Background and concepts for monitoring survey progress and scheduler performance

Abstract

Rubin Observatory staff will need to routinely generate a variety of metrics, plots, and other diagnostics to monitor automated observing, evaluate survey strategy and scheduler performance, understand the current state and progress on the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), communicate this progress and state to a variety of interested parties outside the project (including science collaborations, funding agencies, and the general public), and solicit feedback from them. An initial list of such diagnostics, based on requirements and the experiences of predecessor surveys, provides a starting point for planning which diagnostics will be generated, when, and by whom. A list of reports and reporting tools describes the means by which these diagnostics may be presented, and describes their uses and intended users. A list of tools currently under construction provides a starting point for identifying what tools may be applied, and what new capabilities may need to be planned and implemented.