Changes

Interoperability, flexibility and user-friendliness were three of the key words that laid down the foundation for the next generation of IMSMA – IMSMANG. This entailed moving away from somewhat rigid processes and methods towards a highly flexible and user-friendly information management system that could meet almost all local needs and requirements.

IMSMA v.4 achieved this goal in 2006. One of the key enhancements was the development and integration of a fully functional GIS component. For this work, the GICHD was honoured by the presentation of the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI), Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) award to its IMSMA support team. The award citation reads in part “By embracing GIS technology, these organizations have made extraordinary contributions to our global society and set new precedents throughout the GIS community.”

IMSMA v.5 released in 2007 provided another major enhancement by including an impact scoring tool and the possibility of recording victims and accidents separately. Users’ feedback and lessons learnt are constantly evaluated and compiled by the GICHD. Furthermore, the GICHD close collaboration with FGM remains crucial to guarantee that we meet our users’ needs and requirements in the field. The current software development contract with FGM will be reviewed at the end of 2009.

[[Glossary|<abbr title="Information Management System for Mine Action">IMSMA</abbr>]] Legacy Systems refers to older IMSMA versions (v.1.x to v.3.x) deployed in the field before IMSMANG.

In addition, IMSMA v.3 started embracing professional database platforms such as SQL Server for its technical development. This software improved numerous aspects, from data handling, being facilitated through the design of database queries, to installations into a networked environment, with an increased number of simultaneous users. More on IMSMA Legacy

IMSMA v.1.1 was first deployed to the field in Kosovo in 1999. Information management being one focus principle of every mine action programme, the Zurich’s Institute of Technology (ETHZ) had been mandated by the GICHD to develop a standardized software tool to help process and coordinate both data and activities related to mine action. Valuable cooperation from field users resulted in the development of a new version. IMSMA v.2.2 was said to be “significantly better” as it provided among others, a plug-in to ArcVIEW allowing to view information on a map. It was with this newly developed version that IMSMA was adopted by the UN on an international level as the standard for humanitarian demining information.

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