What are the best ways to improve your GIS performance using quality indicators and metrics?

1 Define your quality objectives

Before you start any GIS task, you need to define what quality means for your specific context and purpose. Quality objectives are the goals and criteria that you use to evaluate your GIS outputs and processes. They should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, you might have quality objectives related to accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, usability, or compliance.

2 Choose appropriate quality indicators

Quality indicators are the measurable variables that you use to monitor and assess your quality objectives. They should be relevant, reliable, and valid for your GIS data and analysis. Depending on your quality objectives, you might use quality indicators such as error rates, completeness ratios, consistency checks, metadata standards, user feedback, or performance benchmarks.

3 Apply quality metrics

Quality metrics are the quantitative or qualitative values that you assign to your quality indicators. They should be clear, consistent, and comparable for your GIS data and analysis. Depending on your quality indicators, you might use quality metrics such as percentages, scores, ratings, scales, or grades.

4 Implement quality control and quality assurance

Quality control and quality assurance are the systematic procedures that you use to ensure that your GIS data and analysis meet your quality objectives and standards. Quality control is the process of checking and correcting errors and defects in your GIS outputs and processes. Quality assurance is the process of verifying and validating that your GIS outputs and processes conform to your quality requirements and expectations. You should implement quality control and quality assurance throughout your GIS workflow, from data collection to data dissemination.

5 Monitor and report quality performance

Quality performance is the outcome and impact of your GIS data and analysis on your clients, stakeholders, and users. You should monitor and report your quality performance regularly and transparently, using your quality indicators and metrics. You should also use your quality performance results to identify and address any gaps, issues, or opportunities for improvement in your GIS outputs and processes.

6 Learn and improve continuously

Quality improvement is the ongoing process of enhancing your GIS data and analysis to meet or exceed your quality objectives and standards. You should learn from your quality performance results, feedback, and best practices, and apply them to your GIS outputs and processes. You should also seek to innovate and optimize your GIS tools, methods, and techniques to achieve higher levels of GIS performance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?