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Akinyele Akinyelu (Junior)-CIT
Tom Bodine-CIT
Bob Borah-CIT
Denny Burns-ORS
Janice Carico-NIDA
Bonnie Cramer-NINR
Andrea Hobbs-NIAAA
Rob Malick-CIT
Diane O'Neill-ORS
Donna Pearman-NCRR
Doug Price-NHLBI
Tina Roark-NHLBI

A summary of comments and feedback from the DSC NED testing was passed out for review at the beginning of the meeting. Each comment submitted had been assigned one of the following "status" categories: Done, Pending, or To Be Discussed. Done indicated that the comment had already been incorporated into the interface; Pending items were in the queue, and To Be Discussed items required further discussion before a decision could be made as to whether they should be implemented.

There were a few suggestions regarding passwords (e.g., making it easier to change passwords, requiring password changes, etc.). It was pointed out that before long (most likely for the pilot) the ITAS authentication system will be used for AO/AT access to the NED. Thus, the discussion of passwords was tabled.

Some people found the user interface page banners to be confusing and thus more of a hindrance than helpful. The page banners are intended to let the user know where they are in the current process. For example, during a registration, there are "Registration Search" and Registration Search Results" banners, etc. Others felt that the banners were helpful. Before doing away with the current banners, it was recommended that an alternative set of banners be presented for discussion.

It was suggested that the "Change Status" buttons next to names displayed on the "Registration Search Results" screen be eliminated. These were included originally for flexibility and ease of use. However, the consensus is that they are confusing and will therefore be removed. Also, the "Registration Search Results" screen currently displays individuals according to whether they are "within" or "outside of" the AO or AT's IC. This distinction is actually irrelevant for the purposes of a registration. It makes more sense to group search results according to whether the individuals have a directory status of "inactive" or something else. Inactive directory entries could then be "activated" or "re-registered." It was also suggested that the "Update" button be renamed to "Activate" to make it more understandable.

It was suggested that a "Clear" button be added to the "Work Information" screen to facilitate the updating of information when there are changes to a significant number of work attributes (e.g., in the case of a re-registration).

An opinion was expressed that there was too much time spent "backtracking" during the meeting in that the committee was rehashing previously settled issues and that this was not productive. Finally, there was a long discussion of privacy issues including the status of the NED Privacy Act Clearance. A privacy clearance has been obtained for piloting the NED, but full implementation will not be possible until approval of the pending application. No timeline for obtaining the Privacy Act clearance has been received.

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Next Meeting:

Tuesday, August 31, 1999*
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Natcher Building, Conference Room B

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