The Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS)

http://iftdss.sonomatech.com/
http://www.frames.gov/iftdss

IFTDSS Version 1.0 is now available!

The Joint Fire Science Program is pleased to announce the availability of version 1.0 of the Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS). Following a strategic assessment, in 2009 the JFSP undertook development and testing of an Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS) focusing on the interagency hazardous fuels reduction (HFR) program. The IFTDSS software integration framework provides a demonstrated technical solution to create a standard and effective process for organizing currently stand-alone scientific software tools so that data management inefficiencies are eliminated, and project management and functional application support is enhanced.

Version 1.0 (January 2012) is the most recent version of IFTDSS and can be found at iftdss.sonomatech.com. We invite anyone working in the area of hazardous fuels reduction to register as a test user of IFTDSS and provide comments and feedback about what they like and what they don't like. Be advised that IFTDSS is still under development and your comments and critique will be used to shape the final form of the software package. No registration is necessary to watch the Getting Started in IFTDSS video presentation. Simply go to the home page at iftdss.sonomatech.com and click on the video display icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen. If you do register as a guest user, then you will have access to an extensive Online Help system and a feedback button on every page that allows you to send questions, comments, or suggestions to the IFTDSS development team. Briefly, the Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS) is a web-based, software integration framework that manages pre-existing and newly developed software base models and their required data needs to analyze and support decisions about fuels management to mitigate wildfire risk.

More Information

Background

The interagency Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), through both formal and informal interactions with its partners and clients, became convinced in 2006 that one of the more pressing problems facing fire and fuels managers is the confusion and inefficiency associated with the many existing software systems intended to help fire and fuels managers. These systems have proliferated in the last decade in response to various funding initiatives without any central control or vision. Managers are left with an assortment of unconnected systems in various stages of development with little guidance concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the various systems, and no framework for integration and fusion of data and outputs from these systems. One of the principal voices articulating this problem has been the Fuels Management Committee. Acting in concert with the Fuels Management Committee, the JFSP initiated the Software Tools and Systems (STS) Study in 2007.

In Phase I (April 2007- March 2008), we studied the problem identified by the fuels specialist user community - software chaos. In Phase II (April 2008 - March 2009), we developed a solution path - a conceptual design document, a software architecture design document, and the focus on building a service oriented architecture based, distributed framework named the Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS). In Phase III (April 2000 - May 2010), we implemented the proof of concept version of IFTDSS. All of the many varied products we have published along the way may be found on this web site. In particular, we call your attention to the JFSP Fire Science Digest dated December 2009 entitled "A Powerful New Planning Environment for Fuels Managers: The Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System."

It is absolutely critical to understand that IFTDSS is not another new fuels treatment system. It is a framework that organizes and makes available a large number of pre-existing software models. It provides access through the Internet and provides users with a single user interface to multiple software tools.

Phase IV began the full implementation of the software framework. IFTDSS version 1.0 (Jan. 2012) has been released. This version contains support for data preparation using LANDFIRE data, prescribed burn planning and analysis, preparing a prescribed burn plan and hazard analysis of current conditions for a user defined area of interest. The next version, 1.2, is scheduled for March/April 2012 and will add a risk assessment workflow for current condition data.