Latest Contributions by KarenRichardson

You have had a lot of questions about the Esri Events Mobile and Web Apps, so we put together this FAQ for you. You can find a pdf of this FAQ here. For more information on the agenda, and where to download the app, go here.  Do you have a question that we haven't answered? Please let us know by commenting. We will be answering questions before and during the conference. 1. How do I log in? Please make sure that you have the latest version of the iOS and Android apps. The login credentials are the same as your Esri Account. 2. There are a lot of sessions; how do I find the ones that interest me? Once you select the "User Conference" from the list of events, use the search within the Agenda section of the app to look up sessions by keyword or title. 3. How do I use My Schedule/My Planner? Log in to the app with your Esri Account to save sessions to your planner. Once logged in, your personalized schedule will be available across devices. In order to syncing to work, please ensure that you are logged in on all your devices (web and native apps). The time to sync ranges from instantaneous to a couple of minutes. 4. How do I download a paper version? A downloadable version can be found here*: http://www.esri.com/uc15pocketagenda *Please note that the agenda is subject to change. ... View more

Don’t miss the Esri Startup Zone (SUZ) in Hall D on the expo floor. This is a unique area hosted by the Esri Startup Program, esri.com/startups, featuring the work of 35 up-and-coming businesses who have integrated spatial functionality within their products as well as for their own organizational understanding and optimization. The startup zone at EsriUC 2014. This year, visit the zone and take part in the same great energy, see innovative ideas and connect your company with some out-of-the-box solutions. (Can you find Jack in this photo?) You can benefit from their knowledge and experience as you interact with CEO’s, Technical Leads, Developers, and a wide range of specialists who will present their innovative solutions and showcase their many projects. Join this passionate community and learn how they are leveraging GIS for their business and how it can benefit you. Some examples include: MetroTech Tablet Command Valor Water Analytics DroneDeploy Early Warning Labs Don’t miss the startup zone featuring 35 up-and-coming businesses in the GIS Expo.How long has the startup area been going on at the UC?2012 was the first year of the Startup Zone with 10 startups exhibiting. In 2013 we grew it to 18. In 2014 it grew to 28 and moved to Hall D (near registration area), where we’ll be located again this year. This year 40 startups will be exhibiting throughout the expo. The look and feel of the Startup Zone continues to evolve and this year will be the best yet.  The array of product categories that the startups cover keeps growing too. This year we have startups doing drones, 3D mapping, social media mapping, smart glasses, and more! How long has Esri had a Startup Program? The program was founded in 2012 by SJ Camarata, Esri Director and Myles Sutherland, Previous Program Manager. Now, Kurt Daradics, Program Manager and Katie Decker, Community Manager oversee the Esri Startup Program for emerging businesses.What constitutes a startup?The program is in its current state is focused on startups building products (e.g hosted web and mobile apps vs. consulting service businesses). Qualifications include: Building software products (not consulting services). Founded no more than three years ago. Generating less than $1M dollars in annual revenue at the time of program entry. What is the program offering? The Esri Startup Program is a global program that helps software startups succeed by giving them three years of free access to ArcGIS online services, software development tools, ready-to-use content, training, technical support, global partnership opportunities, and co-marketing to help entrepreneurs build location and mapping into their product and business. What are the qualifications to join? Building software products (not consulting services). Founded no more than three years ago. Generating less than $1M dollars in annual revenue at the time of program entry. Why does Esri think this is an important program?Esri is committed to the startup community. ­­­­As a company that was once a startup, Esri understands the challenges emerging businesses face to quickly bring products to market and developing customers. Esri invests heavily in R&D to support developers and startups. We offer developers.arcgis.com, where developers and startups can go to quickly create an account and begin using ArcGIS tools. With dedicated product documentation and code samples on esri.github.io we have set the stage for a highly scalable developer program. And now that we have launched esri.com/startups to empower entrepreneurs and developers that are building commercial apps to get to market much quicker, and ultimately bring extended innovation into areas. Why should attendees engage with startups?Today, startups do more than influence mainstream culture. They fundamentally change the way we operate our organizations. With intense pressure on organizations to innovate and do more with less, Esri startups are delivering powerful solutions with intuitive interfaces that extend the ArcGIS platform. How can people follow Esri Startup Program? Follow @EsriStartups on Twitter & Instagram Connect with Startups & Developers on GeoNet: geonet.esri.com/groups/esristartups Sign Up for our Newsletter developers.arcgis.com/startups/newsletter Explore our Developer Community Resources: developers.arcgis.com Access hundreds of open source projects on GitHub: esri.github.io Questions? Email us, startups@esri.com ... View more

The Esri UC is happening soon! There are plenty of sessions to attend (over 1000), lots of maps to view (more than 700), tons of training (hundreds of hours), an amazing amount of demos and presentations (we can’t even count that high anymore) and opportunities for experts to help you check your data health, give you tips on your cartographic prowess, provide you with technical assistance and more. Want some advice? Take a break. We know. You feel like there is so much to do and no time to do it. We get it. But you need some downtime to process all that information. Here are some great activities you can enjoy around the conference events – and even bring your family so they can enjoy the UC with you and catch some of that crazy geolove! Yoga Join your fellow attendees on the lawn for some stretches before the UC. Start your UC days with a sense of inner calm. Join your fellow geo geeks for morning yoga! Get loose and relaxed with downward dog on the grass just outside the Hilton Bayfront near the Embarcadero. Yoga will be in session from 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. You can attend all three sessions or purchase a single class pass. Classes are $20 each and include a yoga mat. Learn more and sign up now! 5K Fun Run Lace up your shoes and join the 5K Run/Walk. All work and no play, … well that can be boring. Life is all about balance, including at the UC. Take a break from conference activities and join the 5K Fun Run/Walk right on the waterfront path. This year, the 5K Fun Run/Walk is scheduled for Wednesday, July 22. The stating gun goes off promptly at 6:30 a.m. for this chip-timed event. Don’t delay in signing up – this event always sells out fast. Learn more and sign up now! [Course map] Kids Fair Open up the world of GIS to your kids and spark a love of all things geo! The GIS Kids Fair provides an opportunity for parents and their kids to explore the world using maps and GIS at the Esri UC.  There will be interactive booths, a hands-on computer lab, and a fun movie to help our next generation understand the cool technology that you work with every day. GIS Kids Fair provides a hands-on learning experience for children of all ages along with their parents. There will be activities for children ages 5 – 14. They will learn about the Earth’s continents through interactive projects designed for their age groups. Staff will be on hand to assist, but parents or guardians are required to accompany their children. The Kids Fair is in session at the Marriott Marquis Hotel – Marina Ballroom Salon D on these days: Tuesday, July 21 – 9:00am – 5:00pm Wednesday, July 22 – 9:00am – 4:00pm Thursday, July 23 – 9:00am – 2:00pm Come and check out the cool activities and learn more about the Americas, Africa, Australia, Europe, Asia and Antarctica! Family Night Family night always gets rave reviews and a thumbs up. Join Tim Rankin, lead of Esri’s practices and patterns division as he opens up Family Night with his bagpipes and some special guests again this year. Show your family and friends what GIS is all about when the Exhibit Pavilion in the GIS Solutions EXPO is open to anyone accompanied by a registered attendee. The EXPO hosts more than 300 exhibitors representing companies and organizations at the forefront of geospatial technology. This is the place to find products and services and take your GIS work to the next level. Check out the amazing technology, talk to some friendly people, play some fun games and treat your kids to fun take-aways. There is no need to sign up for this event, but someone in your party must have a UC badge to be shown for admittance. Wednesday, July 22, 4:00pm – 6:00pm – Exhibit Pavilion, San Diego Convention Center. Padres Tickets Catch some of America’s favorite past-time for a discounted rate – all because you are you – an awesome Esri UC attendee! Break out the crackerjacks! It’s time for America’s favorite past-time! Root for the San Diego Padres at Petco Park as they face the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, and the Miami Marlins while you are at the Esri UC. It’s such a short walk from the SDCC, you just can’t miss this great opportunity! And there are plenty of games, so you can be sure to catch at least one before your week is up- Saturday, July 18 – Padres v. Rockies 5:40 p.m. Sunday, July 19 – Padres v. Rockies 7:10 p.m. Monday, July 20 – Padres v. Giants 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 – Padres v. Giants 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, July 22 – Padres v. Giants 12:40 p.m. Thursday, July 23 – Padres v. Marlins 7:10 p.m. Friday, July 24 – Padres v. Marlins 7:10 p.m. Conference attendees can receive up to 50% off single game prices. Get your tickets now! Party by the Bay This year the Esri UC party will be held at the beautiful San Diego Waterfront Park and Maritime Museum. You won’t want to miss this – get your wrist bands now! The Esri UC party will be held Thursday night, July 23 from 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. at San Diego’s Waterfront Park! Enjoy great food, awesome entertainment, interactive games and activities for the whole family. End your Esri UC with a bang – hang around until the end for a fireworks display! The newly constructed Waterfront Park is the most significant waterfront open space in downtown San Diego and fulfills a vision decades in the making slating it as a quintessential destination for residents and visitors. Take in some live entertainment from bands including The Red Hot Band, Ryan Hiller, Millionaire Beach Bums and more. Have some fun in all four of the interactive zones – the Game Zone, the Sports Zone, the Art Zone and Kids Zone. The Maritime Museum of San Diego is also located here and enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence in restoring, maintaining and operating historic vessels. The museum has one of the world’s finest collections of historic ships, including the world’s oldest active ship Star of India. Our collection of ships and exhibits are available for daily public tours. Stroll through the exhibit FRAGILE WATERS.  a powerful artistic and ecological statement through the inspiring black and white images of three renowned photographers and environmentalists – Ansel Adams, Ernest H. Brooks II, and Dorothy Kerper Monnelly. The traveling exhibition of 119 photographs, many not previously exhibited, takes viewers from the snow-melt of the High Sierras at 12,000 feet elevation to far below the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. You can only get in to the party with a wristband. Getting your wristband is simple – scan your badge on Wednesday or Thursday at the Activities Desk, Information Desk or the Main entrance to the party. You can bring as many guests as you’d like and children under the age of 12 receive complimentary admission when accompanied by a registered attendee.  Guest tickets can be purchased for $50 each through the UC Activities Registration system. Transportation to the party is easy. There are continuous round-trip shuttles from the front entrance of the San Diego Convention Center to the San Diego Waterfront park. (please note that you need your wristband to be able to board the shuttle). You can also take the Green Line trolley from the Gaslamp district. The fee is $2.50. And for those Fitbit lovers out there, you can easily walk the 1.5 miles from the convention center to kill that step challenge. ... View more

Thanks to everyone for all your posts. The Agenda Web App will sync to your native mobile app.The time to sync ranges from instantaneous to a couple minutes. Please ensure that you are logged in on both the Web app and the Native app to successfully sync. Please let us know if you have any other questions.  We really appreciate your patience and your assistance to others. ... View more

Business Analyst products, an important part of the ArcGIS platform, have been at the forefront of helping many commercial GIS users improve their business processes for years. Understanding the local characteristics of a marketplace is key to making decisions on where to invest in a business. Esri Business Analyst is the go-to software for evaluating sites, creating trade areas, and performing market analysis quickly and accurately. With Esri Business Analyst, you can get insights about businesses and people and their lifestyles for locations that matter most to you.  You can tap into a large collection of datasets including population, income, housing, and consumer behavior for 135+ countries, run site selection analysis, and create beautiful site maps and professional reports in minutes, no matter where you are. The Esri UC is your exclusive opportunity to meet the developers, engineers, and product team behind Esri Business Analyst. Esri has been working hard to continually improve the product so it meets users evolving needs, by adding updated data and improving workflows. We want to continue to do that and would love to meet you at Esri UC. We encourage you to attend product sessions to learn more about what’s happening in Esri Business Analyst and get up to speed so you can use your new found knowledge to your advantage after Esri UC. Here’s what’s new that you don’t want to miss: Updated data – Access 2015/2020 US Demographics data and reports for the US population, Tapestry Segmentation, Retail MarketPlace, Consumer Spending, and Market Potential. Esri’s 2015/2020 US Updated Demographics captures the industry’s most accurate current-year estimates and five-year projections for the US population such as growth and decline, increased diversity, and aging. Device savvy – Run Business Analyst Online on your favorite tablet device’s web browser. Your data at your fingertips – Quickly access your latest created sites, reports, and searches from BAO’s new home page Easy access for the whole organization - Enable users across your organization to access BAO using enterprise logins. Use your own basemaps – Leverage the newly add dark gray canvas basemap in BAO. Also, easily switch to custom basemaps set up by your GIS team. Health data now available – Use the new Health data category that provides counts of employees working in the health industry, average amount spent on various medical categories, health insurance coverage by age, and more. Go global – Better Understand local markets around the world with access to demographic data for 135+ countries in BAO. We recently updated the data on income, age, spending, and more, for 45 countries including Germany, Spain, Denmark, France, Russia, Brazil, India, and China. See the full list of updates here. Profitable GIS in your pocket – Leverage the native Esri BAO Mobile app on your iOS and Android smartphones for quick and easy access to key market insights, site selection analyses, and demographic reports on the go. Updated demographics for in the office – Use the Esri US 2015 Updated Demographics, Tapestry, Retail MarketPlace, Consumer Spending, and Market Potential data and reports in Business Analyst for Desktop and Server. Learn more in these product-focused sessions at the Esri UC: 1.      Esri Business Analyst Suite: An Overview Tuesday, 21 Jul 2015, 8:30am – 9:45amLocation: Room 05 B 2.      Demographic Trends and Predictions Tuesday, 21 Jul 2015, 5:00pm – 5:30pmLocation: Tech Theater 15 Exhibit Hall A 3.      Esri Global Demographic and Lifestyle Data Thursday, 23 Jul 2015, 8:30am – 9:45am Location: Ballroom 06 C And don’t forget you can meet us anytime during the GIS Expo hours and talk to the Esri Business Analyst product team at the commercial island. See how Business Analyst works with the ArcGIS platform and find out how it can be applied to your industry. ... View more

As if viewing more than 900 online and paper maps in the Esri UC Map Gallery from attendees just like yourself isn’t enough, there are several special displays available for you to explore. These displays provide in-depth information on how GIS is used within these organizations. Don’t miss your opportunity to stroll through the displays, meet representatives and learn more about the amazing things GIS can do for the world. The Map Gallery is located in the Sail Area on the second floor of the San Diego Convention Center and is open Monday 3:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The EsriUC Map Gallery is a feast for your eyes! Don't miss the special displays in the Gallery this year. Here’s the quick low-down on the special displays: Abu Dhabi SDI The AD-SDI was activated in 2007 in recognition that more accurate and up to date information is needed to keep up with the rapid pace of development in Abu Dhabi Emirate. Originally involving 8 government organizations, the AD-SDI now comprises over 60 members involving nearly every sector of Abu Dhabi society. Over the past few years the AD-SDI focused on the development of a solid technical, legal and institutional foundation for the coordination and sharing of geospatial information, technology and services across the stakeholder community. This foundation has provided an environment that has allowed many organizations that were previously constrained by the lack of data and other infrastructure to now implement GIS to meet their own special needs. The leadership of Abu Dhabi has recognized the fundamental significance of GIS and SDI and the “Human Geo-intelligence” required to effectively respond to today’s modern challenges, and is now supporting the development of a comprehensive GeoMaturity program that will ensure that every government organization has the direction and resources needed to optimize the use of GIS and the SDI to improve their own operations. Alliance for Public Gardens GIS The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS is a consortium of biological collection managers and GIS professionals who are dedicated to making geographic information systems more accessible to arboreta, botanical gardens, zoos, and other managed landscapes for use in asset management, biodiversity conservation, education, and scientific research.. This year’s display will educate attendees about the important conservation and education activities that public gardens participate in, and showcases the innovative geospatial work of Alliance partners at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Chicago Botanical Garden, Desert Botanical Garden, Huntington Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden, Montgomery Botanical Center, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and the UC Davis Arboretum. The display will also provide tables and seating for collaborating with colleagues or just taking a break.  Please stop by during the Monday night Map Gallery Opening and Evening Reception to speak with members of the Alliance for Public Gardens GIS team about their new GIS Training for Museum Professionals program and Esri’s exciting new solutions for public gardens. Ebola Response and Recovery International Medical Corps Ebola Response and GIS Activities International Medical Corps was one of the first international NGOs treating Ebola patients in West Africa, the source of the largest-ever outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Today, it remains one of only a handful of international NGOs in the world with the capacity to treat Ebola patients. The organization’s staff of more than 1,400 (roughly 90% of them African nationals) operates in all three nations with high infection rates—Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone—plus Mali, and Guinea-Bissau, a nation that has reported no Ebola cases, but is considered vulnerable to the recent outbreaks. International Medical Corps administers a training cooperative that draws on its expertise and experience as well as that of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to provide both national and expatriate health care workers from all organizations involved in the fight to contain Ebola with the essential skills and tools to fight the virus. GIS is used to bring information to decisions makers using Esri’s Operations Dashboard and ArcGIS Online for Organizations (AGOL) in the areas of epidemiology, logistics, human resources, finance, and grants & proposals. The GIS is integrated with third-party tools for the use of Business Intelligence visualization, for query and display of patient in-line information. During the early onset of the epidemic GIS maps were used to track the spread of the disease with data from various agencies to help decision makers determine where to operate ETUs.  During the less-acute months of the crisis, we operated a helicopter to carry Ebola-related materials and patients, in order to consolidate resources and modify or scale down ETUs. We were able to track the flight of the helicopter using GPS devices, whose information was brought to the GIS for analysis. International Medical Corps is an Esri NGO grant recipient and uses ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS for Server and SDE, as well as connections to our own SQL server database. Field Notes – Earth All of us understand something about the people, land or the oceans of the Earth. After all, it is where we live.  Many of us study something about the earth in the course of our professions. Until recently, only a few semantically consistent datasets existed that describe information about the entire Earth. Land cover is what we in the GIS community know best: an informed interpretation that moves beyond raw data like imagery or elevation. For other global topics, the state of information and knowledge is evolving. The Field Notes – Earth display shares three new maps about our world: eco-physiographic definitions of the land, geomorphology categories of the seafloor, and detailed global counts of human population. These maps represent groundbreaking efforts to make objective, comparable sense of the complexity of humanity’s relationships and interactions with the natural systems of the Earth National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society will be on hand to continue celebrating the organization’s 100 year anniversary of making maps. A display chronicling the history of maps and the presidency, from President Eisenhower carrying maps into battle during World War II to President Obama receiving official presidential maps in the White House, will present the art and science of where. Gary Knell, president and CEO of the National Geographic Society will also speak at the Plenary Session about the importance of geography in STEM education. Don’t miss Knell’s book signing from in 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Books available include National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World, Third Edition, and National Geographic Kids Beginner’s World Atlas. San Diego Regional Showcase The San Diego Regional showcase is a joint effort of the San Diego Regional GIS Council and the Southern California Chapter of URISA. The showcase is a GIS poster competition open to the region's public and private agencies and educational institutions. The area of interest for the competition covers the San Diego and Imperial counties and northern Baja California region. The competition is open to our regional GIS user community. During the Map Gallery opening reception, local GIS professionals will be available to provide GIS-related information as well as insider tips on what to do and see in San Diego. The Trust for Public Land – Climate The Conservation Vision and GIS program at the Trust for Public Land (TPL) uses Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to help partners and communities develop plans that meet multiple conservation goals such as creating parks, protecting water quality and helping cities become "climate-smart". TPL uses Esri's state-of-the-art GIS software to integrate natural resource interests and human values such as health, equity and access for children. TPL's GIS team provides many services, among the notable are:  The ParkScore®  index -  a ranking of the country's largest city park systems based on access, acreage and service and investment metrics. Climate-Smart Cities program -  This program is helping America's cities meet the challenge to create more livable communities with a carbon-efficient lifestyle. Greenprinting - TPL provides a framework for communities to make informed decisions and create park plans with broad public support. In addition to these services, The Trust for Public Land's GIS program supports may functions across the organization spanning daily mapping requests to supporting LandVote, NCED and the Conservation Almanac. Come visit our special display to learn more! Where in the World Come take a look at the DigitalGlobe satellite scenes located in the Ballroom Foyer. Guess the location of these satellite scenes and prove your geographic knowledge. Complete the entry form with the location (city or place) of each of the 12 scenes displayed. The winner will be the person with the most correct answers. In the event of a tie, one winner will be randomly selected from the pool of those with the most correct answers. Young Scholar Awards The Annual Young Scholar Award recognizes the exemplary GIS work of current undergraduate and graduate students internationally. These Young Scholars GIS projects have been selected above their peers by a university panel formed by Esri's distributor in the recipient's respective country. Youth Community GIS Youth and students engaged in citizen science and service-learning projects that integrate Esri's ArcGIS technology are making a positive difference in their communities. Young people become participating citizens as they identify and evaluate community needs while working side by side with community professionals to plan, develop, and implement community projects. They in turn are empowered to be involved in community change as they engage GIS technology in their learning; develop leadership skills; and take their places as valuable, decision-making members of their communities. Youth in school and after-school programs are learning to do more than become technology consumers; they are learning to be robust technology creators and developers for contributing to the sustainability and continued growth of technology in the world. Visit the Youth Community GIS display to meet with tomorrow's leaders, learn how they are using Esri's technology in their community today, and see how youth in your community can get started. ... View more

Passionate about GIS in education?  It’s not too late to make plans to attend the 2015 Esri Education GIS Conference, 18-21 July, in San Diego, California.  Whether you are an educator, administrator, researcher, whether you are experienced with GIS or are just beginning to discover all it has to offer, there is something at this event for you.  This year, the theme is “learning and leading through service”–featuring efforts to design and produce meaningful place-based projects that benefits communities while developing 21st Century skills. Learning and having fun at the Esri GIS Education Conference! At this event you can exchange experiences, ideas, and tips that worked for you and your colleagues.  You can get some face to face time with GIS education experts from around the world.  You can take training to hone your skills.  You can update your curriculum, teaching materials, and resources.  You can better understand how to spread GIS across your campus, across your school district, and across your region or country. The event features plenary sessions, lightning talks, an exhibit hall, and, unique to this conference, a series of hands-on workshops on a variety of topics, including spatial analysis techniques, collecting and mapping field data, and creating story maps. This video, the agenda, and the agenda at a glance provide more detail.  We look forward to seeing you at this premier thought-leadership event for those involved in GIS education! ... View more

Casual format drives Showcase talks Open-air, lightning-talk style presentations have become a popular fixture at the Implementation Center, one of the Esri islands on the UC Showcase floor. This year promises to be no exception as some of the standing-room-only talks are being re-offered along with brand new topics. The Implementation Center is staffed throughout the Showcase with Esri consultants and technical experts. Users stop by to talk shop and seek advice, no appointments necessary. Esri Proposals Coordinator Sara Fletcher delivers “Tips for Writing a Successful GIS RFP” during the 2014 Esri Users Conference. The big draw, however, are the presentations. Focused and quick, 18 different expert talks are delivered at the Center during the showcase. Several of the most popular are presented twice, making 22 sessions in all. The casual style facilitates discussion and questions and also allows users to easily drop in to see if a topic catches their interest. Presenters also appreciate the relaxed setting and often find themselves in deep conversations with users long after their talk has ended. “The chance to engage with users this way is invigorating,” said Steve Temmermand, a presenter at the 2014 Users Conference, who will speak again this year. His talks are Launching Your Location Platform and Discovering the Location Dimension of Your Business. “Users will have questions and ideas I hadn’t considered. The format encourages folks to get engaged,” Temmermand said. The Implementation Center talks are included in the UC agenda, and a complete list is available at the island. Among the new talks this year are Building Security into Your System by Bill Major and Gregory Ponto at 4:30 p.m. July 21 and Drive Order Management with GIS by Dave Lewis and Rodney Conger at 3:30 p.m. July 22. Some of the popular returning talks include Tips for Writing a Successful GIS RFP by Sarah Fletcher and When is Agile the Best Project Management Method by Lana Tylka, offered at multiple times. ... View more

Guest post by Bill Meehan, Esri An electric manhole is a little room buried in the street or sidewalk, where utility workers access electric cables, switches and other dangerous stuff. (In the old days, the majority of utilities workers were men, so the term manhole stuck.) When a cable fails, workers splice together new and old sections – inside these manholes. You enter the manhole through a round hole, which is usually covered with, you guessed It, those heavy manhole covers. The ArcGIS Platform can help utilities better manage data and workflows ensuring inspections make sense and go off without a hitch. Inside, manholes are hot, dangerous and creepy. If a cable fails, it generates a lot of heat, too, and sometimes fire. Any debris caught in the manhole will worsen the fire. And if things explode, those heavy manhole covers go flying. To keep things operating well, manholes should be inspected and cleaned of all debris.  But since there are so many things to do – and frankly, no one likes to inspect and clean manholes – this workflow often takes a back seat. Not Exactly Smart Inspection A power company I used to work for had 16,157 manholes. Each one was numbered from #1 to #16,157.  At one point after a number of manhole incidents, we decided to go gangbusters and get aggressive in inspecting and cleaning the manholes. Where to begin? The logical choice was of course to inspect the manholes in numerical order, starting with manhole #1. After a year of this process, we hadn’t gotten beyond around manhole #200. We decided to abandon the aggressive project and move to as-needed inspections and cleaning. It was clear we were never going to inspect all 16,157 manholes, given our limited resources. Plus, most of those manholes were just fine. The problem was how to prioritize the targeted manhole inspection. GIS: Getting Inspections Smarter The trick is to avoid inspecting all manholes (and other assets that need inspections). You have to figure out which assets are most vulnerable to having something go wrong. Which manholes are near debris sources? Which manholes are most likely to be flooded? Which manholes carry very critical cables? Which manholes have not been entered for years? Which manholes higher incidents of fires? What smart utilities are doing is looking to ArcGIS technology to analyze data and build smart inspection strategies. Technology can help figure out which of the 16,157 manholes need the most inspections and cleanings. Staff can cluster these manholes spatially – on a map in the GIS. As a result, they can schedule inspections for minimum crew travel time, or they can combine inspections with other field work they know is going on in proximity. They can bring in all kinds of content, like weather, crime, graffiti incidents, abandon building, high insurance risk data and any other spatial data sources easily with the ArcGIS platform.  Then then can a spatial analysis on the data and focus on those manholes that are most likely to create a problem. That’s what smart inspection is all about – creating the ability to take a huge number of assets to inspect and figure out the best place to deploy your very valuable resources. A UC Preview Come to the Esri User Conference to see how our customers have put smart inspection into practice to save money, improve performance and keep things running smoothly for customers. Here are some highlights:  Hear Spoon River Electric Cooperative use smart inspection of Vegetation Management, PG&E automate their regulatory inspections with GIS. The City of Riverside believes that street lighting is critical for its customers. Learn about their GIS street lighting app. Fairmont Municipal Corporation figured out which cables to reinforce with silicon injection using GIS. Marathon Oil used aerial surveillance integrated into their GIS for real smart inspection of their pipelines. Vilnious energia used thermal photo maps on their district heating system. All great stories. So if back in the old days, when I was worried about manhole inspections, we could inspected the right manholes at the right time using the right device with ArcGIS. To learn more about the Esri International user Conference visit esri.com\UC ... View more

Come Curious, Leave Inspired Visit the Esri UC Nonprofit Showcase Tuesday, July 21 through Thursday, July 23 in Exhibit Hall A, Area 10, Ground Level. Among the hundreds of workshops, exhibits, and demonstrations at the 2015 Esri UC, there’s one place where you’re guaranteed to witness the incredible impacts of GIS. The Nonprofit Showcase located in Area 10 will offer you a window into the lifework of 44 organizations from throughout the globe that are applying geography to make the world a better place. You’ll see how non-governmental organizations, nonprofits, research institutions, and other groups use GIS to protect wildlife habitats, conserve our oceans and waterways, combat climate change, and much more. Many of the participating organizations will provide technical demonstrations of their work in humanitarian, conservation, historic preservation, and sustainable development. Come, explore, and interact with scientists, researchers, resource management professionals, and a wide range of specialists who will present their innovative geospatial solutions. Learn how these organizations and others are turning their ideas into action and making a real difference: Discover how the Marine Conservation Institute applies geography to track global marine protection for the ocean’s most important places. Get an inside look into how the World Health Organization, NetHope, and GISCorps utilized the ArcGIS platform to streamline relief communications and efforts during the Ebola crisis. Hear how Direct Relief integrates the latest GIS technology to help thousands of people in need of immediate medical aid. Learn how applied geography aids The Nature Conservancy in preserving our most precious resource – drinking water. Delve into NatureServe’s massive GIS project in which the network of scientists and conservation activists mapped more than 1,600 ecosystems and analyzed 70,000 species. And much more from international organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, and The Jane Goodall Institute. For more information about these and related activities at the Esri UC, check out the nonprofit and global organizations agenda. ... View more

guest post by Matt Artz, Esri Four Maps from the 2015 Esri User Conference Map Gallery with Transportation Themes Each year at the annual Esri User Conference, people who use Esri’s GIS software share their best map creations at the Map Gallery. Hundreds of maps are on display at this exciting and vibrant showcase of the very best in current cartography, and awards are given for the best maps in a number of different categories. Selected maps are also considered for publication in the next edition of the Esri Map Book. Check out the Map Gallery starting 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on Monday, July 21 in the Sail Pavilion on the Upper Level of the San Diego Convention Center. To give you a sneak preview of some of the maps you can see at the Map Gallery this year, we’re sharing four maps today with transportation themes. Fatality Hot Spots For their map titled “Incapacitating Injury and Fatality Accident Hot Spots,” Tarrant County Transportation Services ran analysis on accident fatalities and incapacitation accidents to identify if there were any problems with the road infrastructure. Traffic Flow in Atlanta This map created by Citilabs shows car traffic flow in an area of Atlanta. The map was designed in ArcGIS Desktop and then published with ArcGIS Server. According to Citilabs, their challenges in creating this map included: “1. We needed to convey that some roads carry more cars than others. We do that by varying the width of the road. “2. We need to show that the number of cars is different by direction on the road. We do that by drawing width from the centerline of the road either to the left or right based on the volume by direction. “3. We had a tough challenge when handling road traffic on all roads. Freeways may carry over 100,000 cars a day while local streets only 300. If we used opaque coloring on all roads, then the freeways would effectively hide the local streets located nearby. We used transparency on the freeways — enabling us to convey a consistent width scale including freeways, while allowing the lower volume roads still to be seen underneath the transparency of the freeways. “4. The user may vary the background map, but the dark grey map from Esri provides an excellent background for gaining a clear understanding of the level of traffic on all roadways.” Transit Connectivity to Jobs Analysis “This project focuses on providing a repeatable methodology to analyze transit connectivity opportunities to jobs across various counties/cities in Georgia with public transit systems or planning to build transit system,” said Binyu Wang, who created this map. “Transit accessibility increases jobs approachable area for employees who cannot afford a car and decreases air pollution by encouraging the utilization of public transportation. During the past few decades, accelerating urban expansion has imposed detrimental impacts on low-income families because less transportation methods limit their activity area. Moreover, urbanization has potentially created a discriminatory labor market with most jobs located in suburban areas. To eliminate the unbalance between where people live and where people work, a well-planned and fully-served transit system need to be offered to the public.” “This study thus formulates a GIS model to portray demographic and employment characteristics within transit service areas, and with the availability of Origin-Destination Employment Statistics provided by US Census Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) to analyze current public transit system in study area,” Wang added. “Job opportunities are located by LEHD, and reachable job opportunities that can be accessed through public transit in study areas will be located by using General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) and local transit GIS data. The two location results will be aggregated into one map to present how well the transit system is. Finally, the implication of research result for future transit expansion development in Georgia will be discussed, deliverable maps for transit job connectivity will also available to present.” Measuring Bus Stops Toward a Sustainable Urban Environment This map, created by Wenbin Ma, Shirley Hsiao, and Christopher MacKechnie from Long Beach Transit, “describes how a bus stop measuring system is developed, not only to improve internal operation efficiency, but also to proactively collaborate with planners and traffic engineers on various transit/land use interface projects. This system-wide strategic planning methodology intends to strengthen the transit element in the overall urban development process. “This measuring system is developed by assessing several transit performance-related variants at the bus stop level with a dynamic composite weighting factor approach on a GIS platform. A tier structure framework is used to categorize the composite scores of bus stops into groups. Different transit improvement strategies are applied based on the individual grouping characteristics. Two project examples are presented. One is a bus stop thinning project enacted to improve operation efficiency, and the other is for prioritizing capital project improvements.” There’s So Much More to See To see these and over 900 additional maps, don’t miss the Map Gallery at the 2015 Esri User Conference. And if you can’t make it to the User Conference this year, look look for the ma ... View more

Guest Post by Raquel Perez Are you new to the world of GIS? Do you have a handle on the tech, but are still trying to figure out your path forward in your career? Well then, we’ve got some good news. We created Esri’s Young Professionals Network to help people just like you. The YPN brings together people across every industry who are just getting started with GIS. We’ll help you navigate the technology, develop your career, and become the next great mapping leader. Still on the fence? Here are five ways the YPN transforms GIS careers: Find your home on the cutting-edge of technology, with insider info and special opportunities to grow your skills. Learn from the best in the business, including GIS legends like Jack Dangermond Participate in exclusive YPN events that focus on career and leadership development. Develop a contact network so big that you can tackle any problem. Get exposure as a true GIS hero that’s taking mapping technology to new heights. Don’t get lost in the crowd. Lead it. Join the Esri Young Professionals Network today at esri.com/ypn. YPN members get special pricing and access to exclusive events. ... View more

Please join Esri’s Water Practice in San Diego the weekend before the User Conference. We are hosting two water focused meetings. Pick one or both. See you in San Diego! Photo credit: The Drought map is data pulled from week of 5/26/2015 from the U.S. Drought Monitor website. Learn about how other water agencies are addressing water conservation. The Water/Wastewater Meeting will include presentations by White House Utility District East Valley Water District Many more! The Water Resources Meeting attendees will hear from National Park Service River Management Society Esri Staff Several More! Meetings are FREE but high value. They’re your opportunity to connect with Esri staff and find out how similar organizations are using GIS to meet modern challenges with technology strategy.Water/Wastewater Meeting - Register Saturday, July 18, 2015 San Diego Convention Center, Rm 29 A/B 8:00am – 9:00am Registration/Sign In 9:00am – 5:00pm Presentations Water Resources (ArcHydro) Meeting - Register Sunday, July 19, 2015 San Diego Convention Center, Rm 29 A/B 8:00am – 9:00am Registration/Sign In 9:00am – 5:00pm Presentations If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Christa Campbell: ccampbell@esri.com ... View more

Guest post by Bill Meehan, Esri Utility Solutions Director Where were you on August 14, 2003, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time? That’s when much of the northeastern United States was blacked out. No power. Sweaty office workers got stuck in elevators from Manhattan to Cleveland. Traffic signals died everywhere. Tons of food spoiled. At the time, people were still wary from 9/11. The culprit for disaster this time? Well there many.  But two of them were rather skinny ailanthus trees that had become a little too big for their britches. They grew too close to the heavily loaded Stuart-Atlanta 345kV transmission line. And when transmission lines carry a lot of power their conductors sag. So as fate would have it, at the worst possible time, the sagged lines came in contact with those two little trees. So the line tripped out. This was one in a series of cascading events – which created one of the largest power failures in the nation’s history. The 2003 blackout illustrates the devastating impact a transmission failure can have. Most power failures aren’t so devastating, true. That’s because most happen on the lower-voltage distribution lines you see on our city streets. People crash into poles, or ice forms on the lines, and power fails. While these situations cause havoc, they are often localized. When a transmission line fails or is damaged, all hell breaks loose. Talk to Alabama Power, for instance. That team lost a big chunk of their transmission system during a devastating tornado a couple of years ago. It was hell.  Too bad they didn’t have the ArcGIS platform back then. GIS to the Rescue? Modeling Electric Transmission in ArcGIS helps overcome the troublesome three Ts. People often say that the blackout of 2003 was due to the three “T’s” – trees, technology, and training. Trees grow too big. Technology fails. And lack of training gets in the way of fixing things.  Today, many transmission utilities have embraced ArcGIS technology to help with the three T’s. GIS has become a critical technology for improving tree, or vegetation management.  But the software helps more, too. Operators, for instance, improve situational awareness. Back in the old days, going back to 2003, control room operators had no easy way to spatially visualize the geographic context of the transmission system. They had only schematic diagrams. With ArcGIS, operators can now see the transmission system in a more meaningful, contextualized way. Adding the spatial view helps operators keep the transmission system healthy and intact.  That’s just the tip of what GIS can do. Want the whole berg? GIS, Transmission, and You – At the UC There will be a special focus on electric transmission at Esri International User Conference. Attend an inaugural, pre-conference seminar hosted specifically for electric transmission utilities. Hear from transmission operators sharing their experiences using the ArcGIS platform. Then, during the main conference, you’ll have several opportunities to hear additional users explaining new best practices for electric transmission. Don’t forget that the conference is a great opportunity to network with your peers. You will meet plenty of folks who have taken advantage of GIS to improve the operation of their transmission system. Talk to everyone. They will all have unique experiences. In fact, there will be a social on Tuesday of the conference for you to get together. You can tell your stories and listen to your colleague’ stories about the three “T”s and GIS. Learn more about sessions dedicated specifically to you.  See you at UC! ... View more