AIRPortal Program Support

JMT has provided program management, software engineering, and documentation and technical writing services to the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Aviation Administration (MDOT MAA) in support of the AIRPortal program, a secure web portal through which MAA staff and consultants can access data and applications that facilitate critical MAA business functions.

Program Management: JMT has provided AIRPortal program management services since 2011, including recommendations on AIRPortal strategy and policy; project management and AIRPortal team oversight; and training on AIRPortal applications.

In leading the program, JMT is responsible for recommending and implementing strategy and policy to realize MDOT’s MAA’s vision to make AIRPortal its central repository for information. As with any new technology being introduced into an organization, JMT engaged stakeholders to re-engineer business processes to take full advantage of the new applications and data access. JMT documented the as-is processes and established new processes in several key business areas for engineering, procurement, life safety, operations, and maintenance.

JMT wrote the initial strategic plan for AIRPortal in 2006 and took over the program in 2011. While the major tenants of the plan remained intact, JMT reevaluated the direction and focus of the program over the course of each fiscal year to better align with strategic goals established by MDOT MAA. This included several internal reorganizations and mid-year budgetary adjustments.

Application/Software Engineering: JMT Technology Group redesigned and made improvements to the performance of MDOT MAA’s existing Airport Engineering Information System (AEIS) and rebranded it. JMT reviewed each layer of the AEIS architecture to include the database, application framework, individual applications, and supporting hardware and software. After a thorough review, JMT redesigned the architecture to support AIRPortal’s enterprise focus and to ensure that the system would scale to meet MDOT MAA’s evolving requirements and increasing utilization by internal staff and consultants. JMT implemented the new system and began developing applications. Over time, JMT has monitored, maintained, and updated AIRPortal both within the internal environment and external environment. AIRPortal currently has more than 500 users.

Documentation and Technical Writing: To ensure the efficient and effective management of geospatial data and documents, JMT established the AIRPortal Clearinghouse. Under the clearinghouse, JMT created a consistent and uniform data management process to effectively ensure compliance with MDOT MAA’s GIS and CADD standards; established and defined roles and responsibilities of all participants; established and defined guidelines for editing and updating the inventory geodatabase based upon validated business rules; established and defined effective and workable procedures and tools for sharing and exchanging data; and established a geospatial data review process and data sharing for total transparency.