10 Things to know about GIS Project Management

This presentation was given by ESRI Senior Project Managers, Gerry Clancy (21 years with ESRI) and Glenn Berger. If you have the time, I sincerely encourage you to check this link:- 10 things to know about managing gis projects

1. Define a clear vision and success criteria
a.Identify your champion
b.Define “what you are trying to build”
c.How does the client define success?
d.Are you creating a new process or replacing one?

2.Identify and Involve Stakeholders
a.Who is funding this?
b.Who will be impacted?
c.Who will provide resources?
d.Who will determine success?
e.Decision Makers?
f.Who does not support the project?
g.Engage these people early and often

3.Gather Requirements
a.Place requirements in context
b.Conduct interviews & workshops
c. Model the existing “as-is” process
d.Model the future business process
i.How can it be streamlined?
ii.Validate asap
iii.How will the future business process interact w/ other systems?
e.Do not be judgemental
i.Prioritize
ii.Break things into manageable chunks w/Functional, Data, and Non-functional meetings

4.Manage Change
a.Pay attention to scope, budget, and time

5.Identify and Monitor Risks
a.Internal/External Staff
b.Software Release Schedules
c.Hardware Failures

6.Use a phased implementation approach (agile)
a.4,8,12 week increments
b.Use Project Management Software (MS Project)

7.Promote Communication
a.Create a communication plan

8.Do not get enamored with the technology
a.Remember what you are trying to deliver (be careful of shiny objects!)

9.Engage the IT department (key stakeholders)
a.Understand policy and standards
b.Hardare & Network impacts
c.Security Model
d.Who will support the system?
e.Plan to educate and train the staff

10.Keep it simple
a.Identify the business rhythms and processes
b.Design and build for the 90% use case, not the 10%
c.Don’t reinvent the wheel

Thanks…

ArcGIS JavaScript API

The ArcGIS JavaScript API is a lightweight way to embed your GIS maps and tasks in Web applications. It’s easy to build and deploy applications built with this API. All you need is an ArcGIS Server available whose maps and tools you can use in your application.

Why JavaScript?

JavaScript is a language you can use to increase the interactivity of your web pages. JavaScript runs inside your browser immediately when something happens on the page, such as when someone clicks a button or pans a map. You don’t have to wait for something to happen on the server, and the whole page does not blink or refresh. For this reason, JavaScript is an excellent choice for embedding maps in your applications.

You don’t have to download or install anything in order to program with JavaScript. All web browsers know how to interpret it. In many cases, the JavaScript code can be embedded directly into the HTML page.

JavaScript is accessible to beginning programmers. Even if you haven’t programmed with JavaScript before, you can learn how to build JavaScript applications by cutting and pasting example code into your HTML pages. In many cases, the example may be just what you need with only minor adjustments.

What can you do with the ArcGIS JavaScript API?

You can use the ArcGIS JavaScript API to bring maps and tasks from ArcGIS Server into your web applications. For example, you can:

* Display an interactive map of your own data
* Execute a GIS model on the server and display the results
* Display your data on an ArcGIS Online base map
* Search for features or attributes in your GIS data and display the results
* Search for addresses and display the results

You can use the ArcGIS JavaScript API to access information from several different servers in one application. One common reason you might do this is to display some of your own information on top of a base map from ArcGIS Online or from other web sources. In another scenario, you might use a model on one server and display the results on a map from a different server. This combination of information from multiple web sources is sometimes called a “mashup”.

Remember that you don’t need to have ArcGIS Server installed on your machine in order to program with the ArcGIS JavaScript API. You just need to have an ArcGIS Server available that you can access through a URL. ESRI has provided several sample servers that you can use as you practice writing JavaScript applications. The samples in this help system use the sample servers.

What does the ArcGIS JavaScript API include?

The ArcGIS JavaScript API provides the following resources for you to use in your web applications

* Maps – The API supports display of both dynamic and cached (tiled) map services from ArcGIS Server. With the ArcGIS JavaScript API, you can display maps in any projection.
* Graphics – You can enhance your web applications by allowing users to draw graphics or by providing informational popup windows when the user clicks or hovers the mouse over a graphics feature on the map.
* Tasks – The API includes classes and methods for common GIS tasks:
o Querying
o Finding addresses
o Finding attributes
o Identifying features
o Geoprocessing
* Access to Dojo and other libraries

source:-

What can you do with the ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/WPF?

You can:

1. Create a map containing your own data.
2. Display your data on an ArcGIS Online or a Bing Maps base map.
3. Add graphics and markup to a map interactively.
4. Search for features or attributes in your GIS data and display the results.
5. Execute a GIS model using ArcGIS Server and display the results.
6. Locate addresses and display the results.
7. Calculate routes and display graphical results and directions.
8. Create mashups (information combined from multiple Web sources).

Sources- www.esri.com

About netCDF data

NetCDF means Network Common Data Form.
NetCDF is a file format for storing multidimensional scientific data (variables) such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction. Each of these variables can be displayed through a dimension (such as time) in ArcGIS by making a layer or table view from the netCDF file.

You cannot add a netCDF file using the Add Data button in ArcGIS applications (ArcMap, ArcScene, or ArcGlobe). You can use the Make NetCDF Raster Layer, Make NetCDF Feature Layer, and Make NetCDF Table View tools from the Multidimension Tools toolbox to create a raster layer, a feature layer, and a table view, respectively, from a netCDF file. You can also drag a netCDF file from Windows Explorer and drop it in an application.

NetCDF data is displayed in ArcGIS as a raster layer, feature layer, or table. At any given time, only one slice of multidimensional data is visible. You can display a different slice by changing the dimension values on the netCDF tab of the Properties dialog box. You can also use the Select by Dimension tool to do the same.

A netCDF raster or feature layer is displayed with the default symbols. You can modify these symbols in the Layer Properties dialog box.

A netCDF file contains dimensions, variables, and attributes. These components are used together to capture the meaning of data and relations among data fields in an array-oriented dataset. The following figure shows the structure of a netCDF file using the CDL (network Common Data form Language) notation. CDL is the ASCII format used to describe the content of a netCDF file.

Sources:- ArcGIS Desktop Help

One Small Step…

It is four decades since the first human foot left an indelible mark in the soft lunar top soil. Today we celebrate and remember with awe the fortieth anniversary of the first manned moon landing. In preparation for this, the moon was photographed by the Ranger missions – starting the first chapter of lunar remote sensing. After the first ‘small step’, followed by a few more, a long period of quiescence ensued.

The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon or Moon orbit. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

GIS at FedEx

Hello Everyone,

Today, I was watching ESRI UC Plenary Session held on July 13, 2009. More than ten thousand ESRI users gathered last week at the San Diego Convention Center in California.

So many plenary sessions are there but, GIS at FedEx is the most useful  plenary session. FedEx is using GIS technology for time saving, save money and most important customer satisfaction.

Check this link : http://www.esri.com/events/uc/images/plenary/9fedex.html

Google Voice: Coming soon

Google introducing Google Voice Works with your PHONES….

See how Google Voice works with your phones :

 

Google Voice is currently available by invite only. Get an Invite

GIS Touches All Our Lives, Everyday

During the past three decades, a powerful technology has quietly changed the way people view and live in their neighborhoods, towns, and cities. This technology is GIS, and ESRI has been involved in the field since its beginnings. For nearly 30 years ESRI has made GIS available to be used by people to solve real problems.

As is the case with many technologies, most people remain unaware of GIS and its impact-an impact that is as far-ranging as it is useful-despite GIS having grown immensely in the last 15 years, despite hundreds of thousands of people now using the technology, and despite it affecting the daily lives of millions.

To prove this, let’s follow your daily routine(in developed countries) and see how GIS helps you in ways that you never suspected.

1. The clock radio rings at 6:00 a.m. You get up and turn on the lights.

The radio and lights are powered with household electricity. A typical electric utility company serving millions of customers uses GIS to manage its complex infrastructure consisting of tens of thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines and hundreds of thousands of utility poles, as well as thousands of employees maintaining optimal service at hundreds of sites.

2. You go outside, pick up the morning newspaper, and head back into your house.

The wood that was the source for the paper and for the lumber of the house was provided by wood product companies that use GIS for sound forest management practices. GIS makes easily available for analysis property boundaries, vegetation, soil analysis, roads, streams, public land survey, contours, watershed, and sensitive areas, allowing forest managers to make the best informed decisions.

The newspaper circulation department uses GIS to understand the dynamics and demographics of carrier routes, the basic unit used to report and study circulation. After finding areas where actual subscriptions were low but potential was high, those areas were targeted with subscription sales efforts, doubling the new subscriptions of the previous year.

3. You pile the kids into the car and stop at the gas station.

GIS technology integrates all kinds of petroleum information and applications into a common system and lets the oil companies view that information in context on a map for exploration, operation and maintenance, production, environment, land lease management, and data management.

Before the oil becomes gasoline it needs to move from the oil fields to the processing plant via pipelines. The pipeline industry uses GIS for assisting route planning and construction, operations, supply market analysis, and reporting functions.

4. You drive to work.

The roads are safer because of GIS. The community uses GIS for managing its transportation infrastructure. GIS is used to support planning, inventory, design, construction, operations, and maintenance. More than 80 percent of the information used to manage road, rail, and port facilities have a spatial component. GIS can be used to determine the location of an event or asset and its relationship or proximity to another event or asset, which may be the critical factor leading to a decision about design, construction, or maintenance.

5. When you leave, your car is still in the parking lot, right where you left it!

Communities are showing that GIS is helping to reduce crime, providing an intelligence tool that plots and tracks all crimes. This system gives officers and investigators the ability to track crimes on a real-time basis and correlate crime statistics in a measurable fashion. The vast majority of information used in law enforcement is map based. Agencies need to display the location of incidents and be able to view incidents by categories, time, or date. Incidents can be displayed by beat, reporting district, or zone. Advanced GIS capabilities can generate incident density and contour maps that can be used to predict the probability of crimes occurring. Law enforcement agencies also use GIS in communications, operations, and records management.

It’s been a long day, but you are finally home safe and sound. GIS has been there nearly every step of the way, helping make life more comfortable and safe. All through the power of geography and GIS !

Geography matters to all of us, and GIS technology is the way to gain the advantage.

To learn more about how GIS affects you and us, visit www.gis.com

“The application of GIS is limited only by the imagination of those who use it." —Jack Dangermond, President of ESRI

What Can You Do with GIS?

Map Where Things Are

Mapping where things are lets you find places that have the features you’re looking for, and to see where to take action.

Find a feature—People use maps to see where or what an individual feature is.
Finding patterns—Looking at the distribution of features on the map instead of just an individual feature, you can see patterns emerge.

Map Quantities

People map quantities, like where the most and least are, to find places that meet their criteria and take action, or to see the relationships between places. This gives an additional level of information beyond simply mapping the locations of features.

For example, a catalog company selling children’s clothes would want to find ZIP Codes not only around their store, but those ZIP Codes with many young families with relatively high income. Or, public health officials might not only want to map physicians, but also map the numbers of physicians per 1,000 people in each census tract to see which areas are adequately served, and which are not.

Map Densities

While you can see concentrations by simply mapping the locations of features, in areas with many features it may be difficult to see which areas have a higher concentration than others. A density map lets you measure the number of features using a uniform areal unit, such as acres or square miles, so you can clearly see the distribution.

Mapping density is especially useful when mapping areas, such as census tracts or counties, which vary greatly in size. On maps showing the number of people per census tract, the larger tracts might have more people than smaller ones. But some smaller tracts might have more people per square mile—a higher density.

Find What’s Inside

Use GIS to monitor what’s happening and to take specific action by mapping what’s inside a specific area. For example, a district attorney would monitor drug-related arrests to find out if an arrest is within 1,000 feet of a school–if so, stiffer penalties apply.

Find What’s Nearby

Find out what’s occurring within a set distance of a feature by mapping what’s nearby.

Map Change

Map the change in an area to anticipate future conditions, decide on a course of action, or to evaluate the results of an action or policy.

By mapping where and how things move over a period of time, you can gain insight into how they behave. For example, a meteorologist might study the paths of hurricanes to predict where and when they might occur in the future.
Map change to anticipate future needs. For example, a police chief might study how crime patterns change from month to month to help decide where officers should be assigned.
Map conditions before and after an action or event to see the impact. A retail analyst might map the change in store sales before and after a regional ad campaign to see where the ads were most effective.

May I borrow 25 Rupees ?

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. ‘Daddy, may I ask you a question? ‘Yeah sure, what it is?’ replied the man. Daddy, how much do you make in an hour?’ That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?’ the man said angrily.

‘I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make in an hour?’ asked the boy.

‘If you must know, I make 50/- Rs. per hour.’ ‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down. ‘Daddy, may I please borrow 25/- Rupees?’

The father was furious, ‘If the only reason you asked that is to borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you leave straight to your room and go to bed. I don’t work hard every day for such childish frivolities.’

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that 25 Rupees and he really doesn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened it. ‘Are you asleep, son?’ He asked.’No daddy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy. ‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you ‘ said the man. ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the 25 Rupees you asked for.’ The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you daddy!’ he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled bills.

The man seeing that the boy had money already, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. ‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the father grumbled.

‘Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the little boy replied. ‘Daddy, I have 50/- Rs. now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.’

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son and begged for forgiveness.
It’s just a short reminder to all of us working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
Do remember to share that 50/- worth of your time with someone you love.