Enterprise GIS for Municipal Government

An ESRI White Paper July 2003

ESRI 380 New York St., Redlands, CA 92373- 8100, USA TEL 909-793- 2853 FAX 909-793-5953 E-MAIL info@esri.com WEB www.esri.com

Copyright 2003 ESRI All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. The information contained in this document is the exclusive property of ESRI. This work is protected under United States copyright law and other international copyright treaties and conventions. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as expressly permitted in writing by ESRI. All requests should be sent to Attention: Contracts Manager, ESRI, 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373-8100, USA. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

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Enterprise GIS for Municipal Government

An ESRI White Paper
Contents Executive Summary.............................................................................. What Is an Enterprise GIS for Municipal Government? ...................... GIS in Municipal Governments Began as Projects and Is Evolving to an Enterprise Resource ............................................................... Definition of the EGIS Concept............................................................ Components of an Enterprise GIS Implementation.............................. Enterprise System Infrastructure........................................................... Enterprise Data Model for Municipal EGIS ......................................... Enterprise Approach to GIS Applications ............................................ Page 1 2 2 3 4 5 7 9

Governance of Enterprise GIS .............................................................. 10 Is It Really Worth It? Benefits and Return on Investment ................... 11 How Do I Design and Develop a Municipal EGIS? ............................. Phase 1 of Implementatio nNeeds Assessment, Concept Definition, and Implementation Planning................................. Phase 2 of ImplementationDetailed Requirements and Design.. Phase 3 of ImplementationSystem Implementation ................... 11 12 15 15

What Led ESRI to This Description of EGIS for Municipal Government? ................................................................. 15

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Enterprise GIS for Municipal Government

Executive Summary The mission of municipal government is to provide the services necessary to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of its residents. This mission is met through the daily operations of many departments under the management of the government's administrative officer and the policy direction of the elected officials. The use of geographic information system (GIS) technology within municipal government during the past 30 years has clearly demonstrated that effective use of geospatial information is a critical element in fulfilling this mission. This is because addressing the varied combinations of factors that affect the health, safety, and other quality-of- life concerns of residents throughout the municipality is inherently based on geography or "location." Knowing and understanding the location and characteristics of the jurisdiction's population; natural and cultural resources; transportation, utilities, and other critical infrastructure; and the forces that may impact each of these are fundamental to managing the municipality's environment and the effective and efficient delivery of services to its residents.
GIS technology provides capabilities for visualizing and understanding what is going on in one or many locations by allowing the user to model resources, relationships, processes, dependencies, patterns, threats, and risks. These capabilities provide the ability to observe what is going on, measure an event or impact, analyze disparate data, develop plans, and ultimately decide on a course of action. The ability of GIS to integrate spatial and nonspatial data, as well as support analysis and process modeling, enables it to become a platform for the integration of the business processes of multiple departments, activities, and disciplines within the municipal government. An enterprise approach to GIS will provide a framework for the departments of the municipal government to collect data, share information, collaborate, and conduct crossdepartmental analysis in order to become more efficient and informed about the population, resources, infrastructure, and the activities that are affecting them. The concept of enterprise GIS (EGIS) does not stop with just the geospatial information resources of any one municipality but extends vertically to other levels of government (federal, state, international) and horizontally to other municipal governments and private sector organizations in the same region. The better the information the municipality has about the public's diverse needs, the better it can manage and direct its own resources to provide value to its customers and be accountable to its citizens. In effect, the implementation of an enterprise GIS will provide the framework for the municipality to meet its diverse, yet critical, mission in a modern and integrated manner.

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What Is an Enterprise GIS for Municipal Government?

GIS provides a framework for collaboration and communication by providing a common frame of referencelocationand allowing people to share information about locations. In many municipal governments, the current GIS implementation model is file-based and stove-piped. Individual users or projects create and maintain their own data sets on their own desktop computers. This often leads to a proliferation of redundant data and applications. The goal of an enterprise GIS is to implement interoperable technologies, standards, and methods so that GIS data and services can be used more efficiently and more effectively. When an organization coordinates its GIS efforts, users of spatial data can spend more time on the analytical capabilities of a GIS and less time searching for, compiling, and integrating the data they require for their analysis activities. Most municipalities have been using GIS or GIS map products for many years. Typically this began as a single project, for example, as the preparation of the general plan map of land use. Because of the benefits realized in that one project, GIS usage expanded to include a system to support multiple users within the department. In turn, municipalities began to recognize the benefits of using GIS in many different departments, and multiple department GIS implementations evolved. However, often these multidepartment implementations were not well coordinated, resulting in redundant maintenance of data sets, duplication of applications, and inefficiencies for the sharing of data due to a lack of applied standards. Today, the evolution of multiuser information systems is yielding enterprise GIS solutions that enable data and application sharing through systematic engineering of business processes and enforcement of data standards. This evolution of GIS is shown in Figure 1. It is important to understand that within this enterprise structure, GIS work is still performed, and usually starts, at the project and departmental levels. However, the integration achieved by the enterprise approach and use of standards brings transparency to the hierarchy of project, departmental, and enterprise activities because of the consistency and integration of the resulting data and applications. Figure 1 Evolution of Municipal GIS Implementation

GIS in Municipal Governments Began as Projects and Is Evolving to an Enterprise Resource

Project

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Definition of the EGIS Concept

A municipal enterprise GIS consists of technology, personnel, and other resources to create, maintain, visualize, search, and share geospatial data and services. At a minimum, the municipal EGIS provides these capabilities to all departments of the municipality. Usually the municipal EGIS extends many of these capabilities to the general public, external private entities, and external public agencies as well. EGIS is a fundamental element of e-govern ment because it adds the critical elements of location and visualization to interaction between the municipal departments and the public. Often knowing where a government action or other event in the community is occurring, as well as what is nearby, is essential for achieving informed public participation and timely delivery of services. The resources comprising the municipal EGIS reside at the most suitable government, department, or enterprise level for achieving the most effective delivery of data, products, and services to internal and external GIS customers. Also inherent to the concept of EGIS is the integration of GIS data and functionality (analysis and visualization) with other municipal information systems, such as permitting, work order processing, and customer service, that have traditionally not included visualization and mapping as part of their capabilities. Using GIS as an enterprise information technology resource along with these other more traditional enterprise resources leverages the inherent geographic nature of the data within legacy as well as new municipal business systems. Municipal EGIS is founded on three distinct but related concepts. First, municipal EGIS focuses on the development and sustained operation of business critical systems. Among these are the systems for the delivery of municipal services such as regulation of land use and subdivision, water distribution, and ensuring public safety. Creating and managing GIS data that is fundamental to specific business processes of the municipality or individual departments are often elements of these business critical systems. However, with EGIS, these systems often rely on GIS data that originates in other systems. Second, municipal EGIS involves the development of an information infrastructure to support data sharing and cross-departmental, multipurpose operations. This infrastructure is essential for disseminating data among departments, as mentioned above, and to the public. Third, the municipal EGIS relies on the development and upkeep of a governance structure through which the needs of user agencies can be met in a coordinated manner. Important to this is establishing standards that ensure the interoperability and integration of data and other GIS resources used to support individual project, departmental, or enterprise initiatives. Figure 2 illustrates the relationship among these three concepts. In this example, the parcel mapping system is a business critical system for the municipal property assessor (i.e., county, city, township) that supports the legal mandate to develop and maintain parcel maps. The data that is developed within the parcel mapping system is distributed throughout the municipal government and to other agencies and the public through the data and systems infrastructure. The parcel data and map services represent just one of the many GIS systems and map services developed and operated by the municipal government; however, these other GIS systems rely on the parcel mapping system for the parcel map data. The integration of these systems and map services is governed through standards, procedures, and protocols typically established by the municipal government's standards organization. Compliance with the standards as part of the parcel mapping system ensures other users that the parcel map data will be maintained at a specified quality and content enabling them to use the data with confidence within their own applications. Likewise, the assessor uses the information infrastructure and the assurance of data quality that results from the governance structure to access information it uses to

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maintain the parcel maps, such as easements and ownership that are maintained in business critical systems of the registrar/recorder, or building permit information that originates in a business critical system of the building official. Figure 2 Key Enterprise GIS Concepts

Internet
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Parcel Mapping

Departmental Business Critical System

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Dept. A

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Components of an Enterprise GIS Implementation

GIS implementation whether at the project, department, or enterprise level, must consider each of the components that comprise an operational information system. n System infrastructureThe system infrastructure includes the hardware, communications network, GIS, database management system (DBMS), and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software required for implementing the complete information system. The system infrastructure represents the technology components of the information infrastructure. Enterprise geodatabase modelThe enterprise geodatabase model identifies the design and metadata for the enterprise and departmental geographic data resources. The procedures for management of the geodatabase resources are often addressed as part of the metadata. The geodatabase model and GIS data resource management procedures comprise the information components of the information infrastructure. GIS applicationsThe GIS applications include all of the clientside and serverside applications associated with municipal business processes. GIS applications include

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business critical applications and other end user GIS applications to perform data management, editing/maintenance, spatial analysis, mapping, and visualization. n GIS governance and human resourcesGIS governance provides the structure of standards and procedures used by the GIS personnel to operate the GIS as an integral part of the municipality's enterprise information technology resources. The governance structure ensures that the data and applications maintain a consistency of quality and reliability that is needed to sustain a collaborative solution.

Each of these components is further described below.

Enterprise System Infrastructure

Enterprise system infrastructure includes the hardware, software, and communications infrastructure. Often the enterprise system architecture involves creating an enterprise GIS warehouse for widely used or enterprise data layers. These data layers originate through the business transactions supported or performed by GIS applications in their respective source departments. To facilitate enterprisewide access, these transactions populate an enterprise GIS data warehouse, often called the published database. End users access these enterprise or published data layers from the warehouse. Departmental GIS system resources might support specific needs of internal users as well as provide enterprise data layers to the warehouse, as warranted. This enterprise architecture concept, based on a single GIS warehouse, is illustrated in Figure 3. Figure 3 Enterprisewide Architecture With Enterprise GIS Warehouse

Desktop User Desktop Desktop GIS GIS

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Business Critical Apps. Edit/Update Local Data Departmental Users Departmental Users

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A second approach to the enterprise GIS system architecture that is growing in acceptance is creating an Intranet environment through which departments access map layers from data servers located in the departments where the data originates. In effect, the GIS applications of departmental GIS users will search the network for the required data based on metadata information and "fuse" the requisite data within the application for use in GIS operations. The same concept can be extended to external data sources using Internet portals and metadata servers. This approach enables a far more distributed

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or decentralized approach to data management in which each department manages its data using a data server or data warehouse computer, while still providing users from other departments access to data resources on an as -needed basis. This approach is illustrated in Figure 4. Within this approach, departments or municipalities may also implement a published database for access by other departments and users, where separation of the data update (write) functions from data access (read) functions is needed. Figure 4 Web-Based Enterprise GIS Architecture With Metadata Server

Fire Env. Health Police Public Works

Metadata Server

Water

Planning

Solid Waste

Traffic

Assessor

Also central to the municipal EGIS information infrastructure is the GIS software. Whether in the data warehouse or more decentralized network-based system architecture, a fundamental component is GIS software to manage the geodatabase resources. The geospatial data is stored in COTS relational database management system (RDBMS) software; however, the GIS software acts as a middleware to effectively address the management of the geospatial data within the RDBMS as well as the interaction with other COTS GIS software that performs update and retrieval functions on the data. Figure 5 depicts this concept and the GIS architecture to support each level of GIS application activity within an enterprise GIS architecture. This GIS software architecture allows each department to set up its own server environment, if needed, to manage the data required by its personnel (some data will come from other sources). It enables configuration of the GIS clientside software based on the functional needs of each end user. The enterprise GIS software architecture also enables remote department personnel to access the municipal EGIS via the Internet; and, if applicable, wireless devices. Selected department data sets can be made available on a geographic data portal for use

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by other departments of the municipality or other subscribers to the municipality's geographic data portal such as other governments, special districts, private companies, and the public. Figure 5 Example Department Software Configuration

HTML Viewer GIS Web Clients

Java Viewer

GIS Desktops Desktops

ArcInfo ArcInfo ArcEditor ArcView

Embedded Apps.

ArcReader ArcReader Internet Map Services ArcIMS ArcIMS GIS Servers ArcSDE

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Web Services

Data

Geographic Data Portal

As the breadth of GIS implementation expands from project- and department-based implementations to the enterprise GIS model, it will be essential to make maximum use of the data, system, and staffing resources developed through each of the earlier project or departmental implementations. In so doing, the municipal EGIS will leverage the full value of the municipality's investment in GIS resources. Implementing a municipal EGIS will also yield substantial cost savings in such areas as less redundant data/work, greater efficiency, faster delivery of services to customers/constituents, more integrated approach to decision making based on complete data, and improved communication between departments.

Enterprise Data Model for Municipal EGIS

The municipal EGIS database concept includes not only the spatial data layers, such as parcels and street centerlines, but also subject matter data stored as attribute tables that describe the many layer features, such as street name, and events associated with those features, such as traffic accidents. As described, the implementation of the municipal EGIS database, first at a conceptual level and later at the physical level, is influenced by the system architecture, the needs of individual end users for data, and the data maintenance responsibility. Common traits of successful EGIS database implementations include paying close attention to the multipurpose nature of the data, locating update/maintenance functions with the originating or "custodial" department, adherence to a simple object-based data model to define the features and their behaviors, ensuring that the vertical alignment or integration of the map layers is achieved, using standard data models for data themes to enhance data sharing within the municipality and with external users, and enforcing documentation of the data's history through use of metadata.

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Examples of standard data models commonly applied in developing a municipal EGIS include n n n n n n n n n n n n n n Site Addresses Administrative Boundaries Topographical United States Geological Survey (USGS) Basemap Environmental/Biodiversity Energy Utilities and Facilities Water/Wastewater Networks Field Survey Land Parcels Street/Transportation Networks Telecommunications Land Use/Zoning U.S. Census/Demographics Water Resources/Hydrography Imagery

Fundamental to the concept of the municipal EGIS is the creation of a shared database. The shared database does not mean the creation of a single monolithic database that all users must use. Rather, as has been described, the shared database implies that departments with different functions and responsibilities have common data needs and through GIS technology and data models can seamlessly share data resources. For example, several departments may require knowledge of tax parcel locations to carry out their day-to-day functions. Using a shared GIS database, it is no longer necessary for each department to store, manage, and update this information independently because all of them have access to the data electronically via the shared database. Also, the shared database approach enables the data to be updated by its source department, thus eliminating a considerable amount of redundant work for the municipality. Figure 6 illustrates the shared database concept. It also shows methods of data exchange between user departments and the GIS database. Both enterprise and departmental data sets are stored in GIS databases and are accessed using GIS tools. The concept of a virtual, integrated database is also depicted in the figure. As discussed previously, the integrated database is achieved through adherence to database standards and metadata documentation and does not require all the GIS data to be managed within a single data warehouse. This concept extends beyond the departments within the municipality to include interagency and regional access to shared data resources through use of standards and metadata. Increasingly, the capabilities of GIS software for such functions as on-thefly conversion of the map projection apply these standards to data, when needed, to achieve the integration and accessibility of data resources from diverse data providers.

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Figure 6 Shared GIS Database

Integrated Database (Virtual)

Retrieve Layers/Attributes Insert Authorized Updates/Synchronize Retrieve Layers/Attributes Insert Authorized Updates/Synchronize

Enterprise Data Warehouse Warehouse

Department 1 Department 1 1 Edit Transactions Edit Transactions Transactions Department 1 1 Database Database
Denied Insert (No write privileges) Retrieve Layers//Attributes

Department 2 2 Edit Transactions Transactions Department 2 Database

Insert Authorized Updates/Synchronize

Retrieve Layers/Attributes

Retrieve Layers/Attributes

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Enterprise Approach to GIS Applications

Users of the enterprise GIS within a municipality will have varying needs and requirements. Some staff members will use GIS as an integral part of their daily job activities, while others may only use GIS occasionally to be able to view information in map format. While there are hundreds of individual uses and applications of GIS within the municipal government, each of those uses generally falls within one of the following categories: n Data ManagementApplications in this category provide tools for data management and database administration for any centralized, enterprise database and other distributed, shared databases maintained within individual departments. These functions will be closely aligned with system and network administration functions. Data Editing and MaintenanceApplications in this category provide tools for the initial entry of spatial data (i.e., map layers) as well as associated attributes and symbology. Data entry, update, and maintenance applications will serve to build and maintain the data resources of the enterprise GIS. An essential part of all entry, update, and maintenance applications is quality control to ensure that all data entered meets the established standards. Spatial Analysis and ModelingGIS technology provides hundreds of software tools to perform geoprocessing, modeling, and spatial analysis. These tools are

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combined through customization to support specific functions of user departments. An important aspect of GIS applications for spatial analysis is the combination of the spatial and attribute data as part of the analysis process. The results of the analysis can then be displayed in map format, often providing a strong visual impact for data that traditionally is only viewed in report format. n VisualizationVisualization applications are the most broadly used GIS applications. These applications may be as simple as identifying a record in a database and having the GIS show the location of the feature or event. Visualization can also use query tools to define a set of selection criteria to identify all the features and events that satisfy the user's request. The output of the query is a set of geographic features and their associated tabular information that meets the selection criteria. Map ProductionGIS applications for map production are required to support departmental functions that require the design and output of map products. These map products may be part of a standard map series, or they may be special one-of-akind maps. The map production application must provide capabilities to design the map product, prepare it in the proper format, and deliver that formatted data to a hardware device, such as a printer or plotter, to produce a hard-copy or paper version of the map.

Applications within each of these categories are based on similar GIS functions or tools. Therefore, a substantial opportunity exists with the development of a municipal EGIS to create one application that can be adapted to meet the needs of multiple users in multiple departments. Establishing the distance around a project site for the distribution of public hearing notices is an example of such a shared application that can be built once and customized to the specific needs of individual users.

Governance of Enterprise GIS

The municipal EGIS must be approached as an investment in the data and system infrastructure that serves multiple departments. Accomplishing this requires a unique form of governance that supports departmental resources working in combination with overall municipal information technology resources. At the heart of governance for an enterprise GIS is an organizational structure that supports the participation of municipal staff from the daily end users of the system to the municipal leaders who establish GIS budget and policies. Years of multidepartmental and enterprise GIS implementations have identified an effective organizational model that includes a steering committee comprising management staff responsible for establishing policies and priorities; a technical committee comprising GIS professional staff responsible for defining standards, coordinating departmental projects, and recommending enterprise projects to the steering committee; and user groups focused on common interests, such as parcels or site addressing, to support standards development, knowledge sharing, and technology transfer. These committees work as a team, not as individual units, to ensure that collaborative solutions are achieved. Equally important to governance of the municipal EGIS is establishing and enforcing standards. Particularly critical are database design and metadata standards coupled with the enforced use of metadata to describe data resources. Where departmental implementations have not produced metadata in the past, it is important to establish the data inventory and perform a gap analysis of missing data, lack of standardization, lack of metadata, and other factors that may contribute to an ineffective enterprise GIS. The generic data standards framework provided by the data models and metadata capabilities

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of GIS software can help structure database standards and expedite the gap analysis process. A second area where standards can bring about significant savings in time and dollars for municipal EGIS development is the use of open programming languages for the development and customization of applications. Using tools, such as the Universal Modeling Language (UML), to design and implement GIS applications is an important contributor to achieving standardized methods and content of applications.

Is It Really Worth It? Benefits and Return on Investment

An important aspect of building the business case for pursuing a municipal EGIS is showing the potential for return on investment (ROI). ESRI has been working with its municipal government user community for several years to compile actual descriptions of return on investment experiences. These descriptions clarify new applications or improvements to business processes that have resulted in substantial savings or new revenues for governments. Some of these ROI stories can be found on the ESRI Web site at http://www.esri.com/industries/localgov/business-case.html. The ROI experienced by each municipality is unique to its conditions. Some of the common themes of these experiences include reducing staff time required to perform repetitive tasks or support public information inquiries at the counter; substituting automated GIS procedures for costly outsourcing of mapping functions; identifying lost revenues in the form of taxes and fees that were not being collected; and successfully using detailed GIS analysis and mapping to support grant and other funding applications. Many benefits of enterprise GIS are not readily expressed in terms of ROI. These benefits often take the form of improved decision making through access to more complete data resources. Examples of these qualitative benefits of enterprise GIS include n n n n n n A consolidated perspective on the use of GIS applications and data throughout the municipal government The elimination of redundant data collection and management The development and distribution of the core GIS data layers for the municipality, each from its definitive source Opportunities for process reengineering with a spatial focus that will improve overall efficiency A simplified approach to GIS implementation and integration through the development of architecture templates and enterprise GIS best practices A simplified user experience for locating, understanding, and using municipal data layers

How Do I Design and Develop a Municipal EGIS?

Successful implementations of GIS technology all have a few things in common. They have support from executive leadership, they have experienced and properly trained staff, and they have an organizational structure that works collaboratively to define the GIS vision and carry it out. ESRI has developed software for a quarter of a century, and our users have mapped the world and developed countless applications. However, we have witnessed locations where the same software, data, hardware, RDBMS, and networks exist, yet the level of success varies. After a more detailed review it becomes evident that

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the differences usually lie in the level of support from executive leadership, the experience and training of staff, and the organizational structure that governs the team. Successful implementations of GIS also establish and rely upon an implementation plan to guide the development of the enterprise GIS. The implementation plan defines a municipalitywide GIS strategy. Within that strategy are different approaches to creating an enterprise solution that are tailored to the conditions present within each department. One approach may guide departments already active with GIS to integrate their resources within the municipal enterprise model, while another approach may help departments not currently active with GIS create and maintain data and applications that are specific to their mission, while functioning within the framework of the municipal enterprise. In addition, the municipal EGIS implementation plan provides strategies for all departments to pursue business process and database reengineering to take advantage of the spatial functionality and data resources of the EGIS. The end result of the implementation plan enables each of the departments to collect, maintain, and distribute geospatial data from within one interoperable system that serves all departments' needs. Municipal EGIS implementation plans divide the implementation process into three phases. The three phases build upon one another, with each phase providing clear benefits. The deliverables from each phase not only document the results of that phase but also serve to further define the work in the subsequent phase. n Phase 1EGIS Needs Assessment and Concept Definition: This phase addresses business process definition, system and data requirements definition, conceptual system design, and implementation strategy preparation. Phase 2Detailed Requirements Definition and System Design: This phase addresses the detailed requirements and design for enterprise components as well as departmental systems within the context of the enterprise requirements. Detailed business process engineering, coupled with detailed database design and system specification, is completed for the business critical applications. Often applications to support widespread visualization of data resources are emphasized to demonstrate high return on investment. Phase 3System Implementation: This phase addresses the implementation of enterprise components and departmental components in compliance with established enterprise GIS governance standards and protocols. Business critical applications and database resources are developed, along with the system infrastructure, to ingest, manage, and deliver the GIS data, products, and services.

Each phase is further described below, with primary emphasis on Phase 1.

Phase 1 of Implementation Needs Assessment, Concept Definition, and Implementation Planning

The purposes of the needs assessment, concept definition, and implementation planning processes are to develop a business case for the municipal EGIS that will validate for the municipality's executive leadership the importance of establishing an enterprise GIS and to provide the municipality's GIS professional staff with the blueprint for moving forward with the EGIS implementation. The blueprint addresses each of the components of the enterprise GIS described above including the municipal EGIS governance structure consisting of standards, protocols, and procedures and the organizational framework that enables collaboration and integration.

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The objectives of Phase 1Needs Assessment, Concept Definition, and Implementation Planning are to establish an enterprise architecture and a set of implementation road maps. The enterprise architecture includes the corporate resources that serve the enterprise GIS as a whole and the resources for integrating departmental functions with the enterprise solution. Integration of departmental resources is guided by the implementation road maps that help each department to create and maintain data and applications that are specific to its respective mission, while functioning within the framework of the municipal EGIS. This phase often begins with the definition of an overall set of goals and objectives for the municipal EGIS. Alternative municipalwide system infrastructure concepts are defined that address the core enterprise resources and approaches to implementing departmental components as integral parts of the overall municipal EGIS solution. Various approaches or road maps to implementing and integrating the departmental approaches are established based on the current status of individual departmental GIS development. A companion implementation plan is established for the enterprise infrastructure along with templates for departmental GIS implementations reflective of effective use of current resources. These implementation plans, or road maps, as shown in Figure 7, are based on the analysis of the GIS business processes within each department. The road maps provide target architectures and best practices for implementing different categories of GIS operations within each department such as business critical applications, decision support systems, data management systems, and cartographic applications. Using these templates, departments have greater flexibility in determining their priorities for GIS implementation within the context of the overall enterprise concept. Figure 7 Implementation Road Maps

System Template System Template System Template

Solaris28 Informix 9.3 ArcSDE 8.3
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rs Use

The final enterprise GIS concept established in this first phase provides a standards-based COTS framework for the creation, maintenance, analysis, and sharing of geospatial data. The system is architected as a logical municipalitywide solution. The enterprise solution establishes standardsdata, functionality, equipment, and so forththat are common

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Complexity

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across the municipality's departments, while still allowing each department to create and maintain data that is specific to its mission, using specific tools and technologies that may be dictated by its mission. Effectively each department will be a node within the enterprise that can function to meet its goals while sharing information with other departments and external entities. In summary, the Phase 1 effort provides the municipality with an enterprise GIS concept and implementation strategy that n n n n Is standards-based, built on both the best existing IT standards and emerging ISO and Open GIS Consortium (OGC) specifications Is implemented using COTS GIS software that is reliable, sustainable, maintainable, and deliverable now Is open/interoperable, allowing choice of databases, hardware, GIS software, networks, and Web browsers Is extensible to include all organizations within the municipal government as well as being able to provide data to and receive data from federal, state, local, and tribal governments and private sector participants in the overall GIS community Creates horizontal and vertical integration for the use of geographic data within the municipal government and with other governmental entities and the public Is scalable within the municipality and potentially, via portal capabilities, to millions of Internet users Facilitates Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) or International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-compliant metadata tool use Is a strategic part of the emerging municipal IT architecture

n n n n

An important product of Phase 1 is the enterprise GIS implementation strategy. The implementation strategy defines the tasks to be performed in developing the municipal EGIS. The tasks are organized around the components of the municipal EGIS as well as the enterprise and departmental framework. Interdependencies between tasks that represent critical success factors are identified. For each task the participants and responsible party are defined; design considerations are described; and, based on the schedule, anticipated start dates, end dates, and durations are provided. Accompanying the implementation strategy is a cost estimate and potentially an ROI analysis. Often cost estimates at this phase are rough order estimate only but include costs for additional hardware, GIS, and other COTS application software; data migration, creation, and acquisition; implementation of metadata and other standards; custom application development; technical support; quality assurance; and staff training. Costs are associated with the schedule of the implementation strategy.

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Phase 2 of Implementation Detailed Requirements and Design

Phase 2 builds on Phase 1 and consists of defining the detailed functional requirements for each component of the enterprise GIS. Aspects of this phase are undertaken by a central IT or GIS entity, while other aspects are pursued by individual departments. Because these efforts are likely to proceed in parallel, the governance structure is a critical component during this phase. The detailed requirements established in this phase, whether of an enterprise or departmental nature, include detailed system architecture information as well as logical data models for the shared and departmental data layers identified in Phase 1. The tasks required to complete Phase 2 are usually defined in the implementation plan prepared in Phase 1. Phase 3 naturally builds on Phase 2. Phase 3 consists of implementing data models and system designs defined in Phase 2. The system implementation establishes an enterprise GIS infrastructure at the municipality including the components within each department. A key part of the system implementation is the establishment of each department as a user node on the municipal geographic data portal. In this phase a pilot set of data is collected that can be used to validate the system configuration. At the end of Phase 3 the municipality has an enterprise GIS infrastructure to support the spatial business needs of all its departments. In ESRI's experience, three important factors contribute to the definition of a municipal EGIS and establishing its key role within municipal information technology infrastructure. These include lessons learned by ESRI during more than 30 years of developing geographic information systems, the experiences of our user community with implementing GIS within their organizations, and the recent advances in GIS technology that are making enterprise GIS implementations a reality. Though not always under the name of "enterprise GIS," ESRI's Professional Services Division has been working with local, state, and national governments for more than 20 years to design and implement multiuser, multidepartment, multiagency, and multijurisdictional GIS solutions. This practical experience of getting agencies to cooperatively share data and system resources not only results in effective information systems, but it also results in the growth of the governance structure through collaboration among peers. In these enterprise GIS implementations, ESRI has consistently applied a data-centric approach that focuses on the value of geographic data resources to multiple users, the adherence to standards, and the use of generic GIS tools to create specific end user solutions. ESRI's user community has grown to more than 150,000 sites with the majority of those sites being municipal, state, national, or other form of government. Many in our user community themselves have more than 20 years of GIS experience, during which time they have developed many mature departmental and multidepartmental GIS environments. These experiences are invaluable to defining enterprise GIS solutions based on the practical needs of everyday GIS users. Many of these are highlighted during ESRI's annual User Conference and in ESRI and GIS publications. The extensive data holdings, system resources, applications, and procedures for using GIS that these municipalities have developed establish the platform for their growth to an enterprise GIS. Equally important, these municipalities have developed highly skilled and welltrained GIS professionals. A third factor that makes possible the realization of the municipal EGIS at this time is the maturation of GIS technology that has taken place in the last three years. These advances include the definition of GIS data as objects including simple objects (i.e., points) and

Phase 3 of Implementation System Implementation

What Led ESRI to This Description of EGIS for Municipal Government?

ESRI White Paper

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complex objects (i.e., lines, polygons, surfaces, topology, etc.) that can be stored directly in the RDBMS software. In turn, because these objects are stored with the rules that govern their behavior, the GIS technologies of today contain sophisticated, standardsbased COTS GIS operators, or tools that manage, manipulate, analyze, and display these data objects without custom programming. When custom programming is needed to support a business process work flow, industry standard programming languages can now be used. Finally, the rapid and wide acceptance of the Internet and the development of GIS tools to use the Internet to provide data, map, and portal services have introduced opportunities for integrating GIS data resources on the fly that may be stored in a decentralized manner by multiple agencies. A key aspect of such an approach to enterprise GIS is the definition and adherence to standards, particularly metadata standards, by all participants. Along with advances in GIS, hardware and communications networks have increasingly become faster and capable of delivering large quantities of data.

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For more than 30 years ESRI has been helping people manage and analyze geographic information. ESRI offers a framework for implementing GIS technology in any organization with a seamless link from personal GIS on the desktop to enterprisewide GIS client/server and data management systems. ESRI GIS solutions are flexible and can be customized to meet the needs of our users. ESRI is a full-service GIS company, ready to help you begin, grow, and build success with GIS.

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