Organizing a High Accuracy GIS Prototype Using Diverse Existing Elements

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data applications at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) are numerous and diverse. Like most large organizations, nearly every application and data set at Mn/DOT has been developed independently in an isolated environment. In the rapidly developing world of network accessibility and cross-platform applications, the need for a more accessible GIS has been recognized. The Metro Division of Mn/DOT has initiated a pilot project designed to study the feasibility of implementing a high accuracy GIS that is accessible and usable by everyone in the division. The Metro Division manages program delivery and operations for the seven-county (Twin Cities) area of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The pilot is also designed to perform a costbenefit analysis on collecting high accuracy basemap information. The body of this pilot focuses on the development of an implementation plan. Project scoping and methodologies are crucial in this endeavor. As the project evolves through the phases of conceptualizing data items and applications, the prototype will introduce logical object, data, and application models in a dimension that is new to Mn/DOT’s Metro Division. There are many technical issues to manage as well. Several prominent GIS and data technologies will be explored. This project manifests a fascinating blend of business procedures, technical skill, and communication transactions. As each of these components becomes more important in Transportation GIS, it will be demonstrated that it is in fact possible to integrate all of these elements successfully and push the transportation industry into the next generation of information systems.