NDGIS 2013 - How to Remain Relevant in the Age of Change or What GIS Pros Can Do to Keep their Skills in Demand

Transcript

1. How to Remain Relevant in
   the Age of Change
   James Fee
   Founder – Spatially Adjusted
   or
   What GIS Pros Can
   Do to Keep their
   Skills in Demand
   

   View Slide

2. What is GIS?
   

   View Slide

3. What is GIS?
   Who Cares?
   

   View Slide

4. What are GIS Professionals?
   

   View Slide

5. What are GIS Professionals?
   Programmers!
   

   View Slide

6. Say

   Wut?
   

   View Slide

7. Programmer 

   /= 

   Developer
   Photo by Joachim S. Müller - http://flic.kr/p/egrei2
   

   View Slide

8. View Slide

9. View Slide

10. James’ Definition of a
    GIS Professional
    Someone digitally creates and "manipulates"
    spatial areas that may be jurisdictional,
    purpose, or application-oriented.
    

    View Slide

11. attribution: ESRI International User Conference - 2011 - San Diego, California by Kris Krüg http://flic.kr/p/a2rdhq CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
    

    View Slide

12. Embrace the
    Tools of
    Programmers
    

    View Slide

13. View Slide

14. GIS
    

    View Slide

15. Esri in the 70’s
    

    View Slide

16. ArcInfo
    

    View Slide

17. ARC/INFO Required Prime Computer
    

    View Slide

18. View Slide

19. View Slide

20. View Slide

21. View Slide

22. View Slide

23. View Slide

24. View Slide

25. ArcGIS Desktop
    

    View Slide

26. ArcGIS Desktop
    

    View Slide

27. ArcGIS Desktop
    

    View Slide

28. View Slide

29. View Slide

30. View Slide

31. Why The History Lesson?
    

    View Slide

32. Photo by dullhunk - http://flic.kr/p/zDLZm
    

    View Slide

33. View Slide

34. A Simpler Time
    

    View Slide

35. A Simpler Time
    

    View Slide

36. 

    Problems with Wizards
    • Wizards cause us to
    conform
    • Options are either preset or
    confusing
    • Lack of documenting the
    process
    

    View Slide

37. Familiarity is a Tough
    Nut to Crack
    Most GIS
    Professionals
    only know
    ArcToolbox
    

    View Slide

38. View Slide

39. View Slide

40. View Slide

41. With the Command Line
    • Freedom to work with the data as you want
    • Better understanding of the commands
    • Combined with scripting you have a recipe for
    future work. AKA documentation!
    

    View Slide

42. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    

    View Slide

43. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    

    View Slide

44. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    • Browse for toolbox (clicking through the endless tree)
    

    View Slide

45. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    • Browse for toolbox (clicking through the endless tree)
    • Open tool dialog
    

    View Slide

46. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    • Browse for toolbox (clicking through the endless tree)
    • Open tool dialog
    • Browse for input dataset
    

    View Slide

47. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    • Browse for toolbox (clicking through the endless tree)
    • Open tool dialog
    • Browse for input dataset
    • Browse for any optional data for analysis
    

    View Slide

48. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    • Browse for toolbox (clicking through the endless tree)
    • Open tool dialog
    • Browse for input dataset
    • Browse for any optional data for analysis
    • Browse for an output location
    

    View Slide

49. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    • Browse for toolbox (clicking through the endless tree)
    • Open tool dialog
    • Browse for input dataset
    • Browse for any optional data for analysis
    • Browse for an output location
    • Fill out options
    

    View Slide

50. Programming GIS
    1999-2004
    • Start up ArcCatalog (wait 2-4 min while it loads)
    • Browse for toolbox (clicking through the endless tree)
    • Open tool dialog
    • Browse for input dataset
    • Browse for any optional data for analysis
    • Browse for an output location
    • Fill out options
    • Click OK and pray it doesn’t crash
    

    View Slide

51. Programming GIS the
    ArcINFO Way
    

    View Slide

52. Programming GIS the
    ArcINFO Way
    • Start up Command Prompt (about a
    second)
    

    View Slide

53. Programming GIS the
    ArcINFO Way
    • Start up Command Prompt (about a
    second)
    • Type simple command (BUILD, CLIP, etc)
    

    View Slide

54. Programming GIS the
    ArcINFO Way
    • Start up Command Prompt (about a
    second)
    • Type simple command (BUILD, CLIP, etc)
    • Hit Enter
    

    View Slide

55. Programming GIS the
    ArcINFO Way
    • Start up Command Prompt (about a
    second)
    • Type simple command (BUILD, CLIP, etc)
    • Hit Enter
    • Tell everyone how hard it was
    

    View Slide

56. AML Scripting

    in ARC/INFO
    clip soils studbndy stdysoil
    

    View Slide

57. Where is Python Used?
    

    View Slide

58. Where is Python Used?
    • GIS Applications (ArcGIS, QGIS, Safe FME,
    Autodesk)
    

    View Slide

59. Where is Python Used?
    • GIS Applications (ArcGIS, QGIS, Safe FME,
    Autodesk)
    • Web Frameworks (WeoGeo.com, Google)
    

    View Slide

60. Where is Python Used?
    • GIS Applications (ArcGIS, QGIS, Safe FME,
    Autodesk)
    • Web Frameworks (WeoGeo.com, Google)
    • Anywhere (Corel, Civilization, Gmail)
    

    View Slide

61. Where is Python Used?
    • GIS Applications (ArcGIS, QGIS, Safe FME,
    Autodesk)
    • Web Frameworks (WeoGeo.com, Google)
    • Anywhere (Corel, Civilization, Gmail)
    • Become the de-facto scripting language
    

    View Slide

62. ArcPy, the New
    Command Line
    

    View Slide

63. ArcPy, the New
    Command Line
    • Much like the Arc prompt and AML, ArcPy and
    Python give us a powerful analysis and scripting
    method.
    

    View Slide

64. ArcPy, the New
    Command Line
    • Much like the Arc prompt and AML, ArcPy and
    Python give us a powerful analysis and scripting
    method.
    • ArcPy builds on the commands we learned 15
    years ago.
    

    View Slide

65. ArcPy, the New
    Command Line
    • Much like the Arc prompt and AML, ArcPy and
    Python give us a powerful analysis and scripting
    method.
    • ArcPy builds on the commands we learned 15
    years ago.
    • ArcPy is integrated in ArcMap
    

    View Slide

66. ArcPy, the New
    Command Line
    • Much like the Arc prompt and AML, ArcPy and
    Python give us a powerful analysis and scripting
    method.
    • ArcPy builds on the commands we learned 15
    years ago.
    • ArcPy is integrated in ArcMap
    • Python can be extended to other GIS platforms
    such as QGIS.
    

    View Slide

67. Python Scripting

    in ArcGIS
    arcpy.Clip_analysis(soils.shp, studbndy.shp, stdysoil)
    clip soils studbndy stdysoil
    

    View Slide

68. Python Scripting With
    ArcPy
    import  arcpy  
    from  arcpy  import  env  
    env.workspace  =  "c:/workspace"  
    #  variables

    in_features  =  "soils.shp"  
    clip_features  =  "study_boundary.shp"  
    out_feature_class  =  "c:/workspace/output/study_area_soils.shp"  
    xy_tolerance  =  ""  
    #  Execute  Clip  
    arcpy.Clip_analysis(in_features,  clip_features,

    out_feature_class,  xy_tolerance)
    

    View Slide

69. Python Scripting With
    ArcPy
    import  arcpy  
    from  arcpy  import  env  
    env.workspace  =  "c:/workspace"  
    #  variables

    in_features  =  "soils.shp"  
    clip_features  =  "study_boundary.shp"  
    out_feature_class  =  "c:/workspace/output/study_area_soils.shp"  
    xy_tolerance  =  ""  
    #  Execute  Clip  
    arcpy.Clip_analysis(in_features,  clip_features,

    out_feature_class,  xy_tolerance)
    

    View Slide

70. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/2989238425/
    Python
    

    View Slide

71. Export to KML
    import  arcpy  
    arcpy.CheckOutExtension(“3D”)  
    env.workspace  =  "c:/workspace"  
    #  variables

    in_feature  =  "c:/data/TIGER2009/04/ARIZONA/tl_2009_04_county.lyr"  
    out_feature  =  "c:/temp/output.kmz"  
    #  Execute  KML  Export  
    arcpy.LayerToKML_conversion(in_feature,  out_feature,1)
    

    View Slide

72. Export to KML
    arcpy.LayerToKML_conversion(input.shp, output.kml, scale)
    

    View Slide

73. Python Libraries
    

    View Slide

74. View Slide

75. View Slide

76. View Slide

77. If you like GIS, you like
    statistics
    

    View Slide

78. If you like GIS, you like
    statistics
    If you like statistics, you like
    baseball
    

    View Slide

79. If you like GIS, you like
    statistics
    If you like statistics, you like
    baseball
    If you like baseball, you
    should root for the 2010 and
    2012 World Series Champion
    San Francisco Giants
    

    View Slide

80. Baseball as an
    Excuse to Program
    

    View Slide

81. View Slide

82. NYY 95 67 .586 +136
    BAL 93 69 .574 +7
    TAM 90 72 .556 +120
    TOR 73 89 .451 -68
    BOS 69 93 .426 -72
    DET 88 74 .543 +56
    CHS 85 77 .525 +72
    KAN 72 90 .444 -70
    CLE 68 94 .420 -178
    MIN 66 96 .407 -131
    OAK 94 68 .580 +99
    TEX 93 69 .574 +101
    LAA 89 73 .549 +68
    SEA 75 87 .463 -32
    WAS 98 64 .605 +137
    ATL 94 68 .580 +100
    PHI 81 81 .500 +4
    NYM 74 88 .457 -59
    MIA 69 93 .426 -115
    CIN 97 65 .599 +81
    STL 88 74 .543 +117
    MIL 83 79 .512 +43
    PIT 79 83 .488 -23
    CHC 61 101 .377 -146
    HOU 55 107 .340 -211
    SFG 94 68 .580 +69
    LAD 86 76 .531 +40
    ARI 81 81 .500 +46
    SDP 76 86 .469 -59
    COL 64 98 .395 -132
    

    View Slide

83. View Slide

84. #!/usr/bin/python  
    from  scipy  import  stats  
    from  pylab  import  *  
    #  Read  in  the  data.  
    mlb  =  loadtxt('mlb.txt',  dtype=[('team',  'S3'),  ('w',  'i'),  ('l',  'i'),  
    ('pct',  'f'),    ('rdiff',  'i')])  
    #  Plot  the  data  with  invisible  points.  
    scatter(mlb['rdiff'],  mlb['w'],  s=0)  
    xlabel('Run  differential')  
    ylabel('Wins')  
    #  Put  team  names  at  the  data  points.  
    for  (t,  w,  rd)  in  zip(mlb['team'],  mlb['w'],  mlb['rdiff']):  
      text(rd,  w,  t,  size=9,  
       
        horizontalalignment='center',  verticalalignment='center')  
               
    #  Perform  the  linear  regression  
    m,  b,  r,  p,  stderr  =  stats.linregress(mlb['rdiff'],  mlb['w'])  
    #  Get  endpoints  of  regression  line  and  plot  it.  
    rdMin  =  min(mlb['rdiff'])  
    wMin  =  m*rdMin  +  b  
    rdMax  =  max(mlb['rdiff'])  
    wMax  =  m*rdMax  +  b  
    plot([rdMin,  rdMax],  [wMin,  wMax])  
    show()
    

    View Slide

85. View Slide

86. View Slide

87. Rainbows and Unicorns
    

    View Slide

88. PySAL
    https://geodacenter.asu.edu/pysal
    

    View Slide

89. OpenGeoDa
    • Spatial Data Manipulation
    • Visualization and Queries
    • Mapping
    • Exploratory Data Analysis
    • Spatial Statistics
    https://geodacenter.asu.edu/
    

    View Slide

90. View Slide

91. The Future for GIS
    Professionals
    

    View Slide

92. So You Want to be a

    Word Processor
    

    View Slide

93. The Future for

    Word Processors
    

    View Slide

94. View Slide

95. If You...
    • Put points on a map and throw up a scale
    bar
    • Perform geoprocessing without Python or
    Model Builder
    • Have a job description of “Plotter
    Operator”
    • Have no idea what “fuzzy tolerance” is
    

    View Slide

96. You’ll be out of a job
    

    View Slide

97. If You...
    • Embrace Python as your GIS tool of choice.
    • Use Model Builder to automate your work
    flows.
    • Learn new tools such as TileMill/Mapnik/
    PostGIS
    

    View Slide

98. View Slide

99. History of GIS Professionals
    Photo by Johnson Cameraface - http://flic.kr/p/dwQdSq
    

    View Slide

100. View Slide

101. View Slide

102. Rise of the Database
     

     View Slide

103. Rise of the Web
     

     View Slide

104. View Slide

105. View Slide

106. View Slide

107. View Slide

108. View Slide

109. View Slide

110. View Slide

111. GIS
     

     View Slide

112. GIS Professionals Assimilate
     New Technology
     

     View Slide

113. Technology
     Comes Early
     to GIS
     

     View Slide

114. Don’t Settle Down with
     GIS
     

     View Slide

115. Cutting edge is lots
     of work.
     

     View Slide

116. View Slide

117. Thanks!
     James Fee
     james@spatiallyadjusted.net
     @cageyjames
     spatiallyadjusted.com
     

     View Slide

118. Thanks!
     James Fee
     james@spatiallyadjusted.net
     @cageyjames
     spatiallyadjusted.com
     

     View Slide