New Mexic Cultural Resources Information System (NMCRIS)
Enhancement and Expansion
Project Charter For Certification
Executive Sponsor – Joe R . Valdez DCA CIO
Business Owner – Katherine Slick HPD Director
Business Owner - Sam Cata HPD Deputy Director
Project Manager – Bill Doleman – ARMS Program Manager
Original Plan Date: July 1, 2008
Revision Date:
Revision:
About This Project Charter DOCUMENT
Permission to plan the projec t and setting the governance structure
The Project Charter provides the project manager and project team with permission to proceed with the work of the project, within the scope delineated in this document. The Project Charter should be the outcome of a number of documents that went into the pre-planning for the project, and in many cases the agency IT Plan, Business Case for appropriations, Federal funding requests and the like.
Project sponsors sign the Project Charter signifying that they have agreed to the governance structure for guiding the direction for the further planning of the project, discovery and defining the requirements, acquiring necessary resources, and within that context the statement of work for any related contracts including a contract for the Independent Validation and Verification.
The Project Charter is also the foundation for the creation of the project management plan, and much of the thinking and writing for this charter will be immediately usable for that project management plan.
Project certification Initial phase documentation
The Project Charter is also used within the State of New Mexico IT Project Certification process as evidence of the project’s worthiness for the Initial Phase certification. The Initial Phase certification is especially critical to many state and agency projects because of its related release of the initial funds required for the project.
Initiation Phase funding is requested by an agency for use in developing project phases, developing Independent Verification and Validation (“IV&V”) plan and contract; address project review issues and/or to develop an overall project management plan. Note: Waiver of the IV&V requirement requires specific written approval by the Secretary of the DoIT.
DoIT “Project Certification” Memorandum July 2, 2007
The Project Charter and the Request for Certification Form are meant to provide a comprehensive picture of the project’s intention and initial planning, that includes the project’s place in the context of the State of New Mexico’s IT Strategic Plan, Enterprise Architecture, and DoIT project oversight process. See “IT Project Oversight Process” Memorandum July 5th 2007 on the OCIO-DoIT web site.
table of contents
About This Project Charter DOCUMENT ii
table of contents iii
1. project background 4
1.1 Executive Summary -rationale for the project 4
1.2 Summary of the foundation planning and documentation for the project 4
1.3 Project Certification Requirements 4
2.0 Justification, Objectives and impacts 4
2.1 Agency Justification 4
2.2 Business Objectives 4
2.3 Technical Objectives 4
2.4 Impact on Organization 4
2.5 Transition to Operations 4
3.0 Project/Product Scope of Work 4
3.1 Deliverables 4
3.1.1 Project Deliverables 4
3.1.2 Product Deliverables 4
3.2 Success and QUALITY METRICS 4
4.0 Schedule Estimate 4
5.0 Budget Estimate 4
5.1 Funding Source(s) 4
5.2. Budget By Major Deliverable or Type of expense - 4
Description 4
FY07 & Prior 4
Staff - Internal 4
5.3 Budget By Project Phase or Certification Phase 4
Initiation: 4
Planning: 4
6.0 Project Authority and Organizational Structure 4
6.1 STAKEHOLDERS 4
6.2 PROJECT GOVERNANCE PLAN 4
6.3 PROJECT MANAGER 4
6.3.1 PROJECT MANAGER CONTACT INFORMATION 4
6.3.2 PROJECT MANAGER BACKGROUND 4
6.5 Project management Methodology 4
7.0 Constraints 4
8.0 Dependencies 4
9.0 Assumptions 4
10.0 Significant Risks and Mitigation Strategy 4
11.0 COMMUNICATION PLAN FOR EXECUTIVE REPORTING 4
12.0 INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION - IV&V 4
13.0 Project Charter Agency Approval Signatures 4
14.0 Project Charter Certification Approval Signature 4
Revision History
Revision Number / Date / Comment1.0 / May 19, 2008 / Original
i
Project Charter [Project name] 23
1. project background
1.1 Executive Summary -rationale for the project
This project serves the following purposes: The proposed project will enable the agency to perform its mandated responsibilities by providing a database for the management of cultural resources within the State. The new NMCRIS will manage information on both archeological and architectural cultural properties and cultural survey information via a web-based, integrated relational/geospatial database.
The paper and electronic information maintained by the Department of Cultural Affairs at the Archeological Records Management Section (ARMS) and in the New Mexico Cultural Resource Information System (NMCRIS) plays a crucial role in the economic development process statewide, and allows the agency’s Historic Preservation Division (HPD) to fulfill its statutory mandates to:
· Maintain an inventory and database of cultural properties and surveys
· Review cultural resource compliance required by federal and state statute for most land-disturbing economic development
· Administer historic preservation programs, including preservation tax credits and loans
· Provide information on the state’s cultural heritage properties to the public and to the tourism and film industries
The system provides a statewide archeological relational and geospatial database used primarily in the context of, state and federally mandated cultural property preservation laws that apply to activities such as road building, oil and gas exploration and development, infrastructure improvement, and power line construction. Agencies served include the Department of Transportation, State Land Office, Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, the federal USDI Bureau of Land Management, and USDA Forest Service, local governments, private sector development enterprises, and agency review staff.
The pace of economic development is increasing but funding from supporting state and federal agencies is not. An average of 80% of the funding for ARMS and NMCRIS comes from cooperating agencies and access fees paid by cultural contractors. While the review and data entry data entry workloads have almost doubled since 2000, funding and the number of staff have remained static while salaries and benefits have increased by over 40%. As a result data entry has fallen behind by about three years, and review staff find it increasingly difficult to meet the mandated 30-day project review turnaround. This data entry backlog means an increasingly out-of-date database that does not meet the needs of industry planners and agency reviewers, which in turn leads to costly unnecessary duplicate survey of proposed developments. The solution is to capture data at the point of creation using the proposed IT applications.
Other system needs that are currently lacking in NMCRIS include:
· Information on historic architectural properties, which are becoming increasingly important in cultural compliance as urban projects grow in number.
· Maximized automation and sophistication of database queries and data input through the use of, modern GIS software. Automated queries will save cultural contractors, state and federal agency reviewers, and DCA staff significant time.
· Implementing an electronic tracking and sign-off application available to contractors and agencies.
The project will remedy all of these problems and streamline cultural review of most economic development projects in the state by means of three major project components:
New (Core) Applications for Existing Archeological NMCRIS
Contract with one or more qualified IT services vendors to develop web-enabled applications for data acquisition and database queries using both GIS and tabular platforms. Included are online data entry of standard forms and capture of tabular data, online digitizing of archeological site and project boundaries into geospatial database, and automation of common spatially-based queries required of cultural resource contractors.
Streamlining HPD Review Processes with Cultural Resource Compliance Project Tracking, Software
DCA will contract with a developer of a cultural resource project tracking databases, to implement such software for HPD and integrate it with the existing NMCRIS tabular and geospatial databases as well as the HPD login-logout system. This software should be a customizable, off-the-shelf, vendor-hosted database and multi-user system that allows all parties involved in the cultural compliance review process to track and approve compliance projects in all stages of economic development.
Design New Architectural Database Component for NMCRIS
Contract with a qualified IT services vendors to conduct a needs assessment and requirements analysis to develop a spatially enabled, document management system and simple database for architectural cultural property paper records stored at HPD. Included are development of web-enabled applications for tabular and geospatial data acquisition, linking to NMCRIS database, architectural document retrieval queries, a public website for non-sensitive registered properties, and a pilot document scanning and database indexing project focused on records of the State and National Registers of cultural properties.
The agency business objective is to provide accurate and up-to-date information to a wide array of state and federal agencies—including USDI Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, NM Departments of Transportation, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Office of the State Engineer, State Land Office, local governments, and tribal entities—as well as cultural contractors, academic researchers and the public.
Through system enhancement, database integration, and development of new data capture applications that will ensure data currency, NMCRIS will become an important planning and process streamlining tool for all parties involved in economic development, including land-managing agencies, developers, and cultural resource contractors. At the same time, an enhanced NMCRIS, will also further the agency’s mandate to maintain an inventory of all known cultural properties by making this information available to researchers and the public via a web-enabled applications. In addition to the proposed system upgrades and expansions, and in order to provide a stable environment, ensure application stability and system redundancy, all of the following questions will be taken under consideration;
Will it be feasible to:
1) Convert historical/legacy data from Oracle Forms Databases (including data entry forms) to a database such as MS SQL 2008 —without extending the project life, compromising system reliability, or exceeding the project budget, or remain with Oracle?
2) Rewrite legacy database query script applications and crucial accounting and billing functions in a DCA-supported programming language?
3) Move new severs over to DoIT?
4) Develop immediate solutions to ongoing system reliability problems that are impacting staff and client-user productivity without extending the project life or exceeding the project budget?
1.2 Summary of the foundation planning and documentation for the project
This project is based on DCAFY09 IT Plan business case and C-2 form, prior requirements analysis conducted with agency staff, a program assessment conducted in 2007, input from client stakeholders including contractors and federal and state agency clients, and additional information received from vendors.
1.3 Project Certification Requirements
Does the project fit into the criteria for certification? Which and how?
CRITERIA / YES/NO / EXPLANATIONProject is mission critical to the agency / Yes / Cultural Properties Act, 18-6-7 (A), HPD is mandated to provide the “maintenance and expansion of statewide historic and prehistoric site data bases.
Project cost is equal to or in excess of $560,000.00 / Yes / Total estimated cost is $560k
Project impacts customer on-line access / Yes / These manual searches, as well as unnecessary redundant surveys increase costs to the state, slows compliance review and thus project development, and increases the cost of doing business within New Mexico.
Project is one deemed appropriate by the Secretary of the DoIT / Yes / Recommended for funding by DoIT, funded by Legislature
Will an IT Architecture Review be required? / No / Per recommendation from DCA DoIT consultant
2.0 Justification, Objectives and impacts
The justification and objectives section relates the project to the purpose of the lead agency and describes the high level business and technical objectives for the project. The section also includes a high level review of the impact to the organization, and of the concerns for transition to operations.
2.1 Agency Justification
Number / Description /Agency 001 / A major goal of the proposed project is to expand the content and improve the currency of the agency’s cultural property database so as to streamline the cultural review component of economic development. This goal is directly related Executive Order #2004-014 seeking improved collaboration and faster enterprise decision-making.
Agency 002 / Move to a fully supported environment. In addition, agency staff uses historic architecture records in other preservation-related activities including tax credit, grant and preservation loan programs, all of which also contribute to economic development as well as preservation of New Mexico’s rich architectural legacy. This is directly related to the IT Strategic Roadmap “#4. Support Economic Development, C) Make it easy to do business with State government” by creating an ease of business interaction with government supporting economic development.
Agency 003 / Use modern information technology tools to improve the efficiency of two major database functions: data acquisition, and data delivery. Maintain and increase numbers of registered sites and structures on State and National Historic Registers.
2.2 Business Objectives
Number / Description /Bus. Objective 1 / Continue Legacy System support: Continue to provide reliable 24/7 eaccess access to legacy cultural property data serving users in state, federal, and local government, private industry and the public.
Bus. Objective 2 / Drive down the cost of government:
(a) Reduce DCA overall costs by capturing data electronically as they are created by cultural resource management contractors and government agency personnel. The result will produce a database that is current and virtually eliminates redundant data entry from paper records.
(b) Increase efficiency of cultural review process by implementing an off-the-shelf, centralized vendor-hosted project registration and review-tracking database that is linked to the new NMCRIS and HPD business processes; database would be accessible to all contractor and agency users. Objective is dependent on federal and state agency buy-in (a federal pilot study is underway).
Bus. Objective 3 / Enhance functionality of services offered; The system will provide comprehensive, current information with sophisticated database query and reporting capabilities, (including automating common queries), and self-service documentation and training. The system will focus on serving users in state, federal, and local government, private industry and the public.
Bus. Objective 4 / Expand data database content: Add a document-focused architectural property database component to existing NMCRIS Oracle and GIS components, to include both registered and non-registered historic and architectural properties.
Bus. Objective 5 / Improve public access to non-protected information on cultural properties: An easy-to-use, web-enabled public access database component will be valuable to rural New Mexicans who will be able to access information on their own cultural heritage.
2.3 Technical Objectives
Number / Description /Tech. Objective 1 / Conduct a system needs assessment that addresses the following questions:
(a) Can the current system software architecture (Oracle and ESRI GIS) meet the needs of the future NMCRIS?
(b) If not, can the system (including all current or enhanced applications) be migrated to a new platform (e.g., MS SQL Server & ESRI GIS) without delaying delivery of urgently-needed new applications or exceeding the project budget?
(c) Will a centrally-hoisted project review database linked to NMCRIS streamline the cultural review process, thus reducing its impact on economic development projects?
(d) What can be done as part of the project to increase ongoing system reliability, and what is the ideal hardware and network configurations to ensure reliability of the new system, including storage, backup and bandwidth issues?
(e) What system architecture constraints are required to ensure adaptability to future requirements?
(f) What are the anticipated impacts on DoIT as well as on the agency’s budgets?
Tech. Objective 2 / Use results of needs assessment above to determine ideal system architecture and hardware and software configuration, given project funding and scheduling constraints. Acquire necessary components and configurations to ensure system reliability and adaptability to future requirements.
Tech. Objective 3 / If warranted by needs assessment results, migrate NMCRIS system to new software platform, including all data entry, data query, database management, and accounting functions and applications.
Tech. Objective 4 / Review/revise NMCRIS Core Applications requirements and design new data entry/query applications that (a) meet system and business process needs, and (b) allow external user to enter/upload NMCRIS data using appropriate, state-compliant online forms.
Tech. Objective 5 / Integrate off-the-shelf, centralized, vendor-hosted project registration and review-tracking database (CRM Tracker) with new NMCRIS. Objective is dependent on federal and state agency buy-in (a federal pilot study is underway).
Tech. Objective 6 / Conduct requirements analysis with HPD staff PD Hcdfand design document-focused architectural property database and integrate with existing NMCRIS tabular database and GIS components, including data capture and querying functionalities for both internal staff and public access to non-protected cultural information. Conduct pilot scanning and records indexing project.
Tech. Objective 7 / Develop self-service new system training modules for staff and clients.
2.4 Impact on Organization
The impacts on the organization are areas that need to be addressed by the project through its planning process. They may not be internal project risks, but they can impact the success of the project’s implementation.