GeoStrategist™ : Organized business planning for the GIS program manager

Situational Analysis
Before a roadmap for future evolution can be created, it is important to evaluate the current environment. The first major component of the GeoStrategist™ database developed was a situational analysis presented in terms of accomplishment of previously defined goals, and known challenges to be overcome. In previous planning exercises Pierce County had defined 17 program goals, ranging from creation of a standard desktop user interface to be made available to all County staff to development of a GIS storefront. The situational analysis describes in detail the status of accomplishment for each of these goals. The County also identified opportunities for improvement of their GIS program, as well as barriers to be overcome. Additionally, this section documents the latest updates and clarifications to the GIS department’s business-driven vision for the future.

GIS “Best Practices”
One method for measuring performance of an IT organization is through evaluation of industry best practices and benchmarking the current environment. An extensive best practices analysis was conducted and incorporated into GeoStrategist™. This analysis consists of four major elements: (1) detailed surveys of peer GIS organizations; (2) a “state-of-the-art” technology reference”; (3) a benchmarking exercise which rated Pierce County against its peers and the currently available technology; and (4) sets of recommended actions that the county can draw on when developing their long-term strategic and tactical plans.

Telephone interviews were conducted with over 20 public sector GIS organizations across the country. The organizations were selected on the basis of their program’s level of maturity and their GIS platform (in this case, ESRI product based). The topics discussed with the GIS managers ranged from overall metrics of their programs (numbers of users, extent of data development, staffing levels, etc.) to funding methodologies and their visions for the future.

For each of the topics addressed in the surveys, benchmarks were established based on the state of the art of GIS/IT technology. These benchmarks are set for organizations positioned on the technology curve for a moderately-aggressive approach to technology assimilation. Subsequently, the last step in the process was to rate both the peer organizations and Pierce County against these technology benchmarks. GeoStrategist™ documents the raw survey response data, the benchmark ratings, and detailed comparisons of the participating organizations with the goal of helping Pierce County management recognize trends and build a roadmap for the future. Best practices survey topics were classified into six categories:

Administration
The organizational structure of GIS programs has evolved as completely as information systems technology itself. Early GIS programs often originated in, and were self-contained within individual departments (often a planning or engineering department) with “mapping” or “computer-aided drafting” responsibilities. As other departments saw opportunities to share in the benefits provided by GIS, the technology gained acceptance across the enterprise and the organizational structures were revised to ensure that the jurisdiction was maximizing benefits through a more centralized, all-purpose service organization. The continuing evolution of centralized/decentralized/out-sourced approaches to GIS organizations, including budget levels and funding strategies, and executive oversight is addressed as a part of this topic.
Data Development
The mature jurisdictions that were interviewed had already completed development of some of the most important and costly data layers typically included in GIS databases. This topic focuses on the issues relating to on-going maintenance and improvement of those extensive databases. The issues addressed included positional accuracy, corporate database integration, and development/maintenance strategies.
Applications
Substantial advances in software development technologies are significantly impacting GIS programs. The products being offered by GIS vendors are providing numerous opportunities for GIS organizations to provide new functionality to users and improve on existing functionality. This topic addresses issues related to (evolution, migration), standard desktop packages, and internet computing.
Infrastructure Support
This topic addresses issues related to the hardware and software infrastructure needed to support the GIS program. While participants in the interviews generally indicated very favorable computing and network environments, recent developments in the ESRI product lines are causing jurisdictions to closely evaluate their strategic directions in terms of supporting internet applications, desktop applications, and multiple platforms. Technological changes are also affecting jurisdictions’ policies towards staffing and training.
Customer Service
The Customer Service portion of GeoStrategist™ provides a view of how jurisdictions approach aspects of overall user base service issues such as training, help desk support, and timely communications about the GIS program.
Regionalization
Regionalization is defined in GeoStrategist™ as the dissemination of GIS technology throughout the regional community of spatial data users. A number of jurisdictions have established extensive regionalization programs with the intent of realizing revenues to supplement GIS operational funding, or more simply provide opportunities to the community to realize benefits from their county’s investment. Sharing and licensing of data and applications with community organizations and private sector firms, as well as GIS consulting and service offerings are addressed here.