Questions___Answers_Sol__attch.docx

Questions and Responses from Sources Sought

1. Can we get example data of the items mentioned in the RFI? E.g., shoreline data, baseline data.

YES we can provide the link to the published sample data.

Software Download (with sample data): https://code.usgs.gov/cch/dsas

2. Do you have a python API in mind already or should we design it? Are there existing pain points with your current library that we should keep in mind?

Since everything is currently within Arc, we don’t have a current python API and are open to suggestions. Likewise, since everything is within Arc, we don’t have ‘pain points in our current library’

3. Are you hoping for a programmatic API only or also a website along with it to visualize stuff or do you want the interactions to be renderable through jupyter lab?

We want the software to be standalone GUI that runs on a typical computer. We do not want to be tied to specific applications like Jupyter lab. We want the software itself to provide basic visualizations. We expect users to output the results into their GIS of choice for more sophisticated visualizations. We do not want the software to require an internet connection to run.

4. How many software engineers were you thinking about?

It is difficult for a non-engineer to answer this question. If you are looking for information to help gauge resource needs, we have a tight 3-year timeline to adhere to and the expectation is that the three phases of development will align with each year.

5. Will you need any data analysis components? E.g., pandas API to do batched intersections or Spark API Because everything is currently within Arc, we are not sure what tools we will need to replace the work that Arc does. This question seems to be about interacting with outside databases. We expect users to pass their data in and out as shapefiles (or a similar file type) so do not anticipate needing to interact with databases.

6. Will it be allowed to use a datastore to load the data into or are you expecting the library to do everything in memory?

Typically file sizes are small enough that we expect the library will be able to do everything in memory.

7. Can we get insight into how you plan to use the library? That will help us understand a design it better (for example, will you use it in online services or batched processing or command line or devices with low memory) We expect users to run the software on their personal computer. We do not need online services. We do not plan to utilize batched processing. We do not want to provide a command line.

8. What existing GIS software does it need to talk to?

It does not need to talk to other GIS software. The deliverable will need to be able to import and export files that can be read by other GIS software. We anticipate this will be done with shapefiles or a similar file type.

9. Will you be interested in a hosted service, or do you expect the deliverable to be self-hosted?

We will host the deliverable on our GitLab.

a. Who will host the documentation website for the library? You or us?

We will.

10. If possible, if we could get screen recordings of what workflows you are hoping to replace with the library, that’d be great because everyone uses GIS for different things. We come from a background of real estate technology.

See links to the videos and user guide.

DSAS Project page: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/whcmsc/science/digital-shoreline-analysis-system-dsas Installation video: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/introduction-dsas-v50-system-requirements-and-installation DSAS workflow: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/introduction-dsas-v50-sample-data-workflow DSAS User Guide: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20211091 Software Download (with sample data): https://code.usgs.gov/cch/dsas