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PHT Summary

VLA and VLBA

The PHT for the VLA and VLBA provides versioning on the full set of proposals/sessions associated with a Semester call. This versioning enables the telescope schedulers to iteratively work on "modified sessions" based on recommendations of the SRP or TAC. This modification includes manual assignment of (preliminary) scheduling priorities, manual modification of sessions, and manual modification of temporal attributes. At the VLA, the Prioritizer algorithmically determines and assigns preliminary scheduling priorities to sessions.  The VLBA does not have an algorithm with which to bulk process scheduling priorities. The proposals are processed together such that a final version is provided downstream.

The pressure plot must be configured prior to these modifications (e.g., the start and stop dates of a VLA configuration) and generally cannot be adjusted on the fly. There exists a single pressure plot for all versions, making it impossible to version the pressure plot itself. If a modification is made to the maintenance schedule, the previous configuration of the pressure plot is lost. Consequently, comparing differences to reserved time definitions (time not associated with current proposals) is not feasible without external tools (e.g., taking a screenshot). It is not possible to dynamically inspect the pressure plot against the list of proposals, selectively apply a number of proposals to the pressure plot at a time, or recover a pressure plot without any proposal pressure without restarting the process.

GBT

The GBT PHT supports session modifications and the creation of pressure plots. These modifications include the manual assignment of (preliminary) scheduling priorities, as well as manual adjustments to sessions and their temporal attributes. Unlike other systems, the GBT PHT does not utilize an algorithm to prioritize tasks in bulk. All proposals are processed together, resulting in a final version downstream, but without employing versioning.

A single pressure plot is generated for all proposals, and it lacks versioning capabilities. If changes are made to the maintenance schedule, the previous configuration of the pressure plot cannot be retrieved. Consequently, it is impossible to compare differences with reserved time definitions (time not linked with current proposals) without using external tools, such as taking a screenshot. Additionally, it is not feasible to restore a pressure plot that has no proposal pressure without restarting the entire process. Despite these limitations, the GBT PHT offers superior inspection capabilities compared to the PHT systems of the VLA and VLBA; it allows users to pinpoint the specific session impacting a part of the pressure plot.

Furthermore, the GBT PHT provides a "calendar" view that offers a daily breakdown of scheduling pressures. This feature facilitates the easy inspection and adjustment of projects with fixed dates and monitoring schedules, as well as maintenance plans.

It's important to note that the GBT PHT includes broader features that are not incorporated into the TTA Tools.

Current TTA Tools Requirements

From System Description, Section 3.6.1 for the PPR Proposal Process

1. Production of a "Telescope Model of Available Time", which contains the information about pre-allocated time (maintenance, test time, carryover, Sponsored time). This pre-allocated time should be able to be imported.
2. Algorithm to generate preliminary priorities
3. Manual intervention after algorithmic determinations
4. Production of Facility Report and Proposal Summary
5. The ability to create and modify the Proposal Disposition and Allocation Disposition(s) before, during, and after the TAC.
6. Ability to enter Comments for the PI and Internal Comments via the UI or file upload.
7. Prevention of modification of the Proposal Disposition Comments for the PI after disposition letters are sent.

For the OSR Proposal Process and for a Proposal Process that supports the Auxiliary Committee, the requirements (5) and (6) apply, except for the phrase "before, during, and after the TAC".

Identified Requirements

In addition to the existing requirements, we identify the following critical elements from the current facility PHTs for the workflow of the schedulers:

Allocation Disposition:

• The ability to modify an Allocation Disposition and its dependents (e.g., Observation Specification Dispositions, Allocation Disposition State).
• Interactive inspection of Allocation Dispositions and their dependents.
• Versioning of the Allocation Disposition to allow recovery of a previously saved state.
• Prohibition of modifications after a specified point (e.g., after Disposition Letters are sent).
• Output of Approved Allocation Dispositions into Disposition Letters.
• Output of Allocation Dispositions for Proposal Summaries for the TAC and/or Directors Review (or the equivalent appropriate Proposal Process destination).

Available Time Model:

• Construction of an Available Time Model for each facility per facet per solicitation, where a facet could be an Array Configuration.
• Flexible configuration of Available Time Models to accommodate on-the-fly changes, such as to execution periods and pre-allocated time.
• Development of Pressure Plots and Calendar Plots.
• Interactive inspection of Pressure Plots and Calendar Plots.
• Versioning of Available Time Model(s).
• Output of Available Time Model data to construct Facility Reports for TAC and/or Directors Review (or the equivalent appropriate Proposal Process destination).

We assert that these aspects are necessary for the PPR Proposal Process. We believe they align with the requirements of an OSR Proposal Process. For a Proposal Process supporting an Auxiliary Committee, a subset of these features should be identified.