Latest Contributions by Suzanne-Boden

Utilities are essential services--we all rely on the water, electricity, gas, and telecommunications services they deliver. For utility organizations, GIS has long been essential infrastructure. And for many, ArcGIS is the GIS infrastructure of choice.  With the introduction of the ArcGIS Utility Network, a lot of utility organizations want to take advantage of new capabilities to model their data in detail never before imagined, more quickly detect network disruptions, and easily share network visualizations and status in real time.   We understand that, for longtime customers, adopting the ArcGIS Utility Network may require a significant level of effort. That's why we've created a variety of training resources to help you manage the effort and prepare GIS and IT staff for new workflows. Our top three training recommendations are: What's New in the ArcGIS Utility Network — a one-hour training seminar that's free to all customers with maintenance. The presenters highlight the major new capabilities and provide a road map of what's coming.   Configuring Utility Networks in ArcGIS — a two-day instructor-led course for GIS administrators and technical leads who will be involved in deploying ArcGIS Utility Network. Get hands-on experience building a utility network, adding data, and tailoring options to fit your needs.   Working with Utility Networks in ArcGIS — a two-day instructor-led course for the GIS editors and other professionals who will be maintaining network data over time, performing analysis, and identifying the source of network disruptions and locations of impacted customers. Because ArcGIS Utility Network is designed to work with ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Enterprise, some organizations want a more holistic training solution. Our ArcGIS Courses for Utilities collection includes the courses above plus our top instructor-led courses for professionals who are migrating from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Enterprise.  All Esri courses are available online in multiple U.S. time zones and as private group events. All instructors are certified in Esri technology and technical facilitation. They specialize in delivering engaging, collaborative classes that support individuals with diverse learning styles. For utility organizations that are not ready to move to the ArcGIS Utility Network, we offer a recorded version of our now-retired Working with Geometric Networks for Utilities instructor-led course, which supports ArcMap 10.6. This option is self-paced and includes recorded instructor presentations; hands-on exercises; downloadable exercise data for water, electric, and gas utility scenarios, a digital coursebook; and an exam (participants need to pass the exam to earn a course certificate of completion). Participants will need to use their own ArcMap software to complete the hands-on exercises. If you are interested in this course, please email GIStraining@esri.com for details. ... View more

In a year that’s seen many changes, the 2020 Esri User Conference exemplifies a positive response to change—pivoting to a virtual event and embracing new ways to provide a venue for our amazing worldwide community to learn, collaborate, and share their important GIS work.   This year’s conference continues the longstanding emphasis on educational opportunities, including postconference seminars on popular topics after the main conference activities conclude.   Change is not unique to 2020; it is always happening. Technology advances are changing how organizations collect, manage, visualize, analyze, and share data using ArcGIS software. This in turn creates change for the people collecting, managing, visualizing, analyzing, and sharing data.    Preparing for Change is a postconference seminar that supports attendees who are modernizing workflows using ArcGIS apps and capabilities, expanding ArcGIS access to new groups within their organization, or planning other GIS-related projects that will significantly impact how members of the workforce perform their jobs.   Where and When Online following the 2020 Esri User Conference July 16-17, 2020 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Pacific time   This is an interactive workshop that includes discussion and activities. Certified Esri change management practitioners cover practical steps to increase awareness and acceptance of new technology-driven workflows and gain buy-in for the change up and down the organization. Attendees will start building a plan to   Document the strategic value of ArcGIS adoption at all levels of the organization. Gain a comprehensive understanding of impacted stakeholders. Establish a support and sponsorship framework to ensure successful adoption. Communicate effectively by understanding the impacts of new technology from the perspective of executives, managers, and employees.   Who Will Benefit from Attending? Organizational leaders, GIS managers, influencers, and change agents who want to increase the overall adoption rate of geospatial capabilities and plan a people-focused change management effort.   Research shows that when organizations apply people-focused change management to support employees (and managers) through times of change, they are six times more likely to achieve project goals (Prosci 2016). Workshop materials include templates that attendees can use to start actioning people-focused change-management immediately.   If your organization is planning a technology project that will impact existing workflows, take this opportunity to learn how to prepare your people to more quickly pivot, embrace change, adopt new workflows, and together achieve the intended business results. ... View more

Updated June 25, 2020 Over the last few months, many organizations and ArcGIS users have transitioned to remote work environments. Here in Esri Training, our team members are also working remotely. While individuals' geography may have changed, the need to support business operations remains the same. In fact, the demand for GIS resources (and GIS skills) is in high demand. Likewise, the need for GIS training is in high demand. We know this because we've been fielding questions. Individuals who registered for an instructor-led class weeks ago are wondering if their class will take place as scheduled. Managers who want their team to quickly learn specific ArcGIS workflows ask if classes are available.  We want to assure everyone that instructor-led classes are available now and going forward. Our team has all the resources needed to seamlessly support your training needs and, as always, a strong commitment to helping our customers be successful with ArcGIS. Over the last decade, the popularity of our instructor-led online classroom has exploded. Many people like the convenience of learning from their own workspace. Many managers like that they can stretch their training budgets farther by eliminating travel costs.  Given these advantages and our responsibility to ensure safety and compliance with reopening protocols, all public instructor-led classes will be taught in the online classroom for the remainder of 2020. If you've never attended an Esri online class, know that it is an excellent option used by thousands of GIS practitioners each year. All instructor-led courses are designed and delivered with the online classroom in mind. In addition to Esri technical certifications, all instructors achieve CompTIA CTT+ (Certified Technical Trainer) certification. They are experts in the technology they teach and have validated skills to present technical concepts in a meaningful way. We host the Esri software needed to complete course exercises on virtual machines. The online learning environment is active and engaging. Instructors and course attendees use the phone, chat, and virtual whiteboards to talk and collaborate in real time. Group breakout sessions and interactive content reviews happen just as they would in a physical classroom. Tour the online classroom. Of course, all Esri customers with a current maintenance subscription have unlimited, organization-wide access to e-Learning on the Training site. Also available through the Training site, learning plans are popular and useful tools that support individual skill-building and professional development goals, as well as organizational workforce development plans. Managers (and educators) can assign learning plans and track progress through them. However you like to learn, whatever your GIS training needs, wherever you're working from—we've got you covered. Esri Technical Certification Testing To ensure the safety and health of certification candidates and staff worldwide, our testing partner Pearson VUE is limiting test center availability and cancelling existing appointments as needed. If you registered to take an Esri technical certification exam at a Pearson VUE testing center and receive a cancellation notification, or you would like to proactively reschedule an exam appointment, please access your Pearson VUE account to choose another exam date.    You may also choose to take your exam using Pearson's OnVUE option (available in most regions). This exam delivery model allows you to test from home or your workplace, as long as you meet the system requirements. If you have specific exam-related questions, please email certification@esri.com. ... View more