Floss in Cadastre and Land Registration

Implementation approach

Like most database modeling paradigms, land administration domain modeling 

for OSCAR involves gathering the concepts (entities, attributes etc.) and their 

 interactions (rules, processes, functions) into a design that is machine understand-

able. However, for OSCAR, the translation of the real world focusses on the defi-

nition of individual processes (e.g. parcel subdivision or title change) rather than 

on a data structure. One advantage of this approach is the reduced need for an ex-

plicit and complete translation of the entire domain before implementation can 

start. Data items are defined as they are required for the definition of workflows. 

Furthermore, workflow process definitions and associated code snippets are more 

easily shared than raw software code especially for specific requirements. There is 

also less need to consider underlying schema issues (such as normalization or re-

dundancy) to the extent that is required by other data modeling paradigms. Hence, 

initial domain analysis for a given application of the OSCAR approach should fo-

cus on business processes first within and then between departments, which are 

translated into linked workflows.

OSCAR therefore provides a range of generic workflow processes which can be 

reused either by versioning, inclusion, or simply used as code examples in the gen-

eration of new workflow definitions that stem from additional input requirements 

as they are defined. Generic workflow processes model the kinds of basic opera-

tions that are required within the general domain of land administration and in-

clude such processes as parcel creation, retirement, subdivision, amalgamation, re-

alignment, title change, attribute update, document production, search, query, 

etc. Clearly there are many workflow processes that can be added subject to needs 

in any given application context. However, the point is that once these processes 

are known they can be added to the OSCAR workflow manager and integrated 

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into the system relatively easily. Workflow processes will be managed to the max-

imum extent possible with a fully visual, drag and drop interface which will require 

defining a process properly and then dragging and dropping the new process 

within an existing process or defining a new process.

In a typical implementation scenario, OSCAR will be able to move land records 

management from the paper-based systems that characterize most developing 

countries to a digital workflow. For example, in a paper-based system an applicant 

is given documents to fill in with appropriate information, and these documents 

may detail other supporting documents that are required for a particular applica-

tion. Application forms and supporting documents are completed and submitted 

to initiate an application process. In OSCAR, this process is defined as a workflow. 

Rather than moving paper forms manually through various departments, the soft-

ware will allow data to be input through a user interface directly into a digital 

 OSCAR workflow. To do this a staff member would log onto the system using 

 secure access, be presented with an interface that contains all the tasks he/she is 

currently involved with, as well as a menu of workflow processes to initiate, select 

relevant application process, and cause a new instance of a predefined workflow 

process to be executed.