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- This is the last in a 5-part series about GIS: Geographic Information Systems
An enterprise Geographic Information System (GIS) can be an amazingly powerful tool: It not only represents your data spatially, but can also do magical things like track sales by shop location.
And then there’s asset management. Plus the opportunities to make employees happier and more productive.
In the previous four parts of this series, we’ve only scratched the surface of what the future may hold for geospatial data representation.
So now you’ve run out and bought this super-powerful software, installed it, and...
Did you throw your computer out the window yet?
It’s not just you! Here are my top six tips for saving your sanity:
1. You’re Not Alone In Your Frustrations, So...
More than likely, you’ve run straight to Google after looking at the user’s manual, looking at it some more, and then slowly backing away.
Here’s the problem, as Max Galka, co-founder of Revaluate succinctly put it to me:
I learned GIS on my own, and found it very difficult to pick up at first. But in hindsight, it was not the concepts that were difficult, but the fact that there is so much new terminology to learn, which can be confusing in two different ways.
First you have to understand what it means when you see words like raster or vector, etc. But even more frustrating is when you know exactly what you want to do, but you can't figure out how to do it because you do not know how to express it correctly in GIS terms—for example, a “convex hull.”
Tip: Don’t try to teach yourself GIS, without first getting help to understand the terminology.
2. It’s Not About The Shiny (But It Sure Helps)
How a GIS product looks—i.e., the final map itself—does affect whether it gets used.
If you’re trying to use a map to tell the rest of the c-level in your company something super-important, make sure it draws them in when they first open it. Otherwise, you might lose their interest, fast. Jim Herries, cartography product engineer at ESRI, puts it perfectly:
The most valuable maps are information products: They are visually interesting the very first time you see them, and they reward you with additional information as you look around the map, zoom to an area you know. When you touch the map, it responds by giving you details about the thing you touched—touch a store and it tells you this year’s sales to date, with a chart of the previous three years’ sales. Maps are interactive, rewarding experiences, not just a pretty picture.
Great maps don’t just happen automatically, though. You have to put a little bit of yourself into the effort, just like great resumes start out as a template but require your information—your data—as well as your interpretation.
Tip: Make beautiful maps. Ones that are clear on first opening, but that also entice users of all levels to drill down, explore, interrogate and learn.
3. Don’t Get Lost In Your Co-Ordinates
Not everyone is aware that defining the position of something on a map can be done in a number of different ways.
It depends, for example, on whether you’ve decided your map is based on a sphere or a flat surface. That’s even before you’ve decided whether north is “true” or not (and we’re not talking epistemic modal logic).
This applies not only to you as the person geocoding the data but also those collecting it for you. Louis Carlos Pelaez from Blueprint Earth explains:
Make sure you keep the DATUM—the type of latitude and longitude reading—of the solution consistent and you write it down. This is especially tricky if you are using multiple GPS devices or letting others borrow yours. People do not mean to, but they change the DATUM all the time.
Getting this wrong can make correcting the issue a very arduous process.
Tip: I can personally confirm that when he says arduous, he means “defenestrating your computer” levels of effort. Do not mess your DATUM up. Ever.
4. “Oooh What Does This Do?” Doesn’t Always Work
Many people of a geeky persuasion are used to investigating menu options as a way to work out how software works.
GIS isn’t quite so easily deciphered. Herries suggests starting with the final result you have in mind and working backwards:
Paraphrasing Roger Tomlinson, one of the fathers of GIS back when it was created in the 1960s, you’ve got to know what you want to get out of a GIS in order to know what to put into it.
Tip: Clicking aimlessly leads to a world of hurt. Have a clear idea of what you want to produce, explain or monitor. Next, get some test data, and only then “have a play.”
5. Disappearing Down The ROI Rabbit Hole
GIS is not an insignificant investment. When it’s bought to achieve a particular goal it will achieve it—with a little tweaking and research.
But it can be oh-so tempting to wonder why you’re only clicking three of the icons on a bar that makes the Starship Enterprise’s panels look bare. Warren Kron, GIS manager for the City of Baton Rouge is deeply aware of this:
For those new to GIS, the complexity of the software can be overwhelming. Most users will only use a small portion of the tools that are available in any software package.
Tip: Don’t fixate on using every function within a GIS package. Instead, remember tip #2: Know what you want to do.
6. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
The final tip is perhaps the most obvious one. Yet I, and countless other self-taught GIS users, have managed to completely fail to recognize it when dumped in front of impenetrable new software.
Almost every expert quoted in this article highlights the importance of finding a mentor. You don’t have to sign up for an expensive training course—though if you’re the kind of person who needs to learn that way, that’s just fine.
But what you should do is find other people who are using GIS, find the forums where they hang out, and ask if someone can help.
Tip: Ask for help. You’ll save a lot of time over merely Googling. Trust us. We’ve all been there.
The Bottom Line
Not only is defenestration a sign of lousy ROI, it’s unsafe—especially for people outside the window at the time.
Follow my tips and keep your glazing intact. (click to tweet)
And in case you missed the previous parts of this series, here are four lovely links:
1. What Can Maps Do For Your Business?
2. BYOD + GPS = Threat Or CIO Opportunity?
3. Mapping Makes Asset Management Awesome
4. 3 Cool Business Tricks That GIS Can Actually Do
What's your take? Weigh in with a comment below, and connect with Louise Kidney (Google+) | @LouLouK (Twitter).
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• 6 G.I.S. Top Tips -- How Not To Throw Your Computer Out The Window ~ @LouLouK
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Image credit: Ed Gregory (public domain). Bonus link: How he created the image.
