MARK 90 was meant to convert DMA's (now NGA) existing production process to an all digital process.
MARK 90 consisted of five segments, collectively known as the Digital Production System. These are:
1. Source Preparation Segment - assess-s, evaluates, and integrates all source materials for production programs.
2. Data Extraction Segment - provides for the extraction of terrain elevation
and feature data from available sources.
3. Product Generation System - supports the generation and revision of MC&G products by capturing and integrating data from various sources.
4. Data Services Segment - responsible for the centralized management and transfer of source materials and all digital data.
5. Production Management Segment - provides resource allocation, production monitoring and quality assurance support.
The eventual contractors who performed the work were:
WORK PERFORMED BY:
(U) Source Preparation Segment - E-Systems, Garland TX.
(U) Data Extraction Segment - General Dynamics Corporation, San Diego CA.
(U) Product Generation Segment - Intergraph, Huntsville AL.
(U) Data Services Segment - Hughes Aircraft Corporation, El Segundo CA.
(U) Production Management Segment - General Electric, Valley Forge PA.
Autometric was a sub-contractor on several of these activities. As such, I, along with other Autometric staff in Fort Collins, were able to work on a number of proposal research activities on attribute consistency checking, real time topology construction, spatial indexing, and so on. This research work was critical in allowing us to design a truly innovative GIS product that became known as DeltaMap and then GenaMap.
The following is from a 1994 Audit Report on the Digital Production System .
Contracting, Size, and Cost of the DPS. The use of digital data to make MC&G products was a new technology in 1982. Because various technical skills were required, DMA awarded separate contracts for each segment of the DPS. Consequently, the DPS has no overall contractor. DMA, with contractor engineering support, serves as the system integrator. Six contractors developed the software in eight programming languages for the seven DPS segments. DPS is used on more than 1,000 workstations and is run by about 8 million lines of contractor-developed software code. DMA awarded cost-plus-award-fee contracts to the development contractors and expected the DPS to be fully implemented in the mid-1990's. The total cost to develop the DPS, from the inception of MARK 85 to DMA's determination of full operational capability in November 1992, was $2.6 billion. In addition, DMA expended $322 million from FY 1989 through FY 1993 to operate and maintain DPS hardware and software and $113 million to develop DPS modifications and enhancements. DMA plans to spend $1.0 billion from FY 1994 through FY 1999 to operate and maintain the DPS and to develop products and capabilities that may directly or indirectly affect the DPS.