2025 WA GIS Conference

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a process improvement tool used to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance quality in processes. This presentation dives into a specific Lean Six Sigma project we facilitated as a part of a Green Belt certification course. We sought to improve an existing GIS process that was identified by our internal staff as inconsistent and ambiguous. Using the LSS methodology, we identified process gaps, analyzed root causes, and collaborated with staff to identify and prioritize improvements. This presentation will serve as a use case for LSS methodology in the realm of GIS and challenge you to seek out GIS processes which you could help improve.

When King County’s GIS team took on its first major modernization project (‘Rae Rae”), we were “eager but green”—rushed tech choices and Agile growing pains left us scrambling. It was messy but “transformative”. By the time we tackled the ‘Districts and Development Conditions Report’, we’d turned those hard lessons into “strengths”: “no more ‘sink or swim’ solo work”, collaborative problem-solving sessions, and a culture where “knowledge lived with the team, not just individuals”—culminating in a repeatable playbook for “resilience”.

That resilience was tested when a post-launch bug required reimplementing a nuanced spatial calculation. With “back-to-back vacations looming”, the fix passed through “three developers”—each handing off “seamlessly”—and deployed “flawlessly”. No delays, no drama.

In this talk, I’ll share how we turned failure into momentum by:
• “Prioritizing team habits over ‘perfect’ tools** (and why it saved us)
• “Running lean, open workshops” to break down knowledge silos
• “Embracing ‘paired work’ as insurance” (not waste)
• “Designing for handoffs” so vacations ‘help’—not hurt—progress

For teams juggling legacy systems and Agile skepticism, this proves that “how you work together outlasts any tool”—and why ""‘inefficient’ collaboration is the smartest investment you’ll make”.

Managing asset data in GIS requires more than just mapping—it demands structure, strategy, and smart tools. This presentation explores how clear governance, standard operating procedures, and data dictionaries form the foundation for consistent, reliable asset mapping. We'll walk through how service level agreements and defined responsibilities ensure timely updates from as-built drawings to GIS. Then, we’ll shift gears to showcase a suite of highly customized GIS tools that streamline record retention, improve end-user access to retained documents, and empower field staff to submit real-time data changes. From process to platform, this session highlights the architecture behind a system designed to keep asset data accurate, accessible, and aligned with business needs.

The City of Tacoma has been using distributed collaborations to share data between Enterprise portal and ArcGIS Online since 2022. Progress has not been linear: there have been many challenges. We will share how our distributed collaborations are set up, lessons learned along the way, and tips and tricks to help you on your own distributed collaboration journey.

This presentation outlines the results of the Seattle 2024 GIS Return on Investment (ROI) Study. This study was a partnership between GIS Management Consulting Services of Edmonds and four key leaders of Seattle GIS.

The study was based on the GIS ROI methodology developed by Prof. Richard Zerbe of the UW Evans School of Public Administration. The study approach was a snapshot in time – to analyze the financial benefits from using GIS across all the departments and offices in Seattle during 2024.

The data to analyze GIS ROI was compiled from both online surveys and from multiple face to face interviews with those knowledgeable about GIS in individual departments. The report also compiled an extensive catalog of other types of benefits from the use of GIS. The report calculated a range for GIS for the entire city and also for many individual departments. GIS ROI was calculated in a variety of ways: net financial ROI in dollar terms, net financial ROI as a percent of GIS costs, GIS ROI as a percent of the entire annual city budget, and the equivalent staff savings in FTEs represented by the net financial ROI. The report also includes 1o appendixes which are GIS ROI reports for 10 key Seattle Departments. In addition to sharing the results this report will provide an overview oof the modified Zerbe methodology used.

Emails, phone calls, drop-ins, notes…GIS professionals get mapping and data requests in all kinds of ways. It can be extremely challenging to manage all these requests, and hard to identify ROI. Enter the new GIS Request Management solution from Esri.

In the short time that we have deployed this solution at the City of Tumwater we have noticed a huge difference. It has simplified our day-to-day work by organizing all requests in one place. We went from an Excel file, flagged emails in Outlook, lists on OneNote, literal notes, and coworkers stopping by our desks to request projects to a streamlined process with this solution. GIS Request Management helps us identify and communicate how our projects align with our organization’s goals, and demonstrates our ROI by keeping track of time spent on each project.

This presentation will discuss implementation, usage, custom configurations, and our successes and challenges as we transitioned from a disorganized system to this solution.