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Track: Electric and Gas Utilities
Sarah VanWagner
Southern California Edison
2131 Walnut Grove Ave.
Rosemead, CA 91770
Telephone: 818-302-9396
Fax: 818-302-8240
E-mail: leesp@sce.com
David Schirmer, Joanne Wilborn
On the Operation and Management of a GIS Application Development Group within a Large Corporate Environment
The Geographic Information and Analysis Systems (GIAS) group at Southern California Edison (Edison) is a study of paradoxes. Amid the vast complexity of a large electric utility's information technology department, the GIAS group operates much like an autonomous consulting firm. Unlike any other group within IT, the GIAS unit receives no direct financial support from its parent organization, but rather must depend on client chargebacks for the wherewithal to remain viable. Full departmental and corporate recognition of the group are still to be achieved, yet grass roots and middle management support have always been strong. The survival (and success) of the group is largely attributable to recognition by the wider Edison community of the tremendous advantage and benefit GIS products and services provide in meeting their business needs. This recognition has led to a subsequent willingness not only to fund their own GIS endeavors, but also to contribute to the building of corporate GIS
infrastructure. Such an environment encompasses and facilitates the notions of data and hardware sharing, universal application development, and a mindset of involvement and ownership by the users. To coordinate and encourage this effort, detailed procedures and methodologies have been established that include a marketing strategy, project work flow, personnel acquisition and development, hardware and software acquisition, and issues related to pricing, funding, and budgeting. This paper will describe in detail the methodologies and procedures developed by GIAS that have enabled the group to thrive and grow even within this paradoxical environment.
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