Issues to Consider When Starting a GIS Project

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Issues to Consider When Starting a GIS Project

• Andy Schmidt
• GIS Technician

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Issues To Consider Ina GIS Project

• 1. Identify Your Objectives
• 2. Technical Considerations
• 3. Who Will Create the GIS?
• 4. Designing a GIS
• 5 . Data Needs, Design and Capture
• 6. Analyzing the Data and Presenting the Results
• 7. Project Life Cycle

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Issue 1Identify Your Objectives
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What Is the Problemto Solve With a GIS?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• How is it solved now?
• How would we like it solved?
• Are there alternate ways of solving by using a
  GIS?

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What Is the Needfor a GIS?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• How can GIS technology be implemented effectively
  to streamline existing functions?
• How can it change the way a particular goal is
  achieved?

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What Are the FinalProducts of a GIS?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• Presentation of quality maps and map books
• Working maps
• Internet maps
• Reports and charts
• A system that ties multiple facets into an easy
  to use application that allows all users to
  access the data they want and need from a central
  location

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Who Is the Intended Audience?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• Decision Makers/Management
• Technicians
• Planners
• Engineers
• System Operators
• Customers
• Public

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What Is the PrimaryUse of the Data?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• Facility Locating
• Customer Locating
• System Inventory
• Analysis of Your System

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Will the Data Be Usedfor Other Purposes?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• Modeling the System
• Phase Tracing
• Outage Management
• Staking Sheet Generation
• Driving Directions

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What are the Requirements of These Other Purposes?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• Additional Software
• Quality Updated Data
• Good Data Management
• Customization

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What Are the Goalsof the Project?
Issue 1 Identify Your Objectives

• Short (0-2 years)
• Medium (1-5 years)
• Long (5 years)

• Getting essential data into the GIS
• Fix holes in data
• Fix incorrect data

• Modeling
• Adding additional data
• Link to other software

• Advanced analysis of the system
• Integration of GIS to many other systems

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Do You Plan to Start Small Then Expand?
Issue 1 Identify your Objectives

• Start with a circuit, substation or predefined
  area then expand from it
• Convert whole systems starting with a specific
  device
• What is the expansion schedule or timeline?
• What are the most critical areas?

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Issue 2 Technical Issues
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What Computing Environment Are You Using?
Issue 2 Technical Issues

• Windows NT, 2000, XP
• Unix Workstation
• Mixed Environment

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What GIS Software WillYou Be Using?
Issue 2 Technical Issues

• May depend on your computing environment
• May depend on previous experience with a vendor

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Key Factors in Choosinga Vendor
Issue 2 Technical Issues

• Stability
• Leadership in the Industry
• Integration of Existing Legacy Systems
• Partnerships or Long Term Alignments
• Development
• Flexibility
• Open Architecture
• Customizable
• Out of the box software should do 75 of what you
  want it to do
• Cost and Maintenance Agreements

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Key Factors in Cost
Issue 2 Technical Issues

• Hardware
• Software
• Upgrades
• Software Maintenance Agreements
• Conversion
• Development
• Ability to Drive Technology Change
• Organizational Size and Position of Resources
• Scope Change
• Revisions

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Other Technical Issues
Issue 2 Technical Issues

• How many people are responsible for making
  changes to the data?
• Single editor
• Multiple editors at one location
• Multiple editors accessing a server
• Who will be accessing the data?
• Single user
• Multiple users at one location
• Several users at different locations using the
  internet

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Issue 3 Who Will Create the GIS?
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Who Will Create the GIS?
Issue 3 Who Will Create the GIS

• In-House
• Consultant
• Combination of In-House employees and Consultants

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In-House
Issue 3 Who Will Create the GIS

• Set up a GIS Steering Team
• Leaders and managers.
• Experts in the areas you want to incorporate.
• Dedicate the people to do the work
• Implications
• Will the employees only be dedicated to the GIS?
• Do you have to hire new people to replace those
  working on the GIS?
• Will dedicating the employees to GIS hinder the
  jobs of other employees?
• Do they really want to work on the GIS?
• Are there people trained to do GIS work?

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Consultant
Issue 3 Who Will Create the GIS

• Set up a GIS Steering Team
• Dedicate a Contact Person

• Key member of the GIS Team
• Knowledge of all parts of the system
• Available throughout the process
• Passionate about the project

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Consultant
Issue 3 Who Will Create the GIS

• Choose the Consultant
• Has extensive knowledge of GIS and the electric
  utility
• Capable of doing what you want them to do
• Visit with them to see what they have done
• Ask others about the consultant - references

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Consultant
Issue 3 Who Will Create the GIS

• Set up Timeline of Deliverables

• Area check copies
• Initial conversion completion
• Updates
• System integration and takeover

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Combination of In-House Employees and Consultants
Issue 3 Who Will Create the GIS

• Set up a GIS Steering Team
• Determine Who Does What
• Only Work on What Has Been Agreed Upon
• Agree on Timelines and Deliverables and Remember
  the Goals
• Work Together Not Against Each Other
• Correspond Frequently

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Issue 4 Designing a GIS
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Plan, Plan and Plan!
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Objectives of Design
Issue 4 Designing a GIS

• Results in a Well-Constructed Operational
  Database That
• Satisfies objectives and supports organizational
  requirements
• Contains all necessary data but no redundant data
• Organizes data so that different users can access
  the same data
• Accommodates different views of the data
• Distinguishes which applications maintain the
  data from which applications access the data
• Appropriately represents, codes and organizes
  graphical features

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Benefits From Good Design
Issue 4 Designing a GIS

• Although Time Consuming
• Increased flexibility of data retrieval and
  analysis
• Increased likelihood of users developing
  applications
• Decrease time in attributing data
• Data that supports different users and uses
• A system that readily accommodates future
  functionality
• Minimized data redundancy

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Design Guidelines
Issue 4 Designing a GIS

• Involve users
• Educate users in what a GIS can do
• Take it one step at a time
• Build a team
• Be creative
• Create deliverables
• Keep goals and objectives in focus
• Do not add detail prematurely
• Document carefully
• Be flexible
• Plan from your model

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Data Modeling
Issue 4 Designing a GIS

• Model the Users View of Data
• Identify organizational functions
• Determine data needed to support functions
• Organize data into local groups
• Define Objects and Relationships
• Identify and describe objects
• Specify relationships between objects
• Document model in diagram

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Data Modeling
Issue 4 Designing a GIS

• Select Geographic Representation
• Represent data with discreet features
• Points, Lines and Polygons

• Characterize continuous phenomena with rasters

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Data Modeling
Issue 4 Designing a GIS

• Match Data to Spatial Elements
• Determine geometry type of discrete features
• Specify relationships between features
• Implement attribute types for objects

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Data Modeling
Issue 4 Designing a GIS

• Organize Database Structure
• Organize system of features
• Define topological associations
• Assign coordinate systems
• Define relationships, rules and domains

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Issue 5 Data Design, Needs and Capture
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Data Design
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Identify the Spatial Data Needed
• Land-base
• Facility
• Determine the Required Feature Layers
• Roads, Municipals, Water features, Parcels
• Conductor, Transformer, Consumer, Poles

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Data Design
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• How Current Must the Data Be?
• For planning, the most current data may be
  required
• For general mapping, data may be a few years old
• What Data Do I Have?
• Digital
• Paper records
• Is it in a usable format?
• Can it be converted?

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Data Acquiring
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Where can I Get Missing Data From?
• Government entities (DOT, DNR, LMIC, County, and
  Municipal)
• Other utilities
• Other consultants
• GPS
• Aerial photos
• DRG's (digital raster graphics)

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Data Acquiring
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• How Much Are We Willing to Pay for Data?
• Most entities charge for data
• Most entities request data sharing agreements
• When Do You Need the Data?
• Off-the-shelf" data sets can be acquired in one
  to two business days
• Custom sets may take weeks to prepare

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Data Acquiring
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Will You Need Periodic Data Updates and How
  Frequently?
• Complete replacements
• Transactional updates (changes only)
• It is best to negotiate a maintenance schedule
  with the initial data license

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Data Specifics
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Determine the Level of Detail Needed
• More detail or a large scale like 124,000
• Less detail or small scale like 11,000,000
• Select the Map Area Boundary
• Company service area
• County/Township/Municipal region
• Buffered region incase of expansion
• Determine The Level of Geography You WantTo
  Examine
• Service area
• Township
• Section
• Quarter section
• Miscellaneous detail areas

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Choose the CoordinateSystem and Units
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Coordinate Systems
• UTM
• State plain
• County coordinates
• Custom
• Units
• Meters
• Feet
• Decimal degrees

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Choosing the Attributes
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture Continued

• Choose the Attributes Each Feature Needs.
• Identifiers of Cooperative or Company
• Identifiers of substation
• Identifiers of circuit
• Identifiers of device (Must have a UNIQUE ID such
  as Device or Account )
• Very Important. Make sure there is a
  non-duplicate unique ID for every device in order
  to tie to other software or data

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Data Representation
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Numbering System
• Pole to Pole

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Data Representation
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Grid System

Joe Smith is located at T 101 R 32 Section 01
Grid 8 Sub grid 6 ID 10132010806
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Data Representation
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Real World Coordinates
• XY or Latitude Longitude
• Each feature has it own real-world coordinate

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Data Representation
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Choose the Way You Want to Represent The Data
• Color
• Symbology g h j k w r
• Annotation or Labels Name Name Name NAME
• Offsets of Features

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Automation of Data
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Converting existing data from other systems and
  formats into the same format
• Digitizing data from paper
• Adding GPS data
• Data entry of attributes
• Creating topology and connectivity

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Automation of Data
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Putting additional spatial data into real world
  coordinates
• Join adjacent data sets
• Updating data sets
• Verifying data with GPS
• Perform QA/QC
• Correct locations
• Correct attributes
• Connectivity

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Conversion Issues
Issue 5 Data Design Needs and Capture

• Keep project goals in mind
• Do not add additional requirements until initial
  requirements are met
• What you put in is what you get out of a GIS
• Stick with one software or vendor until
  conversion is completed

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Issue 6 Analyzing the Data and Presenting the
Results
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Analyzing Data
Issue 6 Analyzing the Data and Present the
Results

• Referred to as Spatial Modeling
• A Model is a Representation of Reality To
• Simulate a process
• Predict an outcome
• Analyze a problem
• Models in a GIS
• Connectivity
• Tracing up stream and down
• Proximity calculations
• Common ancestor finding

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Presenting Results
Issue 6 Analyzing the Data and Present the
Results

• Project should effectively communicate your
  findings to your audience
• Create paper map books
• Create digital map books
• Internet mapping
• Wall maps
• Create charts and reports
• Give demonstrations

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Training Users
Issue 6 Analyzing the Data and Present the
Results

• In-House
• Software Vendors
• Consultants
• Conferences
• Internet Classes
• Local Colleges and Vocational Schools

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Issue 7 Project Life Cycle Issues
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Problems That MightCause a GIS to Fail
Issue 7 Project Life Cycle Issues

• GIS perceived as only a automated mapping tool to
  replace manual mapping
• People do not want to change
• Inadequate quality control
• Cannot access system or data
• Poor project implementation
• Unrealistic expectations
• Poor training
• Failure to plan on how to maintain the GIS data
  and operations
• Project cost overrun
• Scope change, adding premature detail

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Conclusions

• When Starting a GIS
• Identify your objectives for the project
• Examine software, hardware and vendors
• Determine who will create the GIS
• Determine the design
• Determine data needs how to acquire
• Train users
• Stay focused on the goals

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These steps and Planning as a Team to meet the
Goals will help insure a GIS that will be Useful
to all users as well as Cost Effective to the
company.
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Questions?