The composition, execution, and monitoring of challenging scientific applications is often a complex affair. To cope with the issue of workflow management, several tools and frameworks have been designed and put into use. However, the entry barrier to using these tools productively is high, and may hinder the progress of many scientists, or nonexperts, that develop workflows infrequently. As part of our Cyberaide framework we enable workflow definition, execution and monitoring through the Microsoft Project software package. The motivation for this choice is that many scientists are already familiar with Microsoft Project, a project management software package that is perceived to be user friendly. Through our tool we have the ability to seamlessly access Grids, such as the NSF sponsored TeraGrid. Cyberaide abstractions have also the potential to allow integration with other resources, including Microsoft HPC clusters. We test our hypothesis of usability while evaluating the tool as part of several graduate level courses taught in the field of Grid and Cloud computing.
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