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Based on presentation Exploring new ways to build a Geoportal – case Finnish Geoportal
by Jani Kylmäaho, National Land Survey of Finland, inINSPIRE conference 2010, 23rd June, 2010
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Finnish experience with OS - The Finnish national geoportal
ECA E-Learning Session 21.6.2011
Esa Tiainen, National Land Survey of Finland
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Finnish National Geoportal – Paikkatietoikkuna.fi
Pilot stage of the Geoportal –traditional developing project approach
Problems with the traditional approach
The Agile Way – how to adopt Open Source
The lessons learned
Contents
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Paikkatietoikkuna
National geoportalo INSPIRE Discovery Service + User interfaces for View,
Download, Transformation and Registry Services Pilot version released July 2009
o Improvements during 2009, totalling 1 year for the pilot Open Source implementation
o Liferay, Openlayers, ExtJS, GeoExt, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, GeoNetwork, GeoServer
o Free distribution of source codeo http://www.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/web/fi/avoin-lahdekoodi
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The Finnish Geoportal pilot was built during 2009 using a traditional requirement-based process
Based completely on Open Source software:
Partner surveys and analysis of what functionality is needed were made
Detailed requirements specification was written
A bidding process was started and a consultancy company contracted to deliver the defined Geoportal
The definitions were handed over to the consultant
Pilot stage of the Geoportal – the traditional approach
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Partner surveys and analysis of what functionality is needed?
o It was not possible to capture all requirements at the same time despite of repeated surveys and analysis
Detailed requirements specifications?
o It proved nearly impossible to write an accurate requirements specification for the entire duration of the project
Problems with the traditional- 1
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Bidding process and consultancy company selection for delivery?
o The competence of the consultant was assessed mostly based on references and the project plan provided
Definitions handover?
o It was not properly ensured, that the consultant and the customer share a common understanding of the expected results
Problems with the traditional- 2
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Results
o Despite the communication during the development process
• Resulted functionality not according to specifications
• Some specifications had been misinterpreted• Difficult to control the overall quality
..and as a final Bonus:o The agreement with the consultant somewhat
limited the usage of the OS code developed
Problems with the traditional- 3
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General dissatisfaction and piles of unnecessary work..
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1) Choose Agile methods* for development (scrum)
2) Pay attention to the bidding procedure
3) Involve the partners in the process
4) Fully exploit the benefits of Open Source
Conclusion - The Agile Way
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* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development
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View Service UI – Map Service for Citizens (May 2010)
Embedded Map Service for Data Providers (June 2010)
Download Service UI, files (September 2010)
Discovery Service UI integration (October 2010)
Download Service UI for WFS (November 2010)
Tools for data producers to help with linking of Network Services (Dec 2010)
Monitoring and Reporting tools (January 2011)
Semantic search (February 2011)
2010
2011
Release plan for the completed Geoportal
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View Service UI – Map Service for Citizens (June 2010 - released)
Embedded Map Service for Data Providers (released August 2010)
Download Service UI, files (released November 2010)Discovery Service UI integration (released November 2010)
Registry Service &Download Service UI for WFS (released February 2011)
Tools for data producers to help with linking of Network Services (2011)
Monitoring , Reporting tools (2011)
Semantic search
2010
2011
Release completion of Finnish Geoportal
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2010
12http://www.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/web/en
2010
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The Agile Way - 1
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Choose Agile methods for developmento Task Definitions are written in form of a Product Backlog
which evolves throughout the entire projecto Results are demonstrated after each sprint – new
functionality e.g. every 2 weekso Continuous testing - mistakes or wrong choices you
make will show up soono The priorisation process ensures that the critical and
most cost-beneficial functionality is implemented first (80/20 rule)
o Control of the project through constant progress monitoring
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Pay attention to the bidding procedureo Identify the key competences required for
producing the outcomeo Evaluate the competence of candidate
developers – actually you hire the resources for software development
o Developers willingness to current developments - OS software is constantly developing
o Consider having the programmers work at/nearby your location (hired resource)
The Agile Way - 2
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Involve the partners in the processo Gather user requirements constantlyo Use your partners as testerso Make it a joint venture ”This is our common
Geoportal”o Create Win-Win benefits ”If you open your
View Service, I’ll provide you with an embedded map service”
o Make sure partners see the benefits they will get – continuous communication
The Agile Way - 3
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Fully exploit the benefits of Open Sourceo Ensure liberal licensing policy in the consultancy
agreemento Distribute your source code – ”Code developed
using public funds should be public”!o Contribute to the OS community (establish own OS
group as necessary) for sustainablityo Seek joint projects with organisations with similar
needs for developing new featureso Utilize common components and platforms
The Agile Way - 4
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Good quality
Time and effort not wasted due to continuous testing, regular ”checkpoints” and releases
Benefits to the whole SDI in form of
o Readily applicable OS components
o Accelerated Network Service availability
Cost savings, efficient use of Public Sector data and money
Satisfied partners, management AND developers
The outcome
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Make sure the overall goal (Vision) is crystal clear
Plan the architecture in advance
Choose technologies and development principles
Allocate resources for User interface and Usability desing as well as continuous testing
Use collaborative & communications tools, such as Wiki, Jira, Skype…
Allocate enough time for project management, especially for Product Backlog maintenance
..But don’t forget to:
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Commit yourself and others to the project!
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OS-components used in geoportal
• Liferay – publishing system• OpenLayers – user interface for maps• Geoserver – storage of spatial datasets and maps (+ GeoTools-
library application)• PostgreSQL/PostGIS - database server, iBATIS SQL-library• ExtJS – interactive internet (browser) applications• GeoExt – geospatial extentions on Openlayers with ExtJS
(capabilities on WMS, WFS)• GeoNetwork – store, manage, and show metadata for datasets
and services - discovery service• GeoWeb-Cache for maptiling• Atlassian-tools to support scrum management
- Currently EUPL and MIT license; previously (GNU) GPL 3.0: http://www.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/web/fi/ohjelmistokomponentit
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More OS sources to apply, e.g.:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki http://www.geomajas.org/
http://community.esdi-humboldt.eu/ The HUMBOLDT GeoModel Editor, which you can use to develop rich
Conceptual Models for your geodata. The HUMBOLDT Alignment Editor, an application that helps you map and
transform complex database and application schemas The Workflow Design and Construction Service, a web service that delivers
executable geoprocessing workflows for data harmonisation The Conceptual Schema Translation Service, a Web Processing Service for
transforming data from one application schema to another The Edge Matching Service, a WPS that deals with inconsistencies in geometry
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Thank you for your interest!
Questions / [email protected]
http://www.paikkatietoikkuna.fi/web/en
The Finnish Geoportal Paikkatietoikkuna has won the Quality Innovation of the Year award in the category for public sector and non-profit corporations in a competition organized by Excellence Finland.