GIS Defined in Laymen's Terms
GIS stands for Geographic Information System. It's a database with a column of geographic data (such as a street address or lat-long coordinates) connected to software that allows you to generate maps of the information stored in the database.
Google Maps is a real world GIS. I've described it before as "SimCity for the real world."
Visual information, like maps, is information dense. When done well, it makes a LOT of information easily digestible at one time.
GIS gets used a lot for planning purposes. Historically, paper maps and globes were sometimes critical planning assets, such as the two enormous identical globes sent to Churchill and Roosevelt in World War II.
When used in an office or departmental setting like a city planning office, a proper GIS is integrated into the technical infrastructure such that live updates of important information are part of the GIS.
Sometimes people put GIS software on a computer in a corner somewhere. This is not a proper Geographic Information System.
Sometimes someone gets assigned map making duties. This gets called "a map shop" and is also not a proper GIS.
A big problem with map shops is that the creators of the maps only have meaningful control over visual details, like what colors to use, and someone else is dictating the more important parts, like what information to include.
This tends to lead to maps that may be very pretty to look at but are actually poorly designed because the design frequently doesn't primarily serve the goal of properly communicating the information in the map. Instead, it serves as a creative outlet for some working stiff with no real decision-making power.
There are five components to a proper GIS:
- Hardware
- Software
- Data
- People
- Methods (or procedures)
Typically, good data is the most expensive part of the system and good people are the most critical piece.
