How a Complimentary Data Health Check Turned into Something Much More

[MichelleJohnson]

I just returned from a trip to Tucson Water where I helped Terri Bunting (GIS Supervisor) and Lorena Baltierrez (QA/QC Lead) implement ArcGIS Data Reviewer as part of their daily editing and quality control workflows.  This was probably one of the most successful business trips I've made during my 25+ years at Esri.

It all started out with a quick Data Health Check that I conducted on their water utility data a couple of years ago at the Esri UC. I used the ArcGIS Data Reviewer extension to configure several data checks and validated their water data.  As with most utility users whose data is in geometric network, I found the typical errors: duplicate features, disconnected lines and points, and required fields not being populated. These type of data issues affect any network tracing results and the connection back to any 3rd party applications, like an asset management system.

After completing the data health check, Terri and Lorena were excited to take the recommendations I provided and implement Data Reviewer when they got back to the office. Their feedback regarding the session was, “This is a great addition to the user conference, thank you!”

After a couple of false starts due to existing staff workloads and not having extra time to ramp up and implement Data Reviewer, this year they looked into doing a 3-day Data Reviewer jumpstart workshop. How lucky was I that I got assigned to do this jumpstart with them?! Terri and Lorena were very excited too!

While onsite, I helped them configure the quality control checks that were appropriate for their data. One of the main goals for their GIS system is to be able to perform valve isolation tracing on their water utility data by the end of the year.  To achieve this goal, we prioritized the data checks that focused on feature connectivity.

What helped me most during this whole process was how well organized and prepared they were by providing a data editing guidelines document.  We went through the specifications to identify checks that needed to be created.  By doing so, we also found areas where their editing guidelines needed to be updated.  Besides doing QC on their data, they got the added bonus of QC’ing their guidelines too! In fact, Terri shared that Lorena is already teaching others how to include the new functionality to their editing workflows and feels their editors are confident in using Data Reviewer right away!

Not only was the implementation successful, these two wonderful ladies were also so very hospitable and really appreciative of my visit.  They made my job enjoyable and I felt like we bonded instantly which made my trip so great. I am excited and I can’t wait to hear about their progress as they begin utilizing the tools effectively to clean up their entire water data.

We, at Esri, strive hard to enable our customers to successfully implement and efficiently use their GIS. That’s why we are offering complimentary Data Health Checks at the upcoming 2018 Esri UC. Watch this video of me inviting you to sign up for a session.

Michelle Johnson

GIS Data QA Lead, Geodata Services