| This research looked at highway specification development and management at state highway departments, using the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) as a case study. The challenges facing WisDOT include independent development of related documents, data storage and retrieval, internal and external cross-referencing, tracking changes to the document, enforcement of referential integrity, and distribution of specifications and updates. The specification development process is currently performed using word processors at all state highway departments, including WisDOT.; This study took a multifaceted approach to solving the data management issues associated with the specifications. The information management system (IMS) designed in this research uses XML technologies, including XML Schema, XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), for the markup, validation, output and formatting of the data. Most of the data management and data retrieval needs are addressed by the relational database, Microsoft Access. By combining the strengths of XML and relational databases, a powerful data management system can be created.; The prototype IMS was compared to the current specification management system in a series of simple tests relating to data and content validation, cross-referencing, and formatting and transforming. The tests showed that the prototype IMS can make the distribution and development of the specifications more efficient and accessible. The tests also showed that the prototype IMS can provide data integrity constraints not possible with the current system.; The IMS designed in the current research is intended to be the link between where WisDOT is now with respect to specification management and where they could be. Due to its modular nature, the system could also be adapted for use in the management of other technical documents, both by WisDOT and by other organizations. A brief discussion of possibilities for future research is included. |
