The ENTCHEV GIS Blog

Nice article on GeoDesign

2010-03-11T15:25:00Z

After a minor hiccup (article went online; I sent an email blast and tweeted about it; article was pulled for publication on the following day (i.e., today)) ESRI’s Matt Artz’s Directions Magazine article on GeoDesign is online.

Matt does a great job of explaining the concept and controversies around GeoDesign, a new discipline. Naturally, the article is that much dearer to me because it quotes me, and it places me in the distinguished company of ESRI’s Jack Dangermond and Carl Steinitz from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Positional Accuracy Part 2

2010-03-07T22:19:00Z

So how do you define accuracy? In the GIS world there are a few different types of accuracy to consider. When some people hear the word “accuracy” they think about the bullseye on a dart board and how close someone can stick the dart near that bullseye. Since spring training just started others may think about a baseball pitcher and how close he can get the ball to the catcher’s mitt or strike zone. As a GPS/GIS person I usually define accuracy as how close the GIS feature is to its true location on the planet, with separate accuracy values for horizontal and vertical location. But accuracy can be defined a few ways in a GIS.

First a few questions; what is the true location of a feature and how can someone find the true location of a feature to tell how accurate their data is? (To be answered later) The second question; does the true location really matter? I have found over the many years I have been working with GIS data that people often don’t want “accurate” data, they want data that looks good. By looking good I mean that the data agrees with the base mapping that is currently being used. So even if the base map is of poor quality as long as the other data overlays nicely everything else doesn’t matter.

That leads me to my multiple definitions of accuracy. In the GIS world we have what I often refer to as “absolute accuracy”, which I use to describe how close a feature is to its true location, as defined by the geodetic datum and adjustment being used. And then we have what I describe as “relative accuracy”, which I use to describe how close to the true distance one feature is relative to another shown on the same map. In this part of the country most land surveys are still done with relative accuracy as the only consideration and I find in the GIS world that digitizing is still very popular because of the relative accuracy visual benefits.

In the early stages of GIS development the difference between relative and absolute accuracy were a big issue. People were trying to use poor quality base maps that sometimes had no real-world coordinates at all. Since then base map quality has improved tremendously. Good thing because as more people wanted to use GPS to add data to their GIS absolute accuracy became very important. Even still I find that the base map and relative accuracy to the base map is the most important concern when displaying data to people that don’t understand accuracy issues.

In my area of the U.S most people are now using orthophotos as their base map. But if I go out and locate the position of a well defined feature using survey-grade GPS techniques and I establish the “absolute accuracy” of that feature to +/-1cm but that location doesn’t overlay onto the base map nicely I find that people want to believe the base map before the feature location. It seems hard for people to understand the idea that everything we look at on a map has an error associated with it and that it's ok for a +/-1cm point to be "off" 80cm when the base map itself is +/-1m. Some features may have more error or lower accuracy than others, even the base map itself.

It seems that relative accuracy to a base map is still most important when viewing the data but absolute accuracy becomes more important when the GIS matures and people want to start uploading the GIS data back onto ever more sophisticated GPS equipment and portable computers for maintenance and/or feature recovery, especially is the feature is buried or difficult to find. The bottom line, use the most accurate base map available, if possible include estimated accuracy values in all databases, make sure all datum references are properly identified, and if you need to “adjust” feature locations to make the data overlay onto a base map better please make a copy of that layer before editing if the original layer has a higher absolute accuracy than the base map.

Next Post: Where do GIS and GPS positional errors come from?

I am confused – is VGI a good thing or not?

2010-03-04T21:12:00Z

I am talking about Volunteered Geographic Information. At the end of 2007 it was bad. It was the purview of unreliable mashups, the background against which the publishers of professional authoritative content stood out.

Today it is good. According to the same source. What happened? Did volunteers become more reliable over the last two years, or did something else change?

TIME magazine on geospatial

2010-03-02T19:57:00Z

In its March 8, 2010 issue, in an article titled "What Lies Beneath", TIME magazine tells its readers about a successful geospatial business. Geospatial Corp. uses 3-D mapping technology to locate underground utilities. Its CEO "estimates that in the U.S., utilities and state agencies collectively spend more than $3.5 billion annually to locate subterranean pipes." Nothing new for this blog's readers (except maybe the estimate). What is of interest to me is that the article appears in TIME, a mainstream publication.

As a long-time TIME subscriber, I remember the very first time a Microsoft ad appeared in TIME -- it was probably 1994 or 1995. Fifteen years later Microsoft is a household name. Will GIS will be a household noun by 2020?

Accomplishment without effort

2010-02-26T15:14:00Z

Another snow storm in New Jersey.

As I was driving slowly to work this morning in my sedan (rear-wheel drive, stick-shift), a guy in a four-wheel drive was riding my bumper for miles, inches away. I recalled a recent status update of a Facebook friend: “4wd does NOT keep you from sliiiiiiding.” Well, duh! What really took me off guard in this status update was the surprise in its tone. The four-wheel-drive industry had convinced my friend that she wouldn’t have to learn how to drive in the snow – all she had to do was buy their product. Accomplishment without effort.

Or take the radio commercial for an online university which says (quoting from memory): “Sign up for our program and you will get a degree for what you already know!” In other words, we are not going to teach you anything. We know you hate that stuff anyway. We are just going to sell you a diploma. Accomplishment without effort.

Or take the software vendor who says: “Our new release, X+1, is more powerful yet easier to use than release X.” Isn’t that an oxymoron? How can that be? But think not, just buy the upgrade. Accomplishment without effort.

We live in a culture that celebrates accomplishment without effort.

A friend told me a Little Johnny joke in which the teacher rewards a correct answer by allowing the student to go home early. Makes sense, right? Not to me.

GIS in the cloud

2010-02-18T17:23:00Z

Brian Timoney (@briantimoney) has a very nice piece on GIS and the cloud in Directions magazine. He makes a compelling argument that 2010 will be the year when GIS will start migrating to the cloud in earnest.

Could be.

Local government being my main market, I wonder how likely local government decision-makers will be to embrace the cloud. Owning your own IT infrastructure definitely “feels” more secure. Will the lower price of a cloud solution be enough to offset the perceived unease of storing sensitive data “out there?”

Positional Accuracy Part 1

2010-02-14T22:16:00Z

I’m sure many of you have heard this gripe before but one of my biggest concerns as a surveyor working in the world of GIS is the lack of understanding about positional accuracy. This issue has caused many serious problems and will continue to do so as long as people use GIS data without a real grasp on how data was collected, to what quality the coordinates were produced, and what the proper uses of the data are. Too often I have seen or heard of people in positions of authority using GIS data without regard for these issues.

In some ways I can’t blame the local official who is given a new computer with some fancy data display (GIS) software or access to a new web-site that shows all the relevant layers they need to work with. Instinctively they click on the buttons, display the maps and data they have heard so much about, and go about their job of enforcing whatever it is they are in charge of. But then comes the day when they see a violation of some type showing up on their computer screen and then go about ruining somebody’s day, or year, with the information that GIS software produced for them. Meanwhile it turns out that the data they used to base their decision on is off by 50 feet, or about 15 meters for our international brethren, and the apparent violation doesn’t exist.

Now I have always been told by those in the legal profession that ignorance is not a valid defense, but in my opinion much of the blame for situations like this fall to those that implement geographic information systems, authorize user access, and procure data. People in these positions must be aware of the GIS limitations and implications if this information is not handled properly. Unfortunately too often the people in charge of making these decisions are not qualified and do not have the experience or training necessary. It is not an exaggeration to say that people’s lives could be physically or financially in danger because of it.

Ultimately this is why societies have instituted professional licensing, to protect the health and safety of the general public. As a surveyor I am licensed so that the public has an assurance and confidence that I have met the standard requirements for my profession. For each GIS data collection project I am responsible for I must determine acceptable tolerances and uses for the data. Unfortunately many GIS’s are populated with data without these considerations. Instead data is downloaded from the cheapest data provider or collected with the lowest cost equipment and/or the lowest cost labor without consideration of the consequences.

It is my hope that each person reading this will think of positional accuracies and acceptable uses before making important decisions with any geographic information. Looking at aerial photos and street view scenes online to find a new vacation spot is cool but it is not cool when someone overlays a parcel layer with a wetland layer or a flood zone layer and finds you in violation of an ordinance or insurance policy. Unfortunately it is too easy for the untrained public to look at this information and think it is gospel. Everyone’s first thought should be, “Is this information I am looking at accurate?”.

Next post: What is “accuracy”?

Nifty embedded KML viewer from Google

2010-02-12T01:17:00Z

Zooming in to downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey. Blue square is the ENTCHEV office. Play with the Google Earth controls. Tested in Chrome.

[UPDATE 02/13/2010] Also tested (and passed) in Firefox 3.6 and Internet Explorer 8, where the viewer requires the GEPlugin (which Google Chrome does not).

Lakewood (New Jersey) MUA selects ENTCHEV

2010-02-10T19:56:00Z

The Lakewood Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) has selected ENTCHEV GIS Architects to develop a GIS master plan and oversee the GIS implementation at the Authority.

Geospatial Pipe

2010-02-05T15:44:00Z

I recently found this geospatial pipe built by Adam Estrada (@GeoDAWG). Add it to your bookmarks, or RSS feed, or whatever you use to keep up to speed with geospatial happenings.

Introductions

2010-02-02T22:57:00Z

Greetings fellow spatially oriented colleagues. Before I begin blogging about various subjects related to the G in GIS I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mike Popoloski and I am currently president of Mapco Mapping & Positioning Company Inc. I am a New York state licensed land surveyor and a certified GPS mapping instructor.

I started my location-based career about (23) years ago quite by accident. About (1) year out of high school I was working as a mechanical drafter/designer at a local military contractor and I had quickly figured out that I was not cut-out for sitting behind a desk every day. While I was trying to figure out what to try next I bumped into my old guidance counselor from high school. He suggested that I apply for an entry-level land surveying position that had recently opened up in the area.

I had no idea what land surveying was but he said I would be outside much of the time. I have always enjoyed outdoor activities so that sounded good to me. I won the job and started on the ground-floor as a rodman. Over the next few years I learned the value of a good pair of boots, clear and accurate field notes, proper clothing, fully charged batteries, and a sharp machete.

Regardless of most weather conditions we spent each day measuring and recording the locations of everything from natural features such as trees, wetlands, and topography to man-made features such as property markers, buildings, roads, fences, utilities, etc. At that time the terms GIS and GPS were not in our vocabulary, or almost anyone else’s for that matter, but the work we were doing established a great foundation for my acceptance and understanding of these technologies that were to come.

Small-town surveyors like us were mainly working in assumed coordinate systems that we created for each job. But there were a few occasions when we had to establish geodetic values for a large project. We would often spend days on these projects running latitude/longitude and/or NAVD-29 elevations from a local National Geodetic Survey benchmark or baseline to our site.

Well in 1990 the company I was working for acquired the new "magic-box". A Global Positioning System receiver that utilized satellite signals to calculate latitude, longitude, and elevation in minutes instead of days. My boss put the box on my desk and I was tasked with testing this new technology to see if it was telling the "truth". As a licensed surveyor he wanted to make sure we really knew what the accuracy of this new technology was before he affixed his name and personal liability to the project.

This was the beginning of my path on GPS testing, measurement analysis, coordinate quality reporting, and GIS data collection. Since then I have evaluated dozens of different devices, located tens of thousands of GIS features, conducted hundreds of classes and seminars, and set hundreds of high accuracy geodetic control points.

It is my hope that I can contribute to this blog by sharing my land surveying perspective as it relates to the "G" in GIS. If anyone has general questions related to these subjects feel free to share them. I expect to make my first post shortly on the topic of GIS data accuracy.

Welcome to new blogger Mike Popoloski

2010-02-02T17:11:00Z

The ENTCHEV GIS Blog is pleased to welcome Mike Popoloski as a guest blogger. Mike is a GPS expert and a licensed land surveyor, and will offer his unique insight into GIS/GPS interaction, integration and interdependability.

I have known Mike for over ten years. Much of what I know about GPS comes by way of training from his company, Mapco Mapping & Positioning Company in West Milford, New Jersey. Mike is the most knowledgeable person about GPS I have ever met. I am certain this blog’s readers can learn a lot from Mike as well.

Apple’s Steve Jobs: Adobe is lazy. No Flash on the iPad

2010-01-31T19:20:00Z

First the iPhone and now the iPad shun Flash. Steve Jobs says it’s because Flash is buggy, and the world is moving to HTML5 anyway.

What does this have to do with GIS? If, like me, you believe Jobs is right, then a lot. Flash front ends have been gaining popularity with web GIS developers. Flash (and Microsoft’s Flash counterpart – Silverlight) have thrown many a GIS shop into costly detours. Fancy Flash interfaces have taken countless hours to build, only to subsequently annoy countless users. If Jobs is right, all this may be for naught.

Self-described geonerd Michael Weisman (@mweisman) tweets: "Does Adobe not understand that no Flash is a feature?" Just like a child once cried out: "The king has no clothes!"

[UPDATE 01/31/2010 3:38 PM EST] Michael Weisman's original ire was directed at TheFlashBlog for implying that without Flash support the web would be broken. Michael just sent me a link to a follow-up to the original TheFlashBlog post, showing that all but two of the showcased sites already have H.264/HTML5 versions.

[UPDATE 02/03/2010] Sean Gillies concurs.

Have architects perfected the procurement process?

2010-01-28T19:22:00Z

Structural architects have gotten closer than GIS architects, for sure.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am an avid proponent of using the construction industry procurement process as a model in GIS procurement. Now a BusinessWeek article on crowdsourcing and how to fix it evokes an architectural analogy as well:

“For large buildings, anywhere from 3 to 12 architects are selected to propose a rough set of plans for the building based on the quality of their previous work. Each one is compensated with a submission payment that helps to cover their costs, with the full fee for the project going to the architect ultimately selected. Why not do the same when engaging other types of creative experts?”

It seems that the construction industry has got it right, through centuries of experience, no doubt. Instead of reinventing the wheel, our young industry should take a page out of our construction brethrens’ playbook.

HT to Peter Bilton for the EW article.

Don’t ask me what I think about your online GIS after you bought it

2010-01-22T21:50:00Z

I am such a friendly guy. Well-respected, too, apparently. A lot of people know me and value my opinion and expertise. Decision-makers, with budgets.

So it comes as no surprise that every once in a while people ask me GIS-related questions. Such as: “Hey, we just launched our online GIS. What do you think?” Or: “Hey, we just had our tax maps digitized, what should we do with them?”

It is nice to have one’s opinion so highly valued, but it is an honour that I dream not of (to quote Juliet). I would much rather folks call me *before* they go on a GIS services shopping spree. It would then make sense to point out that launching an online GIS that only works in Internet Explorer in 2010 is asinine, no matter how good the deal. No point mentioning this now.

Building a Brand

2010-01-17T18:29:00Z

I wrote this article five years ago. It was edited by Adena Schutzberg, and appeared in print in Earth Observation Magazine in April January 2005 -- that publication's last print issue. (EOM continued as an online publication until August of 2005). (Web archive copy).

I am republishing this piece on my blog in 2010 because I think all raised issues are still very valid. I find that I am not the only one wondering about the value of the acronyms after their names (I became an AICP in 1993, a GISP in 2007). I will share more of my current thinking in a follow-up to this post.

I work out with a trainer at a local gym. I like James -- he knows his stuff and pushes me hard. The other day I asked James what he thought about professional certification. "It is very important," he said. He added that his national certification from the XYZ fitness authority helps him acquire and keep clients like me. James was obviously unaware that I did not know that he held a certification. I liked him for his work.

As I was looking for an accountant recently, I opened the phone book and found several dozen listings for Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). There were no listings for non-certified accountants. I called the CPA closest to my home.

In both of these examples certification had seemingly nothing to do with my selection of services. But maybe it did. Maybe the gym only hired James because of his certification. Maybe non-certified accountants don't even bother to get listed in the phone book because of all the competition from the CPAs? Or maybe all accountants are already certified?

I am leading, of course, to the subject of GIS professional certification, much debated in our industry. A lot of questions have been running through my mind since the launch of the GIS Certification Program, administered through the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI). Questions like: Would you rather trust your GIS project to a GISP (a Certified GIS Professional) than to an acronym-deprived Ms. Jane Doe? Would you pay extra for the GISP's services? How much more? Why? Also: Whom is certification designed for? Whom does it serve -- the certified professional, the public, or someone else?

Certification and Branding

These days the word "branding" has a highly commercialized connotation. Interestingly, branding was originally implemented to protect the consumer. For that reason, branding enjoys the protection of the law. However, over the years, branding has "evolved" to a state in which it protects mainly the interests of the brand owner. Branding is now a marketing technique.

I submit that professional certification is not much different from branding. Certification implies recognition by one's peers, which branding does not. But the differences end there. The similarities are more profound, the major one being that both systems seem to exist primarily to promote the sales of services to the public, and to promote the brand itself.

The following analogy needs no explanation:

certifier . . . certificate holder . . . public
brand owner . . . brand distributor . . . public
franchisor . . . franchisee . . . public

Certification and Licensing

I am a planner by education, and hold a national certification from the relevant certifying authority. The certification makes me more recognizable to the lay person, thus generally assisting the public in their selection of professionals (or so the theory goes). The certification does not allow me to practice planning in my home state of New Jersey, though. For that I need a license from the state (as does a barber in order to cut my hair and a plumber in order to fix my drain).

An interesting thing is happening within the planning profession in New Jersey right now. Planning professionals, who have qualified for national certification as part of their Professional Planner (PP) licensing process, choose not to pursue the certification. They only pursue the planning license. In marketing terms, it appears that the value of the certifying brand is eroding.

Which brings me to more questions about our own industry: Is the GISCI certification program trying to fill the state licensing void by creating a national GIS certification system? Do we know how close individual states are to implementing their own programs for licensing GIS professionals? Will those programs interplay with the current GISCI program? Will there be direct credit transfers, for example? With the implementation of state GIS licensing, will the GISP brand gain or lose value over time?

To Certify, or Not to Certify?

GISP has a nice ring to it. I think I will pass, though. Until the day the state begins to regulate my services. Then, if I am not retired, I will apply for a license.

Directions magazine publishes my GIS architecture article

2010-01-07T13:22:00Z

Directions magazine, the premier English language GIS publication, published my GIS architecture article. The article is based on my Design-Build GIS post.

GeoDesign 2010 and Beyond

2010-01-06T19:44:00Z

As I watch James Fee (@cageyjames) tweet the ESRI 2010 GeoDesign Summit, I realize that “geodesign” is a smart strategic shift from “what is” to “what will be.” Smart, because without such a shift the GIS industry will eventually cannibalize itself, running out of things to map.

The problem with “geodesign” is that it has been known as “architecture” and “urban planning” for quite some time now. I doubt that architects and urban planners will just sit and watch as GIS folks enter and try to take over the design space.

Interesting times.

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GIS architect job posting in the wild

2009-12-31T17:39:00Z

[UPDATE 01/08/2010] Brian Timoney (@briantimoney) alerted me to yet another GIS Architect job opening ("Sr" at that!).

Be still my heart. A California organization, MARRS Services (I am not familiar with them) has posted a job opening for a GIS architect on the GIS Jobs Clearinghouse. Could it be that the days of "What is a GIS architect?" are over?

For the hardcore GIS nerd

2009-12-23T19:34:00Z

If you have ever run ARC/INFO from a command line, you will find this hilarious.