# Application Usability Levels: A Framework for Tracking Project Product Progress

## TL;DR

The paper introduces the Application Usability Level (AUL) framework to measure and communicate the progress of space physics projects towards practical application and operational readiness.

## Contribution

It defines the AUL framework, outlines milestones for progression, and provides example projects, aiding community understanding and project development.

## Key findings

- AUL framework effectively tracks project progress.
- Publicizing AULs enhances community awareness.
- Framework facilitates building on previous work.

## Abstract

The space physics community continues to grow and become both more interdisciplinary and more intertwined with commercial and government operations. This has created a need for a framework to easily identify what projects can be used for specific applications and how close the tool is to routine autonomous or on-demand implementation and operation. We propose the Application Usability Level (AUL) framework and publicizing AULs to help the community quantify the progress of successful applications, metrics, and validation efforts. This framework will also aid the scientific community by supplying the type of information needed to build off of previously published work and publicizing the applications and requirements needed by the user communities. In this paper, we define the AUL framework, outline the milestones required for progression to higher AULs, and provide example projects utilizing the AUL framework. This work has been completed as part of the activities of the Assessment of Understanding and Quantifying Progress working group which is part of the International Forum for Space Weather Capabilities Assessment.