Rethinking Web-GIS: Design and Use Considerations for GIS on the Web
18
Rethinking Web-GIS: Design and Use Considerations for GIS on the Web Northern California URISA Meeting May 11, 2005 Dennis Wuthrich Farallon Geographics
Transcript of Rethinking Web-GIS: Design and Use Considerations for GIS on the Web
Rethinking Web-GIS:Design and Use Considerations forGIS on the Web
Northern California URISA MeetingMay 11, 2005
Dennis WuthrichFarallon Geographics
Why GIS and the Web?
• Geospatial and business data are distributed
• Many people need location-basedinformation, few people use GIS
• The web provides a flexible and cost-effective means of deploying applications
Web GIS: Geospatial DataPublishing
A system?
Intermodal Transportation
Analysis System
Interactive maps are great… butthey don’t necessarily providewhat a user needs.
Rethinking Web-based GIS:Adopt the perspective of the user
• Need an answer, not necessarily a GIS
• Want to accomplish a complex task moreeasily
• Want to automate repetitive tasks
• Simplicity!
Use GIS and Web Technology toAnswer a Specific Question
Where is the GIS?
Simple Map (thinkGoogle)
Site integrates andconsolidates data frommany disparate systems
“Data Blocks” arepopulated spatially
This site uses GISto answer specificquestions posed
by CountyManagers
Use GIS/Web to Ease Complex orTedious Tasks:
Some Considerations
• High demand for spatial information fromnon-GIS people
Well-defined (not ad-hoc) workflows
Distributed datasets
Real-time interaction between systems
• Solve (or at least improve) a businessproblem
Web GIS ApplicationDevelopment Guidelines
• Define the business case, audience,functional requirements BEFORE coding
• Architecture is important Flexibility, Interoperability, Performance Web Services, OGC, Services Oriented
Architecture
• Simple is beautiful
• Data, data, data
Summary
• Likely very high demand for Web GIS in ourimmediate future
• “Web GIS” may not look like “GIS”
• When implemented well, Web GIS canprovide extraordinary business value
