Migration of Defense Mapping Agency's (DMA) 
Digital Production System (DPS) 
Keith Littlefield 
Defense Mapping Agency 
USA 
The DPS was spawned by a 1983 Congressional mandate and designed as a digital end-to-end 
production pipeline from softcopy source and image exploitation to a final product. Production 
management functions were highly integrated and centralized. The current DPS production 
environment is a legacy of the Cold War era in which coverage requirements and source were known 
in advance, and long lead times existed in a known product mix. 
DPS was developed with mid 1980s technology. Over 3,000 pieces of equipment, including 1,000 
specialized workstations and 7.5 million lines of custom code (7 programming languages) were 
integrated and delivered from 5 prime contractors. This core system was sized to meet 1980 
production requirements for 24 key product lines in a two-shift operation. In some case, given the 
inflexibility in production scheduling, a production requirement could take up to a year to complete. 
The Mapping, Charting and Geodesy (MC&G) Database is a fully integrated topological structure and 
sized for approximately 1TB of on-line vector data. 
System enhancements are necessitated by new readiness and responsiveness requirements demanded 
by U.S. warfighters. Warfighter data needs are growing in terms of data volumes and increased 
resolution (Global Positioning System technology). DPS was designed to support a vary stable set of 
requirements and is not readily adaptable to quick response demands. Regional crises with little 
advanced warning , such as those the military has responded to in recent years, afford DMA only a 
short time to prepare the information critical to a successful mission. 
DMA has adopted the Global Geospatial Mapping Information and Services (GGMI&S) strategy as a 
way of doing business in a world of rapidly shifting alliances and short lead time deployments of 
U.S. forces to any part of the globe. Our plans to populate a worldwide data base and to allow 
customers to extract data at interim steps in the production process up to the point of production 
finishing. Estimated database size for image and non-image data is 230+ TB with 5 TB on-line, with 
50-60 TB near on-line. 
Three major deficiencies force DMA to migrate the existing production system: 1. mandatory changes 
to incorporate a variety of sensors, 2. life cycle replacement of the existing digital production system 
and 3. Defense Planning Guidance to support two major regional conflicts. 
The current DPS uses a single image source that is in the process of being retired. Replacement 
sensors are under development; image format changes will drive significant modifications to DMA's 
image exploitation functionality. Technology insertion or system enhancements are being implemented 
that will also allow the processing of commercial sensors such as SPOT and LANDSAT data as well 
as reducing the dependency on proprietary hardware and software. The basic concept of the program 
is to provide an MC&G production system with significantly reduced life cycle costs which is fully 
responsive to the warfighters' changing needs and can accommodate a variety of sensor and source 
material. Specific goals of the program include: