1. ELECTRONIC APPRAISAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STUDY UPDATE Project 9-1523 Center for Transportation Research The University of Texas at Austin AASHTO/FHWA ROW & UTILITIES SUBCOMMITTEE CONFERENCE May 18, 2005

2. Participating States Alaska Florida Idaho Illinois Louisiana Mississippi Montana, New York North Carolina Texas Washington Wisconsin

3. Project Personnel Program Coordinator: John Campbell Project Director: John Zimmerman TxDOT Research Engineer: Sharon Barta Researchers: Zhanmin Zhang (RS)(UT-Austin) Carlos Caldas (UT-Austin) Zach Piepmeyer (UT-Austin) Nadeem Moulvi (UT-Austin) Jim Henry (Crossland Acquisition, Inc.) Dennis Pilkington (Integra Realty Resources)

4. Background (1/2) The Right-of-Way appraisal process often utilizes manual data entry and manual appraisal report generation; an electronic system capable of reducing the likelihood of inconsistent appraisal data and automating the Right-of-Way appraisal report generation process is desired.

5. Background (2/2) Individuals with varying degrees of experience, knowledge and background are employed to perform land appraisals for Right-of-Way acquisition; this may result in variations in the value placed on land between two different appraisers evaluating the same or similar piece of property. A statistical process would help reduce such inconsistencies.

6. Research Objectives To develop the conceptual framework, user functional needs, data and technical requirements for an electronic appraisal system (EAS) that can be used to capture, transmit, store, manage, analyze, and report appraisal data to improve the appraisal process and therefore reduce inconsistencies in land appraisal values. To develop a prototype EAS to demonstrate the key functionalities.

7. Work Schedule (1/2)

8. Work Schedule (2/2)

9. Guiding Principle for EAS “Automate the processes without compromising the quality and quantity of information; serve as a decision-support system rather than a decision-making tool. ”

10. Yes No Conceptual Framework File Transmission Field Data Acquisition Electronic Appraisal Form Appraisal Database (Permanen t) Statistical Process Control (SPC) Appraisal Acceptabl e? Update Database and Notify ROW Personnel Summar y Report Approved Rejected Notify Appraiser of Need for In-Depth Review and Adjustment Queue Database (Temporary ) Notify Appraiser of Need for In-Depth Review and Adjustment Appraisal Review Electronic Appraisal System (EAS)

11. User Functional Needs (1/2) User requirements are numerous and may vary from state to state. First step in determining the user requirements of the Electronic Appraisal System is to outline all potential requirements. This requires defining categories of requirements for the different aspects of the system.

12. User Functional Needs (2/2) The user functional needs for the EAS were developed and detailed needs have been outlined for each of the following: Appraisal Form Data/File Transmission Queue for Review Database Approval Process Permanent Appraisal Storage Database

13. More than 500 data elements important to the appraisal valuation process have been identified. Data Requirements

14. of Electronic Form Key Features of Electronic Form Standardization of data items with check boxes, drop-down list, etc. Automated data duplication Quality control with data input Provisions for inserting pictures, maps, etc. Automated calculations Automated appraisal report generation Data can be captured into a database for queries and analyses to support SPC

15. Example of Input and Output

16. Future Work The following documents have been sent to participating state DOTs for ranking and comments:  Conceptual Framework  User Functional Needs  Data Requirements Comments and rankings will be summarized and these documents will be finalized. Work will begin on designing and developing the prototype Electronic Appraisal System.

17. Anticipated Products A Conceptual Framework to define the EAS A list of User Functional Needs ranked by the participating DOTs A list of EAS System Requirements to analyze alternative means for implementing the User Functional Needs A list of Generic Data Requirements ranked by the participating DOTs A Prototype EAS to demonstrate key functionalities of EAS

18. The Bottom Line Essential information required for developing and implementing an Electronic Appraisal System will be available at the end of this study. The EAS prototype will provide the basis for a future production-level system that could ultimately streamline the right-of- way acquisition process by providing vital information to decision makers at state DOTs.

19. Long-Term Benefit Data Information Knowledge Wisdom Processing Accumulation Experience

20. Please contact: Project Coordinator: Mr. John Campbell (TxDOT) at jcampbel@dot.state.tx.us Project Director: Mr. John Zimmerman (TxDOT) at jzimmerm@dot.state.tx.us For More Information…

21. Questions or Comments?