Implementing AM/FM/GIS at an RUS Electric Cooperative

AEC’S original project plan called for the selection of a national consulting group to act as a general contractor for the project. With the addition of the above noted GIS coordinator, AEC elected to act as its own prime contractor and to request proposals for each project phase. A new project plan was developed that separated the project into five sections. Briefly the sections are as follows:

Develop internal functional requirements and internal database design documents.
Compare existing base system models and functions from major vendors with functional and data requirements. Select a software vendor and determine functional gaps.
Refine field inventory requirements and select a vendor.
Acquire hardware and software. Implement corporate infrastructure enhancements as required.
Coordinate a training program, phase in software use, and begin software enhancement program.

Develop Internal Documents
An extensive self-analysis is the required first step leading into a project of this scope. Unfortunately, group brainstorming and team building techniques prevalent in many industrial settings have not been oflen introduced at rural cooperatives, and if performed it has generally not been at the staker and line foreman level. It is essential that these front line personnel be included in any beginning discussions and be continually consulted with during the project lifetime. This process will extract knowledge from those in the most day to day contact with operations and create a buy-in where the personnel who can alter the long term success of the project feel some ownership with the project. AEC felt strongly that suggestions offered by all personnel be considered and a response provided if a suggestion was rejected or could not be incorporated. This is not to diminish the contributions from supervisors and management.

Once a healthy flow of information is initiated, it is critical to collect, contain, and organize all the information into one or several documents to create the foundation of all future process steps. AEC elected to create two documents for the bulk of this information: First, the Internal Functional Requirements Document (IFRD), and second, Internal Database Design Document (IDDD). The IFRD contained many sections including basic requested functionality, modeled workflow, identified interfaces, hardware and network requirements, and OS and GUI requirements. The IDDD contained objects and attributes, selection lists for attributes, default values, if any, and other items typical of a rule base. It was not AEC’S intent to create data models within the IDDD, just to collect the information in the most efficient way for the cooperative. AEC considers these documents to be living and has updated and extended these throughout the life of the project. They were the primary documents referenced for the vendor selection process, the field inventory request for proposals, and the design of various interfaces.