IMSMA News

May 23, 2005 at 10:00 o\clock

GICHD: Activities January to March 2005

by: khstierli2

Update on Activities in 2005 (complete report)

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

4. Information management is one of the key elements required for success in mine action programmes. The GICHD has focused its efforts in this area on the development and deployment of the Information Management for Mine Action (IMSMA). These efforts have resulted in the successful deployment of IMSMA in 41 programmes world-wide and its adoption as a de facto data handling standard for mine action.

5. In order to maximise the impact of information management in mine affected countries and take advantage of the synergies available between IMSMA and other systems, the Centre is now redefining its information management support role to include a comprehensive information management training programme. The new programme is no longer foucused on just the specifics of the IMSMA technology, but provides a systems approach to the overall management of information of all kinds in mine action. The goal of the programme is to assure the successful integration of proven information management techniques, systems such as IMSMA and other tools into day-to-day operations in the field.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MINE ACTION (IMSMA)

6. During the reporting period, the IMSMA system was installed in Jordan, the 41st operational installation.

7. As of 31 March 2005, IMSMA was being used in 41 field programmes: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (for the National Impact Survey), Burundi, Chad, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Congo (DRC), Costa Rica (by OAS), Ecuador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon (National Demining Organisation), Macedonia, Mauritania, with MINURSO in Western Sahara, in Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Russian Federation (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Northern Ossetia), Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, with UNFICYP, UNIFIL, UNMEE, in Yemen and Zambia. Additional versions are running at various training sites at locations in France, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

8. The IMSMA Re-Engineering Project was first conceived in 2003 in response to feed-back on the operation of the system received from the field. The goal of the project is to incorporate the latest technology advancements, improvements in data transfer methods (such as maXML) and most importantly the lessons learned by users in the field into an improved and easier to use information management tool for the field. The re-engineering project is currently operating on schedule and within the established budget. The first prototype delivery is scheduled for the fall of 2005.

9. The upcoming version of the IMSMA software will be provided in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic. The system will incorporate a facility to assist users with translation into other local languages in the field. IMSMA translation support will include training materials in all six of the supported base languages.

10. The IMSMA Re-engineering Project and relevant translation work is funded by Switzerland.

May 19, 2005 at 18:51 o\clock

Questions re progress reporting

by: khstierli2

Questions in regards to progress reporting from UNMEE to the GICHD/IMSMA Regional Coordinator for Africa and the Middle East:

  1. Does the progress report refer to daily, weekly or monthly reporting?
  2. What does the line 'SOP reference' mean on page 2?
  3. Where do we put the perimeter (turning points) at the form?
  4. How do we differentiate 'area worked' vs 'area (finally) cleared' in the progress report? Not all areas with work progress are also cleared: There might be first a mechanical clearance (reported in the progress report), and the following week a manual clearance (reported in next week's progress report), before it is finally cleared.
  5. How do we enter roads (with kilometers of completion, not square meters)?
  6. Is there a chance to have a progress report against a dangerous area(suspected minefield, helipad/bridge etc) ?
  7. Is there a chance to put a geographical shape against a progress? Or, dowe have to convert progress areas to clearances first to store their shapes? (We are talking here about weekly progress reporting; MECHEM e.g. with 30-40 progress 'reports').

May 16, 2005 at 03:03 o\clock

Support for IMSMA V3.0

by: khstierli2

Reply to IMSMA Newsletter and Website - Reply from Alan Arnold (3) by Alan Arnold, GICHD

We  requested more information from Mr. Alan ARNOLD, Program Manager Mine Action Information Systems, GICHD  about the support plan for IMSMA V3 and got the following reply:
 
Once all of the sites have been offered the opportunity to transition to V4 we will discontinue support for V3.  This will be a phased process and has already begun.  We have already eliminated V3 training from our support package and will only be providing emergency updates to the system from this point forward.  All support services from ETHZ will end on June 30th of this year.  The team there has already been significantly reduced and no further updates for V3 are planned.
  
For the UNMACA/MAPA a technical support structure is essential for our IMSMA V3 system. We are very concerned about the plans of the GICHD, especially to stop the 2nd level technical support from the IMSMA V3 development team from ETHZ by mid of this year. Many of our support requests from the past have been forwarded to the IMSMA V3 development team by the IMSMA support at GICHD because it was above the capability and capacity of the support personnel in Geneva. 
 
Mr. Arnold looks to begin a transition for the Afghan programme in late 2006. Our program will have to work with IMSMA V3 for at least the next 18 months. During that time we are only offered emergency updates and no further updates. We compiled a wish list with significant changes and updates of V3 which should be realised in a SP2 update before the support services from ETHZ will end.
 
Mr. Arnold  tries to channel all funds to the IMSMA V4 and drastically reduce the amount going into IMSMA V3 support.  Should the support services from ETHZ end before a transition to IMSMA V4 could be completed, the UNMACA will be forced  to set up it's own IMSMA development and technical support capacity.  

May 16, 2005 at 03:02 o\clock

IMSMA V3 SP2 Wish List (UNMACA/MAPA)

by: khstierli2

Navigator: task record viewing window

The Navigator in IMSMA V3.0 SP1 should have a task record viewing window like the 12 already existing ones.

This would allow to:

  • quick select tasks based on a geographic selection and criteria's.
  • quick navigate from a tasked record to the task or up and down the chain of action.
  • see the task activities (referenced records) of a task and their relationships
  • see which records are tasked (how many times and by which tasks

The Afghan IMSMA database has more then half a million records and the navigator is very helpful in keeping the overview.

Selection for edit form: Name field expansion

The Name field in the Selection for edit form of Task and Minefield should be expanded to show the complete Task or Minefield name which are based on our the following naming convention (see AMAS Chapter Nine Edition 1, Revision 0, 17 February 2005, 5. Hazardous Area/Minefield Numbering Systems):

  1. A country code, AF.
  2. A four digit district code.
  3. A five digit community code.
  4. A MF or BAC task number for the district.
  5. For example; AF/0101/00176/MF0372.

For the Lesson learned we didn't define strict naming conventions but a larger Title field in the Lesson learned Selection for edit form would be helpful to faster find an LL.

Solution (Added 2005-07-09)

The column widths for frmEditSelection.lbxObjects are hardcoded and not taken column withs in the form. Therefore the source code needs to be changed.  

Data Management Report: Filter by Owner

The Administration > Data management reports (DMR) should have a third filter criteria for the owner MAC "Owned by" like the Selection for edit forms. Our regions don't cover the the AOR of the AMAC's and especially the SubAMACs.

Data Management Report – Datapool Overview: Devices

The Administration > Data management reports > Overview report for the IMSMA datapool (ORDP) should be expanded to include the number of records from the devices tables (MA SuspectedDevice, DA SuspectedOrdnance, DeviceDestroyed and DeviceMarked for PR, CL, CS and IncAcc Device). This could be done in a devices page.

We experienced lost devices during incomplete synchronizations and got device incompatibility messages in tblProgressReportDeviceDestroyed. A similar problem sometimes happened when importing a new MAC on top of an already filled database. The suggested report could help the easy recognize a missing records problem.

Solution (Added 2005-07-09)

The tables listed in the overview report are taken from tblApplicationSemanticKeyControl where clnControlName='cboKindOfItem'. For additional tables just add a row and enter the table name in column clnSemanticKey.

Synchronization: conflicting record resolving tool

To respond to "conflictiong record" messages from the synchronization and resolve the problem, a tool should assist and guide to a solution.

Coordinates: Customizable Formats

The frontend automatically converts Lat/Lon coordinates to Degree, Minutes and Seconds (DMS) and displays them in this format. The display format should be customizable and there should be a way to switch from DMS to decimal degree and back (by pressing a hotkey or radio button). Also the print format in the reports should be customizable and alternative formats should be available to be used to customize the reports. (Added 2005-05-26)

Solution (Added 2005-07-14)

A parameter in tblApplicationParameterLocal could define how geo coordinates are presented (in forms and reports). This needs to be done in the source code.

Incident Form: Reference to Areas

Like the reference to areas in the accident form the same functionality should be added to the incident form. Therefore the three attributes (clnReferenceTC, clnReferenceOther, clnReferenceGUID) need to be added to the tblIncAccIncident or to keep the table structure unchanged, three UDFs could be used to store this data.

(Added 2005-06-02)

Sketch: Support for more document types

Image file types are supported but no application files (lile .doc or .pdf). Application files should be accepted (no preview required in IMSMA or GIS) in the field 'Path to selected file'. The contents of this field should be printed with the image in the MS-Word reports. The copy function (keyboard short-cut Ctrl-C) is not applicable because it is a display only field. A copy button could be a substitution for this useful function.

May 9, 2005 at 18:17 o\clock

Casualty tracking system - Reply from Alan Arnold

by: khstierli2

Reply to Casualty tracking system  by Alan Arnold, GICHD

Thanks for the information.  It appears to me that most if not all of the things you are planning will be fully integrated into the new system.  The problem is that the final release containing everything will not be available until late next year.  In the mean time the best advice I can give you is to stay close to the current data structure.  You just need to remember that this will change significantly when the new release comes out.  We do not have a layout for the new structure for the functional modules completed at this point, but we will be including everything that is in the current system in one way or another.  The interface spec for the functional modules is also still under development.  Once we are ready with a final design we can get something out to you.  I am forwarding your e-mail to the development team so that they are aware of your work.

May 9, 2005 at 12:56 o\clock

Casualty tracking system

by: khstierli2

I'm in the design phase of a casualty tracking system and just collected some ideas (see Casualty / Victim Tracking System).
 
It would be helpful to get access to IMSMA V4 technical documentation (ERD where I can see how the casualty/victim data will be modelled, design/concept of the casualty subsystem, interface specifications, etc.)
 
This would allow me to design a system which could be converted to IMSMA V4 much easier.

May 9, 2005 at 12:55 o\clock

Casualty / Victim Tracking System

by: khstierli2

General

Casualty and Victim data is stored in IMSMA in the tables

  • tblIncAccCasualty (linked with tblIncAccAccident or tblIncAccIncident)
  • tblSurvey1MinedAreaVictim (linked with tblSurvey1MinedArea)

based on the origin of the data (LIS - recent victim or accident/incident - casualty).

It is a system feature that Survey1MinedAreaVictims are an element of basic information, an 'approximation of the problem' and that they mainly influence the IMPACT SCORE calculation >> it is not a strict collection of facts / it is rather a 'hint'.

Mine/De-mining victims are persons where factual information is known; they were seen, registered, they can be visited. They do really exist and all information should(!) be 100% correct.

It is also a feature (which might be disputable) that survey victims (see primo) cannot just be muted/copied to become 'Accident' victims/causalities (see secundo) - they have to be inputted a second time (the developers felt a need for this procedure for data security reasons).

Situation in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan the Survey1MinedAreaVictims data is of good quality from the just completed LIS and will be maintained by the pre assessment teams. Mine victims and mine accidents (IncAccIncident)are based on reports from ICRC (and some other organizations) and is entered into IMSMA without prior verification by our own resources. It's planned to send Quality Management and Inspection Team (QMIT) to the location of the accident to verify the report and take the coordinates by GPS.

For us it's important to have a link between tblIncAccIncident and tblSurvey1MinedArea!

We can't make the link via gazetteer because it is still changing to adjust to the modified country structure and to correct errors (also see attached file).

Motivation

Victim data can be used not only for planning purpose but also for victim support in the form of a victim tracking system.

We have to keep the LIS up-to-date and associate a victim with the hazardous area and make sure that all known incident locations are finally reported in IMSMA.

Solution (Updated 2005-07-11)

The following key decisions/activities will lead to a joint victim database:

  • An FK relationships in tblIncAccIncident to the areas (hazards) as in tblIncAccAccident required (code change).
  • Dangerous area record added when an incident occured but no SHA recorded.
  • A dummy record will be maintained in the tblSurvey1MinedAreaVictim for each recent victim (to allow a correct impact calculation) and a UDF keeps a foreign key relationship to a record in tblIncAccCasualty. The ID number of the victim in that entity will be shown.

Result / Outcome
  • Joint victim database
  • Victim tracking system
  • Update procedure for LIS data

May 9, 2005 at 12:21 o\clock

IMSMA Newsletter and Website - Reply from Alan Arnold (3)

by: khstierli2

 
Sorry to hear that you are feeling left out.  We are trying to keep the information flow going and at the same time keep things moving ahead on the project.  In fact I have been away from the office the last couple of weeks conducting a series of demonstrations and question and answer sessions concerning the new release of IMSMA.  This trip included meetings with the UN in New York, VVAF, SAC and the US DoS.  We planning a series of regional meetings to discuss the new system and provide demonstrations to programme managers and operational staff from the current IMSMA sites.  These will begin later this summer and extend into the late fall of this year.  The regional coordinators will inform the sites and send out invitations as soon as dates have been determined.    
 
In the mean time I will try to answer as many of your questions as I can.  The new release will be called V4 in order to stay with the current naming convention.  The NG name was never really an official part of the new release and has been dropped.  As far as the internal structures and concepts being employed there has been a lot of work accomplished and we are well along with the first stages of the development process.  The system is divided into a core module representing the basic information required to perform operational mine clearance activities.  These elements all come from the current IMSMA data set. 
 
The remaining IMSMA data elements will be represented and expanded into a series of functionally based support modules.  These "Plug-Ins" will provide enhanced support for MRE, VA, Hazard Reduction, Q/A and many other tasks.  I am scheduling a series of meetings to help us validate our approach to these functional modules.  We will base their functionality on the current system and expand and update things to reflect current feed-back from the field.  In all cases the objective is to design tools that are simple to use for non-IT staff.  The first meeting will focus on MRE and Victim Assistance and will take place at JMU in mid-August.  Invitations will be sent to MRE and VA organizations over the next few weeks.  I will organize a group or groups to discuss Tasking, Clearance, Hazard Reduction and other the operational issues later this fall.
 
The new system will be released in small increments beginning this fall (October).  The first set of locations selected for the release are all small sites with limited needs.  As you can imagine this does not include Afghanistan.  The sites were selected to match the capabilities available in the first Pilot Version of the new system.  The Pilot test will begin sometime before Christmas.  The regional coordinators will perform the installations and training on site.  Once these locations have been installed and we have a good idea how operations are going we will expand to other locations.  The entire process will take about 18 months. 
 
Once all of the sites have been offered the opportunity to transition to V4 we will discontinue support for V3.  This will be a phased process and has already begun.  We have already eliminated V3 training from our support package and will only be providing emergency updates to the system from this point forward.  All support services from ETHZ will end on June 30th of this year.  The team there has already been significantly reduced and no further updates for V3 are planned.
 
In terms of the general concepts being put in place for V4 the key point is the shift from a emphasis on IT to Operations.  The system has been greatly simplified and will contain a number of wizards designed to reduce the need for IT support and make it easier for users to interact directly with the system.  This starts with the complete integration of the GIS package into the user interface.  Navigation will be accomplished directly on the map or through the gazetteer.  We have also redesigned the system to incorporate a much more flexible approach to data collection, form design and reporting.  These tools are all new and represent a significant simplification of the system which will allow Operations users to take a much more direct role with the system.
 
The concept of DDE has also been much improved in order to eliminate the need for the complex data distribution schemes now being used.  Data can be collected and recorded in a number of locations at the same time and is brought together through an Operations Workbench approach that allows Ops Officers to easily review and validate field reports as they are incorporated into the system.  This means that the system will be available to a much wider range of NGOs and field operators for direct data entry.  We will work with national authorities to regulate the distribution of the system, but from a technical perspective we will be encouraging a much wider use and distribution. 
 
We will support this approach through direct user training here in Geneva and in the field.  We have already started this training and I am sure you have received a request for information about the staff there.  The idea is to identify operational users of the system and begin their training with basic courses outlining the concepts of information management.  Once the basic course has been completed we plan to move on to a course directed to the integration of information management into daily operations.  Finally, in a last stage we will move to training on the system itself.  In all cases the basic concept courses will be required prior to moving on to system installation.  Our emphasis will be on Operations Staff and system users. 
 
The IT aspects of the system are rooted in basic open source Java and SQL technologies which are familiar to IT professionals and should not require a great deal of training.  As a result the current train the trainer IT approach will be phased out.  This decision reflects our commitment to make things easier to use and discussions with UNMAS and others that indicate a desire to reduce the need for IT support in the field.  Clearly there will always be some needs in this area, but we are working to making these much more routine and directly related to the care and feeding of the network and the tasks directly related to IT rather than mine action.
 
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions.  At this point we would look to begin a transition for the Afghan programme in late 2006.  Thomas and I will stay in contact with you and the Operations staff there in order to keep you informed as things change.  The first step is to involve the Operations staff in the training process.  Please be aware that this training is not designed for IT professionals nor will it look at any of the details of the new release.  In fact in the first stages we do not even have any computers in the classroom.  Our goal is to provide a background that makes it possible for real operational support staff to use the system on a day to day basis and gain real value from it.

May 9, 2005 at 07:56 o\clock

IMSMA Newsletter and Website - My follow up (2)

by: khstierli2

 
I would like to repeat my request for information on the IMSMA Re-Engineering project (NG). On the IMSMA website I only found the IMSMA News from January 2005. I'm interested to get access to:   
  • conceptual documents concerning IMSMA NG
  • roll-out plan for IMSMA NG (with dates)
  • Support plan for IMSMA V3
New major customizations and add-on's are required. A new quality management module is in development.  For the Mine Information System (MIS) development project team we are in the process of hiring three more staff (international and national). 
 
As the information technical advisor and acting information coordinator I need to visualize the way forward for the UNMACA/MAPA MIS. With my current knowledge on IMSMA NG I'm not able to perform a decent job.