The Framework

The Slim GIM Framework

The Slim GIM framework consists of eight steps, an executive scorecard and ongoing policing of compliance using audit reports. It incorporates the basic principles of Enterprise Architecture while taking a pragmatic approach suitable to the 'uniqueness' and 'readiness' levels most commonly seen in the Municipal/Local Government setting.

As IT/GIS Professionals, it is critical to measure this and document the impact on the people, process/workflow and ultimately, on data quality. But how? Easy (and it's free) - Here are the steps:

Step 1 A - Maturity and Capability Modeling;
Step 1 B - Workflow Descriptive Document
Step 2 - Geographic Information Management (GIM) Process Map
Step 3 - Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
Step 4 - Editing Workflow Matrix
Step 5 - Dependency & Risk Assessment
Step 6 - Workflow Health & Compliance
Step 7 - An Optional Employee Feedback Assessment
Step 8 - Enterprise Health & Maturity Planning
Ongoing - Compliance & Auditing
Annually - Executive Scorecard

This work is licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Step 1 A - Maturity and Capability Modeling

This is a best of breed model that rates Enterprise GIS Maturity/Capability [1] using multiple critical success factors in the following categories: 1. Organizational Structure and Leadership; 2. Corporate Culture & Philosophy; 3. Process Orientation; 4. Organizational Capacity; 5. Enterprise GIS Sustainability; 6. Foundational Data and Technologies. This is used by the Analyst for determining overall health and 'readiness' and provides a picture of the impact that the organization may be having on EGIS data quality and reliability. [2] Read more and download the template.

Step 1 B - Workflow Descriptive Document (WDD)

This is used to document what departments are involved in a process including the people and divisions, their current capability to share information among themselves and what datasets and criticality. This is used by the Analyst to focus the process/workflow modeling activities. This Template is available in draft form. Read more and download the template.

Step 2 - Geographic Information Management (GIM) Process Map (GPBM)

This a custom process diagram that focuses specifically on the key actions in a process that lend information to the EGIS. It is designed to read "When the following events occur", "Dept. employees will do the following", "So GIS Editors can manage these datasets", "Resulting in these improvements in data quality". Also on this diagram, the Analyst is able to document opportunities and current Service Level times (SLA). This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

Step 3 - Roles & Responsibilities Matrix (RRM)

This is a standard RACI matrix but EGIS-ified. It shows who is responsible to send what and when to GIS Editors so they can do their work. The Analyst uses this to track compliance to determine who is involved in broken workflows and is used by the divisions who prefer to see their roles as a table and not as a reference sheet or process diagram. This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

Step 4 - Editing Workflow Matrix (EWM)

This gets right down to the database level and defines exactly what GIS features and attributes are gained at each event (or Trigger) in the Workflow. The QA/QC Editors and GIS Analyst determine the criticality of each action for each feature at the database level. This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

Step 5 - Dependency & Risk Assessment (DRA)

This is a critical tool for the Analyst used to quantitatively measure the errors in the Enterprise Geodatabase when the workflow is not followed. This tool is used for scenarios and to state how many potential compounded errors of omission occur for each workflow. This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

Step 6 - Workflow Health & Compliance (WHC) - The "Quick Reference" Sheet

This is the main "Quick Reference" sheet to be used by participants in a workflow. This document states how critical each step is in a workflow and presents these as "Public & System Impacts", "City Projects Data Quality" and "Asset Data Quality". This is also the document which will report compliance scores after Data/Process Quality Audits". This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

Step 7 - Employee Feedback Assessment (EFA) - Optional

For continuous improvement efforts participants in a workflow will be surveyed or interviewed in a structured manner in order to solicit feedback, garner enthusiasm, build a psychological sense of ownership to the data and for communication and employee engagement. The structured approach will ensure consistent reporting of feedback moving forward. This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

Step 8 - Enterprise Health & Maturity Planning (EHMP)

At this stage, the Analyst analyzes the results of all steps and ties Organizational Health (Maturity & Capability) to Workflow related issues. The findings are used to form the Roadmap for continued improvement, increased maturity and growth of the Enterprise GIS.

Ongoing - Compliance & Auditing

On a quarterly basis, you will spot audit the workflows to ensure that the business units including the GIS Editors are following the process as defined in the previous steps. Compliance issues will be included in the EGIS Health Audit Report and on re-distributed Step 6 - WHC - The Quick Reference Sheet. This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

Annually - Executive Scorecard

A high level executive scorecard will be presented to Senior Management (SMT) which presents current Maturity/Capability scores, feedback, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. This Template is available in draft form. Contact me for a draft version.

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References:

[1] For a general description of Capability/Maturity Models, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capabil...Maturity_Model

[2] The Maturity Model Questions Are Adapted from:

Bronzo, M., de Resende, P. T. V., de Oliveira, M. P. V., McCormack, K. P., de Sousa, P. R., & Ferreira, R. L. (2013). Improving performance aligning business analytics with process orientation. International Journal of Information Management, 33(2), 300-307.

Makelä, J. (2012). Model for assessing GIS maturity of an organization. Spatially Enabling Government, Industry and Citizens, p.143.

Mangan, M. (2008). INTRODUCING A MATURITY MODEL FOR ENTERPRISE GIS. [online]. Available from: http://www.w4sight.com/uploads/1/4/3...ismaturity.pdf.

O'Flaherty, B., Bartlett, D., Lyons, G., Keanko, W., Ending, M., & Schulz, J. (2005). Towards a Stage Model for GIS and SDI Deployment in Local Government. In PACIS. p. 60. [online]. Available from: http://www.pacis-net.org/file/2005/232.pdf .

Ojo, A., Janowski, T. and Estevez, E. (2012). Improving Government Enterprise Architecture Practice--Maturity Factor Analysis. In IEEE, pp. 4260–4269. [online]. Available from: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/ep...number=6149413 .

URISA. (2013). URISA - GIS CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL. [online]. Available from: http://www.urisa.org/clientuploads/d...01309(Endorsed for Publication).pdf.