Abstracts

GIS Management Training Seminar
Monday 23 April 2007

Making your data work for you!
Rubbish in gives you rubbish out! – A familiar description of any IT system with poor quality data. So how can you get more from your investment in data?

In this session you’ll learn how being more aware of data issues, such as quality, accuracy, content and currency, could save you a lot of time and effort in the future. Discover through our customers’ experiences, why a good data strategy is critical to your organisation, and how this can provide focus and understanding about the appropriateness of data to applications.

There are many sources of UK data – which should you choose? This session will help you find out what’s out there and the best choices for your business, including new content and new suppliers.

Translating GIS training into workplace practice
To address the well researched issue of poor skills’ transfer back to work following training, in this session you’ll find how others have benefited from following a structured process to analyse and evaluate training needs; and have then produced a training programme that has made a huge difference to the performance of GIS personnel.

You’ll explore the challenges of putting new skills gained through training into practice, and you’ll identify ways to apply simple ideas to upskill and motivate your workforce, taking into account their specific needs and learning preferences.

By encouraging the learner to take ownership of their learning, introducing complementary materials, making training fit real and relevant scenarios, and by making it fun (!): all of this can only bring benefit to people undertaking training, and subsequently improve their work performance.

An iterative approach to delivering GIS software applications
Why does it matter what method of software delivery you adopt?

By delivering software through an iterative approach, instead of the traditional waterfall method, you can bring benefit to you, the customer, and the software provider, whether it is ESRI (UK) or any another provider of software services. You’ll see why this approach can bring tangible business benefits and help to minimise project risk, ultimate resulting in you getting what you need rather than what you thought you needed at the start of the project!

Learn how our consultants are implementing an iterative approach and how this has reduced risk and improved the likelihood of success from the perspectives of cost, quality, efficiency and adoption of the software. Explore how this can work for your organisation.

1       Plenary

2       Master classes

2.1     ArcGIS 9.2 Migration

2.2     ESRI (UK) Products

2.3     What’s new in ArcGIS 9.2?

2.4     Improving your business with GIS

2.5     Building solutions using Arc GIS 9.2

1.  Plenary Session

GIS in Climate Change

Global Warming: Causes, Evidence, Impacts and Remediation

2.1 ArcGIS 9.2 Migration

ArcGIS Server 9.2 – New possibilities with Server-based GIS
Peter Wilkinson

This session will introduce ArcGIS Server and highlight some of the key features and capabilities which it offers. In particular it will focus on a new ways of working with GIS which are now possible with ArcGIS Server.  The session will provide a high level overview of the new server clients available at ArcGIS 9.2 including Web ADF, Mobile ADF and ArcGIS Explorer. It will also highlight some of the new capabilities available at 9.2, for example globe services, server based geoprocessing, KML support and Server Manager.

The session will also highlight ArcGIS Server as an integration technology discussing how ArcGIS Server can form a key component within a Services Orientated Architecture.  Some examples of ArcGIS Server being utilised will also be presented.

This session assumes no previous knowledge of ArcGIS Server and is a good introduction for the other more technical sessions being presented at GIS Tech.

Sharing models and data with ArcGIS Server
Neil Calvert

You have just spent time putting together a fantastic model that processes your data and gives you the answer to the question you have been asking for months. Now you want to let everyone else use it...

ArcGIS Server 9.2 takes the functionality provided by the GeoProcessing framework at 9.1 to a new level. This session will go through those changes and show you options for creating, publishing and consuming your models and data within the context of ArcGIS Server 9.2.

Come and see how easy it is and learn to revolutionise how you can provide access to your tools and data.

Migrating your website to ArcGIS Server
Miguel Paredes

In this session we will be looking at existing ArcIMS driven websites and how these can be moved to the ArcGIS Server (AGS) 9.2 platform. 

Firstly we will look at the new features that make AGS such a powerful tool for implementing GIS functionality over the web. We will talk about cached map services, new service types, tasks, the new Web ADF and how these new functionalities can tremendously improve the look-and-feel of your existing mapping websites.

Secondly, we will compare the architecture of AGS 9.2 with that of ArcIMS and talk about the considerations that need to be addressed when planning your migration to AGS 9.2.

Ultimately, this session will highlight the benefits of AGS 9.2 which will help you understand why you should make the move from ArcIMS to AGS 9.2 and why once you make the jump; you will never want to look back.

Understanding the ESRI vision for GIS
Nick Chapallaz and Neil Calvert

ESRI has been developing GIS software for 37 years. Over that time a significant number of organisations and individuals have invested their time and trust in ESRI as an organisation. As technology has developed over these past decades ESRI software has utilised these advances to provide the very best GIS software possible.

ArcGIS 9.2 is the latest release of the ArcGIS suite of GIS technology. It pushes the provision of GIS applications, solutions and services to the next level, making use of advances in computing power, open standards for dissemination of information and easy to use, configure and customise GIS functionality to provide a solution that will deliver the power of GIS into more application areas than has been possible before.

Now is a good time for you to better understand the ESRI journey to ArcGIS 9.2, the vision that ESRI (UK) has for technology beyond ArcGIS 9.2 and for you to take advantage of this to move your organisation into the new GIS age.

2.2  ESRI (UK) Products

Tracking with ESRI software
Jo Winston and Tammy Cooper

Organisations may be interested in tracking for a variety of reasons. Some of these include field worker safety, logistics and fleet management or worker collaboration.  All tracking requirements share the same problem of how to capture the location of the device and get the information back into the enterprise information store. Once back in the enterprise the captured locations can be used for a number of different purposes ranging from real-time monitoring to analysis of historical data. ESRI (UK) has been working to develop a set of tracking capabilities.

The solution facilitates the tracking of devices and collection of location data for utilisation within the ArcGIS Enterprise. The solution supports several tracking patterns for deployment within a wide range of scenarios. It contains a management tool for the necessary configuration, definition and setup and is extensible so that it may be customised to meet the tracking requirements of a specific organisation.

This session will be of interest to customers who wish to find out more about the capabilities ESRI (UK) has developed for implementing tracking related solutions.

ESRI Traffic Solution
Neasa Foley

ESRI Traffic Solution (ETS) is a new suite of desktop, mobile and web products which assist Local Authorities in complying with DfT Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) regulations. We are presenting the first two products in the suite; the Desktop and the Mobile products.

The Desktop product provides support for the creation and maintenance of Traffic Orders, while the Mobile product facilitates the capture and validation of spatial data for Traffic Orders.

This session will be of interest to Local Authorities implementing DPE, and developers interested in Mobile ADF, ArcGIS Server and ArcEngine.

Internet and Intranet solutions for Local Government
Neasa Foley and Rob Jones

LocalView is a complete solution from ESRI (UK) for delivering location-based information about local authority services, integrating seamlessly into existing corporate websites. It consists of two products; LocalView Internet for public-facing websites and LocalView Intranet for internal use by local authority staff and partners.

This session will demonstrate both products and highlight the functionality available, and also present the roadmap for future development of LocalView.  A product specialist will be available to answer questions.

Working with OS MasterMap data and Gemini Meta-data in
Productivity Suite 1.1
Simon Weaver

This session will discuss and demonstrate new functionality coming in Productivity Suite version 1.1 for building networks from OS MasterMap ITN data, loading OS MasterMap Address Layer 2 data and using the OS Feature Validation Service.

The session will also cover generating meta-data for your spatial data to comply with the new UK Gemini meta-data standard.

2.3  What’s new in ArcGIS 9.2?

Making a better map! – New cartography in ArcGIS 9.2
Paul Hardy and Rob Sharpe

This session is for anyone that wants to improve the visual and communication quality of their maps, using the new cartographic design and finishing capabilities of ArcGIS 9.2. It will cover setting up a cartographic workflow based on GIS data, the cartographic design process of setting up representation rules, and the new graphical ‘representation editing’ tools that allow the cartographer to override the machine decisions in order to employ his or her expressive, artistic, and communicative skills.

ArcGIS Desktop 9.2 technology update
Emma Sandison

This session will introduce a variety of new features and enhancements designed to improve productivity and user experience in ArcGIS Desktop 9.2. It will look at new navigation and visualisation capabilities, new ways to work with tabular data and the new graph wizard, amongst others. Enhancements to the most popular extensions will also be briefly covered.

Geodatabase update
Tom Brownlie

ArcGIS 9.2 has brought many improvements and functional enhancements for the Geodatabase. 

This session will concentrate on the new History and Replication functionality, but will also cover the other important changes such as the new ESRI spatial type for Oracle, file-based Geodatabases, version conflict resolution improvements, and the new lightweight ArcSDE Geodatabase servers.

ArcGIS Engine 9.2
Mark Corbin and Rob Jones

This session will examine the ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit within both the .NET and Java environments.

It will show how to create custom applications using both ArcGIS .NET controls and Visual JavaBeans.  As part of this, new ArcGIS Engine 9.2 functionality will be demonstrated including the out-of-the-box editing, and network analysis tools.

Another theme of the session is geoprocessing.  ArcGIS 9.2 includes hundreds of geoprocessing tools that can be used to create efficient solutions for data management, conversion or analysis.  The session will demonstrate how these powerful geoprocessing capabilities can be utilised within ArcGIS Engine.

ArcGIS Server Web ADF
Sarah Harrison and Miguel Paredes

This session will take an introductory look at the ArcGIS Server Web ADF examining the components it comprises and the new features available to developers. Concentrating on web application development we will be starting at the highest level and explaining what an ADF is and the paths it makes available to developers. The session will then go on to explore these paths, concentrating in the main on the new web controls but also touching on the role of the common and data source specific APIs.

This session assumes some basic knowledge of .NET development and attendance of the “ArcGIS Server 9.2 – New possibilities with Server-based GIS” or a basic knowledge of ArcGIS Server. We will be demonstrating functionality predominately through custom web applications and will be making use of the Visual Studio IDE.

ArcGIS Server Mobile ADF
Mark Shaw and Chris Morris

This session will provide an overview of the Mobile Application Development Framework available for Advanced Server at version 9.2. It will include:

• An overview of Mobile ADF Features
• Publishing Mobile Content from ArcGIS Server
• Mobile ADF application PDA
• Mobile ADF application on Laptop

This session will have technical content but is intended as a general overview. It will not cover other ESRI mobile products.

ArcGIS Explorer: Reaching parts of your organisation other
GIS clients can’t reach
Will White

ArcGIS Explorer is the newest client application to join the ArcGIS family. As an intuitive, powerful and yet lightweight application, it can be used to integrate and explore 2D and 3D mapping services plus the extensive Geoprocessing capabilities of ArcGIS Server.

ArcGIS Explorer enables GIS professionals to deliver geographic information to new audiences in a much more digestible format. This session with discuss the fundamentals of ArcGIS Explorer and how to maximise its potential within your organisation. The session will concentrate on three areas:

1. How to define and create content for consumption within ArcGIS Explorer
2. How to control and extend the functionality
3. How to customise the user experience of the application

In addition to discussions and demonstrations in these three key areas, there will also be tips on best practice for creating and implementing ArcGIS Explorer.  This session is aimed at GIS Administrators and Managers with a familiarity with GIS and ArcGIS Desktop principles.

2.4 Improving your business with GIS

Royal and SunAlliance
David Howell and David Culpin

Royal and SunAlliance and ESRI (UK) will present the benefits of GIS technology through a series of real-world case studies. ESRI (UK) has built a strong partnership with Royal and SunAlliance that has lead to a number of successful projects in the Property Insurance domain.

English Heritage
Alice Froggatt

Implementation of ESRI technology has radically changed the way in which English Heritage works, providing quicker access to information, increased understanding of the historic environment, improved data management, rapidly improved service to customers and improved speed and quality of data capture.

Alice Froggatt, Corporate GIS Co-ordinator, will explain the English Heritage Corporate GIS Strategy which over the last three years has delivered an ESRI IMS-based GIS, known as webGIS.  This application is available to all staff and provides access to definitive English Heritage and partners’ data, spatial and textual querying and links to textual reports stored within legacy databases as well as seamless coverage of both modern and historical base mapping.  The Corporate Strategy has also delivered an upgrade of the desk based GIS system to ESRI’s ArcGIS software. DeskGIS uses web services to link legacy textual databases with the spatial records to ensure referential integrity of the EH data. Users are also able to send queries between the GIS and textual systems to provide powerful querying capabilities.

Ordnance Survey
Julian Cooper and Andy Smith

The presentation will describe and analyse the development and delivery of an updated GI web service for Ordnance Survey and their customers, with specific focus on the joint activities between Ordnance Survey and ESRI (UK), which was contracted to deliver a product generator enabled by ESRI’s ArcGIS software.

The presentation covers:

• The project requirements in respect of fit to the Ordnance Survey business model and brand values 
• The needs of the retailer and the end user as desktop mapper in a web service environment 
• Illustration of the translation, definition and generation of highly detailed GI content using the ESRI ArcGIS Server product generator
• Benefits of project best practice, both at a high level owner/supplier level and from a more detailed joint team perspective

Experian

Experian’s Business Strategies division has been supplying desktop GIS to commercial business users for over 20 years.

Its Micromarketer application was first released in 1995 and is currently used by over 500 organisations throughout the world including general retailers, financial services providers, supermarkets, utilities, pub operators, motor manufacturers, media owners and leisure companies.

The application provides a broad range of functionality that includes geodemographic profiling, catchment definition, sales territory analysis, data modelling, mapping and visualisation. It is also provided inclusive of Experian’s global data directory.

In 2005 Experian embarked upon a comprehensive rebuild of Micromarketer. The objective was to radically improve the application to provide a new ‘best of breed’ tool that would provide a secure platform and basis for further development and growth of the business. Integral to this strategy was Experian’s decision to shift from developing its own software in preference to outsourcing key components from external organisations. The aim was to create a solution that incorporated the functionality of the best GIS tools with access to Experian’s portfolio of international data.

This session looks at some of the challenges faced by Experian in creating Micromarketer Generation3, a review of its success in implementing ESRI technology and reactions from clients to the performance of the new application. It will include case study material of client applications, and will demonstrate how ESRI technology has helped Experian radically improve its global desktop GIS solutions.

South Yorkshire Police
Mark Hamilton

South Yorkshire Police have established a strong GIS analytical capacity supported using ESRI’s Crime Analyst desktop toolset. They have recognised the need to make information generated from desktop tools more widely available across the force. They therefore identified that a web-based intelligence system could provide police officers with access to timely information. ESRI (UK) developed a mapping website designed to cater for all types of user (particularly for those with little computer experience or a strong technical background).  By working closely with the end users during a phased period of consultancy, an intranet GIS site was developed that provided police officers with access to timely intelligence information that included performance statistics and detailed analyst techniques used to evaluate specific offences or offence trends. The ESRI consultancy services allowed SYP’s Intelligence Bureau to enhance the services they provide across the county but also to focus on those areas worst affected.

British Geological Survey
Keith Adlam, Bruce Napier and Tony Myers

The British Geological Survey has developed a spatial data workflow to collect, process, store and supply their information to a variety of stakeholders in both traditional and digital forms.  ESRI software is used along with other software vendors to maximise the value of their large geoscience information base. Rapid collection, ease of storage/maintenance and rapid delivery to a variety of customers were key requirements in updating their SDI.  The presentations will focus on various parts of this workflow, where ESRI technologies have proven to be efficient and add value to this workflow.

The presentation will include demonstrations of field GIS (MIDAS) and cartographic production tools (AEGIS).  Additionally ‘The Virtual Field’, an ArcGIS Globe application which enables geologists to visualise surface and subsurface geological structures in three dimensions will be showcased.

2.5  Building solutions using ArcGIS 9.2

Introduction to Python Programming for ArcGIS
Will White

Geoprocessing in ArcGIS is all about working with your data. Many users are familiar with running tools in ArcToolbox, or perhaps creating models to automate workflows in Model Builder.

The scripting capabilities within the Geoprocessing Framework are not as well known - scripting languages such as Python can be used to automate tasks within ArcGIS, with a greater level of sophistication than that available in Model Builder.

This session will describe how Python can be used to automate the geoprocessing workflow, what advantages there are for using Python, and how to get started, as well as tips and tricks for making robust scripts.

This session will be most suitable for users who are familiar with the basic concepts of geoprocessing and building models within the ArcGIS environment, including programmers who may have used AML or Avenue in the past. No prior knowledge of Python is required.

Developing solutions with ArcGIS Server using the .NET Web ADF
Andy Freeman and Matt Hodgetts

This session will discuss using the .NET Web ADF to build applications.  It will include demonstrations of the ADF web controls and creating custom tools and functions.

Developing solutions with ArcGIS Server using the Java Web ADF
Will Crick and Stuart Mellanby

This session will discuss using the Java Web ADF to build applications.  It will include demonstrations of the ADF Java Server Faces and creating custom tools and functions.

Building web applications using AJAX and Web 2.0
Matt Elsey and Dan Sparrow

AJAX is a technology used extensively and has been thrust into the limelight as part of the new perceived second generation of web services named Web 2.0.  Web 2.0 has major implications for GIS usage as many of the concepts such as community managed content often describe that of a GIS user base.  ArcGIS Server 9.2 now presents a comprehensive web development platform in the ADF component library, which makes extensive use of AJAX to provide a feature rich and seamless user environment for interacting with maps through web browsers. As a result of this new platform, far more complex GIS tasks may be carried out through a web environment. We will look at what AJAX is and the advantages it can offer as well as how Web 2.0 will shape the future of internet mapping.

Maximising performance with ArcGIS Server
Matt Hodgetts and Mark Baird

This presentation will cover the core items to take into consideration when maximizing the performance of ArcGIS Server.

The topics covered will include:

• Implementing Map Caching to dramatically improve performance while delivering maps of spatial data
• Server Object pooling - to enable stateless / stateful changes to server objects
• Layer symbology to maximize performance when rendering maps within ArcGIS Server
• Data Considerations – Ensuring that data is visualized in the most efficient manner

Data Interoperability - Not just a data loader
Alan Sampson

This session will look at the licensing levels and what each level offers in terms of formats and transformers, how the licence levels fit and then use the tools to solve real world data manipulation problems and demonstrate how it can be used to meet your business rules.

Geodatabase Administration
Rob McPherson

This session will look at some of the new enterprise geodatabase features in ArcGIS 9.2. The session will cover such topics as replication, history and data editing options and discuss some of the new options for data storage at 9.2. We will also cover system requirement issues and the different connection options available.

The session is aimed at users of enterprise geodatabases for all database management systems and is intended to complement the Geodatabase Update session.

Cartography and Map Publishing Special Interest Group
Paul Hardy, Rob Sharpe, Peter Jolly

This meeting is to gather together UK ESRI users who are active in cartography or map publishing, as a step towards forming an ESRI Special Interest Group for Europe (EuroCartoSIG).