This presentation at the 6th URISA Caribbean Conference outlined the development of the GMCM and the new URISA GIS Management Institute.

1. Greg Babinski, MA, GISP
Finance & Marketing Manager
King County GIS Center
Seattle, WA
URISA Past-President
URISA GMI Committee Chair
Summit Chief Editor
URISA Develops the Geospatial Management
Competency Model (GMCM) for USDOLETA
November 14, 2012

2. Agenda
 Precursors: USM/NASA
 URISA’s GISCMM
 USDOLETA Geospatial Technology Competency Model
 GTCM and the Missing Tier 9 – Management Competency
 URISA Commits to Develop the GMCM:
 Washington URISA – 2011 GMCM Strawman Draft
 GIS-Pro 2011- GMCM Task Force & Work Session
 The URISA GMCM:
 4 Domains, 17 Cluster Areas
 74 Competencies
 Public Review & Comment
 Final Revisions
 Publication
 What to do with the GMCM?
 Questions & Discussion

3. Why Develop a Geospatial Competency Model?
For Business and Industry
For Workforce Investment Boards
For One-Stop Career Centers
For Economic Developers
For Educators and Training Providers
For Students
For Practitioners
To Establish the Geospatial Professional Domain,
separate from all other domains

4. Precursor: USM/NASA Geospatial Competency Model

5. Precursor:
USM/NASA
Geospatial
Competency
Model

6. Precursor: USM/NASA
Geospatial Competency
Model

7. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
The Ubiquitous Municipal GIS
 GIS has become a common component of city &
county government
 All large and most medium sized cities & counties
have established GIS operations
 Many small sized jurisdictions have a GIS
 31 of 39 Washington Counties have public web
mapping capability implying GIS operations of some
sort
 Dozens of Washington cities are known to have GIS
operations

8. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Variations in Municipal GIS Operations
What causes variation in municipal GIS Operations?
 Each municipality is unique
 City and county business focus often varies
 Population
 Nature and level of economic development

9. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Variations in Municipal GIS Operations
What causes variation in municipal GIS Operations?
 GIS development history and funding
 GIS operational budget and staffing
 GIS strategic plan
 Municipality’s institutional expectations
 GIS operational vision – or lack of vision?

10. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
When is GIS Development ‘Done’?
There are many ways to answer:
 With an external focus?
 Best practices
 Benchmarking
 With a theoretical focus?
 Ideal design
 Academic state of the art
 With a capability focus?
 With a maturity level focus?

11. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
What is a Capability Maturity Model?
 A tool to assess an organization’s ability to accomplish a
defined task or set of tasks
 Originated with the Software Engineering Institute
 Objective evaluation of software contractors
 SEI published Managing the Software Process 1989
 SEI CMM is process focused
 Other applications of the capability maturity model concept:
 System engineering
 Project management
 Risk management
 Information technology service providers

12. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Why Develop a GIS Maturity Model?
To provide a means for any municipal GIS operation to gauge its
maturity against a variety of standards and/or measures,
including:
 A theoretical ideal end state of GIS organizational development
 The maturity level of other peer GIS organizations , either
individually or in aggregate
 The maturity level of the subject organization over time
 The maturity level of the organization against an agreed target
state (perhaps set by organizational policy, budget limitations,
etc.)

13. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
URISA’s Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
 Maturity for the proposed model indicates progression of an
organization towards GIS capability that maximizes:
 Potential for the use of state of the art GIS technology
 Commonly recognized quality data
 Organizational best practices appropriate for municipal business
use
 The Municipal GIS Capability Maturity Model assumes two
broad areas of GIS operational development:
 Enabling capability
 Execution ability

14. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
 Enabling Capability:
 Technology
 Data
 Resources
 Infrastructure
 GIS professional staff
 Execution Ability:
 Ability of the staff to maximize use of available
capability
 Ability to execute relative to normative ideal
URISA’s Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model

15. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Enabling Capability
Components:
URISA’s Municipal GIS Capability Maturity Model

16. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Enabling Capability Assessment Scale:
URISA’s Municipal GIS Capability Maturity Model

17. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Execution Ability
Components:
URISA’s Municipal GIS Capability Maturity Model

18. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Execution Ability Assessment Scale:
URISA’s Municipal GIS Capability Maturity Model

19. 2010 -URISA Commits to Develop Tier 9: The
Geospatial Management Competency Model
The GTCM is an element of the U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration’s (DOLETA’s)
Competency Modeling Initiative
(http://www.careeronestop.org/competencymodel/).
For DOLETA, a “competency” is the capability to apply or use
a set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities required to
successfully perform “critical work functions” or tasks.
A “competency model” is a collection of competencies that
together define successful performance (Ennis 2008).
The Competency Modeling Initiative promotes the
development of industry-driven competency models in high-
growth, high-demand industries.
DOLETA identified “geospatial technology” as a high-growth
industry in 2003.

20. GTCM and the Missing Tier 9 –
Management Competency
In 2010, DOLETA issued a Geospatial
Technology Competency Model (GTCM) that
specifies the foundational (Tiers 1-3),
industry-wide (Tier 4), and industry sector-
specific (Tier 5) expertise characteristic of the
various occupations that comprise the
geospatial industry
(http://www.careeronestop.org/Competency
Model/pyramid.aspx?GEO=Y) . Descriptions
of individual geospatial occupations,
including occupation-specific competencies
and job requirements (Tiers 6-8), are
published in DOLETA’s O*NET occupation
database (http://www.onetonline.org/). The
GMCM corresponds to Tier 9 of the GTCM.

21. 2010 -URISA Commits to Develop Tier 9: The
Geospatial Management Competency Model
URISA GMCM Core Team:
 David DiBiase
 Patrick Kennelly
 Greg Babinski
 Coordination with USDOLETA

22. Developing The
Geospatial
Management
Competency Model

23. Developing The Geospatial Management
Competency Model
2011 Washington GIS Conference:
GISCMM Review - GMCM Strawman Task Force (May 2011)
Greg Babinski, GISP, King County (WA) GIS Center
Steve Beimburn, City of Seattle (WA) GIS
Don Burdick, GISP, City of Bellingham (WA) GIS
Amy Esnard, GISP, Multnomah County (OR) GIS
George Horning, King County (WA) GIS Center
Tami Griffin, Thurston County (WA) GIS
Ian Von Essen, Spokane County (WA) GIS

24. Developing The Geospatial Management Competency
Model: Strawman Draft

25. Developing The Geospatial Management Competency
Model: Strawman Draft

26. Developing The Geospatial Management Competency Model:
2011 GIS-Pro GMCM Task Force
GMCM Task Force (November 2011 – June 2012)
David DiBiase (facilitator), GISP, CMS, Director of Education, Esri
Greg Babinski, GISP, Finance & Marketing Manager, King County GIS Center
Thomas Conry, GIS Manager, Fairfax County VA
Peter Croswell, PMP, GISP, President, Croswell-Schulte IT Consultants
Dianne Haley, DMH GIS Consulting
Patrick Kennelly, Associate Professor of Geography, Long Island University
and Penn State University
Twyla McDermott, Corporate Strategic Technology Planning Manager, City of
Charlotte NC
Robert Ryan, CP, PLS, URS Corporation
Rebecca Somers, President, Somers-St. Claire GIS Management Consultants
Bruce Stauffer, Vice President, geographIT
Dr. Chin-hong Sun, Professor of Geography, National Taiwan University

27. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
A Challenge:
 Competency Domains n=4
 Competency Clusters n=17
 Competencies: n=74

28. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
Competency Domains n=4
Based on Hays Group
Management Model
 Manage yourself
 Manage your team
 Manage collaborations
 Manage the work
Competency Clusters n=17
A. Self-Management
B. Human Resource Management
C. Performance management
D. Legal Affairs Management
E. Communication
F. Team Management
G. Relationship Management
H. Business Development
I. Leadership
J. Professional Development
K. Strategic Planning and Action
L. Work Management
M. Geospatial Project Management
N. Political Skills
O. Contract Management
P. Financial Management
Q. Asset Management

29. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
Competencies n=74
Competencies The following list represents the GMCM Task Force’s consensus (i.e., 80 percent
agreement) about the minimum number of critical work functions that most geospatial
managers need to be able to perform. The sequence corresponds roughly to the order of
competency areas expect that recurring competencies are listed only once.
1. Keep up with technology trends
2. Keep abreast of developments that affect your organization
3. Apply sound decision making practices
4. Assess and improve your skills and performance regularly
5. Develop a geospatial staffing plan to meet business needs
6. Recruit and hire competent geospatial and support staff
7. Define geospatial work functions and assign appropriate staff
8. Establish clear performance expectations
9. Emphasize accountability
10. Acknowledge and encourage exceptional achievement
11. Remediate performance shortfalls effectively
12. Avoid conflicts of interest—actual and apparent

30. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
13. Comply with all relevant laws and regulations
14. Follow relevant professional codes of ethics
15. Communicate effectively in all forms, formats, and media
16. Communicate effectively to all sizes and types of audiences
17. Communicate the value of geospatial technology to decision makers and
stakeholders
18. Foster an environment conducive to teamwork
19. Assemble, charge, and enable effective work teams
20. Help resolve conflicts among team members
21. Develop and maintain long-term client relationships
22. Develop collaborative relationships within the organization
23. Build relationships with other organizations to promote mutually
advantageous partnerships and best practices
24. Maintain productive relationships with vendors
25. Identify business opportunities
26. Evaluate risk of new ventures

31. 27. Assess competition
28. Conduct client-focused needs evaluation
29. Develop business case and plan for developing and marketing new
ventures
30. Develop and maintain strategic partnerships
31. Develop, promote, and protect the organization’s brand
32. Lead creative thinking about geospatial technology opportunities
33. Articulate a geospatial technology vision for the organization
34. Communicate geospatial program goals to stakeholders
35. Build consensus
36. Foster a culture of employee-driven process improvement
37. Mentor staff and colleagues
38. Prepare and implement a geospatial staff competency plan
39. Provide opportunities for continuing professional development
40. Encourage contributions to the profession
41. Develop a strategic plan with measureable goals and specific actions
42. Implement a strategic planning cycle
43. Align geospatial activities to support the organization’s strategic plan

32. 44. Adjust the plan in response to changing environment
45. Apply QA/QC best practices
46. Monitor stakeholder satisfaction
47. Improve efficiency
48. Adopt a customer service orientation
49. Apply project management knowledge and best practices
50. Understand and apply the geospatial technology components of projects
(as outlined in the Department of Labor’s Geospatial Technology Competency
Model) to accurately establish scope, resources, schedule and quality
requirements for project success
51. Identify collaborative opportunities to achieve project goals
52. Manage a portfolio of projects effectively
53. Cooperate within political and professional organizations
54. Pursue goals tactfully in context of particular organizational cultures and
governance structures
55. Identify potential political champions and engage their support
56. Honor jurisdictional responsibilities

33. 57. Implement policies that respect the purpose and role of public, private,
nonprofit, and academic organizations in the marketplace
58. Prepare, negotiate, monitor, administer, and remediate contracts
59. Prepare Statements of Work (SOW) defining project objectives and
requirements
60. Prepare competitive solicitations including project rationale and
objectives, existing geospatial technology assets, desired services, and final
deliverables
61. Prepare proposals including understanding of need, technical approach
and proposed technology, final deliverables, schedule, budget, and relevant
qualifications
62. Prepare objective selection criteria and scoring mechanism to fairly
evaluate proposals
63. Develop service level agreements
64. Prepare and document budgets
65. Manage expenditures and income
66. Identify funding sources and obtain funding, including collaborative
opportunities
67. Develop and manage a long term financial plan

34. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
68. Conduct regular financial analyses
69. Implement standard financial accounting procedures and controls
70. Assure accountability by periodic independent audits
71. Understand enterprise geospatial architecture
72. Ensure that geospatial technology infrastructure meets organization
needs
73. Recognize geospatial data as a capital asset
74. Manage the asset lifecycle:
a. Establish and maintain an up-to-date asset inventory
b. Procure and upgrade assets
c. Implement and periodically audit security procedures for assets such
as work spaces, equipment, computer networks, data, and software
d. Implement computer system back-ups and periodically test reliability
of backup procedures
e. Implement sound data management procedures

35. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
URISA GMCM Task Force applied 74 competencies to
17 competency clusters

36. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
Public Review and Comment Period ended 31 March 2012
URISA GMCM Task Force reviewed all comments:
 Very few negative comments (<5%)
 Broad consensus agreement
 Use a matrix
 Identify geospatial competencies
GMCM Task Force agreed changes to the GMCM and
submitted to USDOLETA 8 June 2012
USDOLETA approved the GMCM 20 August 2012
URISA now going back to the GISCMM and consider changes
to align with the GMCM

37. The Geospatial Management Competency Model
and the URISA GIS Management Institute
GMBOK:
GIS Management
Body of Knowledge
Municipal
GIS
Operations
GCMM
Accreditation
GCMM: GIS
Capability
Maturity
Model
URISA
Education
ULA & UMA
GIS
Management
Educational
Program
Accreditation
GISCI
GIS Managers
Certification
Component
GMCM:
Geospatial
Management
Competency
Model

38. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
References and Additional Reading
Capability Maturity Model, Wikepedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model Accessed 8/3/2009).
Selena Rezvani, M.S.W., An Introduction to Organizational Maturity Assessment: Measuring
Organizational Capabilities, International Public Management Association Assessment
Council, ND.
Jerry Simonoff, Director, IT Investment & Enterprise Solutions, Improving IT investment
Management in the Commonwealth, Virginia Information Technology Agency, 2008.
Curtis, B., Hefley, W. E., and Miller, S. A.; People Capability Maturity Model (P-CMM),
Software Engineering Institute, 2001.
Niessink, F., Clerca, V., Tijdinka, T., and van Vlietb, H., The IT Service Capability Maturity
Model, CIBIT Consultants | Educators, 2005
Ford-Bey, M., PA Consulting Group, Proving the Business Benefits of GeoWeb Initiatives: An
ROI-Driven Approach, GeoWeb Conference, 2008.
Niessink, F. and van Vliet, H., Towards Mature IT Services, Faculty of Mathematics and
Computer Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, ND.
Gaudet, C., Annulis, H., and Carr, J., Workforce Development Models for Geospatial
Technology, University of Southern Mississippi, 2001.

39. Municipal GIS Capability
Maturity Model
Additional Resources
Babinski, G. (2010-11). URISA GIS Management Institute. ArcNews, Fall, 2012.
http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall12articles/geospatial-society-the-gis-profession-and-
urisas-gis-management-institute.html
Babinski, G. (2010-11). URISA Proposes GIS Capability Maturity Model. ArcNews, Winter 2010/11.
http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/winter1011articles/urisa-proposes.html
Croswell, P. (2009). The GIS Management Handbook: Concepts, Practices, and Tools for Planning,
Implementing, and Managing Geographic Information System Projects and Programs. Kessey
Dweitt Publications.
DiBiase, D., T. Corbin, T. Fox, J. Francica, K. Green, J. Jackson, G. Jeffress, B. Jones, B. Jones, J.
Mennis, K. Schuckman, C. Smith, and J. Van Sickle (2010). The New Geospatial Technology
Competency Model: Bringing Workforce Needs into Focus. URISA Journal 22:2, 55-72.
psu.edu/files/sites/file/DiBiase_etal_2010_GTCM_URISA_Journal.pdf
Ennis, M. R. (2008). Competency Models: A Review of the Literature and the Role of the
Employment and Training Administration (ETA).
http://www.careeronestop.org/COMPETENCYMODEL/info_documents/OPDRLiteratureReview.pd
f.
HayGroup (2001). The Manager Competency Model. http://www.professionallearning.
com/MCPBriefGuide.pdf
PDRI, Inc., and Aguirre International (2005). Technical Assistance Guide for Development and
Using Competency Models—One Solution for a Demand-Driven Workforce System.
http://www.careeronestop.org/competencymodel/Info_Documents/TAG.pdf.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (2011). Competency Model for IT Program Management.
http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=4058

40. Greg Babinski, MA, GISP
URISA Past-President
URISA GIS Management Institute Committee Chair
SUMMIT Chief Editor
Finance & Marketing Manager
King County GIS Center
201 South Jackson Street, Suite 706
Seattle, WA 98104
206-263-3753
greg.babinski@kingcounty.gov
www.kingcounty.gov/gis
URISA Press Releases:
• Geospatial Management Competency Model: http://www.urisa.org/gmcm_press
• GIS Management Institute: http://www.urisa.org/gmi_pr