In a previous blog, we showed how to plot dip and strike readings taken by a field geologist within ArcGIS desktop. This blog looks at acquiring and displaying geotagged photos within ArcGIS desktop, another useful tool in the field geologists’ arsenal. Now, where was that again? Geotagging allows you to automatically capture the location information…
Read detailsIn the first part of this post I explored some fundamental truths about GIS and why, inspired by the principles of Design Thinking, a good GIS strategy needs to focus on people not technology. In this second and final part I shall explore how to go about creating a successful GIS strategy, using a simple…
Read details“All great truths begin as blasphemies,” wrote the playwright George Bernard Shaw. So let’s get the ball rolling with some simple truths about GIS: A five-year old is better at GIS than most companies. Geographic information systems have been around for over 40 years. So it may be surprising that even today, many organisations still…
Read detailsI have experienced, and no doubt you have too, the tedium of saving out many layer files for the layers you have just created in your ArcMap map document. Having spent perhaps hours perfecting the symbology – getting that labelling to show just as you would like, tweaking the colours so they’re just right –…
Read detailsOne of the key features of a GIS is the ability to view spatial data at any scale. To do this you need to understand what information should be displayed at what scale. This understanding is useful both for working within the GIS and for creating usable output, such as hardcopy maps or PDF map…
Read detailsIt’s nearly time for the 2013 Esri Petroleum GIS Conference, or “the PUG”. This year the conference is being held May 7-9, and is back in the George R. Brown Convention Centre in Houston, Texas. Last year before the conference I posted a blog that looked at the PUG papers back to 2009 and classified them…
Read detailsTurn good maps into great maps by running some final checks before you print it out. In this blog I’ve put together a list of 10 things to check before printing from ArcGIS that ensure that my maps are as good as they can be. By way of an overview I’ve provided an annotated reference example map…
Read detailsFor anyone new to ArcGIS, using the editing tools can initially appear a little tricky, and while delivering our training courses I sometimes hear people say the editing process is not very intuitive. In an earlier Exprodat tip (Tip 20: ArcGIS Editing Sessions) I looked at selecting editable elements and organising templates. Here are a…
Read detailsBenchmarking GIS Performance: A Multi-client Example In this blog, which follows a previous posting where I described a GIS Strategy Review Approach for the petroleum industry I’m going to look at a real world example of measuring GIS effectiveness: Exprodat’s multi-client GIS benchmarking project from 2012. If you’d like to jump straight into the detailed results please download the detailed 2012…
Read detailsMeasuring GIS Effectiveness: Exprodat’s GIS Maturity Matrix Approach How do you measure how well your company has implemented GIS? How do you benchmark your GIS both internally and externally against your peers? How do you develop a strategy for developing your GIS, and measure how effective it has been? Exprodat developed the GIS Maturity Matrix to…
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