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Workshop Forum <br />Responses to the question about the focus group workshop forum varied. Individual staff of the CWCB <br />who saw direct application of the CRDSS to their jobs were enthusiastic in endorsing the workshop <br />format and content. However, only two CWCB staff completed the questionnaire. A few DWR staff did <br />not endorse the workshop; perhaps because they felt it affected their time to accomplish their normal job <br />functions now and in the future. Some indicated they would rather that the CRDSS management team <br />help them obtain data and model results from the CRDSS, then they could obtain the information without <br />spending a lot of time learning how to use it. There also seemed to be uncertainty about CRDSS <br />organization within the CWCB and DWR per the ultimate implementation of the CRDSS. <br />CWCB administrators questioned the usefulness of the workshops and the aggregate time spent by the <br />participants, and requested that the remaining near-term workshops should be postponed. Subsequent to <br />this, however, discussion about the purposes of the workshops to provide a basis for review and <br />integration by agency staff led to a decision to hold the CWCB database workshop. There remains some <br />skepticism by CWCB management that the workshops are productive until the CRDSS is more mature <br />and fully functional. At that time, work can progress on development of job applications scenarios, <br />training materials, etc. <br />The external users were consistent in their responses that the focus group workshops were a productive <br />use of their time, that it was an informative introduction to the CRDSS, and that the process of <br />communication about the character of their anticipated use of CRDSS was valuable. They had a number <br />of questions which could not be answered concerning the technologies of accessing the CRDSS, and <br />administrative arrangement with the State for obtaining access. Also, they emphasized that future <br />workshops should focus on job applications of the CRDSS. <br />3.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br />Conclusions <br />The survey responses affirm many of the DSS guidelines summarized above. That is, there are a number <br />of process-related and administrative topics which should be addressed to maximize the potential for <br />success of the project. Conclusions presented below derive from the user survey questionnaire <br />responses, interactions with the users during the workshops, and comparisons of the DSS background <br />review with the CRDSS project. <br />Ideally, the CRDSS is expected to: <br />Help water managers see water information in a more accurate, meaningful, integrated and <br />? <br />comprehensive way to make better management decisions. <br /> <br />Improve the decision support systems of agencies that use the CRDSS by making decision <br />? <br />making less ad hoc and intuitive and more orderly and rational. <br /> <br />Improve the ability of its users to see what other people involved with water decisions and <br />? <br />water operations are doing, and to better understand key water trends, developments and issues. <br /> <br />13 <br />A 275 01.09.95 1.19-1 Johnson, Grigg, Tang <br />