Summary list of STAR QA Provisions

Summary of the provisions of Quality Assurance and Quality Control for the STAR Experiment


Online QA (near real-time data from the event pool)
  • Plots of hardware/electronics performance
    • Histogram generation framework and browsing tools are provided
    • Shift crew assigned to analyze
    • Plots are archived and available via web
    • Data can be re-checked
    • Yearly re-assessment of plot contents during run preparation meetings and via pre-run email request by the QA coordinator
  • Visualization of data
    • Event Display (GUI running at the control room)
  • DB data validity checks

FastOffline QA (full reconstruction within hours of acquisition)
  • Histogram framework, browsing, reporting, and archiving tools are provided
    • QA shift crew assigned to analyze and report
    • Similar yearly re-assessment of plot contents as Online QA plots
  • Data and histograms on disk for ~2 weeks and then archived to HPSS
    • Available to anyone
    • Variety of macros provided for customized studies (some available from histogram browser, e.g. integrate over runs)
  • Archived reports always available
    • Report browser provided

Reconstruction Code QA
  • Standardized test suite of numerous reconstruction chains in DEV library performed nightly
    • Analyzed by S&C team
    • Browser provided
    • Results kept at migration to NEW library
  • Standardized histogram suite recorded at library tagging (2008+)
    • Analyzed by S&C team
    • Test suite grows with newly identified problem
    • Discussions of analysis and new issues at S&C meetings
  • Test productions before full productions (overlaps with Production QA below)
    • Provided for calibration and PWG experts to analyze (intended to be a requirement of the PWGs, see Production cycles and QA procedure under Proposal for Run IV)
    • Available to anyone for a scheduled 2 weeks prior to commencing production
    • Discussions of analysis and new issues at S&C meetings

Production QA
  • All aspects of FastOffline QA also provided for Production QA (same tools)
    • Data and histograms are archived together (i.e. iff data, then histograms)
    • Same yearly re-assessment of plot contents as FastOffline QA plots (same plots)
    • Formerly analyzed during runs by persons on QA shift crew (2000-2005)
    • No current assignment of shift crew to analyze (2006+)
  • Visualization of data
    • Event Display: GUI, CLI, and visualization engine provided
  • See "Test productions before full production" under Reconstruction Code QA above (overlaps with Production QA)
  • Resulting data from productions are on disk and archived
    • Available to anyone (i.e. PWGs should take interest in monitoring the results)

Embedding QA
  • Standardized test suite of plots of baseline gross features of data
    • Analyzed by Embedding team
  • Provision for PWG specific (custom) QA analysis (2008+)