How GIVE Eliminates GIS Data Overload with a Phased, Intelligent Validation Approach

GIS professionals often find themselves overwhelmed by an endless list of data issues—schema mismatches, topology gaps, invalid attributes, and more. Traditional validation methods rely on post-mortem processing, where errors are flagged long after edits have been made, leading to time-consuming cleanups and a constant cycle of rework.

But Gistic Research Inc.’s GIVE solution (gis-give.com) takes a completely different approach. Instead of bombarding users with thousands of errors all at once, GIVE guides users through a structured, phased validation process, ensuring that only relevant issues are addressed at each step. This results in faster, more accurate GIS data validation with far less frustration.

The GIVE Validation Process: A Phased Approach to Data Quality

Unlike traditional GIS validation systems, GIVE doesn’t just run a single validation report. Instead, it follows a carefully designed, four-phase validation process that eliminates non-relevant anomalies and ensures that errors are corrected in the right order.

Phase 1: Schema Validation – Fixing Data Structure First

When onboarding new data, GIVE first checks for schema compatibility issues. If a dataset cannot be reliably mapped into the NENA schema, no further validation is performed on its attributes.

• Identifies missing or improperly formatted fields.
• Ensures that the dataset aligns with required standards.
• Prevents unnecessary validation of records that don’t meet basic schema requirements.

This ensures that only properly structured data moves forward, saving time by eliminating irrelevant errors early.

Phase 2: Topology Validation – Resolving Boundary Issues

For boundary layers, GIVE moves to the topology validation phase, which focuses exclusively on gaps and overlaps between GIS boundary features.

• Identifies and flags missing or overlapping boundaries.
• Requires users to correct these issues before moving forward.
• Prevents unnecessary validation of records with unresolved spatial errors.

By forcing boundary corrections before any further validation, GIVE ensures that users are in compliance early on in the correction process.

Phase 3: Domain Validation – Normalizing Data Values

Once topology errors are resolved, GIVE performs Domain Validation for all layers, which provides a summary statistic view of all domain-controlled field values.

• Helps users identify out-of-range or invalid attribute values.
• Allows users to add missing values into GIVE’s domain table management system.
• Enables quick recalculation and correction of invalid values.

This phase is all about system configuration and value normalization, ensuring that attribute data conforms to organizational standards. The best part? Most GIS datasets can go through these first three phases in just a day or two.

Phase 4: Content Validation – Focused, Efficient Error Correction

Only after schema, topology, and domain issues are resolved does GIVE perform Content Validation, which ensures that remaining attribute anomalies are corrected.

• Thanks to previous corrections, the number of flagged anomalies is significantly reduced.
• A single correction may resolve multiple related errors, and GIVE provides real-time feedback on these cascading fixes.
• Users should almost never have to revisit records - a key advantage over other validation system workflows.

How GIVE Eliminates the GIS Data Validation Bottleneck

Unlike other systems that rely on weekly or monthly post-validation reports, GIVE validates GIS data in real time and ensures errors are resolved in a logical sequence. The benefits are game-changing:

• No more overwhelming error reports – Only relevant issues are flagged at each step.
• No more redundant corrections – Once an error is fixed, GIVE recognizes any cascading corrections immediately.
• Faster, more efficient validation – On average, most datasets can be validated in minutes as opposed to hours.
• Real-time feedback, not post-mortem reports – No waiting for a weekly or monthly validation cycle.

In traditional systems, errors are often flagged long after the fact, forcing GIS professionals to continuously revisit and revalidate the same records. GIVE minimizes this frustration by ensuring that all issues are exposed for a given record.

A Smarter Way to Manage GIS Data Integrity

The overwhelming nature of GIS data validation isn’t just about the number of errors—it’s about how and when those errors are detected. GIVE transforms GIS data validation from a chaotic, post-processing burden into a streamlined, real-time process that eliminates unnecessary work and ensures long-term data integrity.

?? Are you still relying on post-mortem validation cycles? It’s time to switch to GIVE and take control of your GIS data with a smarter, phased validation approach.

?? How does your team handle GIS data validation today? Share your experiences in the comments!

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