Design and development of an Internet collaboration system to support GIS data production management

Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) technologies (e.g., groupware) are increasingly used to support distributed collaborative production in many areas, especially with the rapid growth of the Internet and broadband network technologies. Empirical studies of existing practices and preliminary research at the University of New Brunswick have already demonstrated the potential of applying these technologies in GIS data production work environments.;In order to achieve the improved efficiency and productivity, group work processes must be properly addressed and the design of computer systems to support them must be thoroughly studied. These usually vary from one area to another depending on a comprehensive understanding of the surroundings of the needed computer system through modeling its business environments (e.g., production processes and user requirements). However, no research using a formal modeling approach to characterize current distributed GIS data production projects has been conducted so far. In addition, little documented evidence has indicated that groupware tools other than electronic mail and FTP have been used in existing geomatics production environments.;This thesis describes the testing of the hypothesis that CSCW tools, when integrated with existing GIS installations, can provide significant efficiency and productivity improvement of distributed GIS data production operations and management over the Internet infrastructure. The reported research developed an Internet collaboration model as the framework for implementing the required collaborative workspace. A research prototype system was then developed and tested within a data quality control process under laboratory conditions. The testing involved 1895 data files and its results are analyzed comparing with the existing manual and paper-based GIS data production projects.;The research results indicate that: (1) the GIS, Internet, groupware, and data warehousing principles can be possibly brought together and applied to real-world GIS data production environments to provide better solutions; (2) CSCW-based technologies such as workflow can be used to effectively facilitate collaborative GIS data production in a distributed work environment if a “sound” model is in place; and (3) the potential time saving obtained using the proposed approach is at least 60% of the total elapsed time of a data QC process using traditional production approach.