{"id":590172,"date":"2023-05-26T19:14:33","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T02:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=590172"},"modified":"2023-05-26T19:14:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-27T02:14:33","slug":"lascruces","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/lascruces","title":{"rendered":"Las Cruces Uses the Power of Visualizing Its Data"},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[328732,25012,91],"tags":[28942,485172,311],"arcuser_issues":[484952],"class_list":["post-590172","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-enterprise-2","category-managers-corner","category-mapping","tag-arcgis-training","tag-communities-of-practice","tag-data-driven","arcuser_issues-au-spring-2023"],"acf":{"short_description":"The City of Las Cruces, New Mexico, deployed a GIS adoption strategy that builds consensus for change and an enterprise mindset.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":590182,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"GIS manager Courtney Granite seeks to instill a collaborative approach to data management and sharing at the City of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The city is the state\u2019s second-largest city and home to New Mexico State University. Partnering with Esri to deploy an adoption strategy helped her build consensus for change and a growing enterprise mindset across the city."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A self-described \u201cdata person,\u201d Granite is passionate about using location intelligence to inform decision-making. Las Cruces has a decentralized GIS model that is coordinated through Granite\u2019s team and housed in the Community Development department.\r\n\r\nHer team supports GIS staff and users in other departments, including utilities, economic development, public works, quality of life, public safety, parks and recreation, and the city manager\u2019s office. The GIS team also provides reporting that supports departmental metrics and performance management initiatives and helps leaders measure progress on the city\u2019s strategic comprehensive plan, Elevate Las Cruces.\r\n\r\nGranite stepped into her current role in October 2019. From the beginning, she wanted to encourage an enterprise approach to information and GIS.\r\n\r\n\u201cI came from IT and very much a data-focused background,\u201d said Granite. \u201cI wanted to grow [the GIS program] with an emphasis on data governance rather than the old-school way of doing things.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe \u201cold-school way\u201d included fielding myriad requests for GIS maps and data. Each department worked with its data in a silo, which made it a challenge to access and report all relevant data to support decision-making.\r\n\r\nIn conversation with Esri senior training consultant Tosca Hoffmann, Granite described her vision for broader use of GIS and collaboration across teams and city programs. Hoffmann told Granite that other GIS managers she worked with had similar goals. GIS awareness and data silos are common challenges, and Esri has created an adoption strategy practice to help organizations overcome these barriers.\r\n

Building a Playbook to Grow GIS Adoption<\/h3>\r\nWith her interest piqued, Granite met with Esri consultant Lyndal Brookhart. The two agreed that an adoption management playbook engagement would help advance Granite\u2019s vision for Las Cruces.\r\n\r\nGranite approached the city\u2019s GIS steering committee. After explaining the current state of GIS practice and the need for change, she asked the committee to assign staff to participate in playbook meetings. The committee could see the value of making changes that would help report on data in a way that made sense, increased standardization, and built trust in enterprise information.\r\n\r\nWith the steering committee\u2019s approval, the adoption management playbook moved forward. Granite felt it was important to bring as many departments into it as possible. Representatives from 10 city departments participated in seven working sessions facilitated by Brookhart. After talking through what they were trying to achieve and why it was critical to the city\u2019s future, they brainstormed specific approaches and the steps that would be needed to accomplish their goals.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe had close to 20 people involved from across all the key functional areas of the city\u2014and they showed up and were present and contributed. This initiative was owned by everybody,\u201d said Granite.\r\n\r\nTo reinforce the importance of the effort and its collaborative spirit, the group named their initiative Connect Las Cruces: Empowering GIS Modernization Across the Enterprise. They also crafted a big opportunity statement in the Las Cruces adoption management playbook that encapsulates the initiative\u2019s benefits: \u201cWe can positively support our livability, prosperity, and environment by leveraging location intelligence technology that supports critical decisions. By increased cross-functional department and community data-sharing practices, we can better understand where we are, who we are, and how we grow together.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe group tasked a smaller adoption management team to implement the playbook. Five participants, including Granite, were assigned to this team. Brookhart facilitated discussions that resulted in the development of a solid plan. \u201cWe agreed the action items were very doable,\u201d said Granite.\r\n

Communicating the Vision<\/h3>\r\nWhen the playbook engagement began in spring 2022, Las Cruces had 230 active ArcGIS users, which included GIS professionals, light users, and staff who viewed web maps and apps. By the end of 2022, there were 380 active users\u2014an impressive growth of 39 percent.\r\n\r\nTo achieve that growth, Granite deployed the playbook\u2019s communications strategy and set out to convince department leaders\u2014key influencers for change\u2014that location intelligence could improve decision-making and enhance their operations. Department by department, she met with managers and program staff to gain their interest and build a desire to do more with GIS.\r\n\r\nShe framed her presentation every time using a key theme: \u201cthe power of visualizing your data.\u201d Every time, she explained how GIS could improve the workflows and programs supported by the department and each user role within the department. Her goal was to inspire everyone with a clear picture of what could be\u2014a future in which location intelligence infused decision-making would drive efficiencies and smart resource allocation. This would help make Las Cruces an even better place to live, work, and do business.\r\n\r\n\u201cI wanted the change network to understand the importance and outcome of making a commitment to the plan\u2014how it would take us to the next level and the benefits we would gain,\u201d stated Granite.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":590232,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Engaging End Users<\/h3>\r\nBecause Las Cruces has an Esri Small Government Enterprise Agreement, many city employees have access to ArcGIS software. Encouraging a self-service model for GIS is a key goal of Connect Las Cruces.\r\n\r\nDuring the playbook sessions, the team identified workforce development as an important strategy to grow GIS skills and build excitement among the staff to use GIS. To execute this strategy, the team deployed an in-house training initiative named Connect Onsite, which authorized city staff to attend GIS-related training courses four hours a month over a period of four months.\r\n\r\nConnect Onsite launched in October 2022 with four one-hour, hands-on workshops designed to grow foundational skills in GIS-based enterprise best practices that aligned with departmental workflows. GIS technician Alejandro Samaniego helped create and deliver the workshops.\r\n\r\n\u201cMy personal goal was to inspire more interest in GIS,\u201d said Samaniego. \u201cI felt like if it was your coworker showing you what they do with this program, how they use it, and giving examples of how useful it could be, it would inspire participants to apply GIS to what they do.\u201d\r\n\r\nIntroducing a fun activity helped set Connect Onsite up for success. The adoption management team decided a virtual, story-based scavenger hunt would attract interest and increase workshop participation. The team devised a series of questions for scavenger hunt participants to answer using a web map. The activity introduced GIS terms and taught participants how to identify features, add points, create simple data, and follow routes and lines. Those who accurately completed the monthly scavenger hunts were entered into a drawing for a prize.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about training and getting them inspired to use GIS,\u201d said Samaniego."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":590242,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Connect Onsite Delivers Success<\/h3>\r\nWorkshop participants were asked to bring project data so they could immediately apply the training to their own work.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat we saw was pretty remarkable,\u201d said Granite. \u201cThe people who really put the time in to be engaged got a lot out of it.\u201d\r\n\r\nOne participant from the Quality of Life Department brought data for the meal delivery program she supported. Her goal was to reduce food waste resulting from delays in delivering the meals. In the workshop, she learned how to create a map of city streets and overlay the meal delivery locations. Then she worked with a GIS staff member to optimize delivery routes. Delivery drivers with deep knowledge of city streets and traffic patterns helped further optimize the routes. By including the drivers, everyone involved with the program was empowered to improve it\u2014a tangible example of the benefits of GIS, collaboration, and \u201cthe power of visualizing your data.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe meal delivery program was able to transition from using a third-party solution to an internally supported tool,\u201d said Granite. That success sparked interest from another department.\r\n\r\n\u201cRisk Management staff noticed [the Quality of Life employee] working on her map and her enthusiasm for the data,\u201d Granite said. \u201cNow they\u2019re interested in attending a future session because they can see how it would be applied to some of their scenarios and the data they\u2019re utilizing.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnother success occurred after three police department employees attended a workshop. They brought data for projects they needed to complete and a week later, Granite received a phone call from a deputy chief requesting a customized training session.\r\n\u201cMaybe they used GIS in the past, but they weren\u2019t using it to its full potential,\u201d she said. The deputy chief now mandates that his team use GIS to help solve crime in specific areas of the city.\r\n\r\nAfter completing the in-house training, some participants wanted to continue growing their GIS skills. Hoffmann works with Granite to provide Esri course recommendations for those employees. Overall, Granite and Samaniego are very pleased with the impact of the training.\r\n

Painting Their Own Canvas<\/h3>\r\nBuilding on the Connect Onsite success, Granite and Samaniego are on a mission to enable more employees to confidently apply GIS tools themselves.\r\n\r\n\u201cI want GIS to be a change agent for the city, a catalyst for creative thinking and innovative workflows that utilize GIS to report on and share data and information,\u201d said Granite. \u201cHistorically, people came to the GIS department and asked, \u2018Hey, GIS, can you do [this task] for us?\u2019 Of course, we can, but we want subject matter experts to be empowered through training and access to software tools to paint their own canvas and make informed decisions using the data that matters to them.\u201d\r\n\r\nSamaniego concurred. \u201cWhen someone requests a task, for me it\u2019s just a task,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if they know how to use the program and it\u2019s their own work, they\u2019re going to have a higher investment in the outcome and be more creative. By giving everyone the tools, the products we put out as a city will improve because we\u2019re all working on what we care about rather than simply completing tasks.\u201d\r\n

Building Communities of Practice<\/h3>\r\nWhile the number of GIS users has grown significantly since Connect Las Cruces started, Granite hasn\u2019t set a target.\r\n\u201cI\u2019m a data person so I like numbers, but this is about providing a service to others and helping them see the value of using the technology.\u201d\r\n\r\nAsked about her next step, Granite answered, \u201cI think what I\u2019m really looking for is to continue making connections. This year, we plan to offer a communities-of-practice program. One will focus on GIS, and another will be around data science. If we can develop these internally and in the community, then I will have met what I think is a good goal.\u201d\r\n\r\nShe is well on the way to achieving her goal. Her team is helping forge a regional GIS community of practice. Several agencies, including Do\u00f1a Ana County, Mesilla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, New Mexico Land Conservancy, and the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority, have expressed interest. She wants to see how they can better share and make use of data. \u201cConnecting with GIS and data professionals from different agencies is going to really help us,\u201d said Granite.\r\n\r\nFor more information on Connect Las Cruces, contact cgranite@lascruces.gov.\r\n\r\n "}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nLas Cruces emphasizes data and enterprise approach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"GIS manager Courtney Granite seeks to instill a collaborative approach to data management and sharing at the City of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The city is the state\u2019s second-largest city and home to New Mexico State University. 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