CONS 608 students: The following is a copyrighted Appendix from a tutorial written by the Conservation Technology Support Program

CONS 608 students: The following is a copyrighted Appendix from a tutorial written by the Conservation Technology Support Program. You can probably read it pretty quickly, as parts of it aren't very relevant to our class, but I think there are some useful parts, e.g., the sections on design, implementation, data sources, data evaluation.

Thank you for contacting the Conservation Technology Support Program (CTSP).

The Conservation Technology Support Program (CTSP) is a granting

program established in 1994 designed to provide hardware,

software, and training to nonprofit organizations addressing

environmental and conservation issues so that they can undertake

a variety of projects using a geographic information system (GIS).

The deadline for applications for this grant cycle was January 17.

We anticipate that the RFP for the next cycle will go out in the

fall of 1997. By sending a blank message to ctsp@lists.desktop.org

your email address has been added to a list. When we issue the next

RFP, all addresses on this list will receive a copy.

Thanks for your interest in the CTSP program.

CONSERVATION TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT PROGRAM

APPENDIX C

GIS TUTORIAL

This tutorial is intended to help you clarify your program and your desire

for using GIS. It is intended solely to assist you in filling out the

application and is not required to be returned with the application. We

feel that you will find it easier to answer the application questions if you

do work through the tutorial. This is a structured series of tutorials and

exercises designed to lead you through the process of designing and

describing an information management system. As a self-paced tutorial it

will show you how to classify your goals, audience, products/services,

sources, and skills in a systematic way that can help you honestly

evaluate what GIS will mean to your program and how best to implement

it. This tutorial is strongly recommended as a tool to help you develop

most of the answers needed in the applicant program description.

This is a new type of exercise and your comments on questions

themselves will be appreciated. We recognize that not every question

will make sense to every applicant, but we suggest you to do the best

you can to respond to the intent of such questions if not the letter, in

light of the unique circumstances of your organization. We appreciate

that many different types of organizations will want to apply and we

hope these exercise can develop into a common self-evaluation tool,

independent of hardware and software assumptions, that will work for

many different types of organizations ranging from research to

outreach, from data collection to community education. If a question

appears too simple for you, we encourage you to answer it anyway

since re-examining one's basic assumptions is always a useful activity.

In other cases we have tried to introduce a number of basic GIS and

geography principles in a condensed fashion to help build a context for

discussion. If these sorts of questions appear too difficult or advanced,

we suggest you answer as much as you understand and tell us what

you found confusing, and to use such questions as additional indicators

of the sorts of skills and training that you would like to have.

GIS stands for Geographic Information System, and it represents an

important new series of tools and ideas to help manage and examine

data in order to make better decisions, especially regarding the use,

management and conservation of natural resources. Like any

information management system, it can be a complex endeavor whose

success is critically dependent upon a clear focus and a well- defined

purpose. The most common mistake found in new GIS programs is a lack

of a clear focus, leading to misdirection, waste of money and products

with little utility. The enormous capability of GIS tools to attack an infinite

variety of complex problems unfortunately leads many people to think

that they can implement a GIS which will address and solve every

conceivable problem they might encounter. In fact, a GIS is only as good

as the planning, data and human participants allow it to be. A GIS is

never an excuse to abandon good judgment and common sense. In fact,

one of its most powerful applications is to help create maps which

reflect what many people suspect but can not articulate or express in

as powerful a manner as maps permit. Without a clear definition of

purpose, however, such success is elusive. An old dictum in

cartography states that to make a map, you must first know what it will

be used for.

ROLE OF DESIGN

The primary method used to ensure the success of a new GIS effort is

Design. The Design effort is a structured series of activities carried out

before any purchases or commitments, whose primary goal is to help

define the purpose of the new GIS effort, and how it is likely to fit in with

the existing flows of information and communications. It results in two

principal products: a flow chart graphically showing how the movement

of information and tasks through the existing and proposed system can

meet stated goals, and an implementation plan presenting the specific

steps needed to build the new system in an efficient and cost-effective

manner. The purpose of this tutorial is to help you create examples of

both of these to help you better understand your current program and

where it might go with GIS.

Any design effort, no matter who conducts it, is only as good as your

own participation. No outsider can answer the sorts of questions we

will pose here. We hope that this tutorial will give you an accurate and

practical idea of how to build your GIS program and methods which you

can use to guide and refine future design and planning efforts.

DEFINING YOUR GOALS

Defining the purpose of any new information management system must

begin with a careful examination of the purpose and parts of the current

system, whether manual or automated, looking at what works, what

doesn't, and what must change. The first part of this tutorial looks at

your current program independent of any future GIS capacity but using

the same analytical approach that you will later use to design your GIS

program. A GIS is said to consist of 5 basic elements: People, Data,

Procedures to work on the data, Hardware, and Software.

People often consider only the last two, so for this exercise we will

ignore them. These first three elements can be examined in more detail

by breaking them down into the traditional who, what, when, where and

why of investigation:

- Why are you here: program goals

- Who do you serve: your audience

- What do you provide: your products

- Where does your data come from: data sources

- How do you do it: your tasks

- Who helps you: your support

- What constrains you: your limitations

We will look at each of these in detail to describe your current system of

information management and communication, then look at them again to

define what you expect from a new GIS program.

THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

In a traditional GIS design effort, these steps to examine current and

potential information management practices are also called "needs

analysis", and they serve as the foundation for a GIS design. The

specific steps needed to implement a GIS into a new setting comprise

the second basic part of a design effort, the Implementation Plan. For

GIS the following 6 basic steps have been recognized:

- User Needs Assessment

- Conceptual Database Design: abstract entities and attributes

- Physical Design: actual files and items

- Automation Plan: how to turn paper data into digital

- Pilot Project

- Final ImplementationThe later steps are beyond the scope of this

Tutorial, but we will try to help you create a draft implementation plan for

your new program by the end of this exercise.

THE EXERCISES

What follows is a series of exercises to help you define the purpose of

your current/proposed program and to help elucidate what specific

functions your new GIS system would serve. For each question you will

list five answers ranked in order of descending importance. There is a

second list of 5 "future" spaces which you will use later on for the GIS

answers. There is no right or wrong answer to these questions and

their primary intent is to help you think through the different issues and

challenges involved in building a new GIS before you start, so they do

not catch you by surprise later on. You will see that hardware and

software are relatively minor players in the overall success or failure of

a GIS. Far more important is an accurate understanding of the role and

purpose of your program and the expectations and limitations of those

you seek to serve. Without these no software or hardware in the world

will give satisfaction, but with them, you can be just as effective with a

pencil and paper as with a keyboard and mouse.

EXERCISE 1-GOALS: WHY ARE YOU HERE?

Without a clear definition of purpose any information product can prove

useless and impossible to interpret. This applies to maps and reports as

well as databases, statistical reports and research programs. Purposes

and goals are the foremost principles guiding any design and

implementation effort, with countless decisions on the commitment of

time and resources hinging on the specific answer as to whether this

will move the program towards its goals or not.

Often, a goal takes the form of a mandate or legal requirement which

must be met as a fundamental condition of your program. Other goals

are stated in an institutional charter or in joint decisions of the managers

or advisors. Goals may change as a program evolves, or its audience

changes, or as new technologies and new capacities are introduced. It

is important that any design effort and information management system

be flexible in order to account for goals which change during the

exercise itself. List below in order of priority the 5 most important

current goals of your present program:

CURRENT

FUTURE

EXERCISE 2-AUDIENCES: WHO DO YOU SERVE?

There is no denying that the fate of earth's natural systems is controlled

by humankind. Therefore, the endpoint of any information program

concerning resources and conservation is to change public policy, so

that humans can better manage and protect important ecosystems and

species. This is also an excellent place to review the purpose and role

of a GIS. Who, ultimately, do you plan to influence and how do you plan

to do it? It is also important to think in terms of the information needs that

your audience has in order to make intelligent decision and your role in

addressing those needs.

List the 5 most important audiences that your program currently serves,

(such as decision-makers, 6th graders, museum visitors, activists).

After each one, indicate the most critical information needs they have.

Then indicate which of the goals you listed in exercise 1 applies to that

audience. Include how your program affects or influences them (such

as provides curriculum materials, critical permits data, inspirational

messages, skills transfer). Ignore the constraints for now. When you

are finished follow the instructions at the bottom of the page.

CURRENT

1.Critical needs

Relevant Goals

How affected

Constraints

Critical needs

Relevant Goals

How affected

Constraints

Critical needs

Relevant Goals

How affected

Constraints

Critical needs

Relevant Goals

How affected

Constraints

Critical needs

Relevant Goals

How affected

Constraints

FUTURE

Constraints

ConstraintsNow go back to exercise 1 and underline those goals which

apply to many of your audiences.

EXERCISE 3-PRODUCTS: WHAT DO YOU PROVIDE?

To meet our goals and serve our audiences we provide information in

the form of products and services. What we provide depends upon our

goals and the needs of our audience but is most commonly limited by our

capacity. The goal of the Conservation technology support Program is to

help you improve your capacity to deliver information products and

services. Information products include the traditional reports, surveys,

photographs and presentations as well as maps and graphics. They

also include newer media such as videos, screen displays, computer

demonstrations and databases. Anything which tells a story or helps

make a point can be thought of as an information product. Information

services include any labor or advice that you provide to your audience

to help them make decisions or manage their information, such as

analysis, technical support, research and teaching.

List below the 5 most important products and services that you provide

to your audiences to meet your stated goals. After each one, indicate

the primary audiences that the product is for and the audience need that

the particular product addresses.

CURRENT

Target audience & need:

FUTURE1.

Go back to exercise 2 and underline those audiences who appear many

times here.

EXERCISE 4-DATA SOURCES: WHERE DO PRODUCTS START?

especially with digital data, is information about where the data came

from, also called metadata. Metadata describes the procedures and

assumptions used in collecting the data, and documents its reliability and

accuracy. Finally, the classification system used in any data source is

very important, since it may or may not be compatible with what your

current goals are. Classification systems determine in large part what

raw data is originally collected, so that the basic data may simply not be

there to support later questions using other classification systems.

Please list below the 5 most important sources of information you rely

upon in conducting your work, and format you use to receive that

information (i.e. other persons, personal communication, newsletter,

map, database, GIS coverage). For each information source, list the

products that it supports.

CURRENT

1. product:2. product:

3. product:

4. product:

5. product:

FUTURE

Go back to exercise 3 and examine any products NOT listed here. What

information sources do you use to create them?

In delivering our products and services there is some starting point of

basic raw data which we use as the source for our activities. Data

sources vary widely in their form, content and utility. They may range

from paper products such as books, maps, photographs and field data

sheets to digital sources such as tabular databases, spreadsheets,

word processor files and digital satellite imagery. They include other

people and personal communications as well as the news media. The

utility of a data source, especially in resources work, is often dependent

upon its timeliness. Another important factor especially with digital data,

is information about where the data came from, also called metadata.

Metadata describes the procedures and assumptions used in collecting

the data, and documents its reliability and accuracy. Finally, the

classification system used in any data source is very important, since it

may or may not be compatible with what your current goals are.

Classification systems determine in large part what raw data is originally

collected, so that the basic data may simply not be there to support later

questions using other classification systems.

Please list below the 5 most important sources of information you rely

upon in conducting your work, and format you use to receive that

information (i.e. other persons, personal communication, newsletter,

map, database, GIS coverage). For each information source, list the

products that it supports.

CURRENT

1. product:2. product:

3. product:

4. product:

5. product:

FUTURE

Go back to exercise 3 and examine any products NOT listed here. What

information sources do you use to create them?

EXERCISE 5-TASKS: HOW DO YOU DO IT?

In creating services, you and your program perform various tasks,

starting from your different sources. Tasks may be specific to a single

audience or product, or may apply to all products.

List the top 5 most important tasks that your program carries out in its

work. Indicate for each task how often you do it, daily, weekly, monthly

or yearly. For each task, indicate the original data source that it depends

upon and the product that it helps to create. Tasks may not be directly

related to a product or data source, they may instead relate to other

tasks, just do the best you can to list them all here.

CURRENT

1. data source: product:

2. data source: product:

3. data source: product:

4. data source: product:

5. data source: product:

FUTURE

Go back to exercise 4 and underline those data sources that appear

many times here.

EXERCISE 6-PEOPLE: WHO HELPS YOU DO IT?

In the long run, the most important element in any program is the people.

Data doesn't inform, people do. Software doesn't change policy, people

do. Machines don't decide, people do. An old saying that describes the

relationship between people and data says that data is the raw stuff

you collect, when a person asks questions of the data it becomes

information, and when information is combined with human wisdom and

experience it becomes knowledge. We often confuse data with

knowledge. Please list below the 5 most important people, both inside

and outside your organization, who you rely upon in conducting your

program and their role in relation to you or the program (i.e. partner,

employee, supplier, teacher, student, mentor, confidant, grunt)

CURRENT

1. relationship:

2. relationship:

3. relationship:

4. relationship:

5. relationship:

FUTURE

EXERCISE 7-SKILLS: WHO HAS THE SKILLS?

Providing information to others in the conservation and environment

arena requires a broad range of skills, ranging from people and

organizational skills to technical and scientific. Because of rapid

changes, the skills required change rapidly as well and people are

constantly challenged to learn new skills just to keep up. A frequent

problem is staff turnover, as trained people leave and you need to start

all over again. A GIS introduces entirely new sets of skills that will be

required. The following is a list of skills useful in both manual and

automated information management.

Examine the following list to identify the skills your program already

possesses. After each skill, enter the name (from exercise 6) of the

person or persons in your program who have that skill, including

yourself.

person/persons

O1. Organizational & People Skills

O2. User Needs analysis & interviews

O3. Data Inventory and Evaluation

O4. Database administration

O5. GIS operation procedures

O6. Public Outreach

O7. Management

S1. Scientific Skills

S2. Biology/Ecology

S3. MathematicsS4. Statistics

S5. Geography/Biogeography

S6. Geology/Physical Geography

S7. Demographics

S7. Field Sampling

D1. Database Skills

D2. Geographic Database Models

D3. Relational Database Models

D4. Data Conversion/import/export

D5. Digitizing

D6. Database Quality Control

D7. Data Archiving and Storage

C1. Cartographic Skills

C2. Map Projections and Coordinate Systems

C3. Cartographic modeling and layering

C4. Map Scales and data resolution

C5. Thematic content and classification systems

C6. Artistic/Graphic design skills

T1. Technology Skills

T2. Computer installation/configuration

T3. Computer peripherals, printers, digitizers

T4. Modems and telecommunication hardware

T5. Internet, e-mail and communication software

T6. Computer programming

Now go to exercise 6 and underline those people who appear many

times here.

EXERCISE 8-CONSTRAINTS: WHAT STOPS YOU?

In our attempts to meet our goals we often fall short, due to limitations in

many areas. Some are the traditional shortages in funding and staff

which beset all non-profit organizations, others may be more general

problems in science such as the lack of good data or proper analytical

tools or theories. Sometimes these may even be obstacles in our target

audience which limit their ability to utilize or act upon the information we

deliver. Go back to exercise 2 and for each audience listed, note under

"constraints" the most important constraints affecting their ability to

receive information from your current program (i.e. lack of technology,

lack of interest) List below the 5 most important obstacles which

currently stand in the way of achieving your goals. After each obstacle

list the task and product affected by it. Also list the goal or goals and/or

audience that it impedes.

CURRENT

1. affected tasks/products: affected goal/audience:

2. affected tasks/products: affected goal/audience:

3. affected tasks/products: affected goal/audience:

4. affected tasks/products: affected goal/audience:

5. affected tasks/products: affected goal/audience:

FUTURE

FLOW CHART 1: YOUR CURRENT ORGANIZATION

A flow chart is a way of graphically illustrating relationships and

showing the flow of information through a system which results in

products and services. It can help identify critical tasks and people, as

well as areas of duplicate effort. It can help illustrate the impact of

changes in an organization, and suggest new paths to increase

coordination and effectiveness. In this exercise we will use your

answers from exercises 1-8 to draw a rough flow chart of your current

program without considering the impact of GIS. Perhaps use a sheet of

8 1/2 x 11 paper sideways and arrange your data sources along the

left, and draw lines from them through various tasks and people until we

wind up with output products along the right. Use square boxes to

signify things such as data sources, products & services, and circles to

signify processes and tasks. Basically, the box will represent

information which flows into a process (circle), is modified somehow by

it, and then flows out of the process to some other process (another

circle) or to the end product/service (box).

Start with exercise 4, and list the different data sources you use in

boxes down the left side of the paper. Use exercise 5 to arrange your

different tasks as circles in the middle of the page. You can break them

down into smaller sub-tasks if you want, especially if there are common

sub-tasks shared between different tasks. Arrange them so that they

read from left to right in the order they occur. Draw lines from the data

sources to the tasks they feed. Label each task with the person or

persons (in parentheses) who support it. Finally, refer to exercise 3 to

list your products and services in boxes at right center, and use

exercise 2 to list your different audiences along the right edge of the

page. Draw lines from the different products to show the tasks that

produce them, and to the different audiences that the product or service

is intended for. Draw lines from the audience back into the processes to

show where audience feedback is used to modify the process or

product. Finally, refer to exercise 1, and draw and label an outline

around the products and audiences that represent each goal.

Refer to exercise 8, and for each obstacle listed draw and label an

8-sided stop sign around each step, task, person or audience affected

by that obstacle.