Author: Dietmar Mueller (P&WS Capability Lead)
Empower Your Projects: Elevate Collaboration and Efficiency with the OSDU® Data Platform
The problem and context
Within many workflows and projects, the necessity arises for the creation and sharing of data collections within project teams. In the Project and Workflow Services (P&WS) capability group, we worked on expanding the OSDU platform’s use cases by incorporating essential functionality for interacting with data (System of Engagement).
The OSDU Data Platform (DP) has some foundational mechanisms such as namespace, activity model and notification already in place, which make application integration possible, but the following gaps have been identified:
- Lack of agreement of how existing mechanisms should be consistently used across workflows and applications
- Enable applications, whether they be new or legacy to collaborate on creating new datasets based on existing data without polluting the system of record with low quality and temporary data
- Ensure that applications can have stable source data sets for their work, datasets that can be refreshed as they are changed by other applications in a controlled way
In line with these objectives, the Project and Workflow Services capability group will provide capabilities in the OSDU DP for selecting data for integration with existing applications. Furthermore, the focus extends to enhancing functionality by curating newly generated data. This involves the addition of contextual metadata before the data can be officially committed as a record to the OSDU DP, addressing key aspects of data quality and usability. We see P&WS at the centre of realising the full value and potential of the OSDU Data Platform.
Who’s involved?
The P&WS capability group is made up of a coalition of companies from across the upstream sector and gives a diverse representation from across operators, service companies and independent software vendors. To date, the following organisations have been actively contributing to the P&WS capability: Shell, Equinor, ExxonMobil, bp, SLB, Halliburton, Accenture, AspenTech, AWS, 47 Lining and Geosiris.
Development approach and involvement
P&WS is crafting capability right within the Forum, for the Forum, and by the Forum. Unlike the historical model where member companies generously contributed their work, P&WS is building a capability from the ground up, fostering collaborative creation from the get-go. We’re utilizing existing capabilities, like Namespaces, while ensuring that the development aligns and learns. This is not just innovation; this is a paradigm shift in how the OSDU Forum develops!
We believe this is the right way for the OSDU Forum to development capabilities both today and as we look to the future. Highlights of this approach included a working session in London on the 27th and 28th September 2023. The two days successfully brought together a diverse set of technical skills, knowledge, and opinions with representatives from Shell, Equinor, bp, AWS, Accenture, 47 Lining, SLB, Halliburton and AspenTech. Whilst the weekly working sessions have put in place a strong community and governance structure, it was clear longer focussed sessions were required to aid the collaborative creation process. Following the session, we collected some feedback from members on the value of the initiative who said:
- “I see the P&WS team working at the light speed within the Forum, which is fantastic to see within a large group of member companies” – Operator 1
- “We need this all sorted sooner rather than later, different applications already are trying to tackle this…and if ‘we’ as a forum do not show how they (the apps) are supposed to coexist – it’s going to be the Wild West” – Operator 2
- “The need for something like a Collaboration Space is going to be come blindingly obvious and more and more apparent…it’s an obvious next step…the more we get more complex with workflows – in and out of various applications… across multiple vendors…it’s just going to get messy…we need what P&WS are proposing” – Operator 3
- “If we don’t do something like this (P&WS) with OSDU – what’s the value in OSDU?” – ISV 1
- “If we just implement OSDU as a SOR then we have fundamentally failed to move the needle. We already have these systems in operators, and they have reached a barrier to value where shifting the technology stack will not assist with empowerment of the business. They are great at putting data in boxes but how much do they really empower user communities to access and generate value from the information they store? I do honestly believe that if OSDU is to be a success it needs to create new value and the concept of application interoperability is critical” – ISV 2
- “OSDU was always designed to be both a System of Record and a System of Engagement, so it’s critical we get P&WS right. This workgroup is the most critical one for a long time” – Service Company 1
- “The P&WS capability group is solution focused and we are working at pace together” – Service Company 1
What’s been our progress to date?
Since August the capability group has been developing six ADR’s (Architecture Design Request Document) based off 4 use cases.
The ADR’s capture the key options available for P&WS development as well as the main requirements that drive the decisions themselves. They are a critical stage on the development journey and they help us to manage complexity and ensure that both current and future development work is done while considering all the decisions that have been made before.
The ADR’s currently under development are listed below:
- Overall P&WS ADR
- DDMS and P&WS Interaction
- SoR vs Temp Data Store
- Namespaces
- Core Services
- Application Integration
The capability group have also developed a glossary of terms to further aid and standardise the language used as we develop the P&WS capability further. It also ensures there is a common development language and will reduce ambiguity.
To date we have engaged with the OSDU Focal Points, Enterprise Architecture working group and others such as the Reservoir working group and their DDMS to ensure our approach compliments existing efforts.
P&WS Capability Group is part of the OSDU Operating Model (illustrated below) introduced to the Forum in Q1 2023. The business need of this capability was requested through BCM and then endorsed by both OMC and BCM. The Team develops the ADRs ensuring close collaboration with other groups.
So, what’s next?
The capability group is aiming to complete the 6 ADRs’ before the Houston F2F with the intent of starting development work in early 2024. Between the Houston F2F and the end of 2023, the capability group will focus on building out the EPICs, features and user stories to enable the most successful development work possible.
So how can you get involved?
OSDU Houston F2F sessions
Monday 30th October, 2pm-5:30pm: Project Workspace Working Session
Wednesday 2nd November, 4pm: Technical Track for Project Workspace
Weekly working session meetings are held every Wednesday at 0900 CST. Status update sessions are held biweekly, Thursday 0800 CST.
If you would like to get involved, please follow the Slack and Gitlab links.
Key contacts
Capability Lead: Dietmar Mueller (Shell)
Co-leads: James Patton (AWS), Kat Pisaniec (Accenture), Steve Tomlinson (Shell)
