Expert selection of marketing databases
The selection of online sources to answer marketing queries was investigated by interviewing fifteen professional intermediary searchers. Results indicate an overall performance ranking for the hosts which were most used by these intermediaries. Selection of databases was influenced by cost, type and level of coverage, and the geographical focus of a database. The features and services offered by a host had little influence on database selection. Frequently-used databases were assessed for particular types of marketing information. The results were used to build a prototype expert system which recommends databases for marketing queries. The approach seems feasible, but more research into intermediaries’ expertise is needed.
Starting end-users
Online access for end‐users in a library and information service poses problems of organisational procedure, presentation and training, and cost (reallocation), as well as system ‘friendliness’, ease of access and usage, and levels of success in searching. In a controlled environment, two periods of end‐user searching were performed to give the user direct hands‐on contact with an online host, to gain a measure of evaluation for such problems posed, and, to gain a notion of user‐impressions of actual and future (potential) usage.
Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology Development Risk Management Framework
Over the past decade, the global marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) industry has suffered a number of serious technological and commercial setbacks. To help reduce the risks of industry failures and advance the development of new technologies, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed an MHK Risk Management Framework. By addressing uncertainties, the MHK Risk Management Framework increases the likelihood of successful development of an MHK technology. It covers projects of any technical readiness level (TRL) or technical performance level (TPL) and all risk types (e.g. technological risk, regulatory risk, commercial risk) over the development cycle. This framework is intended for the development and deployment of a single MHK technology—not for multiple device deployments within a plant. This risk framework is intended to meet DOE’s risk management expectations for the MHK technology research and development efforts of the Water Power Program (see Appendix A). It also provides an overview of other relevant risk management tools and documentation.1 This framework emphasizes design and risk reviews as formal gates to ensure risks are managed throughout the technology development cycle. Section 1 presents the recommended technology development cycle, Sections 2 and 3 present tools to assess themore » TRL and TPL of the project, respectively. Section 4 presents a risk management process with design and risk reviews for actively managing risk within the project, and Section 5 presents a detailed description of a risk registry to collect the risk management information into one living document. Section 6 presents recommendations for collecting and using lessons learned throughout the development process.« less