The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) wanted to design a predictive model that utilized GIS tools to assist the department in identifying and protecting archaeological sites throughout the state of Minnesota. Mn/DOT collected information from a variety of archaeological data sources (a major contributor being the State Historic Preservation Office) as well as six major environmental data variables: hydrology, topography, vegetation, soil, landform, and seasonality. As this model, coined the MnModel, developed and grew, Mn/DOT looked for assistance in managing and mapping their databases.

Great Arc, along with its business partner, PlanSight L.L.C., was brought on to the Mn/DOT team to assist with the first phase of this project. Specifically, Great Arc was contracted to model the components of the archaeological data and the environmental data in a Conceptual Model, and then diagram the corresponding relationships between the two datasets in a Logical Model. In addition, Great Arc collaborated with the various users and data contributors of the MnModel to determine that all current and future needs would be met. Finally, Great Arc advised the Mn/DOT panel on the advantages and disadvantages of using an Oracle database.