New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT TEAM
Business Owner – Sam Cata, Acting HPD Director
Executive Sponsor – Joe Valdez, DCA CIO
Project Manager – Scott Geister, ARMS Archaeologist
Business Owner – Derek Pierce, ARMS Program Manager
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT GOAL
Change the Workflow to Eliminate
Redundant Data Entry
NMCRIS User
Paper Forms
ARMS Staff
Enhancement Goals
 Enable much greater
data currency by
capturing data at the
beginning of the
workflow
 Reduce demands
upon ARMS staff
 Refocus staff efforts
upon large existing
backlog
The old NMCRIS workflow was redundant and extremely
labor intensive. Lengthy paper forms created by users
had to be retyped by ARMS staff.
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT GOAL
Liberate the Data
Limitations of the Old NMCRIS
1. Limited number of predefined
database queries
2. Queries not sequential
3. Small number of available reports
4. Reports only available in .pdf
format – limited utility to users
5. Map service queries cumbersome
and time-consuming
Enhancement Goals
 Increase the
number of available
queries
 Increase the
number of available
reports
 Allow report
download in
multiple formats
 Simplify map service
queries
 Develop queries for
the architectural
database
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT GOAL
Add Architectural and Registered
Property Data to NMCRIS
Limitations of the Old NMCRIS
1. Historic Building data was not part of
the database
2. NMCRIS had no utility for Historic
Architects
3. Registered Property data existed in two
separate MS Access databases
4. The system did not allow the
attachment of photos, maps, other
documents
Enhancement Goals
 Broaden the user
base
 Design and
implement a historic
structures database
 Incorporate standalone and paper
Registered Property
databases
 Develop a geospatial
presence for these
resources
 Develop a
mechanism for users
to add and view
attachments
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PROJECT GOAL
New Mexico Department of Cultural
Affairs NMCRIS Enhancement and
Expansion
Improve System Reliability

Replace Outdated and Unsupportable Software




ArcSDE & ArcIMS system prone to I/O errors and other
problems
Custom Avenue-based program no longer supportable
ARMS staff using ArcView 3.3 (at least 6 generations
old
DCA has limited Oracle support
Upgrade/Replace Overloaded Servers
 Eliminate Troublesome Java Applets on the User
Side

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PROJECT GOAL
New Mexico Department of Cultural
Affairs NMCRIS Enhancement and
Expansion
Develop Quality Training to Accompany
New Application
 DCA IT staff (system admin)
 HPD/ARMS power users
 Outside NMCRIS users.
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Change the workflow
Web Based Data Entry Forms
Enhancement Features
 Capture data at the
user end – eliminates
redundant data entry
 Mirror existing paper
forms already familiar
to users
 Allow attachments up
to 4 MB
 User can download
forms in .rtf or .pdf
format
 Develop queries for
the architectural
database
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Change the workflow
Online Feature Editing
Enhancement Features
 Users may digitize
their own features
onscreen or
 Upload shapefiles
created on their own
desktop GIS
 Map features are
immediately
available to all users
 Features are
automatically colorcoded to reflect
QA/QC status
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Liberate the data
Enhanced Database Queries
Enhancement Features
 Filter and List
queries
 Expanded query
menu
 Filter queries are
additive
 Listed results can
be downloaded in
.pdf and .xls formats
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Liberate the data
Enhanced Reports
Enhancement Features
 Summary .pdf
reports from old
system recreated
 All necessary paper
forms available as
populated reports
 Reports available in
multiple formats
(.rtf, .xls, .html, etc.)
for easy editing after
download
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Liberate the data
Simplified Map Service Queries
Enhancement Features
 Dropdown lists
eliminate syntax
issues
 Wildcard searches
 Feature ID info
available in the
results window
 Option to zoom to
results
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Add Architectural Data
NMCRIS Expanded to Include Architectural Resources
New architectural database designed and
implemented
Existing Registered Property databases
incorporated
Five new feature classes added to the map service
to accommodate architectural features
High resolution aerial photography added to map
service to facilitate digitization of building
footprints
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Improve System Reliability
Software and Hardware Upgrades
 NMCRIS migrated to SQL Server
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Better fits DCA IT knowledge base
Realizes significant savings versus Oracle
Does not require any user downloads
 ArcIMS replaced with ArcGIS Server


More powerful and up-to-date technology
Allows users to add content to map service
 ARMS staff upgraded to ArcEditor 9.3.1
 Two new servers added
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Quality Training
DCA Clear Wiki
Enhancement Features
 Available to DCA IT
HPD Staff
 System Admin
Manuals
 User Documentation
 Customized
Quickbooks Training
 FAQ’s
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT COMPONENT
 Quality Training
NMCRIS Online Training Videos
Enhancement Features
 Professionally
narrated
introduction to
NMCRIS
 Video screencaptures of most
common user
workflows
 Attachments include
more detailed
training exercises in
.pdf format
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT TIMELINE
Certification
June 2008
Planning
July - Sept 2008
Implementation
User Testing
Closeout
Aug 2009 - May 2010
Oct 2008 - July 2009
June 2010
Timeline as Originally Proposed
User Testing
Certification
June 2008
Planning
Implementation
November 2008– Aug
??? 2009
Oct 2009 – June 2010
Closeout
Sept 2010
Actual Project Timeline
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT TIMELINE
Difficulties with proposed timeline
 4 month delay in approval for Needs
Assessments contracts
 Planning phase took more than 3X longer than
projected
 Implementation and Testing period had to be
drastically compressed
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
PROJECT BUDGET & STATUS
Project Phase
Budget
Completed
Needs Assessment
$43,455.69
8/31/09
Needs Assessment Project Management
$119970.99
10/27/09
Needs Assessment IV&V
$19,999.00
12/31/09
Software
$26,562.67
NMCRIS Application Development (paid)
$315,000.00
NMCRIS Application Development (unpaid retainage)
$35,000.00
Unused Funds
$11.65
Total
6/30/10
N/A
$560,000.00
Project Status
• All project objectives accomplished
• All deliverables submitted and accepted
• Application has been launched and is currently in production
• Application warranty period continues through 12/31/10
• All payments have been made except the 10% retainage for application
development
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New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
NMCRIS Enhancement and Expansion
LESSONS LEARNED
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Not all vendors on the project management vendor list may
possess the technical expertise required for a project of this
complexity
Project management & needs assessment SOW’s should
specify deliverables very precisely– DCA lacked the experience
and technical expertise to do this without greater DoIT
guidance
An experienced, professional project manager is essential to
the success of a project of this scope
A budget line item for long term product support should be a
part of the overall project plan, particularly so when agency IT
are not fully versed in the technologies implemented
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