KEY QUESTIONS
- None of the Programme’s Key Questions apply to maintenance of the PAMGuard software system. Support for error correction was not anticipated at the Programme’s inception, but was later found to be critical in maintaining a high functionality and level of user support.
SUMMARY
A basic PAMGuard Support Function has been provided since 2009 to correct software problems, help build user confidence, and assist commercial users of PAM to ‘get started’ with PAMGuard. This basic support is critical if PAMGuard software is to become a standard user interface for PAM.
The results of this project are more technical than scientific. They contribute more to the successful and uninterrupted use of the program at sea than to expanding the number of questions the system can address.
Objectives and methods
System maintenance began after the core PAMGuard software was made available and when users began finding small problems with the software. SMRU (Gillespie) provided corrections for these problems, and wrote tutorials that helped new users get started. The number of small problems identified and corrected decreased greatly after the first year of support. The cost of continuing to provide this support is small and could be covered with user fees.
Importance
PAMGuard has become standard, robust PAM software that industry can now count on for meeting the regulatory requirement for using PAM during seismic operations. This level of reliability resulted from making the software operate nearly trouble-free and easier for novices to begin using.
Links to other research
See the project summaries for PAMGuard III and IV and for PAM Software Development for PAMGuard.
Institutions/PIs
SMRU UK – Douglas Gillespie
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