Tips and Tricks For the Geo Soloist

Imagine this scenario, a well educated, highly trained GIS/Geo professional is working for a small organization (county, environmental consulting, NGO, small federal agency, startup etc). Characteristics of such an organization typically include small budgets, pressure to maximize ROI of the organizations geospatial infrastructure, minimal resources (few people), you get the idea. This person is faced with meeting internal needs, typically required to perform the geoanalyses aligned with the organization's fundamental business processes ("I need a map off...") and is also tasked with presenting the valuable collection of geospatial products the small organization produces to the world. This professional is also commonly faced with requests from management that are typically articulated with something like:

"Hey GeoPro, I saw this great something or other at a business luncheon today, can we do that with our stuff."

If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be a Geo Soloist. Generally speaking, a Geo Soloist works completely independently of the rest of the business process and are seen by other professionals within the organization as the "technology guy/gal" or "web guy/gal" or "GIS guy/gal." They work in professional cultures that really don't understand the Geo trade, and typically work closely with non-Geo specialists such as scientists or engineers. A Geo Soloist can be thought of as a "jack of all trades" a "master of none" or a "polymath," commonly required to play the role of GIS analyst, business analyst, project manager, developer, DBA and evangelist, depending on the current project's needs or the issue of the day.

Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer.

The role of Geo Soloist is not for the faint of heart. It can be challenging and frustrating in that it requires compromises, minimized expectations, and can be disadvantageous. However, it is also a gift. It provides the opportunity to tackle a wide range of problems, provides a wide spectrum of experiences, and fosters resourcefulness, agility and ingenuity.

Serving as a Geo Soloist for many years, I have come up with a manifesto or set of rules to live by that I wanted to share. Many of these are interrelated and this list is not comprehensive but hopefully you will find something that rings home to you. They are in not particular order.

1. Don't start from scratch: There are good "starting points" where someone else has done much of the legwork. An example of this might be some of the sample web map applications that ESRI provides for their new API's.
   
2. Maximize documentation efficiency: This does not mean "do as little as possible." A Geo Soloist is typically working independently so documentation needs to serve their needs only (one benefit of not working in a group, say a team of developers). The other issue is that robust or extensive documentation takes time and requires maintenance given rapid changes. Maintenance also requires alot of time, something that is precious to all of us but especially to a Soloist. Documentation is important, just keep it relevant.
   
3. Simplicity: Keep things simple. Workflows, expectations, requirements, everything. This concept should be a no-brainer but gets lost somehow. Make it your primary goal. Keep is part of every discussion.
   
4. Don't get caught in a worm burrows. It is easy to do so be aware when you begin digging. Use well established patterns. Copy success stories and tweek as needed.
5. Stay away from the bleeding edge: Use well established best practices and standards (when appropriate). Follow what the industry is doing and monitor grassroots efforts. Keep yourself educated about where the bleeding edge is and take a couple of steps back from it.
   
6. Pillage: Use resources that are already available. There are so many great resources and given the vibrant, collaborative, brother/sisterhood we work in within the geospatial community, realize that someone has probably already done what you are trying to do and they are probably willing to share.
   
7. Be resourceful: Student internships, collaborative funding relationships, cooperative agreements.
   
8. Embrace the vacuum: This is counter intuitive to most of my other suggestions but exists in a different plane, more closely aligned to day-to-day workflows. We are taught to not work in a vacuum. I agree, but when you are working by yourself (at least as it relates to your immediate trade), trying to meet the needs of your immediate stakeholders, productivity can be very high if you do it your way. The vacuum can be a tool that lowers barriers. An example might be trying to over-collaborate (if there is such a thing) with those who are not specialists in our trade. Don't ask for permission, just do it.
   
9. Be aware: Make sure you are aware of what is going on in the industry. Pick and choose patterns, best practices, standards etc. established by leaders in our community. Social networking tools such as Twitter are a great was to stay connected and informed. Be in touch with industry "buzz." Subscribe to leading industry blog sites that are relevant to your work.
   
10. Manage the managers: Be sure to sell the concepts, but you are the ONE. Don't oversell but don't undersell. Manage expectations but don't underestimate your capabilities.
    
11. Stay Agile: Embrace change, position yourself to manage change. Don't rest on what you know or what you are comfortable with. Don't be afraid of stepping outside your comfort zone. While the Agile process is typically thought of as a software development method, it expresses concepts that can be extended into all aspects of technology management. Have a look at it.
    
12. Never stop learning: This should go without saying but it takes effort. We work on a platform that is like quicksand, ever-changing and it can swallow us up if we aren't nimble. The learning process doesn't have to be formal, simply read one blog a day or tackle 1 chapter in that nasty SQL book this week...then another next week....then another.
    

If you have others please let me know. In addition, I would like to pose a question to all of the GeoPros out there: Is the skillset/work experience of a Geosoloist (jack of all trades) desirable from the perspective of potential employers or is specialization?



For those of you who have been following my blog, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about parts 3 and 4, just taking more effort than first thought.