IMSMA News

Aug 26, 2004 at 00:00 o\clock

FGM Awarded IMSMA Humanitarian Demining Contract

by: khstierli2

FGM Awarded IMSMA Humanitarian Demining Contract
FGM was awarded a 2-year contract from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) to design and develop the next version of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). The new IMSMA software system will help address key problems in humanitarian demining, including the lack of accurate information about mined areas.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2004
CONTACT: SARAH MILLS, 703.478.9881 (FGM INC.)
RELEASE NUMBER: FGM.004.082604

COMPANY TO SUPPORT MINE CLEARANCE EFFORTS WITH SOFTWARE SYSTEM

RESTON, VIRGINIA- Thursday, August 26, 2004 - FGM, Inc. announced today that the company was awarded a 2-year contract from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) to design and develop the next version of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). The new IMSMA software system will help address key problems in humanitarian demining, including the lack of accurate information about mined areas and the need to facilitate the collection and handling of relevant information. FGM's development of IMSMA will support these information needs by providing a comprehensive tool to gather, store, and map data, to analyze the needs of mine action centers in the field, and to aid mine field identification and mine clearance. The system will also facilitate priority-setting and allocation of resources for future clearance activities.

IMSMA is the world's largest information management system used in mine action, having been deployed in nearly 40 mine-affected countries and regions worldwide. The new version of IMSMA will improve usability and maintainability, and extend the capabilities of the existing system. FGM will include robust mapping and geographic information capabilities within IMSMA to track the locations and effects of this persistent threat.

Alan Arnold, GICHD Programme Manager for IMSMA, said, "The GICHD looks forward to the start-up of this important project to update IMSMA. The selection of FGM resulted from an extensive review and evaluation process involving proposals from more than half a dozen competitors. FGM's clear understanding of the system requirements, combined with an innovative approach and the use of state of the art technologies, will result in real improvements for IMSMA users in the field."

FGM's Business Area Manager for the IMSMA contract, Noah Klemm, said, 'FGM’s role on the IMSMA contract will support developing countries that are dealing with a landmine problem, and help to rid the world of the threat posed by landmines. It is a fitting extension of our work for the GICHD in the area of mine action system compatibility." FGM introduced the Mine Action XML (maXML) registry specification for the GICHD in an effort to improve efficiency and compatibility of software systems used in the mine action and humanitarian demining community. The new IMSMA system will operate within the maXML specifications.

About GICHD
The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining works towards a world free of anti-personnel landmines and for the reduction of the humanitarian impact of remnants of war by providing operational assistance, creating and sharing knowledge, and supporting instruments of international law. It is an independent foundation, supported by 18 governments. http://www.gichd.ch/

About FGM, Inc.
FGM works as a trusted partner with the U.S. government, international agencies, and businesses by engineering software and systems to share, track, and control critical information. As a thriving employee-owned company, FGM delivers sophisticated, customized software solutions that support national security and international initiatives, and improve business efficiency. Through knowledge management, data integration, enterprise architectures, and web-enabled solutions, FGM provides the results.

FGM is headquartered in Reston, Virginia and has offices in Colorado Springs, Colorado; San Diego, California; and Honolulu, Hawaii. For more information, visit the FGM web site at www.fgm.com.

Aug 2, 2004 at 12:11 o\clock

IMSMA Newsletter and Website - Reply from Alan Arnold (2)

by: khstierli2

 
Sorry I missed the newsletter.  Again it is not a case of no interest on our part, but rather the response from the field.  You are the first person to even mention this idea to us in a very long time.  This does not mean that others might not be interested, but it does indicate a certain lack of demand for the idea in the field.  In addition we will be making more extensive and frequent updates to our web site in the future which we hope will meet your needs.  Look for regular updates to start right after the summer vacation period ends.
 
As far as V3 is concerned I understand your concern with regard to future support efforts.  As you know the developer password has never been made available to anyone outside the IMSMA development team.  There are many reasons for this decision.  Among these is the fact that we have always felt that in order to maintain support for the system a base configuration was required.  The fact that we will begin to phase out development and updates for V3 does not mean that you will need to begin making internal code changes to the software in order to continue using it.  As you know it is very possible to maintain, customize and use the system very effectively without making any internal changes to the code.
 
I strongly advise against any attempt to change the IMSMA internals.  At the very least this would make it more difficult to complete a transition to the new IMSMA when it is ready.  I am afraid that I would not like to think about the worst possible outcomes.  We will continue to work with you to support MACA and meet the needs of larger programmes.   MACA has already done a lot with IMSMA and as you know there is still a lot to explore in the system without making any changes.
 
The fact that ETHZ is no longer going to be part of the team does not mean that we have lost all of our expertise or our ability to respond to the needs of the field.  Our regional support team has a long experience with IMSMA and we will soon begin work with a new team of highly professional and experienced developers.  While IMSMA V3 is a complex system it is not that complex.  The technology used is common to a number of data base applications and can be easily understood.  Your request for the password shows that you think it would not be that difficult to get inside the system and understand it.  Rather than start on a new path let's work together to make what we have the best it can be.  The GICHD will continue to provide support with a very compotent team whether ETHZ or you or I are here or not.  Change is about the only constant in life and it is not always or even that often bad.