Putting Spatial Information in Customer Hands - Wayne Fry - Dept Natural Resources & Mines-Queensland

Supporting customer use of spatial information

Putting spatial information in customer hands

IMIA Asia Pacific Region Conference 17 Nov 2015

Imagine

• Imagine a day when the spatial identifier in all information is recognised

• Imagine a day when all information has a useful spatial identifier

• Imagine how information could be combined to enhance the lives of Queenslanders

• Imagine the spatial products and tools that could be produced

• Imagine

Putting spatial information in customer hands

Outline

• Overview how we are trying to do this– Understanding our customers

– Our approach

• Provide some reflections and challenges• Summary

Who is the customer

• Anyone – individuals

– businesses

– academia

– not for profits – all tiers of government

• Generally anonymous

Our customer characteristics

• Interests

• Spatial understanding

• Technology capability

• Remoteness

• These continuum apply to any of our customer segments

Where are our customers and demand

• Downloads – up 32% last financial year• Globe use – up 130% last financial year• Web services – up 335% between 2014 & 2015 September quarters

What do our customers want• The International Standards Organisation list 19 themes

• DNRM is a custodian of significant spatial information in many of these themes

• DNRM is also a collector of significant information that has a spatial location and therefore can be represented spatially

BiotaBoundariesClimatology, meteorology, atmosphereEconomyElevationEnvironment

FarmingGeoscientificHealthImagery, base maps, earth coverInland watersIntelligence, military

LocationOceansPlanning, cadastreSocietyStructureTransportationUtilities, communication

Possibly anything

How we meet our customer needs

Adopt a range of approaches1. Business tools that contain some spatial

components that customers may not even recognise

2. Spatial interfaces focused towards specific outcomes

3. Spatial access mechanisms to assist in the broadest sensea) Data download

b) Web services

c) Visualisation tools

Our aspirations• Information accessible as soon as possible and online

• Maintained and improving state-wide datasets to published standards and with growing consistency between

• Federated data management and publishing environment

• Effective discovery mechanisms

• Customers choosing access mechanism suitable to their needs and capabilities at time convenient to them

• Infrastructure able to be used by any Queensland Government department (and in time maybe others) if they choose

• Provision of custom solutions to support government priorities

• Encouragement and advice to assist wide availability of spatial information

Data is championData

is champion

Spatial tools (approach 1)

• Address services to use in search and address validation

• Mapping services to use in business processes

• Redline capabilities in applications

Spatial interfaces (approach 2)

• Reef globe

http://qgsp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fdaf974d7ef040f9a5522cefcc6cc80c

Data download and web services (approach 3a & b)

• QSpatial

• But search engines, open data portal, websites and other mechanisms (eg. ArcGIS Online) are all important

http://qldspatial.information.qld.gov.au/catalogue/custom/index.page

Download (approach 3a)

• Online access to scanned aerial photographs – ¾ million aerial photos

– Geo-located,

not geo-referenced

• QTopo– Entire state– Generated from

latest information– To 1:18,056

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/support-tools-grants/services/mapping-data-imagery/maps/topographic-maps

Spatial visualisations (approach 3c)

Spatial visualisations• Queensland Globe

– Approx 500 layers– Many data custodians

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/support-tools-grants/services/mapping-data-imagery/queensland-globe

Reflections

• New approaches to understand customer needs • Take advantage of policy and technical shifts (eg. open

data, google earth)• Lack of understanding how industry is using the data and

web services made available

• Lack of telecommunications in Queensland is real, so cannot rely wholly with online approaches

• Standardising experiences between approaches will aid customers gain familiarity in one approach and therefore find it is easy to move to other approaches

• Simplicity is the key

Challenges

• Staying customer and technology relevant– Need to be evolving, but many customers seek stability

• Usually takes longer than you expect or need

• The same group of staff always seem needed

• Industry taking advantage of what is available (and letting us know what is required) so new and innovative solutions for customers exist

• Awareness of what is possible– Customers (and our staff) do not know what they do not know

Summary

• This is work in progress– but it will always be work in progress

– and it has always been work in progress

• It continues to be exciting as we strive to provide

Relevant and authoritative spatially located information covering all Queensland,

available usefully to everyone

Questions