I’ve spent a decade helping Ecology Consultancies make mapping workflows Accurate, Efficient & Standardised. Here’s how you do it, in time for next field season. PART 1 (of 4).
PART 1: Conduct GIS Audit & Draft GIS Roadmap
Introduction
Winter. A time of hibernation for some creatures. Including myself, to some extent! For Ecologists, it tends to be the time when you can finally come up for air after a hectic survey season. And breathe. And have a cup of tea. And start to figure out how to make your survey and mapping processes smoother and better for next year.
I’ve been working freelance, as Maplango, for a decade now. In that time I’ve worked with 100+ companies, and trained 1000+ ecologists. In this 4-part article, I’m going to share with you the process I use to make client mapping & survey workflows more accurate, efficient, standardised, and consistent. Hopefully it’ll help guide your thinking, provide a structure, or at least stimulate some ideas.
Conduct a GIS audit
It all starts with what I call a GIS audit. And that, typically, starts with a series of semi-structured interviews with key staff, often over Zoom. But you could do it in person.
Topics I normally explore with key staff include:
Hardware
What type of computers and field survey devices are in use? How are they set up? How much memory do they have?
Data Storage & Retrieval
Where are the QGIS projects and mapping data stored? On a hard drive? In the cloud?
How and from where are they accessed? Do staff work remotely? Are there any barriers to staff accessing the files?
Is it all backed up / archived? In what format is it stored? Is it confidential?
GIS and related software
What GIS and field survey software is in use? How is it set up?
Staff support and training requirements
Have staff received training in the use of the mapping systems? What are their current competencies, training needs & preferences?
Develop a GIS Roadmap
Once I have spoken to key staff, and have some information on the above topics, comes reviewing the information collected from the interviews, conducting additional research, and drafting a GIS Roadmap. This report communicates the findings, and makes recommendations that might include:
Hardware / Software
Something of a pre-requisite is an IT system that is fit for purpose. Resolve any issues identified.
Where necessary, set up new QGIS projects, and/or field survey apps, so that staff can conduct BNG and other assessments in a standardised way.
Data
Ensure staff are basing their mapping on good quality background data; that they are making the most of open-data, and are able to integrate premium data as needed.
Staff
Ensure staff are trained and confident using the new software / workflows, have received training, have reference materials to refer to, and support available in case issues arise.
Conclusion
And there you have it. That’s how to begin the process of making your mapping accurate, efficient, standardised, and consistent. Conduct a review (or ‘GIS audit’) covering the topics above. And based on that draft a plan (or ‘GIS Roadmap’). It’s not that complex, and definitely something you can take on yourself. But equally, it can be good to get an external perspective. If you feel you could use some expert guidance, drop me a email to matt@maplango.com and we can explore options.
Stay tuned because over the coming weeks, I will be exploring the 3 key areas identified above, that you will typically need to focus on when updating your mapping processes: People. Software. And Data.