Planning and Managing GIS Projects

Many GIS projects start with technology rather than need. The user needs assessment is short or skipped, data conversion is underestimated, metadata and data standards are left until later, and requests for proposal describe products instead of outcomes. Relations between client and consultant become strained over scope, and nobody is sure who owns and maintains the data once the project team leaves. The system works, but its use stays limited.

This programme follows the GIS project lifecycle and focuses on the decisions that shape results. It moves through five stages: defining the project and user needs, designing the data and system, planning, costing and procuring, delivering data conversion, applications and training, and measuring value and sustaining the GIS after handover.

Built on recognised practice. The programme references the UN-GGIM Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF), the ISO 19100 series of geographic information standards, including ISO 19115 on metadata and ISO 19157 on data quality, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) interoperability standards, and general project management practice as set out in the PMI PMBOK Guide and PRINCE2. Participants apply them to the realities of public and private sector GIS projects.

Decisions this programme improves. Whether a GIS project should proceed and in what phases; whether to build, configure or subscribe to a cloud solution; how to acquire and convert data; how to structure a contract and acceptance criteria; how many staff and what budget are needed after go-live; and which KPIs show that the GIS is delivering value.

How it is delivered. Twenty hours across five sessions, built around one running case: an environmental monitoring GIS for a public agency. Participants carry out a needs assessment, outline a data model, estimate costs, draft the structure of a request for proposal and define a KPI set for the operating phase.

In-house option. For organisations, the programme can be tailored to your own GIS platform, data holdings, procurement rules and national spatial data infrastructure, and can be built around a current or planned project.

Who Should Attend

GIS managers and coordinators: staff who lead GIS units or enterprise GIS programmes

Project managers: managers leading GIS, spatial data or wider digital projects

Public sector specialists: staff in municipalities, planning, environmental and infrastructure agencies

Consultants and solution providers: staff who propose, design or deliver GIS solutions

IT managers: managers responsible for GIS platforms and integration

Objectives

Diagnose common causes of GIS project failure and plan to avoid them

Conduct a user needs assessment and define use cases and information products

Prepare a business case comparing options, costs and benefits

Outline a geodatabase design with metadata and data quality requirements

Select a system architecture and integration approach suited to organisational needs

Estimate the full cost of a GIS project, including data acquisition, conversion and support

Prepare a request for proposal with clear technical specifications and evaluation criteria

Plan data conversion, testing, acceptance and user training

Define KPIs for data quality, system availability, usage and business outcomes

Design an operating model for sustaining the GIS after handover

Course Outline

Defining the Project: Business Case and User Needs

Why GIS projects fail: common patterns
Stakeholder mapping and user needs assessment through interviews, workshops and surveys
Defining use cases and information products
Business case: options, benefits and costs
Alignment with national spatial data infrastructure and the UN-GGIM IGIF
Project charter, scope and governance

Designing the Solution: Data and System Architecture

Conceptual, logical and physical geodatabase design
Data standards, metadata (ISO 19115) and data quality (ISO 19157)
Interoperability through OGC services and APIs
Deployment options: desktop, enterprise, web and cloud
Integration with ERP, asset management and other business systems
Security, privacy and data sharing agreements

Planning, Costing and Procuring the Project

Work breakdown structure and phased implementation
Estimating cost: software, hardware, data acquisition, conversion, staff and support
Scheduling and critical dependencies
Requests for proposal, technical specifications and evaluation criteria
Contract models and managing the client and consultant relationship
Risk register for GIS projects

Delivering: Data Conversion, Applications and Quality

Data acquisition options: field survey, satellite imagery, drones, lidar and existing records
Data conversion planning, pilots and quality control
Application development and configuration: agile and staged approaches
Testing and acceptance criteria
User training and change management
Project monitoring and status reporting

Measuring Value and Sustaining the GIS

GIS KPIs: data currency, completeness, system availability, usage and business outcomes
Operating model: staffing, roles, skills and budgets after go-live
Data maintenance workflows and data custodianship
GeoAI and spatial analytics: realistic opportunities
Lessons learned and a roadmap for GIS maturity
Action plan for your next GIS project

Competencies

GIS user needs assessment

GIS business case development

Geodatabase design and data standards

GIS system architecture and integration

GIS project cost estimation and scheduling

GIS requests for proposal and contract management

Data conversion and quality control

GIS performance indicators

GIS operating model and sustainability

Vienna

Elite Academy can deliver its complete portfolio of professional training programs in Vienna. With a major international center for business, diplomacy and professional services, the destination suits both scheduled learning and tailored arrangements for organizations or individual professionals. As an Elite Academy training destination, Vienna provides access to our full portfolio rather than a city-specific set of specializations. The city is a major international center for business, diplomacy and professional services, creating a suitable environment for organizations developing their teams and for professionals attending independently. Upcoming scheduled courses are listed on this page, while any other Elite Academy program can also be requested for delivery in Vienna, subject to scheduling and delivery requirements. Explore the schedule or browse our training areas to find the right option.