CAHINVRUG 2008 Presentations

Presentations

CAHINVRUG 2008 Presentations

The 2008 CA/HI/NV Regional User Group Conference is a compilation of professional papers delivered February 6–8, 2008, in Sacramento, California. ESRI users contributed a fundamental part to the conference by submitting and presenting their presentations on a diverse collection of GIS applications.

Sessions

Show/Hide all presentation abstracts

Wednesday

Mobile Solutions View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: ESRI provides a variety of products that can be used to GIS-enable mobile applications or to put GIS “in the field”. This workshop will provide an overview of the technologies. And, it will provide guidance about how to choose the right technology, and assemble the right resources, for your next mobile project.
Overview of Server Technologies View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: Image Server, ArcGIS Server, ArcSDE, even file server … all of these technologies can be used to serve data. How do you select the one that is right for your needs? This presentation will provide an overview of these technologies and how they can be used to serve up both large, georeferenced raster datasets and vector data. Considerations relevant to selecting a technology, such as upfront-processing, skill-sets and techniques, and outcomes will be discussed. Examples of some solutions built with different technologies will be shown.
GIS Data—Increased Productivity and Improved Efficiency with Mobile GIS View Presentation [PDF] —Robert Thomas, City of Woodland, Woodland, CA: In early 2002, the Public Works Department needed to improve management of its capital assets and infrastructure. The resultant direction included the adoption of GO! Sync Mobile GIS. Initially, field workers replaced frustrating, out-of-date paper maps with easy-to-use, up-to-date electronic maps. Next, the Utilities Collections Branch used GO! Sync Mobile GIS to perform GIS-related quality-control tasks, including data collection and sketching updates, new installations, and general field notes, which is all automatically kept updated with GIS, plus shared with other field crews. Once integrated with work management, significant productivity gains were realized. Notable improvements included work completion, accuracy of GIS information, increased knowledge about the assets, and less repeat visits. All these factors have allowed the Public Works Department to shift to a proactive maintenance cycle allowing the City to be more prepared. Overall, the deployment of GO! Sync Mobile GIS eliminated paper maps while improving operational productivity and efficiency.
ArcGIS Server Implementations—ASP.Net/ArcGIS Server Application Development at Reclamation View Presentation [PDF] —Tom Heinzer and Diane Williams, USBR, Sacramento, CA: This presentation will address some of the technical complexities of integrating ASP.Net, ArcGIS Server, AJAX, and various database types to develop custom applications. Examples of current applications at Reclamation will be presented.
ArcGIS Desktop: Making Maps in ArcMap View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: This workshop will focus on learning applied cartographic methods to making maps with ArcMap tools. Cartographic design principles are very important to this process, but the focus will be on ArcMap’s tools and capabilities. The presentation will include discussion and software demonstrations for newer users, including tips and tricks for: working with layers, basic labeling techniques, working with symbols and graphics, adding layout elements, and finally tips for sharing the final map to an export file or a printer.
ArcGIS Server Success Stories View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: ArcGIS Server does more than serve maps. This workshop profiles three customers in the CA/NV/HI region that have made effective use of ArcGIS Server’s advanced capabilities in addressing their organization’s needs. We will review (a) the business issues addressed, (b) the unique advantages/functions of ArcGIS Server for those issue, and (c) the keys to these organizations’ successes. This workshop addressed the Standard and Advanced Editions of ArcGIS Server.
GIS Data: California Delta—Role of GIS in a Region at Risk View Presentation [PDF] —Dave Hansen, US Bureau of Reclamation, Sacramento, CA: The California Delta (Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta) formed at the confluence of the Sacramento and San JoaquinRivers. Over the past year, a blue ribbon task force appointed by the Governor of California has forged a vision for the Delta that balances the risks to the ecosystem and this major component to the water supply system for the state. GIS played a role in the development of this vision. This presentation focuses on the issues being addressed with GIS and processing required for some large datasets that will be used in the development of a plan in 2008. This includes newly acquired LiDAR imagery for the Delta area using Spatial Analyst and Terrain models.

Thursday Sessions

ArcGIS Desktop: Tips and Tricks with Tables and Graphs View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: The “I” in GIS stands for “Information”. In addition to viewing that “Information” in the form of layers on a map, many GIS Desktop professionals rely on visualizing, manipulating, and making use of that information directly inside tables and graphs. Common challenges that Desktop users face often include how to make use of data in ArcGIS from other formats, such as MS Excel spreadsheets or external databases. Through software demonstrations and discussions, this presentation will highlight: tips and tricks for navigating table windows in ArcMap, adding and calculating field values, joining and relating, accessing tables from other systems for use in ArcGIS, and techniques for visualizing tables and layers using the ArcMap Graph tools using ArcGIS 9.2.
Best Practices with ArcSDE Technology View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: The ArcSDE technology (ArcGIS Server Basic Edition) enables organizations to scale their GIS data serving to multiple users and large volumes of data. This workshop provides insights and tools for successfully administering an ArcSDE/RDBMS system. Topics to be addressed include capacity planning, data warehouse performance, versioning performance, and diagnostic tools.
GIS Data: Developing a Spatio-Temporal GIS for Historic Rio de Janeiro View Presentation [PDF] —Mithu Datta, Stanford University; Erik Steiner, Zephyr Frank: Spatial History Project, Bill Lane Center for the Study of the North American West, Wallenberg Hall, 450 Serra Mall, Bldg 160, Room 228, Stanford, CA 94305-2055. Contact Email: mdatta@stanford.edu Phone: 734-846-3583, Fax: 650-725-0597 The proposed paper focuses on the development of a spatio-temporal GIS database for Rio de Janeiro which will be used to analyze and visualize the socio-economic fabric of the early- to mid-nineteenth century. As with many historical databases, data have been compiled from heterogeneous, incomplete, and archived paper sources that present powerful intellectual opportunities but not without considerable technical and conceptual modeling challenges. This paper discusses the conceptual and logical modeling phases while developing a historical GIS vector database with ESRI’s ArcGIS suite of products. Many entities change over time in both attributes and geometry, presenting unique design challenges. This paper discusses how we used Microsoft Visio, UML and ArcGIS Case Tools, to define entities and relationships and generate a spatio-temporal schema for the database. The database is being developed at the Spatial History Lab for the “Terrain of History”, an international collaborative project sponsored by the Stanford Humanities Center.
Navigating ESRI Resources and Licensing View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: ESRI is an organization that is growing in size and sophistication in its efforts to serve customer needs. This workshop is designed to help you understand how you can access the information and resources that you need from ESRI.
Optimizing Maps for ArcGIS Server View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: One of the compelling motivations for implementing ArcGIS Server is to share maps, authored using ArcGIS Desktop, across an Enterprise or the Internet. Both server administrators and map document authors can make decisions that affect the performance of a map service for end users and clients. Perhaps one of the most important decisions to make is if a map service shares maps dynamically or from a pre-built cache. Caching is one of the best ways to enhance the performance of your ArcGIS Server map services; however, good decisions can be made to increase the performance of a dynamic map service as well. This workshop will start with a basic overview of the map service, with particular focus on the best practices for implementing either dynamic or cached map services. We’ll also highlight effective cache planning strategies starting from the ArcGIS Desktop authoring stage, to the tools you’ll need to be familiar with, and additional concepts related to preparing for and supporting cached map services. This workshop focused on the Standard and Advanced Editions of ArcGIS Server.
GIS Solutions: Cadastral Mapping in the Geodatabase: Accuracy Expectations vs. Cost Realities View Presentation [PDF] —Brent Mainzinger, The Sidwell Company, St. Charles, IL —Tony Pellettiere, The Sidwell Company, St. Charles, IL: Asking for pricing on cadastral mapping is like asking for pricing on a car. Within the Geodatabase, structures and content can vary widely, and cost varies dramatically depending on included features and options. Regardless of approach, some guiding factors exist. The primary cost factor is the conversion method employed. Different methods result in significantly different levels of accuracy and usefulness, although the resultant maps appear similar to anyone outside of the mapping community. The second most important cost factor is content. For example, parcel and lot dimensions are expensive to capture, but critical to the assessment process. Consider the expected return on investment for each desired map feature. The third consideration is cost of map maintenance. The choice of Geodatabase schema drives the complexity and cost of map maintenance. This presentation focuses on explaining the guiding cost factors and differentiating between various cadastral Geodatabases to arrive at a balanced solution.
GIS Data: Design and Implementation of the Mono County E-911 System View Presentation [PDF] —Nate Greenberg, County of Mono, Mammoth Lakes, CA: Mono County and the Town of Mammoth Lakes, CA have been working on an Enhanced 911 (E-911) addressing project since the end of 2005, and are nearing the implementation phase (with the Mammoth area targeted to be online in early 2008). This project encompasses a number of technical and non-technical issues but is ultimately aimed at the following three areas; Provide the infrastructure and technological backbone to support a new dispatch system; Develop new and update existing data to power the system, and; Correct addresses in the field, update the Verizon 911 phone database with valid addresses, and initiate a system to ensure accuracy in the future. The result of this will bring the County and Town’s dispatch into the 21st century by providing more detailed information about the location of a 911 call through Computer Aided Dispatch. This session will outline the project and the process we have gone through from initiation to implementation. Details will be given on the data development process (from adapting the database to the existing address scheme to the handling of multi-story, mixed use and timeshare properties), implementation of RIMS and RIMS Map, and various non-technical issues such as updating addressing ordinances and public outreach.
Best Practices: Working with Raster Data View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: ArcGIS Desktop supports a wide variety of data types, particularly when it comes to raster data formats (e.g. JPEG, TIFF, MrSID, GRID). This workshop is designed for Desktop professionals. It will begin with a basic overview of raster datasets and then focus will be applied to various techniques in which rasters can be manipulated and used for mapping, analysis, and common GIS workflows in ArcGIS Desktop. Some of the specific topics demonstrated will be: working with world files, projections, and header files, tips for georeferencing raster layers, raster clipping and extraction methodologies, and tips and tricks for displaying and printing raster layers.
Planning an Enterprise GIS System View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: A distributed computer environment must be designed properly to support user performance requirements. We will talk about aspects of planning, business workflows, and hardware design as they relate to enterprise GIS system implementations. We will focus on possible hardware configurations and implications for common components of enterprise system, such as web services and database services. We will discuss available resources to help design a functional and well-performing enterprise system.
ArcGIS Server Implementations: Combining ArcGIS Server and SOAP to Display Bond Project Information View Presentation [PDF] —Eric Kauffman, California Resources Agency/CERES, Sacramento, CA: In 2006 the people of the State of California passed a series of bond measures that funded a wide array of projects from flood control and open space expansion to highway repair and school facility improvement. The Governor ordered that the agencies and departments responsible for managing the bond money create web sites that accounted for how the money was being spent. The Resources Agency built one of these web sites. It is a distributed web application that combines maps from ArcGIS Server and attribute data supplied through SOAP connections to a remote database. This paper describes the reasoning behind this architecture and how this web site works.
Best Practices: Working with CAD data in ArcGIS View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: ArcGIS let’s you take advantage of CAD data in your GIS work. There are quick and easy tools for straight-forward needs. And, there are sophisticated tools for more complex needs. The 9.2 release has many enhancements and additions to these long-standing ArcGIS capabilities. This workshop will discuss these toolsets and the best practices using them to get the most out of CAD data. Topics will include: direct read capabilities within ArcGIS, how to georeference CAD data, when to import CAD data, how to export back to CAD and numerous tips and tricks for handling editing and analysis of CAD data using ArcGIS 9.2.
Best Practices: Installing and Configuring ArcGIS Server View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: This technical workshop will include both discussion and software demonstrations covering such basics as: an ArcGIS Server architecture overview, the resources needed to install ArcGIS Server, what components get installed, post-installation settings, and other administration concepts, including setting up users, groups, and data access. This workshop addresses the Standard/Advanced editions of ArcGIS Server for the .Net platform.
GIS Solutions: Comprehensive GIS System to Streamline Regulatory Requirements along Transmission Rights-of-Way View Presentation [PDF] —Steve Tuggle, Western Area Power Administration, Folsom, CA: Western Area Power Administration (Western) is proactively developing the Transmission Asset Management System (TAMS) model to support operation and maintenance (O&M) activities and streamline regulatory requirements along 1500 miles of transmission rights-of-way (ROW). The TAMS model is a state-of-the-art GIS system that includes all environmental resources and infrastructure, as well as high resolution ortho-photography and video. Based on the resources in the field, Western developed pre-negotiated Project Conservation Measures (PCMs) to protect sensitive resources during O&M activities. These PCMs are included in the TAMS model, and can be used to prioritize the field work based on the constraints identified for each sensitive resource. All Western O&M crews have the TAMS model in their vehicles for reference. In addition, Western has provided the Federal land managers and resources agencies with a copy of the TAMS model, which has saved them significant amounts of time and money in processing Western’s O&M requests.

Friday Sessions

Enabling and Leveraging 3D Visualization View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: 3D visualization is highly visible application across organizations. ESRI has a wide range of tools that can be used to enable 3D visualization with the datasets that are meaningful to your organization. And, there are opportunities to add the GIS functions that make these applications more useful to the operations of the larger organization. Whether you are looking to support visualization environments that are already deployed, or you are looking for opportunities to roll-out your own, this workshop point you to practical pathways for success.
ArcGIS Server's Hidden Gems View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: ArcGIS Server is a powerful product with a lot of functionality. This workshop is designed to highlight some capabilities that are not well understood, but have great utility. Topics to be addressed include printing, tips on working with the Web ADF, geoprocessing, downloading data, security, and caching. This workshop is focused on the Standard and Advanced editions of ArcGIS Server.
GIS Data: WBD Certification Status California View Presentation [PDF] —Lorri Peltz-Lewis, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Sacramento, CA —Donna Knifong, U.S. Geological Survey—California Water Science Center, Sacramento, CA: Over the past seven years there has been a combined effort underway to complete a standardized geospatial database for the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) for California. Currently all areas, out of 16 in the state of California that are needed to complete a statewide seamless WBD, are funded. A certified WBD is expected by the end of calendar year 2008 at this time. California currently has two different and frequently incompatible watershed systems for cataloging and identifying watersheds within the state, one used by the State, the other used by Federal agencies, and numerous unrecognized versions. The CalWater California Interagency Watershed Mapping Committee(IWMC) has been coordinating watershed mapping efforts for over 2 decades and since 1999 has been working to implement the WBD effort in California. The WBD effort will meet the Federal Standards for watershed delineation and attributing, be certified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), be integrated into the National Hydrology Database (NHD) and provide a more comprehensive method of communicating hydrologic information between federal, state and local agencies, as well as other stakeholders and the public. Completion of a certified WBD for California is critical to the integration of surface water-related information in the state of California. Watershed boundaries and associated cataloging systems will support coordinated watershed assessments, data tracking, and analysis between all agencies and organizations utilizing on common system. Establishing and maintaining one watershed boundary dataset and cataloging system will increase collaboration, increase the ability to obtain critical data, increase understanding of the watershed system, reduce the potential for loss of data and increase management coordination for organizations within and beyond the state of California. The scope of this proposal is to complete a standardized, certified geospatial WBD for the state of California. Maintenance and future stewardship are not addressed within the scope of this project. This paper will discuss the current efforts, releases of the dataset and stewardship issues.
GIS Solutions: Implementation of the Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) Model View Presentation [PDF] —Bruce Boyd, City of Davis, Davis, CA: The Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) Model was originally developed by the federal government as a method to assess high-value agricultural lands. Over time, the model has been modified and adopted by local governments and other organizations as a tool for ranking and preserving agricultural land that may be in the path of urban development. The City of Davis, with other cities and the County of Yolo, formed the Yolo GIS Cooperative to create and standardize shared GIS resources including GIS data layers. Suitable countywide GIS data are now available to build and automate the LESA process using ArcGIS. The City of Davis uses the LESA process to evaluate agricultural lands to apply for conservation grants and acquire properties under fee title or easements. The LESA process will be discussed as it relates to GIS and the automated model used by the City of Davis will be demonstrated.
Geodatabases for Small and Medium Sized Organizations View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: With the release of ArcGIS 9.2, GIS managers and Desktop GIS professionals have new options for storing geospatial information using the file system and “lighter-weight” relational database systems. Through discussion and software demonstration, this presentation will focus on the file geodatabase and the ArcSDE Personal and Workgroup solutions for managing geodatabases. What is the file geodatabase and why consider implementing it in lieu of other file based options? How can the new Workgroup and Personal ArcSDE options (using SQL Express) help your organization?
Automating Workflows with Geoprocessing View Presentation [PDF] —ESRI: GIS Analysts are often faced with reoccurring data manipulation, processing and analysis tasks to get their jobs done. Automating these workflows can save valuable time using the wide variety of geoprocessing tools in ArcGIS Desktop. This presentation will give an overview of how to bridge these tools together using Geoprocessing Framework for workflow automation. We’ll step through and demonstrate an example of a common GIS problem leveraging the tools and capabilities of ModelBuilder. We will also demonstrate how to write a simple geoprocessing script to enhance the geoprocessing workflows beyond the capabilities of ModelBuilder.
ArcGIS Server Implementations: ArcGIS Server and the City of Bakersfield View Presentation [PDF] —Matthew Cieri, City of Bakersfield, Bakersfield, CA: Have you been thinking about using ArcGIS Server at your organization? Then this is the paper for you. As a medium sized city ArcGIS Server has the potential to truely make GIS an enterprise application. In this paper I will be discussing: Why we chose ArcGIS Server, What we are currently using it for, What we are planning on using it for, and lessons learned while implementing the new technology. If you would like to learn about ArcGIS Server from a city that has been using GIS for many years, then you shouldn't miss this paper. I feel that this paper will give you a good overview of why and how ArcGIS server can be the GIS software of choice for your organization now and into the future.
ArcGIS Server Implementations: Web-Based GIS: What's New in Town? View Presentation [PDF] —Ramona Navarrete, City of Folsom, Folsom, CA: The City of Folsom, CA experienced considerable growth and doubled its population during the past decade. This rapid growth is supported with a plethora of new development including new subdivisions, malls, parks, trails, etc that have led to challenges with traffic congestion, planning, and a rapid growth of public need for information. In order to improve overall project information dissemination and better inform its citizens about active construction projects, the city launched their first map based website in November 2007. The site allows the public to quickly and easily view information about capital improvement and development projects occurring within the city. The ArcGIS Server solution supports the city objectives to enhance the quality of life of its citizens and decrease the amount of time its staff and council members spend answering questions about upcoming construction, ultimately increasing the time it spends providing essential services to its citizens.