Having Fun with a Homegrown Approach to a GIS User Needs Assessment

With a Bonus Implementation Plan! 

Presented at the Northern Area GIS User Group Meeting, November, 19th, 2015

Kim Sundeen

GIS Specialist, City of Duluth, MN

work: 218-730-5082

work: ksundeen [at] duluthmn.gov

personal: kim.h.sundeen [at] gmail.com

@KSundeen

  1. Scope Your Assessment Goals

  2. Select Your Interview Panel

  3. Plan Your Questions & Interviews 

  4. Translate & Digest Interviews into Results

  5. Identify & Describe Project Overviews

  6. Prioritize & Simplify Project Overviews

  7. BONUS! Creating Project Implementation Plans

**I share the full report & results are shared on last slide.

Scope Your Assessment Goals

  • Research other GIS User Assessments
  • Decide what you want to learn from GIS users/managers
    • To create new GIS tools?
    • Offer more training?
    • Find out how they use GIS?
    • Get new ideas for GIS apps?
  • Prep your staff with overview of:
    • When interviews will be
    • Why interviews are important
    • Expected outcomes of interviews
    • What will be discussed during interviews

EXAMPLE:

Scope Your Assessment Goals

  • Research: Google search, contacted City of WI Rapids, Used Esri's "Building a GIS" 

 

  • My Goals: to find out how GIS is used to develop more efficient & simplified GIS tools that streamline engineering staff job activities

Select Your Interview Panel

  • Identify all GIS users, editors, & managers
  • Split them into interview panel "groups" by job junction
    • Consider each function as performing specific GIS tasks
  • Splitting by job function simplifies questions

EXAMPLE:

Select Your Interview Panel

Plan Your Questions

  • Questions emerge from job functions
  • Create question template ...stimulates conversations during interviews
  • Chose range of questions:
    • Multiple Choice (easy to quantify in results)
    • Open-ended (for good discussion)
    • Offer check-lists of data types, maps, apps...etc.

EXAMPLE:

Plan Your Questions

Recall...

  • Overall Goal: to understand how GIS is used in PWU ("GIS Worflows)" & provide training, new data & apps to improve data access

  • Interview Panel: only PWU staff

Plan Your Interviews

  • Send initial, introductory email to interview panels
  • Start talking, sending emails, & scheduling interview meetings
  • Meeting length:
    • Expect initial meetings:  ~1-2 hours
    • Follow-up meetings: ~30 min

Translate Interivews

  • Keep paper records of interviews
  • Transcribe answer into spreadsheet program for summarizing & formatting
  • Summarize GIS Business Workflows (how GIS is used)
    • Useful for outlining SOPs later

EXAMPLE:

Translate Interivews

  • Used MS Excel to sort, filter, search, & summarize across interview panel groups
  • Each header field = basic interview question
  • Header fields used:
    • Group by Responsibility
    • Staff Involved
    • Perceived GIS Benefit
    • GIS Function/Operational Responsibility
    • General Overview for How & Why Group Uses GIS
    • Current Geographic Activity (= GIS Workflow)
    • Databases Used
    • Obstacles Faced in Using GIS
    • Suggested GIS Apps & Ideas
    • Estimated # Staff to Benefit by new App/Idea
    • Potential Project to Overcome Obstacle

Digest Interviews into Results

  • Outline how you want to present your results
  • Outline I used:
    • Summarize all categorical results into tables
    • Semi-summarize descriptive questions by each interview panel group
      • Similar to research paper "Discussion"
  • ​​Summarize the group's summaries to highlight Overall Common Themes

EXAMPLE:

Digest Interviews into Results

  • Summarize categorical results into tables
  • Semi-summarize descriptive questions by each group
    • Use their answers..."What major obstacle do you face while working with GIS?"
  • Common themes by each group
    • Perceived GIS benefit; How GIS is used; Major obstacles
  • ​​Highlight Overall Common Themes
    • Limited time
    • Complex/inconsistent GIS wokflows
    • Lack of GIS standards
    • Lack of knowledge in map use 

Identify & Describe Project Overviews

  • Consider solutions to Common Obstacle Themes
    • Data access issues
    • Lack of GIS standards
    • Training needs...etc
  • Chances are...you already know which projects are needed!
    • Now, you have the background & justification for why those project are critical!

Identify & Describe Project Overviews (cont.)

  • Project Overview = simple description for decision-makers & to facilitate project prioritizing
  • Provide overview for each project:
    • Goal of Project (or scope)
    • Phases (or objectives)
    • Project Need (or problem addressed)
    • Budget & Resources Required
    • Who's Involved (staff, stakeholders, team members, other orgs...etc)

EXAMPLE:

Identify & Describe Project Overviews

Prioritize Project Overviews

  • Simplify - Simplify - Simplify
  • No one wants to read entire project description to know how important it is
  • Dumb each project down from Project Overview into simple list for decision-makers to prioritize

EXAMPLE:

Prioritize Project Overviews

BONUS: Creating Project Implementation Plans

  • Implementation Plan = 
    • A proactive management tool to detail a project's critical steps from start --> finish
  • Why is it Important?
    • Avoids "putting out fires" (crisis-management) by instead engaging stakeholders at start to consider all steps involved
    • Saves times, energy, & money in the end
  • How will it be Used?
    • All parties involved have common doc to refer to goals, timeline, expected outcomes...etc
    • All parties will be on same page

EXAMPLE:

Creating Project Implementation Plans

  1. Define phases & specific tasks in each phase
  2. Establish timelines with Milestones
  3. Determine how project completion will be evaluated
  4. Identify lead project manager, team members, & stakeholders
  5. Assign responsibilities & tasks to individuals
  6. Establish communication expectation with team members & stakeholders

EXAMPLE:

Creating Project Implementation Plans (cont.)

2. Establish timelines with Milestones

What Are Your Next Steps?

Kim Sundeen

GIS Specialist, City of Duluth, MN

work: 218-730-5082

work: ksundeen [at] duluthmn.gov

personal: kim.h.sundeen [at] gmail.com

@KSundeen

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