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Issues to Consider When Starting a GIS Project

Issues to Consider When Starting a GIS Project. Andy Schmidt GIS Technician. Issues To Consider In a 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

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Issues to Consider When Starting a GIS Project

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  1. Issues to Consider When Starting a GIS Project Andy Schmidt GIS Technician

  2. 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

  3. Issue 1:Identify Your Objectives

  4. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives What Is the Problemto Solve With a GIS? • How is it solved now? • How would we like it solved? • Are there alternate ways of solving by using a GIS?

  5. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives What Is the Needfor a GIS? • How can GIS technology be implemented effectively to streamline existing functions? • How can it change the way a particular goal is achieved?

  6. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives What Are the FinalProducts of a GIS? • 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

  7. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives Who Is the Intended Audience? • Decision Makers/Management • Technicians • Planners • Engineers • System Operators • Customers • Public

  8. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives What Is the PrimaryUse of the Data? • Facility Locating • Customer Locating • System Inventory • Analysis of Your System

  9. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives Will the Data Be Usedfor Other Purposes? • Modeling the System • Phase Tracing • Outage Management • Staking Sheet Generation • Driving Directions

  10. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives What are the Requirements of These Other Purposes? • Additional Software • Quality Updated Data • Good Data Management • Customization

  11. Issue 1: Identify Your Objectives What Are the Goalsof the Project? • 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

  12. Issue 1: Identify your Objectives Do You Plan to Start Small Then Expand? • 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?

  13. Issue 2: Technical Issues

  14. Issue 2: Technical Issues What Computing Environment Are You Using? • Windows NT, 2000, XP • Unix Workstation • Mixed Environment

  15. Issue 2: Technical Issues What GIS Software WillYou Be Using? • May depend on your computing environment • May depend on previous experience with a vendor

  16. Issue 2: Technical Issues Key Factors in Choosinga Vendor • 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

  17. Issue 2: Technical Issues Key Factors in Cost • Hardware • Software • Upgrades • Software Maintenance Agreements • Conversion • Development • Ability to Drive Technology Change • Organizational Size and Position of Resources • Scope Change • Revisions

  18. Issue 2: Technical Issues Other 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

  19. Issue 3: Who Will Create the GIS?

  20. Issue 3: Who Will Create the GIS Who Will Create the GIS? • In-House • Consultant • Combination of In-House employees and Consultants

  21. Issue 3: Who Will Create the GIS In-House • 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?

  22. Issue 3: Who Will Create the GIS Consultant • 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

  23. Issue 3: Who Will Create the GIS Consultant • 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

  24. Issue 3: Who Will Create the GIS Consultant • Set up Timeline of Deliverables • Area check copies • Initial conversion completion • Updates • System integration and takeover

  25. Issue 3: Who Will Create the GIS Combination of In-House Employees and Consultants • 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

  26. Issue 4: Designing a GIS

  27. Plan, Plan and Plan!

  28. Issue 4: Designing a GIS Objectives of Design • 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

  29. Issue 4: Designing a GIS Benefits From Good Design • 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

  30. Issue 4: Designing a GIS Design Guidelines • 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

  31. Issue 4: Designing a GIS Data Modeling • 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

  32. Issue 4: Designing a GIS Data Modeling • Select Geographic Representation • Represent data with discreet features • Points, Lines and Polygons • Characterize continuous phenomena with rasters

  33. Issue 4: Designing a GIS Data Modeling • Match Data to Spatial Elements • Determine geometry type of discrete features • Specify relationships between features • Implement attribute types for objects

  34. Issue 4: Designing a GIS Data Modeling • Organize Database Structure • Organize system of features • Define topological associations • Assign coordinate systems • Define relationships, rules and domains

  35. Issue 5: Data Design, Needs and Capture

  36. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Design • Identify the Spatial Data Needed • Land-base • Facility • Determine the Required Feature Layers • Roads, Municipals, Water features, Parcels • Conductor, Transformer, Consumer, Poles

  37. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Design • 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?

  38. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Acquiring • 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)

  39. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Acquiring • 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

  40. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Acquiring • 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

  41. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Specifics • Determine the Level of Detail Needed • More detail or a large scale like 1:24,000 • Less detail or small scale like 1:1,000,000 • 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

  42. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Choose the CoordinateSystem and Units • Coordinate Systems • UTM • State plain • County coordinates • Custom • Units • Meters • Feet • Decimal degrees

  43. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Continued Choosing the Attributes • 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

  44. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Representation • Numbering System • Pole to Pole

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

  46. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Representation • Real World Coordinates • XY or Latitude Longitude • Each feature has it own real-world coordinate

  47. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Data Representation • Choose the Way You Want to Represent The Data • Color • Symbology g h j k w r • Annotation or Labels NameName Name NAME • Offsets of Features

  48. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Automation of Data • 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

  49. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Automation of Data • 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

  50. Issue 5: Data Design Needs and Capture Conversion Issues • 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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