The Pooled Fund Study has come to a close and DIGGS has released the v2.0a of the Schemas. These are in Alpha status. We are working to find a permanent home and an implementation project to transfer ownership.

The Transportation Pooled Fund project TPF-5(111), “Development of Standards for Geotechnical Management Systems,” is in its final month and the current development phase of DIGGS is drawing to a close. In my last email update to the DIGGS team members and partners back in October 2011, I had reported that the project had been temporarily suspended for several months while seeking approval of a no-cost time extension through the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The project resumed in October 2011, and XML/GML schema development resumed under the contract with the University of Florida and Galdos Systems. As this TPF project is now wrapping up and ODOT is executing project close-out procedures, an update to you on development efforts is warranted.

It’s been several months since the release of DIGGS v1.1 this past April. At the roll-out meeting we had anticipated having a version 1.2 ready by July. However, the changes in version 1.2 have required far more analysis and work than originally anticipated. (Read more....)

We are pleased to announce the release of DIGGS v1.1. This release includes a number of significant schema changes. The net result is a schema that is more robust and easier to use, far less complex in organization and file size, loads and validates much quicker, and is compliant with GML 3.2 standards.

The project schedule has been revised to reflect the current status of work.

The “Project Plan” (also referred to as the “Project Roadmap”) is presented in this document with details, tasks, and activities to be carried out for the remainder of the Transportation Pooled Fund Project TPF-5(111), “Development of Standards for Geotechnical Management Systems.” A draft version of this project plan was presented at a DIGGS team meeting in Orlando, Florida in late March 2009 (http://www.diggsml.com/march-2009-diggs-meeting-report-project-status-and-development-new-roadmap). Discussions and recommendations stemming from that meeting were used to revise the draft plan. Additionally, in the Summer of 2009, the DIGGS Project Team contracted with Galdos Systems and Compusult Ltd. to carry out independent reviews of DIGGS version 1.0a schemas (http://www.diggsml.com/diggs-project-team-contracts-galdos-systems-and-compusult-ltd-carry-out-review-diggs-version-1-0a). The recommendations stemming from this review were also used to identify tasks.

DIGGS needs to develop a sustainable governance structure that can be responsible for the standard, manage maintenance and support, provide a structure for input and new releases and provide a mechanism for keeping the standard international and collaborative. Resulting from the GMS meeting in Orlando, March 25 & 26, 2009, a task committee was assigned to develop and present options for a governance model. The models need to allow for a smooth transition from the current pooled fund (TPF) organization to one that provides long term stability.

The DIGGS Project Team contracted with Galdos Systems and Compusult Ltd. to carry out independent reviews of DIGGS version 1.0a. Final reports from Galdos and Compusult with findings and recommendations can be read here. A synthesis of the findings is also available for download. These reports will form the basis for work to be conducted later this year.

The DIGGS team met in Orlando, Florida in late March 2009 to assess the current state of DIGGS development and identify the path forward for development and deployment. A copy of the agenda, presentations, and papers can be found in the "Publications" section of this site (http://www.diggsml.com/publications/diggs-invitational-meeting-%E2%80%93-report-project-status-and-development-new-roadmap).

The first meeting of the AGS Data Management Sub-Committee for Implementation of DIGGS UK was held on 10th December 2008 at Geotechnics Limited, Coventry, UK.

At the meeting we agreed the goals of the group and timescales for reporting back to the main AGS committee and the DIGGS board. This post contains an extract from the minutes of the meeting for general interest.