Richmond, VA – May 29, 2008 –Timmons Group, a leader in Enterprise Asset Management and geospatial consulting services, has developed a web-based Citizens Request Portal that extends the Cityworks Service Request functionality to all of the organization’s employees and constituents without increasing Cityworks or ESRI software licensing.
This solution is only available to organizations that maintain a Cityworks site license or a new Enterprise License Agreement (ELA). The web application interacts directly with an Oracle or SQL Server Cityworks database and dynamically accesses the Service Request types and related fields that are configured and managed within Cityworks Designer. Both Timmons Group and Azteca felt the need to provide a tool that would enable all citizens and employees to submit concerns, report problems, and request services in a simple and controlled manner. Current Timmons Group clients; the Town of Herndon in Virginia, Montgomery County Sanitary Engineering Department in Dayton Ohio and the Department of Transportation in Washington DC, insisted on a more dynamic and interactive product than was currently available. The response to our application has been so well received that Timmons Group has developed our Citizens Request Portal as its own product complete with installation, configuration, and system administrator tool sets and is selling it to Cityworks clients seeking to expand their Service Request functionality.
The Citizens Request Portal uses web services to interface directly to the Cityworks database and therefore requires no third party database or Cityworks database customization. Once the Service Request is submitted online, it is automatically saved to the Cityworks database where a Cityworks user can manage the request as they would any other service request. The portal can utilize many different external mapping services such as Google Maps, ArcMap, ArcOnLine and Google Earth as well as the organization’s internal GIS. Timmons Group will continue to update and enhance this software application as our clients request new functionality.
General Functionality
Searching
- Division/Department Search: The user can select the division/department (Cityworks Category list) which will filter the Cityworks Service Request types.
- Keyword Search: A user can type a word and perform a search which will identify the Request Types that have this specific keyword related. This mimics existing Cityworks search functionality.
- Search All: Displays the complete list of available service request types.
Questions and Answers – The questions are presented in sequential order as configured in Cityworks Designer. Subsequent questions are determined dynamically, mimicking the functionality within Cityworks. The portal accesses Cityworks Service Request configuration to populate the fields Submit To, Dispatch To and Priority based on the responses.
Mapping and Geo-Coding – The user enters the address of the incident along with their personal information. The user then locates the incident within the map service. The service request portal can utilize an external map service or the organization’s GIS.
Results – The user then submits their request and a Service Request is created within the Cityworks database. The user can view the status of their request at any time by returning to the portal and entering the Service Request ID.
About Timmons Group
Timmons Group is a leading provider of geospatial, information architecture and engineering services providing solutions focused on ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Mobile, GIS architecture and Enterprise solutions. Timmons Group is a privately held ENR 500 company and maintains a strong business partner relationship with the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), a world leader in GIS modeling and mapping software and technology. Timmons Group is a multi-award winning ESRI Business Partner whose clients have won many awards including the ESRI Special Achievement Award (SAG) in GIS.
For more information on Timmons Group’s Citizens Request Portal application or to find out how our Cityworks Implementation Experts can assist your organization on your journey to advanced asset management, contact Ed Singer, Principal at ed.singer@timmons.com or 804.387.6618.
Media contact:
Tim Asimos, Marketing Manager
Timmons Group
804.200.6375
tim.asimos@timmons.com