Lessons Learned from GIS Application Development in a State Government Context
Yueming Wu, Ph.D.
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
2006 West Virginia GIS Forum & Workshop
Morgantown, May 18, 2006

Contents






What is GIS application development?
Why is GIS application development needed?
How is a GIS application developed?
Case study
Lessons
Questions & comments

What is GIS application development?
GIS application development or GIS customization development is not to rewrite a proprietary GIS package, but to incorporate users’ ideas to convert it into a usable and stable product.

Why is GIS application development needed?



There are no truly "off-the-shelf" GIS applications satisfying all organizations due to the variety of organizational business models. Business intelligent GIS applications are needed to address the issue.
Casual users, representing the majority in a government agency, prefer user-friendly and practical GIS applications.
Commercial GIS packages focus on basic and common
GIS functions across industries. Power users need more complex GIS tools than a commercial GIS package could offer.

How is a GIS application developed?
Bell D, Morrey I and Pugh J (1992) Software engineering: a programmingp approach. 2nd edn. Prenctice-Hall, New York

Case study





Establish requirements (use case)
Specify (requirements)
Design
Implement
Operate and maintain

Case study: establish requirements (use case)


West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
(WVDEP) has been developing an Enterprise Information
System (EIS), involving a variety of spatial and non-spatial databases.
Users in the Mining & Reclamation Program were looking for a convenient way to electronically link GIS data with data in non spatial databases.

Case study: specify (requirements)


Composite query:
Electronically link GIS data with data in non-spatial databases (e.g., ERIS & EQuIS)
Facts:

Available inhouse database applications didn’t offer such a function

Most employees lacked advanced GIS skills to take advantage of GIS packages (e.g., ArcGIS)

Case study: specify (requirements)




Streamline composite query processes
Provide easy access to GIS data
Provide easy access to non-spatial data
Improve spatial operation efficiency

Case study: design -- application model



Client-server architecture
Client side


SQL statements
API calls
Server side

Smart geodatabase

Procedures/triggers/views in databases

Programs to link spatial & non-spatial databases

Case study: design -- application structure


A toolbar integrated into ESRI ArcGIS/ArcMap platform
Four groups of functions


Access GIS data
Perform composite queries


Access non spatial data
Utilities

Case study: implement -- coding


Programming languages/techniques
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Microsoft ActiveX Data Object
(ADO), Microsoft OLE DB provider, Microsoft Component
Object Module (COM), ESRI ArcObjects library, Oracle
SQL statements, etc.
Products
COM based dlls (dynamic link libraries), each of which performs a specific task

Case study: implement – application setting


Toolbar integrated into ESRI ArcGIS/ArcMap platform
ArcMap running via a Citrix metaframe terminal services architecture

Case study: DMR Information Navigator

Case study: implement – application setting
End Users
.
DMR Navigator
ArcMap/ArcGIS
Citrix Server
ERIS/EQuIS/RIMS
Databases
ORACLE
ArcSDE
Geodatabases

Case study: implement – application testing



Functionality
Performance
Flexibility

Case study: operate and maintain




Document
Train users
Provide customer services
Upgrade on user feedback

Lessons


Administrative lessons
Technical lessons

Lessons: administrative lessons




Interaction with end users


Understanding users
From beginning to end
Budget consideration


Tight budget
In-house resources
Intra agency collaboration & cooperation


Across the Mining and Reclamation program
Across the agency
Inter agency collaboration & operation


Between WVDEP & the Feds (e.g. DOI-OSM)
Between WVDEP & universities (e.g. WVU-NRAC)

Lessons: technical lessons




Application development


Code as simple & reusable as possible
User involvement as early as possible
Application testing


Client side testing
Server side testing
Application deployment


Performance
Deployment model
Application maintenance


Customer service
Prompt updates

Questions & comments


Questions
Comments