The capstone assumes you have a basic understanding of geospatial system analysis and design. The objectives of this design problem are to:
If you have any questions now or at any point during this lesson, please feel free to post them to the Threaded Discussion Forum. (That forum can be accessed at any time by clicking on the Communicate tab, above, and then scrolling down to the Discussion Forum section.)
To finish this lesson, you must complete the activities listed below. You may find it useful to print this page out first so that you can follow along with the directions.
Step | Activity | Access/Directions |
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1 | Read the lesson Overview and Checklist | You are in the Lesson 5 online content now. The Overview page is previous to this page, and you are on the Checklist page right now. |
2 | Online material (Read) Geospatial System Requirements Specification (Scan) [1] |
There are three different styles of reading that are referred to in the lessons:
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3 | Begin Capstone Activity | Complete:
Using Word (or a word processing program compatible with Microsoft® Word), identify your team and briefly discuss (Less than 200 words) your proposed design problem. Name your file Lsn5_TeamName.doc, Please turn-in your document the Lesson 5 Dropbox in ANGEL. |
4 | Read lesson Summary | You are in the Lesson 5 online content now. Click on the "Next Page" link to access the Summary. |
You are in the Lesson 5 online content now. The Overview page is previous to this page, and you are on the Checklist page right now.
Geospatial System Requirements Specification (Scan) [1]
There are three different styles of reading that are referred to in the lessons:
Using Word (or a word processing program compatible with Microsoft® Word), identify your team and briefly discuss (Less than 200 words) your proposed design problem.
Name your file Lsn5_TeamName.doc, Please turn-in your document the Lesson 5 Dropbox in ANGEL.
You are in the Lesson 5 online content now. Click on the "Next Page" link to access the Summary.
Purpose: Task A is to identify and organize your design team.
Deliverable: A list of team members with possible roles. Be certain to identify the team leader.
Background: It can be said that GIS design is a team sport. What does this mean? This is a vision in which design is an enterprise with the focus of collaboration shifting away from coordination of draft products toward regular discussion of design early in the research phase. It is driven in part by the growing complexity and need for multidisciplinary input when developing a design; the need to share information across organizational boundaries; and the need to identify and explore the validity of alternatives. It is enabled by advances in social networking practices. It is important to note that team-based design brings a new set of challenges comparable to the cognitive limitations and pitfalls faced by the individual design. Design and teams have become inseparable because of the:
A “design team” is a network of individuals devoted to vetting ideas which helps make better geospatial systems. This team is more akin to debating team than a sympathetic support group. An effective team:
Our team should be a rich mix of individuals meeting the following:
Perform the following: Identify and organize your design team. Include a 1-page résumé for each member.
The design problem can be viewed as an active two-way interface between the client requiring the information and the geospatial analyst supplying it. The problem defines the geospatial functionality the designer is seeking. A question that leads to the GIS design process must meet three criteria of:
Before beginning, ask the following questions:
The problem focuses the requirements analysis on the nature of the spatial and temporal patterns the designer is seeking to identify, understand, and/or communicate. Many new geospatial designers struggle to translate the problem into the context of spatial concepts. To overcome this, we stress the importance of understanding the problem and developing a spatial aspects.
What is a sufficient design problem? There are significant differences between a “problem of fact or factoid” and an “design problem.” A factoid seeks a piece of information that would be answered with a corresponding true statement.
In general, a factoid question usually has just one correct answer that can be easily judged for its truthfulness. Answers to factoid are important as elements of requirements but are not to be the focus of a design effort.
In general, a significant design problem has many possibly correct answers that cannot be easily judged for correctness. A design is generally quite flexible in the sense that there is always a strong possibility that we may not arrive at the "right" solution. Thus, a change of analytic strategy, and even the initial expectations of the design, may be warranted. This suggests a solution to a design problem must involve iterative information.
The Geospatial Aspects follow from the broader problem, and suggest a narrowly focused spectrum of issues. The geospatial requirements contributes to the larger body of requirements of the initial design problem; the spatial aspects might not be be as significant to the stakeholder as those of initial design problem. The development of this involves an active two-way discussion between the client requiring the information and the geospatial professional. The problem must be “analytic” which means four conditions are met:
Lesson 5 is the first of three lessons in the course capstone experience.