So You Want To Learn About FedWorld?
AUTOINC. Interviews NTIS's Paul Melton:
Automotive service shop owners have been hearing a lot about FedWorld lately. But how many know exactly what FedWorld is? For one thing, it's not a commercial online repair information system. FedWorld is a free, one-stop online resource for all types of government information, and one section of the service provides an index of what emissions-repair-related information is available for 1994 model year vehicles and newer. The index simply tells what information is available, who has it, how to order it and how much it costs -- it's not the information itself.FedWorld is run by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The system of information related to vehicle repair is called the Clean Air Act (CAA) compliance system, since the act promised fair access to emissions-repair-related information.
To get a better idea of how the CAA compliance system works, AutoInc. asked Paul Melton, a business development specialist for NTIS, about the project.
Q. What computer hardware and software do you need to access FedWorld?
A. At a minimum, any computer that can support any communications software program and a modem are necessary. This is true for both Macintosh computers and PCs. You don't have to operate in a Windows environment.
Q. Listed here are the four ways to get to FedWorld. Is it possible to get to the CAA compliance system through all four of these methods?
A. The data from the Clean Air Act compliance system on FedWorld is available on all platforms mentioned. However, the most robust, interactive method is to dial in by modem or use the Internet Telnet software. FTP and World Wide Web (WWW) access only contain the complete set of files from each manufacturer.
Q. Can you briefly describe the steps you would take to get to the CAA compliance system once you've connected with FedWorld?
A. Once logged onto the FedWorld system (by direct dial or Telnet) and presented with the Main Menu, select option E (Environment and Energy Mall) and option E again (EPA Clean Air Act system). You may also type "/go epa" (without quotation marks).
Q. Once you get to the index, how do you search it?
A. The index is a full-text retrieval data base. It is searchable by keyword "boolean" strategy. That is, you can combine key words with others by using ANDs, ORs, ADJs etc. to narrow your search from the large data base. For instance: ford AND escort AND 1995 AND wiring AND diagram will present you with only a couple of indexes to browse from the collection of more than 15,000.
Q. One criticism we've heard about FedWorld is that it uses an old-fashioned, monochrome, character-based interface. Does NTIS have plans to make the interface more user-friendly?
A. That criticism is actually our strength. You see, not everyone has access to the latest technologies. If you only use a monochrome, character-based computer, you will not be left behind. This is why we designed the system to be usable by the lowest common denominators among computer users. However, we do use the latest, most innovative technologies for other information services. We will have this information available on those platforms in a short while. For now, everyone with at least a computer and a modem has access to the service.
Q. Graphical user interface considerations aside, there are no organized tables of contents as in aftermarket repair manuals. Also, users aren't prompted to specific vehicles. We know the system is only an index of where to get information, not the information itself, but is there any way a table of contents for each vehicle manufacturer's index entries could be put on the system? Or is there some way the system already guides the user?
A. The fact that the data base is searchable limits users from having to burrow through cumbersome menu options to get a specific article. If one desires to get information on all emission repair data available from 1995 Jeep Cherokees, simply perform a search on jeep AND cherokee AND 1995 to see what is available. A category-based menuing system does not lend itself to user friendliness on this kind of platform. It may, however, be useful when we design our WWW interface to this data.
Q. There seems to be scant index information on some vehicles. Is it a case where one entry for how to get one vehicle manual is all you're going to find for that vehicle?
A. No. There may be various manuals for a particular vehicle. If this is the case, you will find all of them in the data base - that is the essence of the mandate. If there is bogus information in the data base, the EPA should be notified so that the proper information is made available. We will soon offer an e-mail option from the Clean Air Act system to provide this sort of feedback.
Q. What do you mean by "bogus" information? Are you referring to areas where the index might be inadequate or incorrect?
A. In other words, this service should be customer-driven. If there is information that is "inadequate or incorrect" it should be reported to the EPA. We will include an option to send this kind of feedback to us, so that the proper people will be able to do something about it.
Q. Are there any usage statistics on how many people are using the system?
A. Yes, but limited. The Clean Air Act system on FedWorld is one of many other modules. It is therefore difficult to measure exact usage. However, we can determine how many downloads of the complete indexes were performed. We are looking at ways to get more comprehensive statistics.
Q. As of this interview, the index has been going for just about three months. Overall, how do you think the index has developed so far, and what new features or data can people look forward to?
A. Extremely well. Aside from positive feedback from the aftermarket, we are pleased to have created and implemented a service that had many obstacles. For one, the whole process was implemented within 120 days. It required meeting with all vehicle manufacturers, coming to a consensus on how the data should be presented, training employees, and making the information available on an easy-to-use online network that anyone can access. This has been done and we are very pleased with the accomplishments.
However, there is much more we can do. The next step is to make this service available on the WWW. Other features include taking orders from the system and fulfilling orders through a variety of services (electronic delivery, overnight shipping, print on demand, etc.). But we do need some time to provide these kinds of things.
Q. Do you have any ballpark dates for when you can include new features such as e-mail or getting the full-blown system on the Web?
A. The e-mail option will be ready by April. The Web portion, however, is a little more difficult to predict. I have a target date of late '96 - but that's just a goal.
Q. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A. This service is designed for the future. We recognize that the data contains 1994 model year vehicles and newer. In, say, five years, when these model year vehicles really experience emission problems, everyone will see the value of this service. It is clearly a step in the right direction.
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AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLIV No. 4, April 1996