Interdepartmental Gis Data Sharing In Osceola County, Florida: The Utilization Of Internet/Intranet Data Visualization Tools


Interdepartmental Gis Data Sharing In Osceola County, Florida: The Utilization Of Internet/Intranet Data Visualization Tools
Allen Ibaugh, AICP	© & Author Info

Abstract

Osceola County, located in Central Florida and the home of Disney World, began an ambitious enterprise-wide GIS deployment project in 1997. The objective was to develop a county-wide GIS (geographic information system) to be built and shared cooperatively within the diverse county departments, with outside partners, and the general public. Driven by the ever increasing need for accessible, accurate, and complete spatially referenced information, Osceola County set out to determine the most efficient and effective way to deploy an enterprise GIS solution throughout the rest of the county. Over the past year, Osceola County and its partners have customized a web-enabled GIS causal user Internet/Intranet interface (CUI) that provides easy-to-use data visualization tools. These tools include viewing, selection, querying, reporting, and plotting capabilities that are easily understood by both technical GIS users as well as non-users. Currently, the project is in the deployment stage and is expected to facilitate the exchange of spatial data, attribute information, and implementation ideas within the department, outside the department, and with citizens in the near future.

INTRODUCTION

The proliferation of high level visualization and analysis technologies have greatly increased the number of tools available to aid in interdepartmental data sharing and public involvement. A sampling of these tools include: (1) web-enabled technology, (2) multimedia, (3) hypermedia, (4) decision support systems, (5) and 3-dimensional software tools to name a few. The importance of these technologies seems to be continually growing. For example, one area of studiy has highlighted the heightened use of multimedia and hypermedia technology in geographic applications (Armenakis, 1993; Lipschultz et. al, 1994; and Kindleberger, 1993). Amenakis, 1993 highlights the capacity of multimedia/hypermedia to provide a toolkit that facilitates the utilization of geo-related data, especially in sustainable development applications. That is, digital multimedia databases (DMD) can be efficient and effective information management tools that are capable of relating complex geo-referenced events to diverse audiences. DMDs containing links from geo-related events to simplified visual queues and text illuminate the information that is most germane to the understanding of the events.

Most recently, there has been a movement towards web-enabled GIS technologies as witnessed by new products available from the major GIS vendors. These technologies allow users to share data more readily and provides a means for communicating information to other departments as well as the public more readily through easy-to-use graphical user interfaces. This is an important trend because of a past problem noted by Kramer, 1983, that the technology tools were not mature enough to overcome many political and organizational problems.

For the current project, Osceola County wanted to make use of web-enabled GIS tools with two main goals in mind: (1) increase interdepartmental data sharing, and (2) increase both departmental and public involvement. In order to achieve this goal, the county realized they would have to create an easy-to-use interface that would be utilized by both GIS technicians as well as the casual user. The following section discusses the development of this system.

SYSTEM SPECIFICATION

The methodology for deployment of the web-enabled casual user (CUI) GIS system is structured upon two key elements: (1) data acquisition and assimilation, and (2) system architecture (including the graphical user interface and web deployment).

Data Acquisition and Assimilation

Most of the information related to base map information to include property data and at the Department of Transportation is stored in database files or provided in hard-copy printouts. For the current project, data with respect to parcels, orthophotography, zoning, future land use, street centerlines, and building footprints were incorporated into the CUI system. Attribute data and graphical information for over 80,000 parcels was included in the system. This information was linked to the CUI system and stored for subsequent query and analysis.

System Architecture

Figure 1 details the initial system design for CUI system deployment in Osceola County. This is a simplified view of the data flows between systems. Currently, county attribute data is stored on an AS400. This data includes parcel information for buildings, land, and the like. The middleware is Informix, where attribute data is stored on an WindowsNT server. Finally, the GIS layers and themes are stored on Sun systems as depicted in (Figure 1). All the information is combined and served on the web-based CUI Intranet system.

Figure 1. System Architecture

Figure 2 displays characteristics of the GIS engine utilized under the CUI system. High level tools constitute the aggregation of a number of technologies that have previously been considered in isolation. In addition to the technologies that are integrated within the basic GIS database architecture, there are also other high level tools that supplement and complement the GIS engine functionality as depicted below. They provide a toolbox of distinct tools, reflecting the fact that different applications have different needs and it is unnecessary to burden all applications and users with tools that they may not need.

Figure 2. GIS Engine

Purpose of a System Specification

Osceola County's purpose was to develop an entire system specification plan that detailed all the necessary elements required to implement the system connectivity and data exchange goals of the County. The required elements that will be described in this plan include:

Hardware Requirements;
Software Requirements; and
User Interfaces (GUIs) for data retrieval (both internal and external).

The county realized for the system to be effective, planning must be an integral part of the system specification process. The importance of taking a comprehensive and complete planning approach to ensure that all criteria and goals are met was not overlooked. Proper planning provided information that was needed to understand fully the short- and long-term consequences of alternative decision choices as they relate to the system specification and application development. Therefore, the purpose of the specification plan was to determine all the inputs and variables to be considered in the system design and application development phases of this project.

In short, the planning process for developing the system specification for web-enabled GIS deployment consisted of the following:

Understanding the inputs and elements needed to implement the system and GIS applications;
Assessing the opportunities and limitations associated with the system design and application development;
Identifying the short- and long-term consequences of alternative choices designed to take advantage of these opportunities or respond to these limitations;
Relating alternative applications to the goals and objectives established by the County; and
Presenting this information to the County in a readily understandable and useful form.

In addition, the County realized an accurate and reliable system specification is critical to keeping future applications available and functioning. This includes the following considerations:

Event monitoring;
Performance tuning;
Storage management;
Security management;
Software distribution;
Configuration management; and
Operations management.

APPLICATIONS

The CUI system was developed to address three major application areas: interdepartmental data sharing, data warehousing, and presentation capabilities for public participation. These applications are discussed below.

Interdepartmental Data Sharing

Based on recent experiences, Osceola County realized it needed a combination analysis and visualization tool that was centered upon geographically-referenced information to aid in interdepartmental data sharing. The CUI web-enabled system gave Osceola County staff significant enabling tools that facilitated reduced data replication requirements and application sharing. Currently, the CUI system is being utilized in the Property Appraiser's and Planning Departments. Future planning includes deployment throughout the county.

The visualization capabilities provide a set of underlying data and graphics that reveal patterns given alternative data sharing scenarios (see Figures 3 and 4 below). These patterns may have been overlooked or unrecognized without the system. Additionally, the historical data graphical representations and visualizations incorporated in the CUI system provide a means for displaying environmental and aesthetic considerations that are becoming more important than ever in data sharing projects.

Figure 3. Assessor Application

Figure 4. Planning Application

The CUI system also includes the full-set GIS data management and processing capabilities for property assessments, parcel identification, and planning/zoning notifications. This decision aid supports assessors and planners with analyzes, reporting, and presenting attribute information for a given project. In sum, the system is capable of supporting a variety of users in individual analyses, staff meetings, or public hearings; and the variety of representational aids available in the system facilitates interaction in these meetings.

Data Warehousing

Another application that has just begun to be developed is data warehousing. A data warehouse is a centralized storage area for current information and historical data regarding, in this case, assessor and planning data and projects. This centralized warehouse essentially acts as a repository of county data that may be reviewed, analyzed, and reported. The CUI system establishes a beginning database of GIS attribute information and graphical project representations that could provide key data warehouse inputs as well as a GUI querying and analysis engine of that warehouse.

Presentation System for Public Participation

Perhaps the most important application of the CUI system is the presentation system capabilities. The easy-to-use GUI makes navigation through the system relatively simple and enables quick investigations of various county data (i.e. building, parcel, orthophotography data). State, local, and provincial governments can use the system in group or individual settings to review, analyze, and report information. The available attribute information including text, graphics, photos, and orthophotography make the CUI a powerful system for both internal and external presentations.

BENEFITS

There are two main types of benefits associated with CUI system implementation. The two types are efficiency and effectiveness benefits.

Efficiency Benefits

In the past, Osceola County primarily had to replicated GIS data on multiple servers due to a lack of efficient tools that aid interdepartmental data sharing. The implementation of the CUI system allowed for a more comprehensive view of the entire Osceola County GIS database from each department's perspective for data sharing through an Intranet. The CUI system brought together the important decision variables in a single web-enabled application that helped to speed up the data acquisition process and subsequently reduce the cost (in time and money) to analysts decision-makers. In addition, the intuitive graphical user interface made analyzing and visualizing various county data and projects much faster and easier. This is important because many departments have limited resources and need to be able to analyze various GIS related spatial data quickly as well as make trade-offs between many thematic data representations.

Effectiveness Benefits

The CUI system also provided effectiveness benefits in the form of new, improved quality visualizations of interdepartmental data and projects. In fact, many of the graphics used in the system were previously unavailable. Also, the integration of GIS and web-enabled technology has several potential benefits that have not yet been fully realized. For instance, spatial analysis results of overlays between potential transportation improvements and environmentally sensitive areas could easily be created using the CUI system. The possibilities are endless and should be the focus of future CUI application development. Currently, however, the primary effectiveness benefits that are realized in the system is in the quality of the additional graphics and visualizations that were previously unavailable that can be utilized for interdepartmental communication as well as for public participation.

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

Results of the project illuminated both tangible and intangible benefits to the data sharing and public participation process. Tangible benefits were witnessed by the increased efficiency and reduced cost of reviewing multiple GIS data sets for multiple departments through the utilization of a web-enabled Internet/Intranet graphical user interface. Intangible benefits were realized when the graphical user interface was utilized as a presentation system to aid in public participation. Although internal staff and general public feedback was favorable, it was difficult to quantify this feedback. In future meetings, a survey tool could be provided that would facilitate the conversion of these intangible benefits into tangible ones.

Future improvements to the CUI system may include enhanced visualization techniques such as 3D simulations for alternative visual representations of data. With the recent advances in technology, developers and designers can now take full advantage of the third dimension and open up a virtual world of new communication possibilities. These new imaging techniques can be utilized, when not cost prohibitive, to enhance decision-makers ability to see into the future. Already, the CUI system has provided an enabling tool that helps county staff and decision-makers to: (1) increase public involvement and participation in the planning process; (2) share data interdepartmentally; and (3) improve the efficiency of data storage through reduced needs for data replication. With these new technological advancements, even greater returns can be expected from future visualization improvements to the system.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to thank Fred Walters, GIS Director, and Chris McElroy, GIS Specialist, Osceola County, Florida for their guidance and support of this project.

REFERENCES

Armenakis, C.. 1993. Hypermedia: An Information Management Approach for Geographic Data. GIS/LIS Annual Conference Proceedings, 1: 19-27.

Kindleberger, C. P. 1993. Multimedia - The Next Big Wave. URISA Journal, 5(I): 121-133.

Kramer, R.M., and Specht, H. 1983. Readings in Community Organization Practice. Englewood Cliffs, NY: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Lipschultz, M.S. Walters, S. G., and Glaser, D. E. 1994. A Geographic Information System Multimedia Connection for Infrastructure Management. GIS/LIS Annual Conference Proceedings, 1: 524-532.