The management responsibilities of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources are summarized and the establishment of a geoprocessor system is described. Specific capabilities were defined based on surveys of potential users and pre-existing systems. The procurement process, the initially purchased equipment, and system upgrading are described. Cost, installation and maintenance, site location, training, and staffing of the system are examined

Mutter, D. L.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

B THE ALASKA EXPERIENCE
Douglas L. Mutter (Chief - Coordination of Technology Applications-
Alaska Department of Natural Resources -
Anchorage, AK)
Introduction
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is the third largest
land management agency in the country and eventually will be directly
responsible for 104 million acres of state land - an area about the
size of California. DNR manages land, water, forests, grasslands, oil,
gas, energy and hardrock minerals, parks, agriculture and related re-
source development activities. DNR is mandated by the legislature to
offer I00,000 acres of state for disposal land. The department selects
lands entitled to the state by the Statehood Act. It leases major oil/
gas areas such as Prudhoe Bay, maintains surveillance over energy pipe-
line construction and operation and is developing large new agricultural
resources. DNR operates one of the largest state park systems in the
nation. DNR's jurisdiction in some areas, such as water resources and
land recording, extends over the total 367 million acres of Alaska.
The amount of information it requires to manage these resources and to
meet the mandates given DNR by the legislature and public, are signifi-
cant. For example, there are currently over 200,000 case files, 3,000
active land lease applications, a backlog of 2,000 water use applica-
tions, over I0,000 mining case applications per year. Numerous other
sales, leases, permits and activities are generating vast amounts of
information and data that is required by decision makers and the public
on a daily basis. Almost all information handling capabilities are
backlogged at DNR at this time and are worsening each day.
In 1978, the Commissioner of DNR established the Alaska Land & Resources
System (ALARS). The purpose of this project is to coordinate data pro-
cessing activities within the department, establish a capital development
program for automating information management and to better organize the
way in which information is handled. From the beginning, the ALARS pro-
ject has been as much an effort to provide an efficient and coordinated
approach to data management as it has been to provide for the development
of programs and the acquisition of computer hardware. Prior to receiving
any funding for the project, DNR conducted a user needs survey, produced
an analysis of existing systems, developed a conceptual design and estab-
lished a first year workplan. These activities were completed in June,
1979 at the time the state legislature approved the first year's capital
budget of $ 1.7 million for implementing ALARS. A second year of capital
funding at $ 2.2 million has been secured and a proposal is before the
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legislature for a 3rd year at the same funding level. In the meantime,
the department has begun to develop a permanent support capability with
an operating budget, permanent staff and a statewide terminal network.
The ALARS conceptual design focused implementation efforts into 3 areas
of responsibility --
1 Land Administration
2 Resource Management
3 Departmental Management
These areas have been translated into an ALARS approach which includes
the development of land activity based application systems, the use of
data base management technology, the establishment of network resources
and coordinating through the centralized ALARS staff and the acquisition
of a geoprocessing capability. We have attempted to include user in-
volvement at key points, to use the state's centralized data processing
services and to acquire currently operating systems whenever they meet
our needs to save time and money.
The land administration system is being constructed to manage land re-
cords, accounting, case tracking, etc., on the state's IBM 370/148. It
will be accessible via a statewide telecommunications network. Land
status graphics information will be produced and disseminated through
microfilm aperture cards. DNR is now looking into the possibility of
obtaining an automated drafting system to help speed the drafting of
status plates and for producing COM for distribuiton. The resource
information system will be a series of systems each built for specific
purposes such as forest inventory, resource inventory, geological in-
ventory, as well as generalized statewide data to be widely available
over the terminal network. The ALARS staff will interrelate and inte-
grate these activities as much as possible, while at the same time,
meeting specific user needs. The general resource information system
will relate computer mapping tabular land records information.
The Geoprocessor Decision
A major component of the resource information system element of ALARS
is the geoprocessor (geographic information processor). This was iden-
tified, through the user needs survey and in the conceptual design as a
key system need. As the ALARS project has been unfolding, DNR has con-
tinued its efforts of statewide resource planning, regional planning
and detailed site planning for land disposals, timber sales, agricul-
tural projects, etc. At the same time, broad statewide policy research
activities are being undertaken. All of these efforts could potentially
benefit from computer mapping/geographic data minipulation capability.
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The ALARS staff undertook extensive review of systems that could meet
this geoprocessing need. This effort included visiting operational
systems, attending meetings and conferences and reviewing numerous
publications that compared systems. Based on the user survey, the ALARS
staff review and discussions with system users elsewhere, a set of spec-
ific needs was developed which led to the creation of a request for pro-
posals (RFP).
Procurement Process
Early in his administration, Governor Hammond issued an executive order
prohibiting the development of numerous state computer data centers.
Instead, he wished to develop centralized data processing functions at
the two Division of Data Processing data centers in Juneau and Anchorage.
The requirement for a geoprocessing capability, however, was considered
to be specialized, and since the computer would be dedicated to geographic
information analysis, it was approved for acquisition by DNR by the state
administration. It is state policy that any contract over $ 20,000 must
be bid upon through competitive process based upon the RFP.
The RFP issued included some background On the project and outlined spec-
ific capabilities DNR needed for geoprocessing. Several broad functions
were identified for the geoprocessor
• Data Entry & Storage
• Data Retrieval
• Data Manipulation
• Alternative Testing
• Modeling
• Data Display
• Statistical Analysis
• Numerical Analysis
The specific planning and management uses were identified and included
such things as map generation, integration of Landsat data and so forth.
Functional requirements were identified including interactive digitizing
(I Station), interactive display and manipulation of a set of 3,000 poly-
gons, polygon overlay and plotting. In order to plan for future integra-
tion, it was also a requirement that the geoprocessor be capable of com-
municating in some manner with the IBM 370 series computers.
Specific vendor proposal instructions were included in the RFP and spec-
ific evaluation criteria were listed. Part of the proposal evaluation
process was a site survey. This involved a telephone survey of two sites
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currently utilizing the proposed system. The sites were to be similar
in nature to DNR's activities and situation. The objective of this re-
quirement was to evaluate the performance of the vendor system in an
operating environment similar to the one in Alaska.
The evaluation procedure for written proposals concentrated on an analysis
of system functions, maintenance, equipment specifications and delivery
date as specified in the RFP. Proposals that successfully passed the
first review went into the site evaluation phase. Cost was evaluated
during the process. Certain point values were allowed for the degree
of satisfaction on each of these evaluation criteria. The vendor with
the highest score, would be selected.
The list of system functions outlined in the RFP was identified as being
mandatory, desirable or optional. The functions were specific in the
area of data capture, data editing, data organization, data retrieval
and display, software (analytic) capabilities and hardware/operating
system features. Maintenance for the CPU, peripherals, and software
was a factor that was specifically discussed in the proposal and con-
sidered to be an important evaluation criterion. It was required that
none of the hardware be modified. The RFP ended with a list of general
performance characteristics of the equipment that covered the digitizer,
CRT display (graphic/alphanumeric), the central processor and the out-
put systems. The delivery date was to be within 3 months of the award
of the contract. A vendor list of some 39 companies was compiled and
the RFP was sent to them. DNR received 4 serious responses. A final
vendor was selected, that vendor being COMARC Design Systems of San
Francisco.
A contract was signed which included specifications for Such items as
user and technician training at DNR, system installation documentation,
hardware, software, maintenance, warranty, pricing, availability of
source code, the acceptance test and a request for certain enhancements
that were not available as standard components.
It may be apparent from the preceding that DNR was interested in ob-
taining a "turnkey" system. We asked for an integrated, operational
turnkey system, the ability to interface with IBM 370 series computers,
a flexible and expandable equipment configuration, interactive display,
the ability to build a statewide geocoded data file for natural re-
source data, and that the system be minicomputer based The intent was
to quickly bring on line, an operational system.
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The System
The initially purchased equipment included the following components --
• Talos BL660B backlighted 44 inch x 60 inch digitizer
• Two Tektronix 4014 graphic CRTs
• Tektronix 4631CRT image hardcopy unit
• Data General Dasher 6053 alphanumeric CRT
• Data General $250 processor with 512K Bytes of memory
• Data General Dasher 6040 system console
• Data General 190 MB disc 6061
• Data General 6062 9 Track magnetic tape drive
• Zeta 3653SX 34 inch plotter
• Data General 4218 line printer
• Data General 34 inch chasis with line multiplexor for
Communications
• An AOS RCX 70 IBM 3270 system emulator
Various software components included scaling and coordinate conversion,
data manipulation and display for polygons, grids, lines and points,
Fortran 5, sort/merge, editor and digitizing software.
Technical and user-oriented training, of approximately 4 weeks duration
was provided as part of the contract and was invaluable in assuring a
quick start up for operational projects. Subsequently, the system has
grown in use and major enhancements have occurred in software develop-
ment and hardware acquisition. Additional hardware was purchased as
follows --
• Another 190 MB Data General 6061 disc
• An additional 36 x 48 inch Talos 648B digitizer
• Two additional alphanumeric Dashers (6108)
• An additional 512KB of memory
The State's Department of Fish & Game has been working with ALARS staff
to develop an auxiliary station in its department that will communicate
with the centralized geoprocessor. An RJE capability for the IBM is
being established. Other divisions within DNR are now being considered
for remote data entry and display stations. We are in the process of
obtaining additional geoprocessing software to further enhance DNR's
geoprocessing capabilities. Major upgrades in the area of attribute
handling have occurred and an interface established with USGS IDEMS.
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The initial cost of the system including hardware, software, documenta-
tion, installation, training, etc., was $ 300,000. The system was de-
livered and installed during December, 1979 and January 1980. An addi-
tional $ 80,000 to $ i00,000 has been spent since that time on enhance-
ments and upgrades. Current staff support for the geoprocessor includes
two Systems Analysts, a Programmer, a Data Control Specialist and 4
permanent Digitizers. Additional digitizing support is obtained through
a college internship program. Applications and user assistance is the
responsibility of three planners.
Considerations
The experience of preparing for, acquiring and operating a geoprocessing
system has provided a perspective on several important considerations.
Paramount among these, is to examine the current state policy on acquir-
ing such a system and ensure that all procedures are followed and the
appropriate officials spoken to in order to facilitate acquiring a com-
puter system. Another consideration of course, is budget. The amount
of money available to spend may determine whether or not a system is to
be purchased or otherwide phased into operation. In Alaska, a key con-
sideration has been the availability and cost of maintenance service for
software and hardware. Without adequate support, one may end up with
an expensive dust gatherer. The purchasing agency must have a commit-
ment to continuing an operational system.
The location of the system is important to a state agency as diverse
and scattered as is Alaska's DNR. For example, DNR has six different
office locations in Anchorage alone. Installation is a factor to be
considered. Certainly, part of the contract with the vendor should be
to provide for adequate installation and acceptance testing of the system.
Initial staff training is crucial. It is important to insure that staff
is available to support the system and that they are trained in all as-
pects of its operation. User training should not be overlooked if the
system is to be more than a "toy" for the programmers. Finally, delivery
date is an item to consider. The urgency of an agency's need for a
system will be an important determinent in the type of system acquired.
Several factors comprise the "untold story" of obtaining a geoprocessing
system. Consider the following --
• Security -- How will licensed documentation and sensitive
data be stored?
• Standards/Procedures -- The new geoprocessing center must
have standards and procedures for operating the new system,
user access, project control, etc.
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• Training m Training is a continuing process for both opera-
tor and user. For example, DNR has put in more than 45 man
weeks on operating staff training and some 900 man weeks of
user seminars and training sessions in the past year.
• Environment m Preparing the room with proper power, air
conditioning, humidification, static prevention, space, is
important.
• Contract Negotiations _ There are fine points in negotiating
a contract for a GIS which should be discussed by the purchasing
staff well before the contract negotiating phase.
• Starter Supplies m Obtaining extra paper, digitizing cursor,
plotting pens, ribbon, etc., is something not to be overlooked
if you expect to go into immediate operation.
• Support Staff _ Being able to create positions and hire staff
is sometimes a difficult aspect of state or federal governments.
Staff should be hired well in advance of expected system delivery.
Summary
In summary, the events that led to establishment of the geoprocessor at
DNR follow. The ALARS mandate was issued and a capital budget request
made in the fall of 1978. The conceptual design and work plan was de-
veloped and presented in the Spring of 1979. An RFP was prepared and re-
leased in the Summer of 1979. The contract was developed and signed with
the vendor in the Fall of 1979 and delivery of the system was made in
December 1979. The system began operating in January, 1980 and a demon-
stration to _e state legislature was made in February, 1980. There have
been approximately 50 projects since that time with several enhancements
over the past year. A major upgrade was made during Winter, 1980-1981.
Early in 1981, the Department of Fish & Game obtained a remote unit to
tie into the system at DNR. We are now considering the acquisition of an
automated drafting system and an additional system for handling seismic
data - both of which may tie into the geoprocessor.
DNR's geoprocessing system has been a highly successful segment of the
ALARS project. No practice demonstration projects were done on the geo-
processor, it was delivered and began producing real management infor-
mation within 2 months of delivery. It has been used for numerous major
and minor projects ranging from site planning, subdivision layout, view-
shed analysis, corridor analysis, subsurface analysis, management planning,
timber harvest planning, to land status mapping. The system will continue
to evolve and grow and become a major tool in the management of Alaska's
resources.
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The Alaska experience

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