This page defines key terms and concepts used in the nVIRO product suite, along with terminology to help client staff and stakeholders work effectively with Windsor and its solutions.

The Software

• Windsor Solutions (or Windsor): The software provider and the contractor the agency works with to implement the system.

• nVIRO: Windsor’s environmental permitting and compliance data management solution. nVIRO was designed and engineered to support the unique business needs of environmental regulatory agencies, and each client agency has a version of nVIRO configured to support their specific programs and procedures. nVIRO incorporates a robust data architecture built to support the complexities of environmental regulatory programs and reflects decades of combined staff experience developing both agency-wide and program-specific environmental information management solutions.

• nCORE: The centerpiece of nVIRO, which enables the full integration of permit, compliance, and enforcement functionality across one or more regulatory program areas. nCORE uses workflow management dashboards to guide permitting, compliance, and enforcement activity processes to completion.

• nFORM: A dynamic forms engine used to facilitate the receipt and processing of customized online forms. nFORM supports the submission and management of forms from a variety of sources, including regulated entities, the general public, and other stakeholders. With a low-code approach to form design, agencies can build and configure both simple and complex forms, with options for e-signatures, integrated payment processes, and other features to support data submission.

• nSITE Explorer: An integrated, cross-program data exploration tool providing a map-based view of sites and areas of environmental concern. nSITE Explorer empowers the public, the regulated community, and agency staff with self-service data exploration and discovery through program-specific filters.

• nSPECT: A mobile inspection application developed by and for field inspectors. nSPECT is designed to serve the needs of both small organizations and enterprise-level operations, integrating seamlessly with corporate-scale data systems.

• nVISAGE: A dynamic reporting solution that offers maximum flexibility to support the evolving needs of organizations and individual users. It is a powerful, easily adaptable tool for viewing and extracting data.

• OpenNode2 (ON2): The tried-and-true Exchange Network Node used by agencies across the United States to facilitate the exchange and sharing of data with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their partners.

• State and Local Emissions Inventory System (SLEIS): A web-based, Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR)-compliant reporting system that enables permitted facilities to submit point source emissions inventory data and related metadata to state and local agencies. SLEIS provides a secure, intuitive, and streamlined interface for the regulated community to fulfill reporting operations efficiently.

• Windsor Support Wiki: Windsor’s online self-service help resource that provides detailed information and support materials related to the integrated nVIRO solution and individual Windsor products.

Project Approach

Major processes, presented in the general order of execution:

• Discovery: The starting point of an engagement, focused on understanding the goals, drivers, and high-level scope of the client’s program area. In this phase, Windsor collaborates with agency staff to inventory business processes, assess their complexity, and identify key data and integration needs. This early effort helps align expectations and shape the implementation approach. Discovery emphasizes macro-level process definitions and is most efficient when agencies have defined their desired future-state processes.

• Analysis: A review of the client’s requirements through meetings that cover configuration, data conversion, integrations, and system extensions. A process analysis focuses on understanding business processes, identifying gaps in system functionality, and documenting requirements and assets in the configuration inventory. A data conversion analysis produces a summary of legacy systems, data entities to be migrated, and any data quality concerns. Additional analyses are conducted of required integrations and system extensions, with all findings documented and tracked in Jira. This phase also establishes the initial program backlog, which defines the actionable work items required for implementation.

• Construction: The phase of the project where the work items are executed, and the configuration and data conversion are constructed and implemented.

• Configuration: The development of work items defined with the client during construction. This includes developing the data conversion based on the data mapping and design.

• Testing: The process of verifying that a product has been correctly installed, configured, and integrated within its target environment. This includes configuration testing, data verification, system function testing, and end-to-end process testing.

• Implementation: The overall process of developing or configuring the software to support the data and process needs of a specific program area.

• Training: The process of educating users or stakeholders on how to effectively use and support Windsor product(s). Training is provided throughout project phases and typically includes pre-configuration orientation for agency users, iterative learning during configuration review sessions, end user training ahead of implementation, and training for administrative and maintenance staff.

Agile Process

• Acceptance criteria: Predefined requirements that must be met for a story to be considered complete. In a Windsor project, acceptance criteria may include:

  • Form ABC: Auto-generated numbers match the client’s standard numbering scheme.

  • Form ABC: Required fields are noted properly.

  • Form ABC: Prefill fields are populated as expected.

  • Public Notice Document: Boilerplate text matches expected wording.

  • Public Notice Document: Dynamic values are populated as expected.

• Agile: A type of software development methodology that centers around the idea of iterative development—where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between small cross-functional teams. Teams follow a cycle of planning, executing, and evaluating, repeating the cycle as necessary to achieve the desired end product. 

• Bug (or defect): A flaw, malfunction, or deficiency within a software or hardware system that prevents it from operating as intended. Bugs may arise from an error, flaw, or unintended system behavior and may impact functionality, performance, security, or compliance.

• Definition of “done”: An agreed-upon list of activities required to complete a product increment—usually represented by a story—within a sprint. A story is considered “done” when its acceptance criteria are satisfied. In a Windsor project, “done” also means that all related test cases have been executed and passed to the agency’s satisfaction. 

• Epic: A large body of work that can be broken down into smaller, more specific requirements (stories). In a Windsor project, an epic is typically related to a specific business process, such as issuing a new permit.

• Increment: A concrete stepping stone toward achieving the product goal. Each increment builds upon prior increments and is thoroughly verified to ensure all increments work together.

• Jira: A software product developed by Atlassian that is widely used for issue tracking, agile project management, and team collaboration. It allows users to create, track, and prioritize tasks, bugs, and features through customizable dashboards, workflows, and reports.

• Product backlog: A prioritized list of work items envisioned for the overall project. This includes work items for multiple program areas.

• Product goal: A long-term objective or desired future state of the product.

• Program backlog: A prioritized list of work items for the program development team. This list is specific to one program area.

• Scrum: An agile project management framework in which a product is developed through a series of sprints.

• Sprint: Short periods of time (usually about two weeks) in which the team works to complete a set amount of tasks. In a Windsor project, sprints are named numerically. 

Open

• Sprint backlog: A set of work items that the team commits to completing during a sprint.

• Sprint goal: A brief explanation of what the team plans to achieve during a sprint.

• Sprint planning meeting: A meeting to plan the work to be performed during the sprint.

• Sprint release: The process of deploying the configuration and data conversion established in sprint(s) to the test environment. This is different than the “product release” described in the nVIRO Core Concepts section, which involves formally launching new product features, enhancements, bug fixes, and documentation as part of a planned development cycle.

• Sprint retrospective meeting: A meeting to reflect on the previous sprint and plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness.

• Sprint review meeting: A meeting held at the end of the sprint to review what was completed, gather feedback from key stakeholders, and discuss any necessary changes.

• Standup: A short minute meeting to inspect progress toward the sprint goal and update the sprint backlog as needed.

• Story: An informal, general explanation of a software feature written by Windsor and the client from the perspective of an end user. It should articulate how the feature will provide value to the customer. Examples of stories in Windsor projects include “Form ABC,” “Document: Public Notice,” “Document: Permit Approval,” and “Document: Permit Denial.”

• Story elaboration and review meeting: Regular meetings between Windsor and key program stakeholders (such as SMEs and the product owner) where stories are broken down into smaller, actionable work items, analyzed in greater detail, and reviewed for structure and clarity. These sessions also involve sharing assets for initial feedback and collaborating on story development.

• Waves: Groups of related system features (such as a form and its associated documents) that are developed and tested together on a set schedule. Projects include multiple waves, which are executed on a staggered schedule to allow Windsor and the agency to iterate over time.

• Work item: An individual task or unit of work tracked in Jira and used to manage projects and workflows. Work items can represent various types of activities, such as bugs, stories, tasks, or epics, and include details like status, assignee, priority, and due date. They help teams organize work, monitor progress, and collaborate effectively.

The Project Team

• Business needs: The needs and requirements of the regulatory program. 

• Business staff: The staff members supporting the regulatory program.

• Developer: The Windsor analyst responsible for designing and configuring the software.

• Product owner: The individual accountable for maximizing the value of the product developed by the scrum team. Product owners are specific to each program area and bring deep understanding of the program’s business processes and priorities, including which functionality is most important to their work. 

• Program (also referred to as the business): A sub-organization within an agency that manages a group of related licensing and compliance processes, such as air permitting, water permitting, underground storage tanks, or concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). A program coordinates regulatory activities within its domain to ensure consistency, efficiency, and compliance across interconnected environmental programs.

• Scrum master: A Windsor team member responsible for organizing, managing, and leading the sprints. They help the product owner articulate and define requirements, help developers deliver the required work items, and help all team members understand their roles and responsibilities. 

• Scrum team: The development team, consisting of a scrum master, product owner, developers, and SMEs (if necessary). The scrum team works together on sprints to work towards the desired end product.

• Stakeholder: An individual with an interest or concern in the business area.

• Subject matter expert (SME): An agency staff member who provides unique insight into a particular regulatory domain or business process. They may be asked to join the scrum team for one or multiple sprints to provide specialized knowledge about a program area. 

nVIRO Core Concepts

• Compliance action or enforcement action: A legal or administrative measure taken by a regulatory agency in response to violations of environmental laws, regulations, or permit conditions. These actions may include fines, compliance actions or orders, permit suspensions, or litigation, and are intended to compel compliance, deter future violations, and protect human health and the environment.

• Compliance reporting: The process of documenting and submitting information to the agency to demonstrate adherence to environmental laws, regulations, or permit conditions. Reports may include data on emissions, discharges, waste management, monitoring results, or corrective actions. These reports are typically required on a regular schedule and play a key role in maintaining transparency and regulatory accountability.

• Contact: An individual responsible for providing information or maintaining compliance related to a specific environmental site, permit, or locational feature. This contact may be the site owner, facility operator, permit holder, or an authorized contractor. They serve as the point of contact for regulatory agencies regarding permitting/licensing, inspections, reporting, and enforcement matters.

• Document: A file stored in nVIRO, having been generated within the system, uploaded directly, or attached to a submission or other record type. Documents are a type of shared attribute available across several functional areas within nVIRO. They are managed in the context of the functional area record they relate to—for example, submission documents are managed within the related submission record. This ensures quick access to relevant documents when working with a particular record.

• Evaluation: A systematic assessment of environmental impacts associated with a project, activity, site, or facility. This includes analyses of potential effects, site assessments, and inspections or audits to ensure compliance with environmental permits, licenses, and regulations. Evaluations support regulatory decision-making, environmental planning, compliance, and risk management.

• Feature: A geographically identifiable natural or built entity that has environmental significance and can influence land use decisions, regulatory requirements, or ecological assessments. Features are typically mapped and used in environmental planning, permitting, compliance monitoring, and impact analysis.

• Form: An online document that external users (or an internal user on behalf of an external user) can complete and submit to the agency. Common form types include applications, service requests, permit change forms (such as modifications, renewals, transfers, and terminations), complaints, and schedules. Form submissions are the primary mechanism for initiating work activities in nVIRO. Forms are created and managed by internal users with specific administrative permissions.

• Portfolio: A grouping of related sites, persons, and organizations, based on relationships determined by the agency, such as shared ownership or a common operator. Portfolios provide a consolidated view of alerts across associated entities. A site may only belong to one portfolio at a time. If it is added to a new portfolio, it will be automatically removed from the previous one. 

• Product release: The formal launch of an updated version of Windsor’s software (for example, nVIRO), making it available to clients or review. The product release includes defined features, enhancements, bug fixes, and documentation as part of a planned development cycle. This is different than the “release” described in the Agile Process section, which involves the incremental release of developed configuration and data conversion.

• Site: A record in nVIRO that represents a physical location, person, or organization involved in environmental activities. Although users often think of sites as physical places, the system uses “site” as a general label for all three core entity types: sites, persons, and organizations. Each is stored the same way in the system but is distinguished by its type (e.g., “Person” for a certified individual, “Organization” for a regulated company). These records can be linked—for example, an organization may be associated with multiple sites and individuals. Despite the name, “site” in nVIRO is a flexible term that refers to any entity being tracked or regulated.

• Submission: A record of a form configured in nFORM or nCORE and submitted by a registered user. Each submission has a unique submission reference number (for example, HQ6-9366-57VCS) used to identify it.

• Violation: A failure by an individual, organization, or facility to comply with environmental laws, regulations, or permit conditions. Violations can include illegal discharges, improper waste handling, or failure to meet reporting requirements. These may result in warnings, notices of violation, compliance actions, or enforcement actions.

• Workflow: A named list of tasks to be completed for a given business process. Tasks are assigned to specific workgroups and/or users. Workflows are assigned to submissions, evaluations, and compliance actions, with the option to assign multiple workflows to a single item.

• Workgroup: A set of users who work together and perform common business functions. Many entities in nVIRO (such as a submission) can be assigned to a workgroup and a user. Workgroups are defined and managed in the Admin menu. Workgroup membership, in combination with security group roles, affect a user’s system permissions.

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