Mike's Notes

This is part 2 of a series of 3 posts reprinting articles covering the crisis in particle physics that have emerged since scientists at CERN failed to discover a range of new particles as predicted by string theorists.

• Quanta Writers and Editors Discuss Trends in Science and Math (Quanta Magazine)
• A Fight for the Soul of Science (Quanta Magazine)
• Scientific Method: Defend the integrity of physics (Nature)

In my opinion, string theory is complete bollocks, as is multi-universes. Nature is a book to be read, not written. Maths is largely an invention rather than a discovery. Theory needs to be tested and proven by experimentation.

The article below is a report from a 3-day workshop in Germany. The workshop was held in response to the Nature article Scientific Method: Defend the integrity of physics

Resources

• https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-fight-for-the-soul-of-science-20151216/
• https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-the-mysteries-of-quantum-mechanics-beginning-to-dissolve-20260213/

References

• Reference

Repository

• Home > Ajabbi Research > Library >
• Home > Handbook > 

Last Updated

14/02/2026

A Fight for the Soul of Science

By: Natalie Wolchover

Quanta Magazine: 16/12/2015

Senior Writer/Editor

String theory, the multiverse and other ideas of modern physics are potentially untestable. At a historic meeting in Munich, scientists and philosophers asked: should we trust them anyway?

Physicists typically think they “need philosophers and historians of science like birds need ornithologists,” the Nobel laureate David Gross told a roomful of philosophers, historians and physicists last week in Munich, Germany, paraphrasing Richard Feynman.

Physicists George Ellis (center) and Joe Silk (right) at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich on Dec. 7.

Laetitia Vancon for Quanta Magazine

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Fundamental physics faces a problem, Gross explained — one dire enough to call for outsiders’ perspectives. “I’m not sure that we don’t need each other at this point in time,” he said.

It was the opening session of a three-day workshop, held in a Romanesque-style lecture hall at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU Munich) one year after George Ellis and Joe Silk, two white-haired physicists now sitting in the front row, called for such a conference in an incendiary opinion piece in Nature. One hundred attendees had descended on a land with a celebrated tradition in both physics and the philosophy of science to wage what Ellis and Silk declared a “battle for the heart and soul of physics.”

The crisis, as Ellis and Silk tell it, is the wildly speculative nature of modern physics theories, which they say reflects a dangerous departure from the scientific method. Many of today’s theorists — chief among them the proponents of string theory and the multiverse hypothesis — appear convinced of their ideas on the grounds that they are beautiful or logically compelling, despite the impossibility of testing them. Ellis and Silk accused these theorists of “moving the goalposts” of science and blurring the line between physics and pseudoscience. “The imprimatur of science should be awarded only to a theory that is testable,” Ellis and Silk wrote, thereby disqualifying most of the leading theories of the past 40 years. “Only then can we defend science from attack.”

They were reacting, in part, to the controversial ideas of Richard Dawid, an Austrian philosopher whose 2013 book String Theory and the Scientific Method identified three kinds of “non-empirical” evidence that Dawid says can help build trust in scientific theories absent empirical data. Dawid, a researcher at LMU Munich, answered Ellis and Silk’s battle cry and assembled far-flung scholars anchoring all sides of the argument for the high-profile event last week.

David Gross, a theoretical physicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Laetitia Vancon for Quanta Magazine

Gross, a supporter of string theory who won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the force that glues atoms together, kicked off the workshop by asserting that the problem lies not with physicists but with a “fact of nature” — one that we have been approaching inevitably for four centuries.

The dogged pursuit of a fundamental theory governing all forces of nature requires physicists to inspect the universe more and more closely — to examine, for instance, the atoms within matter, the protons and neutrons within those atoms, and the quarks within those protons and neutrons. But this zooming in demands evermore energy, and the difficulty and cost of building new machines increases exponentially relative to the energy requirement, Gross said. “It hasn’t been a problem so much for the last 400 years, where we’ve gone from centimeters to millionths of a millionth of a millionth of a centimeter” — the current resolving power of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland, he said. “We’ve gone very far, but this energy-squared is killing us.”

As we approach the practical limits of our ability to probe nature’s underlying principles, the minds of theorists have wandered far beyond the tiniest observable distances and highest possible energies. Strong clues indicate that the truly fundamental constituents of the universe lie at a distance scale 10 million billion times smaller than the resolving power of the LHC. This is the domain of nature that string theory, a candidate “theory of everything,” attempts to describe. But it’s a domain that no one has the faintest idea how to access.

The problem also hampers physicists’ quest to understand the universe on a cosmic scale: No telescope will ever manage to peer past our universe’s cosmic horizon and glimpse the other universes posited by the multiverse hypothesis. Yet modern theories of cosmology lead logically to the possibility that our universe is just one of many.

Tynan DeBold for Quanta Magazine; Icons via Freepik

Whether the fault lies with theorists for getting carried away, or with nature, for burying its best secrets, the conclusion is the same: Theory has detached itself from experiment. The objects of theoretical speculation are now too far away, too small, too energetic or too far in the past to reach or rule out with our earthly instruments. So, what is to be done? As Ellis and Silk wrote, “Physicists, philosophers and other scientists should hammer out a new narrative for the scientific method that can deal with the scope of modern physics.”

“The issue in confronting the next step,” said Gross, “is not one of ideology but strategy: What is the most useful way of doing science?”

Over three mild winter days, scholars grappled with the meaning of theory, confirmation and truth; how science works; and whether, in this day and age, philosophy should guide research in physics or the other way around. Over the course of these pressing yet timeless discussions, a degree of consensus took shape.

Rules of the Game

Throughout history, the rules of science have been written on the fly, only to be revised to fit evolving circumstances. The ancients believed they could reason their way toward scientific truth. Then, in the 17th century, Isaac Newton ignited modern science by breaking with this “rationalist” philosophy, adopting instead the “empiricist” view that scientific knowledge derives only from empirical observation. In other words, a theory must be proved experimentally to enter the book of knowledge.

But what requirements must an untested theory meet to be considered scientific? Theorists guide the scientific enterprise by dreaming up the ideas to be put to the test and then interpreting the experimental results; what keeps theorists within the bounds of science?

Today, most physicists judge the soundness of a theory by using the Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper’s rule of thumb. In the 1930s, Popper drew a line between science and nonscience in comparing the work of Albert Einstein with that of Sigmund Freud. Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which cast the force of gravity as curves in space and time, made risky predictions — ones that, if they hadn’t succeeded so brilliantly, would have failed miserably, falsifying the theory. But Freudian psychoanalysis was slippery: Any fault of your mother’s could be worked into your diagnosis. The theory wasn’t falsifiable, and so, Popper decided, it wasn’t science.

Paul Teller (by window), a philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis.

Laetitia Vancon for Quanta Magazine

Critics accuse string theory and the multiverse hypothesis, as well as cosmic inflation — the leading theory of how the universe began — of falling on the wrong side of Popper’s line of demarcation. To borrow the title of the Columbia University physicist Peter Woit’s 2006 book on string theory, these ideas are “not even wrong,” say critics. In their editorial, Ellis and Silk invoked the spirit of Popper: “A theory must be falsifiable to be scientific.”

But, as many in Munich were surprised to learn, falsificationism is no longer the reigning philosophy of science. Massimo Pigliucci, a philosopher at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, pointed out that falsifiability is woefully inadequate as a separator of science and nonscience, as Popper himself recognized. Astrology, for instance, is falsifiable — indeed, it has been falsified ad nauseam — and yet it isn’t science. Physicists’ preoccupation with Popper “is really something that needs to stop,” Pigliucci said. “We need to talk about current philosophy of science. We don’t talk about something that was current 50 years ago.”

Nowadays, as several philosophers at the workshop said, Popperian falsificationism has been supplanted by Bayesian confirmation theory, or Bayesianism, a modern framework based on the 18th-century probability theory of the English statistician and minister Thomas Bayes. Bayesianism allows for the fact that modern scientific theories typically make claims far beyond what can be directly observed — no one has ever seen an atom — and so today’s theories often resist a falsified-unfalsified dichotomy. Instead, trust in a theory often falls somewhere along a continuum, sliding up or down between 0 and 100 percent as new information becomes available. “The Bayesian framework is much more flexible” than Popper’s theory, said Stephan Hartmann, a Bayesian philosopher at LMU. “It also connects nicely to the psychology of reasoning.”

Gross concurred, saying that, upon learning about Bayesian confirmation theory from Dawid’s book, he felt “somewhat like the Molière character who said, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been talking prose all my life!’”

Another advantage of Bayesianism, Hartmann said, is that it is enabling philosophers like Dawid to figure out “how this non-empirical evidence fits in, or can be fit in.”

Another Kind of Evidence

Dawid, who is 49, mild-mannered and smiley with floppy brown hair, started his career as a theoretical physicist. In the late 1990s, during a stint at the University of California, Berkeley, a hub of string-theory research, Dawid became fascinated by how confident many string theorists seemed to be that they were on the right track, despite string theory’s complete lack of empirical support. “Why do they trust the theory?” he recalls wondering. “Do they have different ways of thinking about it than the canonical understanding?”

String theory says that elementary particles have dimensionality when viewed close-up, appearing as wiggling loops (or “strings”) and membranes at nature’s highest zoom level. According to the theory, extra dimensions also materialize in the fabric of space itself. The different vibrational modes of the strings in this higher-dimensional space give rise to the spectrum of particles that make up the observable world. In particular, one of the vibrational modes fits the profile of the “graviton” — the hypothetical particle associated with the force of gravity. Thus, string theory unifies gravity, now described by Einstein’s theory of general relativity, with the rest of particle physics.

Video: Richard Dawid, a physicist-turned-philosopher at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.

Laetitia Vancon for Quanta Magazine

However string theory, which has its roots in ideas developed in the late 1960s, has made no testable predictions about the observable universe. To understand why so many researchers trust it anyway, Dawid signed up for some classes in philosophy of science, and upon discovering how little study had been devoted to the phenomenon, he switched fields.

In the early 2000s, he identified three non-empirical arguments that generate trust in string theory among its proponents. First, there appears to be only one version of string theory capable of achieving unification in a consistent way (though it has many different mathematical representations); furthermore, no other “theory of everything” capable of unifying all the fundamental forces has been found, despite immense effort. (A rival approach called loop quantum gravity describes gravity at the quantum scale, but makes no attempt to unify it with the other forces.) This “no-alternatives” argument, colloquially known as “string theory is the only game in town,” boosts theorists’ confidence that few or no other possible unifications of the four fundamental forces exist, making it more likely that string theory is the right approach.

Second, string theory grew out of the Standard Model — the accepted, empirically validated theory incorporating all known fundamental particles and forces (apart from gravity) in a single mathematical structure — and the Standard Model also had no alternatives during its formative years. This “meta-inductive” argument, as Dawid calls it, buttresses the no-alternatives argument by showing that it has worked before in similar contexts, countering the possibility that physicists simply aren’t clever enough to find the alternatives that exist.

Emily Fuhrman for Quanta Magazine, with text by Natalie Wolchover and art direction by Olena Shmahalo.

The third non-empirical argument is that string theory has unexpectedly delivered explanations for several other theoretical problems aside from the unification problem it was intended to address. The staunch string theorist Joe Polchinski of the University of California, Santa Barbara, presented several examples of these “unexpected explanatory interconnections,” as Dawid has termed them, in a paper read in Munich in his absence. String theory explains the entropy of black holes, for example, and, in a surprising discovery that has caused a surge of research in the past 15 years, is mathematically translatable into a theory of particles, such as the theory describing the nuclei of atoms.

Polchinski concludes that, considering how far away we are from the exceptionally fine grain of nature’s fundamental distance scale, we should count ourselves lucky: “String theory exists, and we have found it.” (Polchinski also used Dawid’s non-empirical arguments to calculate the Bayesian odds that the multiverse exists as 94 percent — a value that has been ridiculed by the Internet’s vocal multiverse critics.)

One concern with including non-empirical arguments in Bayesian confirmation theory, Dawid acknowledged in his talk, is “that it opens the floodgates to abandoning all scientific principles.” One can come up with all kinds of non-empirical virtues when arguing in favor of a pet idea. “Clearly the risk is there, and clearly one has to be careful about this kind of reasoning,” Dawid said. “But acknowledging that non-empirical confirmation is part of science, and has been part of science for quite some time, provides a better basis for having that discussion than pretending that it wasn’t there, and only implicitly using it, and then saying I haven’t done it. Once it’s out in the open, one can discuss the pros and cons of those arguments within a specific context.”

The Munich Debate

Laetitia Vancon for Quanta Magazine

The trash heap of history is littered with beautiful theories. The Danish historian of cosmology Helge Kragh, who detailed a number of these failures in his 2011 book, Higher Speculations, spoke in Munich about the 19th-century vortex theory of atoms. This “Victorian theory of everything,” developed by the Scots Peter Tait and Lord Kelvin, postulated that atoms are microscopic vortexes in the ether, the fluid medium that was believed at the time to fill space. Hydrogen, oxygen and all other atoms were, deep down, just different types of vortical knots. At first, the theory “seemed to be highly promising,” Kragh said. “People were fascinated by the richness of the mathematics, which could keep mathematicians busy for centuries, as was said at the time.” Alas, atoms are not vortexes, the ether does not exist, and theoretical beauty is not always truth.

Except sometimes it is. Rationalism guided Einstein toward his theory of relativity, which he believed in wholeheartedly on rational grounds before it was ever tested. “I hold it true that pure thought can grasp reality, as the ancients dreamed,” Einstein said in 1933, years after his theory had been confirmed by observations of starlight bending around the sun.

The question for the philosophers is: Without experiments, is there any way to distinguish between the non-empirical virtues of vortex theory and those of Einstein’s theory? Can we ever really trust a theory on non-empirical grounds?

In discussions on the third afternoon of the workshop, the LMU philosopher Radin Dardashti asserted that Dawid’s philosophy specifically aims to pinpoint which non-empirical arguments should carry weight, allowing scientists to “make an assessment that is not based on simplicity, which is not based on beauty.” Dawidian assessment is meant to be more objective than these measures, Dardashti explained — and more revealing of a theory’s true promise.

Gross said Dawid has “described beautifully” the strategies physicists use “to gain confidence in a speculation, a new idea, a new theory.”

“You mean confidence that it’s true?” asked Peter Achinstein, an 80-year-old philosopher and historian of science at Johns Hopkins University. “Confidence that it’s useful? confidence that …”

“Let’s give an operational definition of confidence: I will continue to work on it,” Gross said.

“That’s pretty low,” Achinstein said.

“Not for science,” Gross said. “That’s the question that matters.”

Kragh pointed out that even Popper saw value in the kind of thinking that motivates string theorists today. Popper called speculation that did not yield testable predictions “metaphysics,” but he considered such activity worthwhile, since it might become testable in the future. This was true of atomic theory, which many 19th-century physicists feared would never be empirically confirmed. “Popper was not a naive Popperian,” Kragh said. “If a theory is not falsifiable,” Kragh said, channeling Popper, “it should not be given up. We have to wait.”

But several workshop participants raised qualms about Bayesian confirmation theory, and about Dawid’s non-empirical arguments in particular.

Carlo Rovelli, a proponent of loop quantum gravity (string theory’s rival) who is based at Aix-Marseille University in France, objected that Bayesian confirmation theory does not allow for an important distinction that exists in science between theories that scientists are certain about and those that are still being tested. The Bayesian “confirmation” that atoms exist is essentially 100 percent, as a result of countless experiments. But Rovelli says that the degree of confirmation of atomic theory shouldn’t even be measured in the same units as that of string theory. String theory is not, say, 10 percent as confirmed as atomic theory; the two have different statuses entirely. “The problem with Dawid’s ‘non-empirical confirmation’ is that it muddles the point,” Rovelli said. “And of course some string theorists are happy of muddling it this way, because they can then say that string theory is ‘confirmed,’ equivocating.”

The German physicist Sabine Hossenfelder, in her talk, argued that progress in fundamental physics very often comes from abandoning cherished prejudices (such as, perhaps, the assumption that the forces of nature must be unified). Echoing this point, Rovelli said “Dawid’s idea of non-empirical confirmation [forms] an obstacle to this possibility of progress, because it bases our credence on our own previous credences.” It “takes away one of the tools — maybe the soul itself — of scientific thinking,” he continued, “which is ‘do not trust your own thinking.’”

The Munich proceedings will be compiled and published, probably as a book, in 2017. As for what was accomplished, one important outcome, according to Ellis, was an acknowledgment by participating string theorists that the theory is not “confirmed” in the sense of being verified. “David Gross made his position clear: Dawid’s criteria are good for justifying working on the theory, not for saying the theory is validated in a non-empirical way,” Ellis wrote in an email. “That seems to me a good position — and explicitly stating that is progress.”

In considering how theorists should proceed, many attendees expressed the view that work on string theory and other as-yet-untestable ideas should continue. “Keep speculating,” Achinstein wrote in an email after the workshop, but “give your motivation for speculating, give your explanations, but admit that they are only possible explanations.”

“Maybe someday things will change,” Achinstein added, “and the speculations will become testable; and maybe not, maybe never.” We may never know for sure the way the universe works at all distances and all times, “but perhaps you can narrow the live possibilities to just a few,” he said. “I think that would be some progress.”

Reprinted from The Atlantic

Quanta Writers and Editors Discuss Trends in Science and Math

Mike's Notes

This is the third part of a series of three posts that reprint articles covering the crisis in particle physics that has emerged since the failure of scientists at CERN to discover a whole range of new particles as predicted by string theorists.

• Quanta Writers and Editors Discuss Trends in Science and Math (Quanta Magazine)
• A Fight for the Soul of Science (Quanta Magazine)
• Scientific Method: Defend the integrity of physics (Nature)

In my opinion, string theory is complete bollocks as is multi-universes. Nature is a book to be read, not written. Maths is essentially an invention rather than a discovery. Theory needs to be tested and proven by experimentation.

Below is an article about a panel discussion that addresses many of the issues confronting particle physics, the nature of mathematics, etc.

The video of the panel discussion is well worth watching. In her panel comments, Natalie Wolchover discusses the issues raised at the workshop she previously wrote about in A Fight for the Soul of Science.

Resources

• https://www.quantamagazine.org/quanta-writers-and-editors-discuss-big-ideas-in-science-and-math-20181121/

References

• Reference

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• Home > Handbook > 

Last Updated

11/05/2025

Quanta Writers and Editors Discuss Trends in Science and Math

By: Thomas Lin

Quanta Magazine: 16/12/2015

Editor in Chief, Quanta Magazine.

Reprinted from Quanta Magazine

On November 16, more than 200 readers joined writers and editors from Quanta Magazine for a panel discussion exploring the latest ideas in fundamental physics, biology and mathematics research.

From left: Thomas Lin, Natalie Wolchover, John Rennie, Kevin Hartnett and Robbert Dijkgraaf.

Why doesn’t our universe make sense? What is time? What is life? On Friday, more than 200 readers joined writers and editors from Quanta Magazine at the Simons Foundation for a wide-ranging panel discussion that examined the newest ideas in fundamental physics, biology and mathematics research, including the questions of whether our universe is “natural,” the nature of time, the origin and evolution of life, whether mathematics is invented or discovered and what role it plays in science and society. These are just some of the topics presented in Quanta’s two new books published by The MIT Press: Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire and The Prime Number Conspiracy.

PANELISTS

• Robbert Dijkgraaf, director of the Institute for Advanced Study
• Kevin Hartnett, senior writer at Quanta Magazine
• John Rennie, deputy editor at Quanta Magazine
• Natalie Wolchover, senior writer and editor at Quanta Magazine

MODERATOR

• Thomas Lin, editor in chief at Quanta Magazine

DevOps Culture

Mike's Notes

Note

Resources

• https://martinfowler.com/bliki/DevOpsCulture.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DevOps
• https://www.rouanw.com/
• https://martinfowler.com/bliki/ObservedRequirement.html
• http://www.thoughtworks.com/radar/techniques/separate-devops-team
• https://martinfowler.com/bliki/ContinuousDelivery.html
• https://martinfowler.com/bliki/SelfTestingCode.html
• https://martinfowler.com/bliki/SnowflakeServer.html

References

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11/05/2025

DevOps Culture

By: Rouan Wilsenach

martinfowler.com: 09/07/2015

Agile software development has broken down some of the silos between requirements analysis, testing and development. Deployment, operations and maintenance are other activities which have suffered a similar separation from the rest of the software development process. The DevOps movement is aimed at removing these silos and encouraging collaboration between development and operations.

DevOps has become possible largely due to a combination of new operations tools and established agile engineering practices, but these are not enough to realize the benefits of DevOps.

Even with the best tools, DevOps is just another buzzword if you don't have the right culture.

The primary characteristic of DevOps culture is increased collaboration between the roles of development and operations. There are some important cultural shifts, within teams and at an organizational level, that support this collaboration.

DevOps requires an important cultural shift, within teams and in the organization

An attitude of shared responsibility is an aspect of DevOps culture that encourages closer collaboration. It’s easy for a development team to become disinterested in the operation and maintenance of a system if it is handed over to another team to look after. If a development team shares the responsibility of looking after a system over the course of its lifetime, they are able to share the operations staff’s pain and so identify ways to simplify deployment and maintenance (e.g. by automating deployments and improving logging). They may also gain additional observed requirements from monitoring the system during production. When operations staff share responsibility of a system’s business goals, they are able to work more closely with developers to better understand the operational needs of a system and help meet these. In practice, collaboration often begins with an increased awareness from developers of operational concerns (such as deployment and monitoring) and the adoption of new automation tools and practices by operations staff.

Some organizational shifts are required to support a culture of shared responsibilities. There should be no silos between development and operations. Handover periods and documentation are a poor substitute for working together on a solution from the start. It is helpful to adjust resourcing structures to allow operations staff to get involved with teams early. Having the developers and operations staff co-located will help them to work together. Handovers and sign-offs discourage people from sharing responsibility and contributes to a culture of blame. Instead, developers and operations staff should both be responsible for the successes and failures of a system. DevOps culture blurs the line between the roles of developer and operations staff and may eventually eliminate the distinction. One common anti-pattern when introducing DevOps to an organization is to assign someone the role of 'DevOps' or to call a team a 'DevOps team'. Doing so perpetuates the kinds of silos that DevOps aims to break down and prevents DevOps culture and practices from spreading and being adopted by the wider organization.

Another valuable organizational shift is to support autonomous teams. In order to collaborate effectively, developers and operations staff need to be able to make decisions and apply changes without convoluted decision making processes. This involves trusting teams, changing the way risk is managed and creating an environment that is free of a fear of failure. For example, a team that has to produce a list of changes for sign-off in order to deploy to a testing environment is likely to be delayed frequently. Instead of requiring such a manual check, it is possible to rely on version control, which is fully auditable. Changes in version control can even be linked to tickets in the team's project management tool. Without the manual sign-off, the team can automate their deployments and speed up their testing cycle.

One effect of a shift towards DevOps culture is that it becomes easier to put new code in production. This necessitates some further cultural changes. In order to ensure that changes in production are sound, the team needs to value building quality into the development process. This includes cross-functional concerns such as performance and security. The techniques of ContinuousDelivery, including SelfTestingCode, form a basis which allows regular, low-risk deployments.

It is also important for the team to value feedback, in order to continuously improve the way in which developers and operations staff work together as well as the system itself. Production monitoring is a helpful feedback loop for diagnosing issues and spotting potential improvements.

Automation is a cornerstone of the DevOps movement and facilitates collaboration. Automating tasks such as testing, configuration and deployment frees people up to focus on other valuable activities and reduces the chance of human error. A helpful side effect of automation is that automated scripts and tests serve as useful, always up-to-date documentation of the system. Automating server configuration, for example, removes the guesswork associated with a SnowflakeServer and means that developers and operations staff are equally able to know and change how a server is configured.

Notes

1. Operations tools include virtualization, cloud computing and automated configuration management. These are often supported by engineering practices such as Continuous Integration, evolutionary design and clean code.

Scientific method: Defend the integrity of physics

Mike's Notes

This is part 1 of a series of 3 posts that reprint articles covering the crisis in particle physics that has emerged since scientists at CERN failed to discover a whole range of new particles as predicted by string theorists.

• Quanta Writers and Editors Discuss Trends in Science and Math (Quanta Magazine)
• A Fight for the Soul of Science (Quanta Magazine)
• Scientific Method: Defend the integrity of physics (Nature)

In my opinion, string theory is complete bollocks as is multi-universes. Nature is a book to be read, not written. Maths is essentially an invention rather than a discovery. Theory needs to be tested and proven by experimentation.

The article below is a stirring defence of science. I agree with it completely.

Resources

• https://www.nature.com/articles/516321a
• https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-the-mysteries-of-quantum-mechanics-beginning-to-dissolve-20260213/

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Last Updated

14/02/2026

Scientific method: Defend the integrity of physics

By: George Ellis & Joe Silk

On a Sandy Beach: 16/12/2014

Reprinted from Nature
Vol 516. Issue 7531

Attempts to exempt speculative theories of the Universe from experimental verification undermine science, argue George Ellis and Joe Silk.

This year, debates in physics circles took a worrying turn. Faced with difficulties in applying fundamental theories to the observed Universe, some researchers called for a change in how theoretical physics is done. They began to argue — explicitly — that if a theory is sufficiently elegant and explanatory, it need not be tested experimentally, breaking with centuries of philosophical tradition of defining scientific knowledge as empirical. We disagree. As the philosopher of science Karl Popper argued: a theory must be falsifiable to be scientific.

Chief among the 'elegance will suffice' advocates are some string theorists. Because string theory is supposedly the 'only game in town' capable of unifying the four fundamental forces, they believe that it must contain a grain of truth even though it relies on extra dimensions that we can never observe. Some cosmologists, too, are seeking to abandon experimental verification of grand hypotheses that invoke imperceptible domains such as the kaleidoscopic multiverse (comprising myriad universes), the 'many worlds' version of quantum reality (in which observations spawn parallel branches of reality) and pre-Big Bang concepts.

These unprovable hypotheses are quite different from those that relate directly to the real world and that are testable through observations — such as the standard model of particle physics and the existence of dark matter and dark energy. As we see it, theoretical physics risks becoming a no-man's-land between mathematics, physics and philosophy that does not truly meet the requirements of any.

The issue of testability has been lurking for a decade. String theory and multiverse theory have been criticized in popular books and articles, including some by one of us. In March, theorist Paul Steinhardt wrote in this journal that the theory of inflationary cosmology is no longer scientific because it is so flexible that it can accommodate any observational result. Theorist and philosopher Richard Dawid and cosmologist Sean Carroll have countered those criticisms with a philosophical case to weaken the testability requirement for fundamental physics.

We applaud the fact that Dawid, Carroll and other physicists have brought the problem out into the open. But the drastic step that they are advocating needs careful debate. This battle for the heart and soul of physics is opening up at a time when scientific results — in topics from climate change to the theory of evolution — are being questioned by some politicians and religious fundamentalists. Potential damage to public confidence in science and to the nature of fundamental physics needs to be contained by deeper dialogue between scientists and philosophers.

String theory

String theory is an elaborate proposal for how minuscule strings (one-dimensional space entities) and membranes (higher-dimensional extensions) existing in higher-dimensional spaces underlie all of physics. The higher dimensions are wound so tightly that they are too small to observe at energies accessible through collisions in any practicable future particle detector.

Some aspects of string theory can be tested experimentally in principle. For example, a hypothesized symmetry between fermions and bosons central to string theory — supersymmetry — predicts that each kind of particle has an as-yet-unseen partner. No such partners have yet been detected by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Europe's particle-physics laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, limiting the range of energies at which supersymmetry might exist. If these partners continue to elude detection, then we may never know whether they exist. Proponents could always claim that the particles' masses are higher than the energies probed.

“The consequences of overclaiming the significance of certain theories are profound.”

Dawid argues that the veracity of string theory can be established through philosophical and probabilistic arguments about the research process. Citing Bayesian analysis, a statistical method for inferring the likelihood that an explanation fits a set of facts, Dawid equates confirmation with the increase of the probability that a theory is true or viable. But that increase of probability can be purely theoretical. Because “no-one has found a good alternative” and “theories without alternatives tended to be viable in the past”, he reasons that string theory should be taken to be valid.

In our opinion, this is moving the goalposts. Instead of belief in a scientific theory increasing when observational evidence arises to support it, he suggests that theoretical discoveries bolster belief. But conclusions arising logically from mathematics need not apply to the real world. Experiments have proved many beautiful and simple theories wrong, from the steady-state theory of cosmology to the SU(5) Grand Unified Theory of particle physics, which aimed to unify the electroweak force and the strong force. The idea that preconceived truths about the world can be inferred beyond established facts (inductivism) was overturned by Popper and other twentieth-century philosophers.

We cannot know that there are no alternative theories. We may not have found them yet. Or the premise might be wrong. There may be no need for an overarching theory of four fundamental forces and particles if gravity, an effect of space-time curvature, differs from the strong, weak and electromagnetic forces that govern particles. And with its many variants, string theory is not even well defined: in our view, it is a promissory note that there might be such a unified theory.

Many multiverses

The multiverse is motivated by a puzzle: why fundamental constants of nature, such as the fine-structure constant that characterizes the strength of electromagnetic interactions between particles and the cosmological constant associated with the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe, have values that lie in the small range that allows life to exist. Multiverse theory claims that there are billions of unobservable sister universes out there in which all possible values of these constants can occur. So somewhere there will be a bio-friendly universe like ours, however improbable that is.

Some physicists consider that the multiverse has no challenger as an explanation of many otherwise bizarre coincidences. The low value of the cosmological constant — known to be 120 factors of 10 smaller than the value predicted by quantum field theory — is difficult to explain, for instance.

Earlier this year, championing the multiverse and the many-worlds hypothesis, Carroll dismissed Popper's falsifiability criterion as a “blunt instrument” (see go.nature.com/nuj39z). He offered two other requirements: a scientific theory should be “definite” and “empirical”. By definite, Carroll means that the theory says “something clear and unambiguous about how reality functions”. By empirical, he agrees with the customary definition that a theory should be judged a success or failure by its ability to explain the data.

He argues that inaccessible domains can have a “dramatic effect” in our cosmic back-yard, explaining why the cosmological constant is so small in the part we see. But in multiverse theory, that explanation could be given no matter what astronomers observe. All possible combinations of cosmological parameters would exist somewhere, and the theory has many variables that can be tweaked. Other theories, such as unimodular gravity, a modified version of Einstein's general theory of relativity, can also explain why the cosmological constant is not huge.

Some people have devised forms of multiverse theory that are susceptible to tests: physicist Leonard Susskind's version can be falsified if negative spatial curvature of the Universe is ever demonstrated. But such a finding would prove nothing about the many other versions. Fundamentally, the multiverse explanation relies on string theory, which is as yet unverified, and on speculative mechanisms for realizing different physics in different sister universes. It is not, in our opinion, robust, let alone testable.

The many-worlds theory of quantum reality posed by physicist Hugh Everett is the ultimate quantum multiverse, where quantum probabilities affect the macroscopic. According to Everett, each of Schrödinger's famous cats, the dead and the live, poisoned or not in its closed box by random radioactive decays, is real in its own universe. Each time you make a choice, even one as mundane as whether to go left or right, an alternative universe pops out of the quantum vacuum to accommodate the other action.

Billions of universes — and of galaxies and copies of each of us — accumulate with no possibility of communication between them or of testing their reality. But if a duplicate self exists in every multiverse domain and there are infinitely many, which is the real 'me' that I experience now? Is any version of oneself preferred over any other? How could 'I' ever know what the 'true' nature of reality is if one self favours the multiverse and another does not?

In our view, cosmologists should heed mathematician David Hilbert's warning: although infinity is needed to complete mathematics, it occurs nowhere in the physical Universe.

Pass the test

We agree with theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder: post-empirical science is an oxymoron (see go.nature.com/p3upwp and go.nature.com/68rijj). Theories such as quantum mechanics and relativity turned out well because they made predictions that survived testing. Yet numerous historical examples point to how, in the absence of adequate data, elegant and compelling ideas led researchers in the wrong direction, from Ptolemy's geocentric theories of the cosmos to Lord Kelvin's 'vortex theory' of the atom and Fred Hoyle's perpetual steady-state Universe.

The consequences of overclaiming the significance of certain theories are profound — the scientific method is at stake (see go.nature.com/hh7mm6). To state that a theory is so good that its existence supplants the need for data and testing in our opinion risks misleading students and the public as to how science should be done and could open the door for pseudoscientists to claim that their ideas meet similar requirements.

What to do about it? Physicists, philosophers and other scientists should hammer out a new narrative for the scientific method that can deal with the scope of modern physics. In our view, the issue boils down to clarifying one question: what potential observational or experimental evidence is there that would persuade you that the theory is wrong and lead you to abandoning it? If there is none, it is not a scientific theory.

Such a case must be made in formal philosophical terms. A conference should be convened next year to take the first steps. People from both sides of the testability debate must be involved.

In the meantime, journal editors and publishers could assign speculative work to other research categories — such as mathematical rather than physical cosmology — according to its potential testability. And the domination of some physics departments and institutes by such activities could be rethought.

The imprimatur of science should be awarded only to a theory that is testable. Only then can we defend science from attack.