Geo-enabling a Transactional Real Estate Management System A case study from the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation Michael Terner Executive Vice President Co-author and Project Manager Andy Buck
Overview Problem that needed to be solved Technology chosen to solve the problem How the project was conducted Lessons learned 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 2
The Problem Mn/DOT Office of Land Management (OLM) has an existing real estate management system At time of project REALMS was: Fully deployed and operational Built on Oracle Notable to provide mapping Therefore, how do we add mapping? 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 3
Business Characteristics of the Problem Visualization is a requirement for large, multi-parcel projects Geospatial data was siloed in district-based CAD files Access to CAD-based data was limited to management and project teams using paper maps Objectives: Increase accessibility and usability of REALMS by adding mapping Improve map data accuracy by exposing data to greater use Reduce time spent responding to right-of-way information requests 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 4
Mn/DOT issued an RFP to solve this problem Anticipated custom programmingusing Mn/DOT s backend ESRI web serving technologies AppGeoproposed a custom deploymentof an existing, configurable solution The General Purpose Viewer (GPV) Currently deployed in 18 organizations State, Regional and Local levels of government GPV wasextended to meet some specific requirements of Mn/DOT 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 5
What is the GPV? Content Management for ESRI map serving technology Provides a common, general purpose, browser-based user interface Solution is configured to work with your data Configuration via populating configuration tables Designed to allow mapping of business data Stored in external systems Repeatable solution with managed code One version used by all users 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 6
Common User Interface Map Window Function Panel Attribute Data Panels 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 7
GPV Configuration Tables 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 8
Configuration tables and the interface Each element of the user interface is controlled by a table 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 9
Integration with Business Data Through Stored Procedures Stored procedures are small programs stored within an RDBMS The GPV calls these Customer is responsible for creating these Mn/DOT s REALMS team was quite familiar with stored procedures Example: Sales History Selects all sales for the selected parcel & reports them ordered by date. 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 0
GPV Server Architecture Can be deployed on 1 3 servers ArcGIS Server Map Service Browser 3 Web Server GPV SQL Server/Oracle Configuration Tables Web.config 1 Stored Procedures Commercial Platform/Infrastructure GPV Elements Data Data Tables 2 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 1
Thus, the project was simple, right? Just configure some tables and write some stored procedures, and we re done Not, quite Mn/DOT had defined 20 specific use cases Each required configuration and stored procedures Train Mn/DOT to manage the GPV for the long haul Work with Mn/DOT to make the required spatial data available GPV is typically provided for ~$15,000, this project was close to $200,000 Typical project =software +2-days training +coaching/support for first 2 viewers + ongoing technical support 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 2
Overview of the Project Plan Plan Iteration 0 Coordination, Review All Use Cases, GPV Demonstration, Review Technical Environment, Project Plan Finalization Use Case #1 UC 2 UC 3 UC 4 UC 5 UC 6 UC 7 UC 8... UC 17 UC 18 UC 19 UC 20 Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 5 Use Case Review Use Case Review Use Case Review Deploy GPV install* GPV Configuration* GPV install* GPV Configuration* GPV install* GPV Configuration* Programming Support Programming Support Programming Support Spatial Data Prep Spatial Data Prep Spatial Data Prep Testing Testing Testing Documentation Documentation Documentation User Training User Training User Training *includes Technical Training *includes Technical Training *includes Technical Training Support Iteration 6 Final Tests, Documentation, Summary Report, Close Out Post-Project Technical Support, GPV upgrades 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 3 Slide 13
Mn/DOT s Use Cases Were Extremely Valuable Clearly enumerated Mn/DOT s expectations They knew what they wanted the tool to do Provided a baseline to match GPV s functionality against Slide 14
What does REALMS look like now? Click Non-spatial application for managing Minnesota DOT s real estate transactions THE data entry, maintenance application and ad-hoc query, search tool Geospatially enabled with context aware Map It buttons that launch the GPV 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 5
What s behind the Map It Button? The GPV has it s own REST API Information passed to server via a URL Stored procedure generates a URL to launch the GPV in the appropriate context 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 6
REALMS Map It button opens the GPV Map It buttons were programmed by Mn/DOT staff Map it button zooms to show attribute data in spatial context Data tabs use stored procedures to present complex data and relationships 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 7
Select features in GPV and return to REALMS for details Click Show in grid links switch between related features 16 acquisition areas in previous slide are now the highlighted selected set Show in REALMS link opens app window and displays selected feature 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 8
Link to external documents and images Mn/DOT did the hard part of automating the data in an organized fashion The GPV provides access to existing data For example, from documentation management system If you can write a stored procedure to get data, the GPV will display it 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 1 9
Many ways to present information Define mouse over hover boxes Persistent pop-up information boxes display info at mouse click point Legend layers are symbolized by attributes to provide thematic mapping 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 2 0
Communicate ideas via the GPV Markup tools create graphic comments on map & trigger workflows Email map link to another user to share your map view Useful when two people are reviewing a map over the phone Full array of printing and image capture tools 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 2 1
It worked! Lesson s Learned AppGeo took a risk proposing an existing solution Mn/DOT took a risk veering away from their custom programming expectation Benefits of GPV approach to Mn/DOT GPV met business requirements GPV is supported and evolving New release every year Mn/DOT gets improvements for cost of maintenance ($2,500/yr) GPV community got benefits of new features added as part of Mn/DOT project GPV is available for other business systems Today REALMS, tomorrow Bridges or Pavement? Mn/DOT built in-house expertise through this project 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 2 2
Lesson s Learned Getting geospatial data into ESRI was a challenge Separate, related project to convert CAD data and hard copy was proceeding in parallel Sub-contractor, ProWest Associates was key in coordinating It took some effort to convince OLM district staff of this approach Mn/DOT s project management approach was instrumental to success OLM was the project owner Information Technology was the project manager Rigorous requirements, specifications and use cases Knowledge of IT project lifecycles Regimented testing and deployment path It takes resources, but what is the cost of failure? 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 2 3
Thank You If you have any questions: Michael Terner Executive Vice President mgt@appgeo.com 617-447-2400 If you d like a copy of the presentation, please leave me a business card and I will emailit to you. 2 0 1 0 A p p l i e d G e o g r a p h i c s, I n c. S l i d e 2 4