topic Re: Efficient ways to divide editing workload in Water Resources Questions

Efficient ways to divide editing workload

IB3 — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 18:34:17 GMT

Hi there,

With 8 other persons, I was assigned the task of editing the waterways of a shipping route. We will be slipping the task in 9, meaning that everyone will edit a part of the route. We are looking for ways to divide the workload to make it efficient as possible.

Does anyone have an idea on how to divide this editing task equally and avoid overlapping? We work with layers of polygon features.

Thanks in advance,

Isabelle

Re: Efficient ways to divide editing workload

jcarlson — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 18:50:14 GMT

Have a good shared reference layer of "edges" or "shared points" that all users can snap their edits to.
If possible, use versioning (branch or traditional) to manage edits.

Are all your users on the same software? Is it online or offline? Will the edits be merged into a single layer at the end?

Re: Efficient ways to divide editing workload

IB3 — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 18:53:52 GMT

Thannks for your quick reply Josh!

We will be using versionning, but the problem is how do we split the route so that not 2 people work on the same part? to avoid working twice

Re: Efficient ways to divide editing workload

IB3 — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 18:56:08 GMT

Also, can you give me an example for point 1:

Have a good shared reference layer of "edges" or "shared points" that all users can snap their edits to.

Thanks again1

Re: Efficient ways to divide editing workload

jcarlson — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 20:24:32 GMT

So, assuming I had a waterway feature like this:

I might create a line feature class like this:

segemtn cutlines in dotted red

Then distribute that feature class to all users, either via file or through a published feature service.

Each user can then work in their given segment, and as long as they make sure that their edits snap to the dashed line, they'll know that their work will not overlap with other users' edits.

Taking this a step further, you could create polygons of each segment. The polygon features would represent each user's assigned area, and could even be attributed as such.

assigned zones as light red polygons

It's at this point I realize I've only drawn 8 segments, not 9, but you get the idea.

Other thoughts

Now, I don't really know what work your team will be doing, or what your layers look like. If you were digitizing the waterway itself, that's where reference points would come in.

Adding a point on those "cut lines" where the bank is can give your users precise points to start and stop banklines so that the final merged product appears seamless. But again, that's if you were digitizing the bank lines and needed them to match up. Are you able to elaborate on the specific tasks users will be doing?

It's also possible that some segments prove easier or harder than others. It may be preferable to divide the work area into many segments, then use an external task managing tool for users to "grab" open tasks. When the first user finishes their initial segment, rather than waiting for the rest of the team to wrap things up, they would be able to take on the next open segment and continue working. Additionally, each individual segment feels shorter and more manageable.

Re: Efficient ways to divide editing workload

IB3 — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 06:02:13 GMT

Thank you Josh. That is a great idea, I will share it with my team.