Implementing GIS

Geographic Information Systems can be incredibly useful tools, however implementing them into an existing business systems can be a troublesome process. The implementation must be well planned and thought out to avoid it from becoming a long and frustrating ordeal. In his book, Thinking About GIS, Dr. Roger Tomlinson outlines 10 steps that should be met to ensure the implementation goes smoothly.
The first step in this process is determining the strategic purpose of both the organization and the new system. Once the goals and objectives of the project are finalized, one can more easily build the system to meet these requirements. Planning is an essential step, and will require much time and effort before the implementation may begin. A large part of planning is defining the system requirements, as well as the technology needed to accommodate them. Defining the scope of the system will help determine these requirements, by clearly stating what is included and what is not included in the project. Creating a data design by designing the conceptual, logical, and physical structures of the database, along with a logical data model are essential in creating a database that meets the requirements of the new system once it is up and running. Once a system is planned, its costs and benefits must also be planned and analyzed. It is important to realize that these can change quickly if the project does not follow the predetermined plan. Finally an implementation plan must be structured to ensure the system is set up successfully, and according to plan.