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III. Introduction: Tool Development Philosophy - Use and Documentation 4.0 Tool Development Philosophy - Use and Documentation At each major stage of development the software was provided to the participating organizations via the World Wide Web along with on-line documentation available in the software and also hardcopy documentation that can be downloaded and printed from the internet. Since water providers helped develop these tools, the tools have been put to use almost immediately. This situation has made for quick identification of bugs and needed enhancements and hence the quality and practicality of the software has been significantly improved. As part of this completion report an evaluation of the use of the software is provided in Section IV. In addition to meeting the needs of users, the software development, data collection and tool development projects used existing models when possible. For example, the SPCU Model and SDF View make use of computational programs that were developed for other projects. IDS developed the SPCU Model as part of the Colorado River Decision Support System (CRDSS). Its capabilities were enhanced for SPMAP including the ability to handle groundwater demands. The SDF View computational program was developed by the 5.0 Project History and Progress USGS and only minor revisions to the underlying computational model were made. To make the programs easier to use and provide new options for building input files and viewing output, Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) were constructed in Visual C++. SPGIS was also constructed using A venue scripts that customize analysis options and menu items in ArcView, a standard GIS package. The development and user platform is a PC running Windows 95/98/NTI2000. Development has proceeded by using a "modular" approach, meaning tools can be used as stand-alone components or used in conjunction. New components and tools can be substituted or added to the system with minimal changes to the other components or the data storage. User documentation for the software is available on the internet and can be accessed from Help menus in the interfaces. The combination of using developed models, building graphical interfaces, using Avenue scripts, following a modular approach and developing good documentation makes this software flexible, generalized, and easy to use. In the 1970s and 1980s, CWRRI funded basic research to develop mathematical relationships (models) describing interactions between surface and groundwater in alluvium aquifers along the South Platte River. The result of this work was the model SAMPSON, described in Raymond et al. (1996). Data acquisition and computer technology at the time did not permit integrating the models into data acquisition systems or the convenient construction of user friendly interfaces. The ability to acquire basic resource management data via satellite combined with the exploding power of the microcomputer (both hardware and software) has provided water managers the ability to further develop decision support technology. Since 1995, the IDS Group at CSU under the direction of Dr. Luis Garcia, a Professor in the College of Engineering, has been working with eight local and regional water management organizations along the South Platte River below Denver. The water managers and university researchers form a team that works extremely closely on all aspects of the research. Tools are 6 Completion Report: South Platte Mapping and Analysis Program