GIS Overview: Management of GIS Projects, GIS at the City of Seattle and GIS Careers

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GIS Overview Management of GIS Projects, GIS at
the City of Seattle and GIS Careers
Geography 463
Tom Nolan, City of Seattle, City GIS Director
April 26, 2006
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Presentation Outline

• Technology Project Management Fundamentals
• Development Use of GIS at City of Seattle
• GIS Careers, Jobs, and Important Skill sets

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Section OneProject Management Basics

• Projects and Project Management
• Critical Knowledge Areas
• Helpful Tools and Techniques
• Project Phases and Software Lifecycles
• Project Plans Monitoring Devices
• PM Job Functions and Essential Skills

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Why Focus on Project Management ?

• IT Projects traditionally have a terrible track
  record
• Only about a third of IT projects are truly
  successful
• Another third of IT projects are canceled before
  completion each year in the US, costing billions
• Organizations get big and/or important things
  done by creating projects
• Planning Executing a GIS project like an IT
  project will increase its chance of success!

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What Is a Project?

• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to
  accomplish a unique purpose
• Attributes of projects
• clear and distinguishable purpose
• temporary, not on-going
• requires resources, often from various areas
• should address a business need
• needs a primary sponsor
• involve uncertainty and therefore risk

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What is Project Management?

• Project management is the application of
  knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
  project activities in order to meet or exceed
  stakeholder needs and expectations from a
  project (PMI, Project Management Body of
  Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 1996)

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an
international professional society. Their web
site is www.pmi.org. At least 400,000 copies of
the PMBOK Guide, now ANSI approved, are in
circulation worldwide.
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The Triple Constraint

• Every project is constrained by its
• Scope goals (whats included, whats not)
• Schedule goals (anticipated time to complete
  goals)
• Cost goals (budget allocated for project
  completion)
• The project managers primary duty is to balance
  these competing constraints, while satisfying the
  intended business need

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The Triple Constraint of Project Management
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Project Management Framework
T
T
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Project Management Tools and Techniques

• Project management tools and techniques assist
  project managers and their teams in various
  aspects of project management
• Some important examples include
• Project Charter, Scope of Work, User
  Requirements, Detailed Specifications, Project
  Plan, Acceptance Criteria
• Gantt charts, PERT charts, critical path analysis
• Cost Benefit Estimates Net Present Value
  Analysis

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Sample Gantt Chart
WBS
Gantt Chart
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Sample PERT Chart
Each box is a project task. Arrows show
dependencies between tasks. The tasks in red are
on the critical path. If any tasks on the
critical path take longer than planned, the whole
project will slip unless something is done.
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Cost/Schedule Tracking Chart
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Case Study Seattle Public Utilities Virtual
Records Vault
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The Virtual Records Vault

• Project Description Development of a spatially
  referenced repository index containing scanned
  images of City engineering documents, field
  books, construction plans, surveys, and other
  records
• Primary Business Requirements Provide an on-line
  Research Tool for accessing Engineering Records
  while also protecting the assets and reducing
  on-site records storage space.

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Construction Plans and Survey Field Books
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Project Phases and the Project Life Cycle

• A project life cycle consists of a series of
  project phases
• Project phases vary by business area (and by
  project) but some general phases include
• Planning and Design
• Development Integration
• Implementation Quality Assurance
• Maintenance, Administration and Support
• Retirement/Replacement

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Phases and Processes Over Time
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Project Plan Development

• A project plan is a document used to coordinate
  all project efforts
• Its main purpose is to guide project execution
• Project plans assist the project manager in
  assigning tasks, managing resources and
  assessing project status

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Common Elements of a Project Plan

• Introduction overview of the project, goals, key
  business objectives, sponsor stakeholders
• How the project is governed managed
• Detailed scope of work to be accomplished,
  including deliverables, schedule and budget
• Required Resources labor, h-ware, s-ware, etc.
• Dependencies and assumptions
• Processes to be used to identify risks issues,
  and to mitigate or resolve them
• Communication mechanisms and parameters

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Other Important Components in Successful
Technology Project Management

• Structured Software Development Process
• Several approaches are widely used
• Key is to have one, be sure it fits the project
  and the business, and stick to it
• Risk Management
• Identifying, Assessing, and Controlling project
  risks
• Monitoring mitigation efforts and making
  adjustments

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Suggested Skills for Project Managers

• Communication skills listening, presenting,
  persuading, empathizing
• Organizational skills planning, goal-setting,
  analyzing, tracking
• Team Building skills facilitation, motivation,
  esprit de corps, decision-making
• Leadership skills sets example, strategy,
  delegates, positive attitude, supports
  challenges
• Coping skills flexibility, creativity,
  patience, persistence
• Technical skills expertise, experience, project
  knowledge

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Characteristics of Successful Projects

• Clear business objectives
• Executive management sponsorship support
• Good project plan reasonable schedule
• Sufficient Planning
• Clear Requirements

• User involvement at all levels
• Uses Existing Communication Infrastructure
• Good client relations
• Biz Process Streamlining before Automation

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Section 2

• Geographic Information Systems at the City of
  Seattle

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City of Seattle GIS Conceptual Model
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Traditional and Ongoing (Government) Functions
that rely on GIS

• Infrastructure Management
• Public Safety
• Urban Planning Land Use Regulation
• Transportation Planning Traffic Management
• Economic and Financial Analysis
• Public Relations / Information Provision
• Property / Facilities Management
• Asset Management

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Where we were
Seattle Dept of Trans (e.g., ROW
Permits TCIP Roadway Traffic Vol RPZ Mgt)
SPU Water (e.g., Water Qual Samples Field crew
Assignments Mainline Replacement)
SDOT Hansen
Police CADD
SPU DWW (e.g., Open Work Orders Drainage
Complaints Customer Billing)
SPU Hansen
SPU Maximo
Geography integrates the Citys disparate data.
Geography
Parks
SCL
Dept Planning Development (e.g., Address
management, Code Compliance Building Permits)
DPD Hansen
Fire RMS
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Seattles Joint Automated Mapping Project.1989
Guiding Principles

• Create Maintain one Citywide Corporate GIS of
  digital base maps
• Establish Engineering Level Accuracy
• Utilize Best City Source Material Available
• Register all Participants Thematic layers to
  City Corporate Layers
• Flexible Design to Support diverse uses

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Seattles Citywide Shared Common Base Layers
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Street Control Monument
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Major Mapping Tasks/Activities

• Map Comparison and Mark-Up
• Data Editing
• Quality Control
• Data Administration
• Quality Assurance

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Traditional QuarterSection Map produced from
City GIS Legal Layer
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Displaying Pavement Management Data thru GIS
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3D Rendering of North Capitol Hill for Sound
Transit
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A GIS Consortium at Seattle

• Seattle Public Utilities
• Seattle City Light
• Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical
• Seattle Dept of Transportation
• Department of Design, Planning, Development
• Parks and Recreation
• Department of Information Technology
• Department of Neighborhoods
• City Budget Office

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Seattles GIS in 2006

• Corporate Data Model Central, Shared Common
  Data City Software Standards
• High Level of Spatial Accuracy Survey Control
  Legal Layers built w/ COGO
• Distributed Model for Departmental Data,
  Applications, and Delivery Systems
• Long-term Cooperative Citywide Funding Model

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Traditional Tangible and Intangible Benefits for
GIS projects

• Reduce Duplication of Efforts across an agency or
  between agencies
• Increase Accuracy Consistency of Key Map Series
• Enhance Productivity by Saving Time in Info
  search, retrieval analysis
• Reduce Liability
• Improve Customer Service
• Improve Decision Making

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Seattle uses GIS to Support Public Safety
Functions

• Daily 911 Operational Support for Police, Fire,
  and Emergency Operations Center
• Special Event Planning and Management
• Crime Analysis
• Event Tracking, Display Analysis
• Landslide Hazard Assessment/Mapping
• Seismic Hazard Assessment/Mapping
• Hazardous Structure Identification

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Special Deployment Emergency Routing
Seattle Marathon Routes

• Special Deployment
• Police/Fire Services
• Street Use

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Public Safety / Special Events Management
Special Deployment Series (Visiting Dignitary
Protection)
WTO Preparations
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World Trade Organization Protest Planning and
Dignitary Escort Support
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Police Fire Department Partnership
Floating Homes,Defined area drawing
2035 / 2037 FAIRVIEW AV
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Seattles Subsurface Geologic Mapping project w/
USGS and UW Earth Sciences
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Seismic Mapping Exercise March 2001
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Downtown Seattle March 2001
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Kingdome Implosion Seismic Aftermath
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Terrorism Response Exercises
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Conclusions

• 21st Century GIS is dissolving the barriers that
  stand between people and the information they
  need to be effective in their work
• Many technologies are converging. Divergent
  systems are more integratable than ever before,
  with tremendous opportunities for Return on
  Investment in IT and GIS

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Section 3 GIS Jobs and Careers
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Developing a Career in GIS
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GIS Data Developer/Maintainer
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GIS Data Maintenance Editor Interface
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GIS Programmer / Analyst
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GIS Cartographer
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Distribution tonnage from SPU Commercial
Recycling Dumpsters
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Senior GIS Analyst
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Other Typical GIS jobs

• Software Administrator (ArcGIS, SDE, ArcIMS,
  ArcServer)
• Desktop GIS Support
• Public Access/GIS Storefront
• GIS Trainer
• Unit Supervisor (Data, Apps, Mapping)
• GIS Manager / GIS Coordinator

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Requirements for all GIS jobs

• Interest in geography, survey, and cartography
• A professional approach positive attitude
• Ability to work productively in teams and
  independently
• Ability to see the world from a multi-dimensional
  and multi-disciplined approach

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The Timeless Skills

• Communication Listening, Writing, Interacting,
  Presenting information, Speaking
• Relationship Management Establishing and
  maintaining human contacts throughout a
  profession, a business transaction and/or a
  community.

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• Customer Service Establishing a desire for
  persons to want to continue to do business with
  you or your organization.
• Problem Solving Ability to recognize, diagnose,
  triage, and address issues.

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Entering the GIS Workforce
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Characteristics of successful professionals

• PERSONAL
• Quality of Work
• Customer Service Excellence
• Personal Initiative
• Positive Attitude
• Innovative Thinking

• INTER PERSONAL
• Successful Team Member
• Leadership Instincts
• Loyalty
• Strategic Thinking
• Tactical Efficiency

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Advise from GIS Managers

• Any Experience helps in the beginning
• Capstone Project is valuable use it
• Subject / Content / Quality are important
• GIS is in use everywhere, keep your search broad
  and not just in government organizations
• Analytical Thinking will be of great help

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Final words of Wisdom

• Patience and Persistence
• Follow your Passions but be flexible too
• Organization and Priority Setting
• Take some Big Risks, but not the little ones
• Know what you know, what you dont know and
  recognize that what is.is.
• Be Ethical in everything you do
• Establish and work to maintain Balance

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THE END