Navigating The Road To GIS Success: Key Components Of The Montana Department Of Transportation's Strategic Plan

Reprinted with Permission, Copyright 2007, Directions Media

For many transportation agencies, the prospect of implementing or expanding enterprise GIS capabilities or applications can trigger more questions than answers. Where do you start? What are your current capabilities, and where do you want to go? What will work at your agency? How do you set realistic deadlines?

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) GIS Section tackled those important questions in its efforts to expand its GIS. Enhanced GIS capabilities would streamline and support MDT's asset management, environmental studies, safety analysis and intelligent transportation systems (ITS).

MDT officially began its strategic planning process in June 2006 when it partnered with GeoDecisions, an information technology company specializing in geospatial solutions.