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StudMap 3.0 : an interoperable web-based platform for geospatial data offers in academic life

Cioban, Stefana · 2019

Abstract

Geographic Information Systems has now entered the realm of web and yields for feasible solutions to balance the technology offers with the users’ needs to share, access and explore the massive amounts of geodata available. Challenges occur when moving forward from old 2D platforms towards innovative and integrated webGIS systems that align functionality with the necessity to grant a complete understanding of the surrounding reality. 3D space responds to this but, however, stands only at the beginning of its era and cannot yet reach the development of 2D web integration. Research is now aiming at possible webGIS solutions to adapt to the special structure imposed by 3D data. In this context, this thesis focuses on designing an architecture for 2D and 3D geospatial data integration on a student-oriented web platform. This concept was further delivered and validated through a real case scenario – Studmap 3.0, a webGIS platform to serve the students of the University of Muenster in their academical life. The portal currently grants availability of geospatial data and web services of regional interest in a smart GIS environment that allows access and comparison of official services with own data. The implementation of Studmap 3.0 aided in the continuous improvement of the proposed architecture model and developed under a design science research cycle that reached its end once the final approval of its users was attained via a usability evaluation. Final strengths and drawbacks of the proposed architecture were ultimately identified together with an expert usability evaluation and a lab-based usability test of the resulting portal interface suitability for academic use. The results fall under the acceptable range with an 83.75 score for the System Usability Scale standardized questions when addressed to experts and a score of 83.87 when addressed to students. For the open-ended questions, the interface received an overall positive critique. A summary of future participants’ opinion on the benefits, drawbacks and proposed improvements was also delivered. Peers interested in similar concepts can use both this model and its final remarks as a reference for their work.

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StudMap 3.0 : an interoperable web-based platform for geospatial data offers in academic life

Author: Cioban, Stefana
Year: 2019
Source: https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/63691/1/TGEO0206.pdf
STUDMAP 3.0 - AN INTEROPERABLE WEB-BASED PLATFORM FOR
GEOSPATIAL DATA OFFERS IN ACADEMIC LIFE
Ș e ana Cioban
i
STUDMAP 3.0 - AN INTEROPERABLE WEB-BASED
PLATFORM FOR GEOSPATIAL DATA OFFERS IN
ACADEMIC LIFE
Disse a ion supe ised by
P o . Dou o Vi o Manuel Pe ei a Dua e dos San os, In o ma ion
Managemen School, NOVA Lisbon
D . To s en P inz, Ins i u e o Geoin o ma ics, WWU Müns e
D . And és Muñoz, Geo ech Ins i u e, UJI, Cas elló
Feb ua y 2019
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would i s like o hank all my supe iso s o hei con inuous suppo and guidance. I
was a eal pleasu e o wo k wi h you and o lea n om you c i ique. Thank you, D . To s en
P inz, o enabling me o hink ou o my old box and o gi ing me an insigh in o he
beau y o da ing! Thank you, P o . Vi o San os, o always pushing his hesis close o
success ul esea ch! And, hank you, D . And és Muñoz o allowing me o es all my ideas
on a wo king en i onmen !
I would like o hank all my colleagues om he Geospa ial Technologies Mas e s o you
expe ise always inspi ed me. You a e uly p o essional, and you ad ice was a good
con ibu ion o he ou pu o my esea ch.
A special wo d goes o Diaman ino Co eia, om he ESRI emo e suppo eam o Lisbon,
and o S en Oli e Pagel, om he IVV depa men in he Ins i u e o Geoin o ma ics,
WWU Müns e , o analyzing all echnical p oblems so me iculously and helping me o
b ing his p ojec o eali y.
I would also like o acknowledge all expe s and s uden s in ol ed in he alida ion p ocess
o my esea ch. Wi hou you passiona e pa icipa ion and commen s, he inal e alua ion o
he po al could no ha e been success ully conduc ed.
Finally, I mus exp ess my g a i ude o my pa ne and my amily o hei suppo , pa ience
and es less encou agemen .
iii
STUDMAP 3.0 - AN INTEROPERABLE WEB-BASED
PLATFORM FOR GEOSPATIAL DATA OFFERS IN
ACADEMIC LIFE
ABSTRACT
Geog aphic In o ma ion Sys ems has now en e ed he ealm o web and yields o easible solu ions o
balance he echnology o e s wi h he use s’ needs o sha e, access and explo e he massi e amoun s o
geoda a a ailable. Challenges occu when mo ing o wa d om old 2D pla o ms owa ds inno a i e
and in eg a ed webGIS sys ems ha align unc ionali y wi h he necessi y o g an a comple e
unde s anding o he su ounding eali y. 3D space esponds o his bu , howe e , s ands only a he
beginning o i s e a and canno ye each he de elopmen o 2D web in eg a ion. Resea ch is now
aiming a possible webGIS solu ions o adap o he special s uc u e imposed by 3D da a. In his con ex ,
his hesis ocuses on designing an a chi ec u e o 2D and 3D geospa ial da a in eg a ion on a s uden -
o ien ed web pla o m. This concep was u he deli e ed and alida ed h ough a eal case scena io –
S udmap 3.0, a webGIS pla o m o se e he s uden s o he Uni e si y o Muens e in hei academical
li e. The po al cu en ly g an s a ailabili y o geospa ial da a and web se ices o egional in e es in a
sma GIS en i onmen ha allows access and compa ison o o icial se ices wi h own da a. The
implemen a ion o S udmap 3.0 aided in he con inuous imp o emen o he p oposed a chi ec u e
model and de eloped unde a design science esea ch cycle ha eached i s end once he inal app o al
o i s use s was a ained ia a usabili y e alua ion. Final s eng hs and d awbacks o he p oposed
a chi ec u e we e ul ima ely iden i ied oge he wi h an expe usabili y e alua ion and a lab-based
usabili y es o he esul ing po al in e ace sui abili y o academic use. The esul s all unde he
accep able ange wi h an 83.75 sco e o he Sys em Usabili y Scale s anda dized ques ions when
add essed o expe s and a sco e o 83.87 when add essed o s uden s. Fo he open-ended ques ions, he
in e ace ecei ed an o e all posi i e c i ique. A summa y o u u e pa icipan s’ opinion on he bene i s,
d awbacks and p oposed imp o emen s was also deli e ed. Pee s in e es ed in simila concep s can use
bo h his model and i s inal ema ks as a e e ence o hei wo k.
KEYWORDS
webGIS, geoda a, 3D, web po al
i
ACRONYMS
2D – Two Dimensional
3D – Th ee Dimensional
API – Applica ion P og am In e ace
db – Da abase
DBMS – Da abase Managemen Sys em
DEM – Digi al Ele a ion Models
ds – Da a S o e
DSM – Digi al Su ace Models
EPSG – Eu opean Pe oleum Su ey G oup
ESRI – En i onmen al Sys ems Resea ch Ins i u e
GIS – Geog aphic In o ma ion Sys em
GPS – Global Posi ioning Sys em
HTTP – Hype ex T ans e P o ocol
HTTPS – Hype ex T ans e P o ocol Secu e
ISO – In e na ional S anda ds O ganiza ion
I3S – Indexed 3D Scene Laye s
JSON – Ja aSc ip Objec No a ion
LAS – Log-ASCII-S anda d
LiDAR – Ligh De ec ion and Ranging
NRW – No h Rhine-Wes phalia
OGC – Open Geospa ial Conso ium
REST – Rep esen a ional S a e T ans e
RDBMS – Rela ional Da abase Managemen Sys em
SQL – S anda dized Que y Language

SDK – So wa e De elopmen Ki
SLPK – Scene Laye Package
SUS – Sys em Usabili y Scale
UAS – Unmanned Ae ial Sys ems
UAV – Unmanned Ae ial Vehicle
URL – Uni o m Resou ce Loca o s
WAB – Web Appbuilde
WCS – Web Co e age Se ice
WFS – Web Fea u e Se ice
WMS – Web Map Se ice
WMTS – Web Map Tiling Se ice
WWU – Uni e si y o Müns e (Wes älische Wilhelms-Uni e si ä )
XML – Ex ensible Ma kup Language
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INDEX OF TEXT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. ii
ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................ i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... i
INDEX OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... iii
INDEX OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................... ix
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1
BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................ 1
MOTIVATION .......................................................................................................................... 1
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................... 2
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 3
GEOSPATIAL CONTEXT AND WEBGIS..................................................................................... 3
BIG 3D DATA AND GEOSPATIAL SCIENCES .............................................................................. 4
2.2.1 3D geospa ial da a ............................................................................................................ 4
2.2.2 3D geospa ial da a managemen ....................................................................................... 5
GIS SERVERS ......................................................................................................................... 6
2.3.1 De ining concep s .............................................................................................................. 6
2.3.2 Classi ica ion..................................................................................................................... 6
WEB MAPPING APIS .............................................................................................................. 8
GEOSPATIAL WEB SERVICES ................................................................................................... 9
WEBGIS APPLICATIONS ....................................................................................................... 10
WEBGIS SERVER ARCHITECTURE ......................................................................................... 11
3. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 14
DESIGN-SCIENCE RESEARCH ................................................................................................. 14
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................... 15
4. PROPOSAL ................................................................................................................................ 17
ASSUMPTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 17
4.1.1 So wa e decision ............................................................................................................ 17
4.1.2 Thi d pa y se ices ......................................................................................................... 17
4.1.3 A chi ec u e decision....................................................................................................... 18
ARCHITECTURE .................................................................................................................... 18
CASE STUDY AND APPLICATIONS .......................................................................................... 20
4.3.1 S udmap 3.0 ..................................................................................................................... 21
4.3.2 A ea o in e es ................................................................................................................ 21
ii
4.3.3 Da a o in e es ................................................................................................................ 22
4.3.4 A chi ec u e Implemen a ion ........................................................................................... 26
4.3.5 Use oles and p i ileges ................................................................................................ 36
5. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................. 39
DATA.................................................................................................................................... 39
SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY ...................................................................................................... 40
SYSTEM USABILITY .............................................................................................................. 43
5.3.1 Expe e alua ion ............................................................................................................ 43
5.3.2 Use es ing ..................................................................................................................... 44
EASE OF IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................................................. 47
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS ...................................................................................................... 48
6. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 50
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 52
APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................................... 60
iii
INDEX OF FIGURES
Figu e 1 A cGIS Se e si e a chi ec u e adap ed om (ESRI, 2018b)................................................ 12
Figu e 2 A cGIS En e p ise mul i-machine model adap ed om (ESRI, 2018 ) .................................. 13
Figu e 3 Design esea ch p ocess adap ed om (Kanellis & Papadopoulos, 2009) ........................... 14
Figu e 4. Design-science esea ch amewo k implemen a ion ............................................................ 15
Figu e 5 Concep ual a chi ec u e o he in eg a ion o geoda a on a web-GIS pla o m – gene al
diag am ................................................................................................................................................. 19
Figu e 6. A ea o in e es . ..................................................................................................................... 22
Figu e 7 LAS File p ope ies and s a is ics .......................................................................................... 25
Figu e 8 Gene al diag am o he a chi ec u e implemen a ion o S udmap 3.0 .................................. 26
Figu e 9 Fea u e se ice e o when exceeding ea u e limi on a web map (le ) o web scene ( igh )
.............................................................................................................................................................. 28
Figu e 10 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace - Find da a sec ion ................................................................ 30
Figu e 11 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace - Applica ions sec ion ............................................................ 30
Figu e 12 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace – Da a ca ego ies sec ion ...................................................... 31
Figu e 13 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace - Resul s by ag il e ............................................................. 31
Figu e 14 Accessing he geospa ial se ices om IVVGEO Se e using A cGIS P o ........................ 32
Figu e 15 C ea ing he s udmap_p od en e p ise geoda abase ............................................................ 34
Figu e 16 C ea e a connec ion o he p oduc ion da abase using A cGIS P o (le ) and Pos g eSQL
( igh ) .................................................................................................................................................... 34
Figu e 17 The A cGIS Da a S o e con igu a ion wiza d - ins alled da abases .................................... 35
Figu e 18 C ea ion o he s udmap_c ea o use ole using he C ea e Da abase Use ool ............... 37
Figu e 19 Boxplo o measu e he e ec i eness o he use s udy ......................................................... 46
Figu e 20 Boxplo o measu e he e iciency o he use s udy .............................................................. 46
Figu e 21 Boxplo s o he SUS sco es compu ed o he expe and s uden e alua ions ..................... 47
6
echnique in o de o a oid he examina ion o e e y ow and eco d. Howe e , 3D da a imposes a
special da a s uc u e and ela ionships be ween en i ies, which, in u n, challenges he spa ial indexing
sys em whose solu ion is s ill unde esea ch.
In hei esea ch, an Oos e om, e al. (2015) discuss he capabili ies and limi a ions o di e se
in as uc u e solu ions a ailable o he manipula ion o massi e 3D poin clouds wi hin a Da abase
Managemen Sys em (DBMS). Thei esea ch e eals ha he bes implemen a ion s a egy depends on
he ile size, ha dwa e and so wa e solu ions a ailable and he equi ed unc ionali y.
On he o he hand, solu ions o con e ing complex 3D da a o ma s in o easily manageable s uc u es
a e being esea ched. The concep o comp ess he en i e con en o a da ase allows wo king wi h g ea
olumes o da a while being able o access each indi idual esou ce. Indexed 3D Scene laye s (I3S) and,
espec i ely, Scene Laye Packages (.SLPK) ha e been adop ed as an OGC communi y s anda d o
s o ing and managing 3D geog aphic da a such as 3D objec s, in eg a ed meshes and poin ea u es
(OGC, 2017). This solu ion ocuses on con e ing he o iginal da ase in o a node-based hie a chical
spa ial index s uc u e o allow he packaging o local s o age, in he case o .SLPK package and
consump ion as a web se ice, in he case o he I3S laye s (ESRI, 2017b). Hence, no DBMS app oach
is equi ed, no cu en ly a ailable in his case.
GIS SERVERS
2.3.1 De ining concep s
GIS da a is handled on he web h ough di e en applica ions o p og ams depending on web b owse s,
web se e s, and map se e s o pe o m ce ain asks o e he in e ne . The web b owse is he clien
as i is he one o make a eques ansla ed in o an URL, while he web se e gi es he esponse o ha
eques h ough he HTTP p o ocol. The geospa ial componen is handled by he map o GIS se e
which p o ides he co e GIS unc ionali y o he applica ion and suppo s he de i ed web maps
(Ag awal & Gup a, 2017). The link be ween he web se e and map se e is done by he applica ion
se e (Shekha , Xiong, & Zhou, 2018).
2.3.2 Classi ica ion
GIS se e s a e handled wi h he help o di e en so wa e op ions a ailable. In e ms o acquisi ion
cos s, hey can be ei he open o closed. Id izi (2014) o e s an analysis o he compa ison be ween he
wo ypes o so wa e o GIS p ac ices.
A. Open sou ce so wa e se e s
Open sou ce mo emen in GIScience ga he s a aluable communi y o dedica ed pee s ha con ibu e
wi h solu ions o so-called “ ee o cos s” pla o ms. The e o s ha e gained alue among he esea ch
a ea as Gaghegan (2018) a gues ha GIS pla o ms can de elop in a heal hy way i people con ibu e

7
eely. Howe e , open sou ce so wa e comes wi h a se ies o d awbacks and a e ee only o a ce ain
ex en , e en hough he p ice canno compa e wi h he comme cial op ions on he ma ke (Id izi, 2014).
Ag awal & Gup a (2017) o e a e iew o he open sou ce so wa e op ions and hei impac . Among
he open sou ce so wa e op ions, he ones ha a e gaining popula i y nowadays a e GeoSe e (2019)
and MapSe e (MapSe e , 2018). An example o an en i ely open sou ce geopo al is is SOS
(Canna a, An ono ic, Molina i, & Pozzoni, 2015), which combines ee so wa e solu ions in o a web
map mashup o se e o lood p o ec ion.
B. Closed sou ce so wa e se e s
Comme cial so wa e is in ended o be use - iendly, equi ing li le de elopmen knowledge and
aining, while o e ing good in as uc u e suppo o he clien . Usually, closed sou ce so wa e
op ions can be adap ed o he use s’ speci ic needs and equi e ewe main enance e o s (Id izi, 2014).
Wha is mo e, Gaghegan (2018) a gues ha comme cial so wa e is b inging he GIS communi y one
s ep close o con ibu ing o a common pla o m o esea ch in he ealm, as p oduce s a e nowadays
gi ing he use s he oppo uni y o de elop o imp o e missing unc ions o he a ailable sys ems.
Howe e , all hese bene i s come in he exchange o a conside able p ice and such comp omises as
adap ing o he p oduce ’s speci ica ions and cons ain s (Id izi, 2014).
A ecen e iew o he op ions o so wa e a ailable on he ma ke is gi en by Id izi (2014). They also
o e a compa ison be ween he open sou ce and comme cial so wa e op ions o GIS se e s, p o iding
a lis o examples o implemen ed GIS pla o ms o each case. Among he mos popula op ions o
comme cial GIS so wa e s ands A cGIS, p oduced by ESRI. A cGIS is a GIS dedica ed so wa e
pla o m composed o ou elemen s: a geog aphic in o ma ion model, s o age and managemen
componen , dissemina ing geoin o ma ion, GIS applica ions, and ela ed web se ices. The pla o m
allows pe sonaliza ion and de elopmen o he buil -in ea u es o he c ea ion o new applica ions o
componen s (Shekha , Xiong, & Zhou, 2018). A cGIS Se e is a web mapping and geop ocessing
so wa e o his pla o m, which enables he a ailabili y o spa ial in o ma ion h ough he
communica ion be ween a se e compu e and o he de ices es ablished by di e en web se ices. This
communica ion is s anda dized by wo p o ocols: HTTP and HTTPS. The se e consis s o wo se e s,
a map and a web one, which is connec ed ia APIs (ESRI, 2018b).
An example o an A cGIS d i en webGIS pla o m is gi en by Walsh, Page, McKnigh , Yao, &
Mo issey (2015) which ha e implemen ed a solu ion o o e he a ailabili y o he LiDAR d i en
digi al e ain model o No h Ca olina. Chen, He, Zhang, & No e (2016) ha e also used he op ion o
A cGIS Se e o combine he 2D and 3D da a on he same webGIS pla o m o ease he managemen
o landslide haza ds. Mo e popula examples consis o he Na ional A las o he Uni ed S a es (USGS,
2018), he Canadian GeoDa a In as uc u e (Canada, 2017) and he Na ional Geog aphic Websi e
(Socie y, 2017).
8
WEB MAPPING APIS
Applica ion P og am In e aces o APIs a e so wa e in e aces ha speci y how pieces o so wa e
in e ac wi h each o he . They can be ei he consumed o p o ided as se ices and hey come in wo
main ca ego ies: se e -side APIs and clien -side APIs. Fo he communica ion wi h he HTTP web
se e , he web APIs usually use JSON o XML s anda d o ma s. Fo communica ion wi h he web
b owse , he APIs use s anda d Ja aSc ip o ma s (Liu, Li, Huang, & Gong, 2015).
Web mapping APIs a e dedica ed o mapping as hey a e used o es ablish he communica ion and
in eg a ion o web map se ices h ough classes o maps and laye s. Cu en ly, he e a e o e 20405
web APIs, which include 1112 web mapping APIs, acco ding o P og ammableWeb (2018). Among he
mos popula , s ands Google Maps, which holds he 8 h posi ion among all ypes o APIs. In hei s udy,
Liu, Li, Huang, & Gong (2015) gi e a e iew o he popula GIS mapping API choices. Sligh changes
ha e been made since which a e e lec ed in he upda ed e sion o he selec ed GIS web mapping APIs
in Table 1:
P o ide
URL
Au hen ica ion
Google Maps
h ps://cloud.google.com/maps-pla o m/
No
ESRI A cGIS
h ps://de elope s.a cgis.com/
No
Mic oso Bing
Maps
h ps://www.mic oso .com/en-us/maps/choose-you -bing-
maps-api
Yes
He e Maps
h ps://de elope .he e.com/
Yes
MapQues
h ps://business.mapques .com/p oduc s/
No
OpenLaye s
h p://openlaye s.o g/
No
Yandex
h ps:// ech.yandex.com/maps/
Yes
OS OpenSpace
h ps://www.o dnancesu ey.co.uk/business-and-
go e nmen /p oduc s/os-openspace/api/
Yes
GeoSe e
h ps://docs.geose e .o g/la es /en/use / es /api/index.h ml
No
GeoTools
h p://docs.geo ools.o g/s able/use guide/lib a y/api/
No
Table 1 Upda ed able o selec ed GIS web mapping APIs (Liu, Li, Huang, & Gong, 2015) (si es las
accessed on No embe 5, 2018)
All hese web APIs a e dedica ed o allowing de elope s o c ea e o cus omize buil -in loca ion-based
applica ions o mode n pla o ms. ESRI’s A cGIS web APIs a e o e ed o a wide a ie y o
p og amming languages, including Ja aSc ip , Flex, Sil e ligh /WPF, .NET and Ja a (Liu, Li, Huang,
& Gong, 2015). The A cGIS API o Ja aSc ip is now enabling use s o in eg a e 2D and 3D
unc ionali y in hei webGIS based applica ions and deploy hem on he web b owse (ESRI, 2018j).
The 3D unc ionali y on he web was gi en wi h he elease o he 4.0 e sion o he API h ough he
Indexed 3D scene laye s (I3S) capable o suppo la ge olumes o 3D geospa ial da a (ESRI, 2016b).
Fo non-de elope s, he A cGIS API o Ja aSc ip is in eg a ed wi h he Web AppBuilde (WAB)
so wa e de elopmen ki (SDK), which equi es minimal coding and allows easy c ea ion o GIS web
applica ions. This SDK comes wi h wo e sions, one o 2D applica ions and one o 3D, which a e
based on he wo e sions o he API, 3.x and 4.x (ESRI, 2018j).
9
The ep esen a ional s a e ans e o REST API ha uses HTTP eques s in a common a chi ec u e o
web se ices de elopmen (Rouse, 2016). A cGIS Online and Se e use his ype o API o he
managemen o web se ices, sys em p ope ies and use oles (ESRI, 2017d).
GEOSPATIAL WEB SERVICES
While APIs ep esen he in e ace be ween wo applica ions, he web se ices g an he communica ion
be ween wo machines. Web se ices a e so wa e o pieces o so wa e ha acili a e he a ailabili y o
da a he In e ne h ough a s anda dized Ex ensible Ma kup Language (XML) which encodes he
messages be ween he use s and he se ices. Web se ices can be compa ible wi h he cha ac e is ics
o geospa ial da a and can hence, allow he access and se e -side p ocessing o such da a ia he
In e ne . In his way, geospa ial echnologies can ake ad an age o he capabili ies o web se ices o
o e accessibili y o la ge olumes o mul i-dimensional geoda a o clien s a ying om human o
applica ion end-use s ocused on geospa ial se ices (Veenendaal, B o elli, Li, & I áno á, 2017).
Web geospa ial se ices enable he dis ibu ion and eal- ime p ocessing o big geospa ial da a o educe
ime, cos s, duplica ed da a and equi ed compu ing capaci y. In his con ex , geospa ial da a analys s
can now ake a s ep o wa d om he adi ional GIS wo k lows o e icien ly explo e geospa ial
in o ma ion di ec ly on he web wi hou such dependencies as s o age space and compu ing capabili ies
(Wagemann, Clemen s, Figue a, Rossi, & Man o ani, 2018).
A. OGC-speci ic web se ices
New di ec ions in he ealm a e now ocused on inding he bes echniques o combine da a access and
analysis h oughou web-based se ices. In his con ex , he in eg a ion o mul i-sou ce web se ices is
a g ea challenge which comes wi h a se ies o disad an ages (Chen, He, Zhang, & No e , 2016) (ESRI,
2018i). Ag awal & Gup a (2017) e e o he need o e ec i ely implemen hese se ices as he need
o a “ e olu ion”. The Open Geospa ial Conso ium (OGC) esponds o his u gency by being dedica ed
o ini ia ing he s anda diza ion o he geospa ial da a sha ing and in e ope abili y (OGC, 2016b).
Acco ding o GeoSee (2018), a 2018-07-18 he e we e 1224379 OGC laye s a ailable. Thei s anda d
classi ies he web se ices in web map se ices (WMS), web map iling se ices (WMTS), web ea u e
se ices (WFS) and web co e age se ice (WCS).
OGC desc ibes he web map se ice (WMS) as a s anda d o sha e maps as geo e e enced digi al images
in di e en o ma s (Ag awal & Gup a, 2017). OCS’s de ini ion o WMSs (OGC, 2016a) co e s he
s anda ds o eques ing and e ie ing online maps om exis ing geoda abases o allow he dynamic
consuming o mul iple maps o laye s coming om mul iple sou ces and allowing di e en s yling
schemes. The se ice uses he Ge Capabili ies and Ge Map API calls a a basic le el. ESRI (2014c)
speci ies ha WMSs don’ expose ac ual da a while allowing a ibu e eques s h oughou o he
ope a ions.
10
Acco ding o he OGC s anda ds, a web map iling se ice (WMTS) is a complemen o he WMS as
i again ep esen s an image co e ing a map ex en o di e en scales. The di e ence is ha he image
is composed o mul iple p ede ined iles ha ease he load o compu a ion needed o la ge images
(OGC, 2010b). An example o WMTS is he basemaps p o ided by ESRI a e iled map se ices (ESRI,
2018a).
Web ea u e se ices (WFS) allows he access o da a by i s ea u e and no ia an image. Hence, his
o e s mo e capabili ies oge he wi h a ich expe ience as a clien can e ie e o modi y ea u es and
hei p ope ies on he web di ec ly. Howe e , his comes wi h a conside able cos in e ms o esponse
ime as he ende ing is done a he clien -side (OGC, 2010a).
A. ESRI-speci ic web se ices
A cGIS Se e is compa ible wi h many web se ices, including he OGC complian ones men ioned
ea lie . The e a e 7 se ices managed by he GIS Se e in pa icula : geocode, geoda a, geop ocessing,
image, map, scene, and ec o ile se ices. These se ices can be consumed ei he by using a web
b owse o a web mapping applica ion o using a GIS desk op applica ion (ESRI, 2018d).
Ras e da a o mosaics can be published ia image se ices. In an En e p ise se ing, hese will gene a e
ei he image o ele a ion laye s depending on he se ings o he sou ce. Map se ices allow he
publishing o maps o e he In e ne and i c ea es he map image laye s. These laye s a e no mally
ende ed on he se e -side gene a ing a low esponse size. Map se ices also allow enabling WMS,
WMTS o WFs and hence allow he publishing o OGC speci ic laye s (ESRI, 2018e).
Fea u e da a is no mally published as a ea u e se ice which is a ea u e-enabled map se ice. Once
published, hese se ices will gene a e ea u e laye s ha o e enhanced capabili ies and an in e ac i e
expe ience compa ed o he map image bu a a highe esponse size (ESRI, 2018e).
Scene se ices allow he publishing o complex 3D da a s uc u es o scenes. Fo example, scene laye
packages can be consumed ia hese se ices (ESRI, Indexed 3D Scene Laye s, 2015). These se ices
can only be published as hos ed laye s as hei con en is s o ed in he NoSQL da abase o A cGIS Da a
S o e (ESRI, 2018e).
WEBGIS APPLICATIONS
Al oge he wi h he g ow h o webGIS, he di e si y o web mapping APIs and s anda diza ion o
geospa ial web se ices app oaches o in eg a e eme ging echnologies in o web mapping applica ions
a e se ing he base o a new mashup pa adigm. Da a coming om di e en sou ces a e being wa ed
in o mode n, ligh -weigh ed web applica ions o o e hei use s a mo e in e ac i e mapping expe ience
(Liu, Li, Huang, & Gong, 2015).
As use s end o in eg a e web p og amming echnologies in o hei maps, web de elope s a e o e ing
mo e in ui i e ways o build web mapping applica ions. Con igu ing applica ions now becomes easie
11
no only o de elope s bu o non-p og amming pee s as well. Among he ple ho a o ools, APIs and
lib a ies, Buczkowski (2016) b ing o wa d a classi ica ion o he mos popula choices o web
mapping.
A good example o an easy- o-use web applica ion building so wa e is gi en by ESRI’s WAB o
A cGIS. WAB allows bo h de elope s and non-de elope s o c ea e in e ac i e mobile o desk op web
mapping applica ions. The applica ion can ei he be deployed using A cGIS Online o En e p ise
pla o ms o using a De elope Edi ion dedica ed o cus omiza ion (ESRI, 2014b). Wha is mo e, WAB
can also in eg a e 3D da a ia he newes e sion o he A cGIS API o Ja aSc ip (ESRI, 2014a).
S epping o wa d in o he de elopmen s o web maps and applica ions ealm also b ings impo an
issues o he su ace. As endencies a e mo ing a ound 3D da a, a cu en conce n among web mapping
de elope s is how 3D ea u es can each he same le el o in eg a ion as 2D web maps in o de o be
used oge he o an enhanced webGIS en i onmen (Chen, He, Zhang, & No e , 2016).
WEBGIS SERVER ARCHITECTURE
GIS clien -se e a chi ec u es a e ne wo k a chi ec u es dedica ed o spa ial da a in which a web se e
wo ks al oge he wi h a map se e o exchange geog aphic and non-geog aphic in o ma ion wi h
emo e clien s. Ag awal & Gup a (2017) discuss he mul iple possible op ions o a webGIS a chi ec u e,
which can a y be ween mul i-laye ed, plug-and-play, se ice-o ien ed o cloud-based.
In gene al, an in e ne GIS a chi ec u e ends o a h ee- ie ed sys em consis ing o a p esen a ion, an
applica ion and a da abase ie (Shekha , Xiong, & Zhou, 2018). The p esen a ion laye is he web
b owse ha g an s he exchange o in o ma ion be ween he clien and he web se e . The applica ion
ie holds he logic o he en i e sys em, ensu ing he exchange o in o ma ion be ween he clien and
he da abase. In he case o webGIS, his is done by he web and he GIS se e s ia he In e ne . The
da abase ie handles he s o age and managemen o he geospa ial da a in o de o e u n he eques ed
da a o he web se e (Ag awal & Gup a, 2017).
In a h ee- ie ed a chi ec u e, each componen can physically eside on a di e en machine. This b ings,
he e o e, bo h complexi y and aluable gains o e he adi ional app oaches, such as inc eased
e iciency, secu i y, scalabili y and lexibili y as he wo kload is dis ibu ed be ween he di e en
componen s and hence, be ween di e en compu e s. Such sys ems can access he da abase di ec ly,
wi hou he need o locally s o e he da a, p o iding he clien wi h as esponses o complex ea u es
and e en geospa ial analysis ools esiding on o he sys ems (Shekha , Xiong, & Zhou, 2018).
Some examples o applied h ee- ie ed a chi ec u es a e gi en by Chen, He, Zhang, & No e (2016),
Liu, Li, Huang, & Gong (2015) and Shekha , Xiong, & Zhou (2018).
ESRI’s A cGIS Se e can also be deployed as a mul i-laye ed sys em, whe e he web b owse s ha
o e access o he clien s and adminis a o s o m he p esen a ion ie , he web adap o , and web and

12
GIS se e s ep esen he applica ion o middlewa e ie and he da abase laye is ep esen ed by he
da a se e (Figu e 1). In his case, he web adap o is he applica ion which links he GIS se e o
se e s wi h he web se e , by o wa ding he eques s o he machines whe e he GIS se e s eside
(ESRI, 2018b).
The da a s uc u e o GIS da a managemen ha powe s web se ices and allows web edi ing on he
A cGIS Se e is ep esen ed by he en e p ise geoda abase. I is a ela ional da abase managemen
sys em (RDBMS) wi h special cha ac e is ics des ined o a la ge-scale GIS sys em: inc eased
e iciency, da a in eg i y, scalabili y, concu en access, secu i y and lexibili y (ESRI, 2016a). Once
egis e ed wi h he GIS se e , his s uc u e allows e e encing he sou ce pa h o he da a ha is being
published and u ned in o web se ices (ESRI, 2018c).
Figu e 1 A cGIS Se e si e a chi ec u e adap ed om (ESRI, 2018b)
An ad anced deploymen is ep esen ed by he A cGIS En e p ise mul i-machine sys em (ESRI, 2018 )
which o e s a con igu a ion o h ee main componen s ha can eside on di e en machines: he
A cGIS Se e , he Po al o A cGIS and he A cGIS Da a S o e (Figu e 2) o g an he ea u e se ice
da a managemen . The sys em equi es ha all h ee componen s wo k oge he . The A cGIS Se e
Si e is ede a ed and in eg a ed wi h he po al. This sys em is con igu ed wi h wo da a s o es which
deploy he hos ing se e : he ela ional and he non- ela ional o ile cache da a s o e. While he
ela ional da abase handles he hos ed ea u e se ices managed in he po al, he non- ela ional manages
hos ed scene se ices. This con igu a ion o e s he highes le el o in eg a ion o he sys em
13
componen s and, hence, he mos capabili ies a ailabili y, a he momen being he only means o
publishing complex 3D ea u es ia he I3S s anda d laye (ESRI, 2018g).
Figu e 2 A cGIS En e p ise mul i-machine model adap ed om (ESRI, 2018 )
In his a chi ec u e model (Figu e 2) he communica ion be ween he po al and he GIS se e is done
ia he HTTP and HTTPS p o ocols o can be es ic ed o HTTPS only. As Figu e 2 displays, he po al
communica es wi h he 7080 po o he HTTP p o ocol and wi h he 7443 po o he HTTPS (ESRI,
2018l). The GIS se e , on he o he hand, uses he HTTP po 6080 and he HTTPS po 6443 o
communica e wi h he o he machines ia he In e ne (ESRI, 2016c). The Web Adap o manages he
eques s ia he 80 and he 443 po s.
14
3. METHODOLOGY
The goal o he esea ch is o in eg a e complex geospa ial da a and web-based se ices on an
in e ope able web pla o m by p oposing and e alua ing a GIS clien -se e a chi ec u e. In o he wo ds,
he p oposed app oach e e s o he c ea ion o an a e ac aiming o sol e a p oblem. In his con ex , a
design science esea ch amewo k (Kanellis & Papadopoulos, 2009) is chosen om he exis ing
esea ch me hodologies as he p oposed app oach in ends o build knowledge h ough he c ea ion o
eali y. This chap e ocuses on desc ibing he concep o design science esea ch and i s applica ion o
he cu en esea ch.
DESIGN-SCIENCE RESEARCH
The pa adigm o Design-Science is a esea ch ins umen commonly used in In o ma ion Sciences o
sol e p oblems by c ea ing an a e ac . Design-Science Resea ch p oposes a amewo k adap ed by he
esea che ’s aims o shape he a e ac acco ding o he esul s o a se ies o i e a ions o i e p ocesses
as seen in Figu e 3: he p oblem’s awa eness, he sugges ion, he de elopmen , he e alua ion and he
conclusion (Kanellis & Papadopoulos, 2009).
Figu e 3 Design esea ch p ocess adap ed om (Kanellis & Papadopoulos, 2009)
Fi s , he p oblem (Figu e 3) is shaped and add essed by he esea che . Based on empi ical knowledge
and accumula ed expe ience, solu ions o he p oblem a e p oposed in he sugges ion phase. The
sugges ions a e being pushed o wa d o he de elopmen p ocess when an a e ac is c ea ed acco ding
o he heo y. The de eloped a e ac is e alua ed acco ding o he sugges ions p oposed and all indings
a e cycled back o he p oblem’s awa eness and sugges ion, o e-de elop and e-e alua e he a e ac .
The p ocess e mina es wi h he conclusion and he knowledge is buil h ough he wo lows:
Ci cumsc ip ion and Ope a ion and Goal Knowledge (Kanellis & Papadopoulos, 2009).
15
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
Acco ding o he design science esea ch pa adigm heo ized p e iously, he me hodology o he cu en
esea ch adop s he i e phases o he amewo k p oposed by Kanellis & Papadopoulos (2009) and
adap s hem o he main objec i es: p oposing, implemen ing and e alua ing o a new clien -se e
a chi ec u e o complex GIS da a in eg a ion on a common, s uden -speci ic web pla o m (Figu e 4).
Figu e 4. Design-science esea ch amewo k implemen a ion
As Figu e 4 implies, each phase o he design-science esea ch amewo k e lec s one implemen a ion
s ep:
1. The awa eness o he p oblem phase is p esen ed a he beginning o he pape , by s a ing he
wo main objec i es o he esea ch: he p oposal and implemen a ion o a clien -se e
a chi ec u e o complex GIS da a and web se ices in eg a ion.
2. The sugges ion phase e lec s in he solu ions p oposed by he exis ing GIS in eg a ion
solu ions and he empi ical expe ience gained h ough he ope a ion and goal knowledge
disco e y.
3. The de elopmen phase is he cons uc ion o he a e ac based on he heo ies condensed by
he sugges ion phase. In he cu en esea ch, he a e ac is ep esen ed by he p oposal and
design o a clien -se e a chi ec u e o se e o he in eg a ion o he mo i a ed da a and
se ices in a common webGIS pla o m.
4. The e alua ion consis s o he p ac ical implemen a ion o he p oposed a chi ec u e and
alida ion o i s unc ionali y h oughou he s uden dedica ed pla o m. S udmap 3.0. A s udy
case eme ges a his poin o es he heo e ical concep s a ained and he easibili y o he
concep ual a chi ec u e p oposed p e iously. The ou come o his phase is eed back o he
22
Figu e 6. A ea o in e es .
4.3.3 Da a o in e es
The da a o in e es (Table 2) o he implemen a ion o S udmap 3.0 comes om h ee main sou ces:
he S udmap 1.4 Po al, he newly gene a ed da a om he s uden s’ UAS2018 p ojec s and he hi d-
pa y se ices (OpenNRW, 2017) (IVVgeo, 2018). The da a comes in ou di e en coo dina e sys ems:
25832 (ETRS 1989 UTM Zone 32N), 32632 (WGS 1984 UTM Zone 32N), 4326 (GCS WGS 1984)
and 3857 (WGS 1984 Web Me ca o Auxilia y Sphe e). While all i ems we e s o ed wi h hei o iginal
e e ence sys em, all p ojec ions we e handled on- he- ly, while using A cGIS P o o he publica ion
o he web se ices. Mo eo e , he e a e six di e en o ma ypes: .shp, . i , .slpk, WMTS, WFS and
WMS.

23
No.
Sou ce
Re e ence
Name
Fo ma
EPSG
1
S udmap 14
s udmap_p od.sde
Uncu a eas NRW S udmap 14
.shp
25832
2
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Cen e line UAS2018
.shp
32632
3
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Fligh pa h UAS2018
.shp
32632
4
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Fligh pa h poin s UAS2018
.shp
32632
5
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Land co e CORINE dissol e
UAS2018
. i
32632
6
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Land co e dissol e UAS2018
. i
32632
7
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Land co e UAS2018
. i
32632
8
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
DEM UAS 2018
. i
32632
9
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Ele a ion UAS2018
. i
32632
10
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
LiDAR s a ions UAS2018
.shp
32632
11
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Sensebox S a ions UAS2018
.shp
32632
12
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
Ai Quali y UAS2018
.shp
4326
13
UAS2018
s udmap_p od.sde
S udy a ea UAS2018
.shp
32632
14
UAS2018
pc.slpk
Poin cloud UAS2018
.slpk
32632
15
UAS2018
h p://i 6.maps.a cgis.com
NDVI UAS2018
WMTS
32632
16
hi d-pa y
se ices
h p://i 6.maps.a cgis.com
Image composi ion UAS2018
WMTS
3857
17
hi d-pa y
se ices
h p://i 6.maps.a cgis.com
O hopho o Mul ispec al UAS2018
WMTS
3857
18
hi d-pa y
se ices
h p://i 6.maps.a cgis.com
O hopho o RGB UAS2018
WMTS
3857
19
hi d-pa y
se ices
h p://i 6.maps.a cgis.com
Aspec UAS2018
WMTS
3857
20
hi d-pa y
se ices
h p://i 6.maps.a cgis.com
Slope UAS2018
WMTS
3857
21
hi d-pa y
se ices
h p://i 6.maps.a cgis.com
Hillshade UAS2018
WMTS
3857
22
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
O icial Ge man basemap o NRW
1:5000
WMS
3857
23
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Digi al O hopho os NRW 10cm
(Me ada a, RGB, CIR, NIR)
WMS
3857
24
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Landscape In o ma ion Collec ion o
NRW
WMS
3857
25
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Regional plan o NRW
WMS
3857
26
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Topog aphical basemap o NRW
1:5000
WMS
3857
27
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Topog aphical map o NRW 1:25000
WMS
3857
28
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
DTM Relie o NRW
WMS
3857
29
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
DTM Slope o NRW
WMS
3857
30
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
DTM Isolines o NRW
WMS
3857
31
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Adminis a i e bounda ies o NRW -
Dis ic municipali ies &…
WFS
3857
32
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Adminis a i e bounda ies o NRW -
Dis ic s & coun y-le el ci ies
WFS
3857
24
33
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Adminis a i e bounda ies o NRW -
Adminis a i e dis ic s
WFS
3857
34
hi d-pa y
se ices
h ps://open.n w
Adminis a i e bounda ies o NRW -
Bo de
WFS
3857
Table 2 Da a o in e es
4.3.3.1 S udmap 1.4 da a
S udmap 1.4 Po al is he o me and cu en ly un unc ional GIS pla o m o he Uni e si y o Müns e .
The po al used o encompass da a o egional in e es o he s uden s, such as web-based map se ices
and geog aphic da a mos ly in he common . i and .shp o ma s. The s uc u e o he geopo al is
desc ibed by he S udmap 1.4’s wiki page (IVVGeo-Team, 2018), which o e s de ails ela ed o he
unc ionali ies, ex e nal WMS se ices, pos -ins alled packages, se e con igu a ion and web clien
communica ion.
Some o he main ea u es o he S udmap 1.4 po al was o allow he upload o .gpx and .kml ile
o ma s and he download o he . i , .shp and .kml ile o ma s. Besides hese, i included a ool o
es o e he applica ion s a e and a sea ch bu on. Fo he use in e ace, he map included a measu ing
ool, he con ex menu and a iewpo layou , al oge he wi h a buil -in lis o ex e nal web map se ices.
Among he classic unc ions, i included he zoom slide , a g a icule ool, a maximum ex en bu on, he
laye lis , and he selec ea u e ool. P inz (2014) gi es a isual insigh in o he S udmap 1.4 po al,
h ough a se ies o sc eensho s and explana ions on he wo k low o he GPS (global posi ioning sys em)
da a ans e o a GIS.
The da a and unc ionali ies o he old S udmap 1.4 pla o m we e in es iga ed in o de o o e a
selec ion o ele an da a and ools o be included on he newly implemen ed po al. As any backup iles
o es o e he old da abase in o a new one was lacking, no da a mig a ion om one sys em o ano he
was possible. Hence, all selec ed da a we e i s o ganized in a new geoda abase consis ing o six ea u e
da ase s: bio ope cadas e , auna- lo a-habi a , legally p o ec ed bio ope, na u e conse a ion a ea,
composi e su aces, bo de s, and ac i i y a eas. Each da ase was analyzed o i s co esponding online
sou ce, using he a ailable lis o web se e s and hei upda ed e sions. One ea u e ha had no online
co esponden was ound and s o ed in he ini ial de elopmen geoda abase: he uncu a eas o No h
Rhine-Wes phalia, ep esen ing he aluable ecological a eas uncu by any o m o in as uc u e.
4.3.3.2 New 3D da a o TLS and/o UAV
The new da a is ep esen ed by he ecen p ojec deli e ables o he s uden s o he WWU uni e si y
du ing he 2018 Unmanned Ae ial Sys ems (UAS) class. The class objec i e is o p ocess and analyze
da a cap u ed ia UAVs (Unmanned Ae ial Vehicles) o TLS (Te es ial Lase Scanning) echniques
which always comes in 3D. In his ime hese da a a e p oduced in la ge amoun s e e y yea and lack
an e icien way o s o age, sha ing, and p esen a ion. The da a consis s o mos ly as e and ec o
da ase s, in h ee main o ma s .shp, . i and he newly included ile o ma o he LIDAR da a cap u ed
25
ia TLS, .las. Mo eo e , he new da a ha was al eady published online by he s uden s o he uni e si y
comes in he o ma o iled map se ices.
The mos challenging da ase included in he p ojec consis s o a small-size poin cloud ile in he
s anda d .las o ma . The ile p ope ies and s a is ics o he ile a e p esen ed in Figu e 7. As obse ed
in he igu e, he ile consis s o app oxima ely 33.5 million poin s, wi h a size o 667 MB. Fo easie
p ocessing, he poin cloud was con e ed in a Scene Laye Package (.slpk) using he C ea e Scene
Laye Package Geop ocessing Tool, esul ing in a ligh ile o only 61,4 MB. The pc_uas2018.slpk ile
was locally s o ed on he same machine ha holds he da abases as his ype o ile cu en ly doesn’
allow s o age in a da abase.
Figu e 7 LAS File p ope ies and s a is ics
4.3.3.3 Thi d pa y se ices
The da a coming om he hi d-pa y se e s is ep esen ed by he web se ices o egional in e es o
he s uden s o he WWU Uni e si y o Muens e , o which he po al is dedica ed. Hence, he web
se ices selec ed o his s udy come om wo sou ces: he o icial GIS se e s o he s a e o No h
Rhine-Wes phalia (OpenNRW, 2017) and he cloud-based pla o m o he Ins i u e o
Geoin o ma ics o he Uni e si y o Müns e (IVVgeo, 2018). The se ices consis o h ee
ele an ypes, WMS, WFS and WMTS and a e selec ed o sa is y he needs o he s uden s acco ding
o he a ailabili y o e ed by he local da a p o ide s o No h Rhine-Wes phalia, o he lis o web
se ices a ailable in he wiki page o S udmap 1.4 (IVVGeo-Team, 2018) and o he ecen ly s o ed
p ojec s on he cloud-based pla o m o he Ins i u e o Geoin o ma ics.
26
4.3.4 A chi ec u e Implemen a ion
4.3.4.1 Gene al aspec s
Figu e 8 Gene al diag am o he a chi ec u e implemen a ion o S udmap 3.0
As he schema in Figu e 8 e lec s, he da a is gene a ed om h ee di e en sou ces: he old po al,
S udmap 1.4, he ecen p ojec s ha gene a ed new 2D and 3D da a and he hi d-pa y se e s. The
da a coming om he old po al and he ecen p ojec s a e s o ed in a common geospa ial da abase
which is u he cloned o p oduc ion. One ype o da a iles is, howe e , s o ed locally in a con e ed
o ma , SLPK as his ype o da a s uc u e doesn’ allow s o age in a da abase. The da a coming om
he hi d-pa y se e s is ep esen ed by he web map and ea u e se ices o he s a e o No h Rhine-
Wes phalia and is hos ed by he s a e’s geoda abase se e s.
The emphasis o his s uc u e s ands on he mos challenging componen s o be in eg a ed in o he new
pla o m: he di e en web-based se ices and he big da a ep esen ed by he complex 3D poin clouds.
The c ea ion o he web-based se ices ha we e se on he old pla o m, S udmap 1.4, includes
p ima ily map se ices (WMS), ea u e se ices (WFS) and map ile se ices (WMTS) and APIs o he
use o he hi d-pa y applica ions. Wha is mo e, an app oach will be de eloped o mig a e he old
da ase s in o he new sys em and o e-de elop he map se ices and APIs o he cu en and u u e
hi d-pa y applica ions o in eg a e wi h he unde lying in as uc u e. On he o he hand, handling big
da a in he geoda abase e e s o inding he bes app oach o in eg a e hea y poin cloud da a ha comes
usually in he LAS o ma .
27
The componen s o he p oposed a chi ec u e a e dis ibu ed ac oss di e en machines o inc ease
compu ing powe , as pe Table 3:
Sys em componen
Machine e e ence
Web se e wi h web adap o
IVVGEO-STUDMAP.uni-muens e .de
GIS Se e (A cGIS Se e )
IVVGEO-STUDMAP.uni-muens e .de
Da a S o e (SQL and NoSQL)
IVVGEO-STUDMAP.uni-muens e .de
Web se e wi h web adap o
i geo-po al.uni-muens e .de
Po al o A cGIS
i geo-po al.uni-muens e .de
Table 3 Componen s’ dis ibu ion
The implemen ed web po al has a hyb id sys em a chi ec u e a all h ee componen le els. The
p esen a ion ie consis s o desk op GIS applica ions (A cGIS Map and A cGIS P o) and web
applica ions (Po al o A cGIS, A cGIS Se e Manage ) o REST Admin APIs (A cGIS Po al
Di ec o y, Po al Adminis a o Di ec o y, A cGIS Se e Adminis a o Di ec o y) ha allow he use s
and adminis a o s o in e ac wi h he IVVGEO po al and se e . As o he applica ion laye , i consis s
o he wo web se e s holding he logic o bo h he po al and he se e and he IVVGEO Se e
i sel . The da abase ie consis s o wo ela ional da a s o es (a Pos g eSQL en e p ise geoda abase and
he Managed A cGIS Da a S o e) and one non- ela ional da a s o e ( he Tile Cache A cGIS Da a S o e).
4.3.4.2 The p esen a ion ie
The p esen a ion laye ep esen s all he in e aces ha he use s can access o in e ac wi h he IVVGEO
po al and GIS se e . The access o he di e en in e aces can be done acco ding o he use s’ oles.
Hence, egula oles, such as publishe s, iewe s o use s no mally ope a e wi h he desk op GIS
applica ions and web applica ions, which end o be mo e use - iendly. The adminis a o s usually
in e ac wi h he sys em using he REST Admin APIs. Since his s udy is in ended o he de elopmen
o a webGIS pla o m o se e he s uden s o hei necessi ies, he discussion is u he ocused a ound
he main in e ace o he sys em, namely he S udmap 3.0 Po al.
The S udmap 3.0 Po al, also e e ed as IVVGEO, is cu en ly accessible ia he REST Admin APIs
o adminis a o s’ access and he Po al o A cGIS web applica ion o all use oles. The web
applica ion can be accessed using he web-b owse ia he ollowing URL: h p://i geo-po al.geo.uni-
muens e .de/po al (si e las accessed on Feb ua y 7, 2019). Up o now, he po al componen s a e
o ganized in di e en ways: by olde s, ca ego ies, i em ypes, da e modi ied, da e c ea ed, sha ed and
s a us. I ems alling in o he same ca ego y we e gi en a common ag using he name o ha ca ego y.
The con en o he S udmap 3.0 Po al is di ided be ween web laye s o ganized in web maps, web scenes
and web applica ions. A his ime, he e a e 46 web laye s hos ed on he po al di ided in se en ypes
o laye s and hos ed on h ee main sou ces as shown in Table 4:

28
The laye s a e g ouped in wo web maps, NRW 2Dmap and UAS 2Dmap and wo web scenes, NRW
3Dmap and UAS 3Dmap acco ding o hei con en and ele ance. As seen in Figu e 9 one laye was
no added o any o he enume a ed web maps and scenes, namely he “Uncu A eas o NRW S udmap
1.4” as i con ains mo e ea u es han he map ex en is able o d aw (ESRI, 2018n).
Figu e 9 Fea u e se ice e o when exceeding ea u e limi on a web map (le ) o web scene ( igh )
A GIS web applica ion was c ea ed o each map using WAB: NRW 2Dapp, NRW 3Dapp, UAS 2Dapp
and UAS 3Dapp. All applica ions’ in e aces a e displayed in Appendix A. Each applica ion was
con igu ed wi h pe sonalized widge s (Table 5) acco ding o i s pu pose and he limi a ions o he API
speci ic o each ype o applica ion, 2D o 3D. Due o he limi a ions o he applica ion building SDK,
capabili ies like adding da a, edi ing da a, selec , que y a e only a ailable on he 2D applica ions.
Mo eo e , acco ding o an incompa ibili y o he de elope ’s edi ion o he applica ion builde wi h he
WFS se ices equi ed, he applica ions we e inally buil using he buil -in ool o he Po al o A cGIS,
which doesn’ allow cus omiza ions o he applica ions. Fo a be e isualiza ion o he unc ionali y
o he main widge s o he applica ions, hey a e p esen ed in Appendix B.
UAS 2Dapp
S udmap 3.0
2Dapp
UAS 3Dapp
S udmap 3.0
3Dapp
A ibu e able
x
x
Coo dina e
x
x
x
x
Full sc een
x
x
x
x
Scaleba
x
x
Zoom slide
x
x
x
x
Sea ch
x
x
x
x
Home
x
x
x
x
My loca ion
x
x
x
x
Basemap galle y
x
x
x
x
Laye lis
x
x
x
x
Legend
x
x
x
x
Add Da a
x
x
Edi
x
Que y
x
Type
Tile
Map image
Fea u e
Image y
Scene
WMS
WFS
N .
7
12
12
1
1
9
4
Sou ce
IVVGEO
cloud
IVVGEO
MapSe e
IVVGEO
Fea u eSe e
IVVGEO
ImageSe e
IVVGEO
SceneSe e
NRW
geose e
NRW
geose e
Table 4 Web laye s ypes and dis ibu ion
29
Selec
x
Measu emen
x
x
x
x
Sha e
x
x
x
x
Compass
x
x
Na iga e
x
x
Table 5 Widge s con igu ed o each web applica ion o he S udmap 3.0 po al
The basemaps used o he web in e ace o each map and, hence, applica ion consis o he s anda d
iled map se ices g an ed by ESRI. Acco ding o Kong, Zhang, & S oneb ake (2015), use s end o
a o a amilia , nea and easy o in e p e map as a base o hei applica ions. The e o e, he basic G ey
Scale basemap o e ed by ESRI was chosen o he applica ions c ea ed o a oid he use being dis ac ed
by an unnecessa y load o de ails. Fo he use s ha ha e he igh pe missions, one can op o any o
he a ailable basemaps o e ed by ESRI (2018a) o om he lis o dedica ed WMS se ices published
o he po al.
To g an he ease o manipula ion on he IVVGEO Po al o he local s uden s, he Po al i ems we e
o ganized in a mo e comp ehensi e way using an A cGIS En e p ise Si e, S udmap 3.0 which can be
accessed using: h p://i geo-po al.geo.uni-muens e .de/po al/apps/si es/#/s udmap30 (si e las
accessed on Feb ua y 7, 2019). The si e is simple and consis s o a sho desc ip ion o he po al, he
con ac in o ma ion and h ee main sec ions: Find da a, Applica ions and Da a ca ego ies. The Find Da a
sec ion o e s an enhanced unc ionali y o he po al as use s can easily na iga e h ough he da a
a ailable on he po al ei he by ex o by loca ion. This sec ion is he i s one o appea on he Si e,
oge he wi h he desc ip ion and name o he po al (Figu e 10). The Applica ions sec ion gi es access
o he 4 main applica ions o he po al (Figu e 11). The Da a Ca ego ies sec ion is designed o allow
s uden s o ind he a ailable web laye s by so ed ca ego ies and is ollowed by he con ac in o ma ion
(Figu e 12). This sec ion selec s he laye s by ag que y and hence, each ag ha i s o a ce ain ca ego y
will be selec ed o ha que y (Figu e 13). The ull ex en o S udmap 3.0 Si e is p esen ed in Appendix
C.
30
Figu e 10 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace - Find da a sec ion
Figu e 11 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace - Applica ions sec ion
31
Figu e 12 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace – Da a ca ego ies sec ion
Figu e 13 S udmap 3.0 Po al in e ace - Resul s by ag il e
S uden s can also bene i om accessing he i ems a ailable in hei po al accoun by using a desk op
GIS applica ion, A cGIS P o, by adding he po al connec ion ia he Po al’s URL: h ps://i geo-
po al.uni-muens e .de/po al (las accessed on Feb ua y 7, 2019). S uden s wi h publishing igh s a e
also allowed o publish i ems on he S udmap 3.0 Po al using he A cGIS P o applica ion o he po al’s
o iginal in e ace. Using ei he he A cGIS P o o A cGIS Map applica ions, use s a e also allowed o
access he se ices on he IVVGEO Se e by c ea ing an A cGIS Se e connec ion be ween hei local
machines and he emo e one holding he GIS se e applica ion (Figu e 14).
38
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA s udmap_c ea o , public, sde TO
s udmap_ iewe ;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA s udmap_c ea o , public, sde TO
s udmap_edi o ;
GRANT UPDATE ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA s udmap_c ea o , sde TO s udmap_edi o ;
GRANT INSERT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA s udmap_c ea o , sde TO s udmap_edi o ;

39
5. DISCUSSION
This chap e o e s he inal discussion on he bene i s and limi a ions o he p oposed and implemen ed
clien -se e a chi ec u e. The compa ison was done in e ms o di e en c i e ia: da a, sys em
unc ionali y, sys em usabili y and ease o implemen a ion. The i s h ee c i e ia we e speci ied
acco ding o he ends iden i ied by Veenendaal, B o elli, & Li (2017) and ocus on he echnical
objec i es o his s udy: he implemen a ion and e alua ion o he p oposed a chi ec u e in e ms o
complex da a in eg a ion and unc ionali y acco ding o he s uden s’ needs. The la e ocuses mo e on
a pe sonal app oach o alida e he o e all implemen a ion o he en i e sys em.
As speci ied in Chap e 3, he measu e o he e mina ion o he design esea ch p ocess p oposed o
his s udy is he ul ima e usabili y e alua ion o he a e ac , namely he implemen ed po al. This
p ocess consis ed o wo phases: a cus omized expe usabili y e alua ion ollowed by a s anda dized
use es . The i s phase was an inspec ion o he in e ace o he po al ollowed by a cus omized
ques ionnai e add essed o specialized people. The i s 10 ques ions we e designed acco ding o he
s anda dized SUS sys em (Sau o & Lewis, 2016) while he las ou ques ions we e open-ended and
aiming a e ealing he expe s’ opinion on he s eng hs, limi a ions and ecommenda ions o he
po al. The second phase consis ed o a se o 11 asks ollowed by he SUS ques ionnai e and i was
add essed o wen y s uden s.
The chap e inally add esses a sec ion dedica ed o u u e de elopmen s o he po al based on he
conclusions and eedback d awn om his s udy.
DATA
The p oposed webGIS a chi ec u e was e alua ed o he da a comple eness using he implemen ed
model o he S udmap 3.0 webGIS po al acco ding o he h ee ypes o sou ces included in he
implemen ed model: da a coming om S udmap 1.4, new da a and hi d-pa y se ices.
In e ms o da a mig a ion om he S udmap 1.4 po al o he newly c ea ed po al, he lack o backup
iles om he old sys em made i impossible o mig a e he schema om he old da abase o a new one.
This has led o a new app oach o o ganizing he da a and inding he upda ed online co esponding
sou ces, in he o m o web-based se ices. One ea u e which had no online co esponden was locally
s o ed as pa o he c ea ed and egis e ed en e p ise geoda abase.
In e ms o da a coming om he new p ojec s, he model has p o en o be pa ly unc ional o he
desi ed da a ypes. While mos o ma s a e easily in eg a ed wi h he sys em, he complex 3D poin
cloud da a ypes we e locally s o ed as he s anda d .slpk packages. This was due o he incompa ibili y
be ween he da a o ma allowed being s o ed in he da abase, namely he mul ipoin ea u e, and he
equi ed da a o ma o publishing. Hence, such comp omise may cause some di icul ies in e ms o
s o age and o ganiza ion o da a as he da a o he implemen ed a chi ec u e is now s o ed in an
en e p ise geoda abase and a egis e ed olde , bo h s o ed on he same machine.
40
In e ms o da a coming om he hi d-pa y se ices, ou o he h ee web-based se ices p oposed in
he ini ial model, only wo we e able o sa is y he en i e schema: WMS and WFS. The WMTS se ice
ype was p o en o pa ially sa is y he sys em as only he ESRI speci ic laye s we e ully compa ible
wi h he equi ed pa ame e s o web se ices publishing as speci ied by he OGC s anda ds.
The da a we e also e alua ed acco ding o i s ease o access. A his ime, he s uden s can choose o
access he po al i ems om bo h he Po al’s in e ace o om he A cGIS Desk op applica ion. In his
case, A cGIS P o was used o he publishing o he web se ices and o enabling he connec ions o
he GIS Se e and o he en e p ise geoda abase. In his way, he end use s bene i om wo di e en
op ions o accessing he da a, depending on hei amilia i y wi h he p oduc s. The access o he ables
o he en e p ise da abase can only be done using a DBMS, such as Pos g eSQL o using a desk op GIS
so wa e, such as A cGIS P o. Using a desk op GIS so wa e o access he da abase ables comes as an
asse o he sys em as he “s udmap_p od” en e p ise geoda abase is ully compa ible wi h he A cGIS
speci ic geoda abase and hence, no ad anced da abases skills a e equi ed. Fo example, he s uden can
in e ac wi h he da abase using basic ope a ions such as d ag and d op.
SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY
The o e all unc ionali y o he implemen ed sys em is gi en by unc ions imposed by a se o non-
unc ional equi emen s, such as pe o mance, secu i y and cos o equipmen . The o e all unc ionali y
o he implemen ed po al was ul ima ely measu ed using he usabili y e alua ion desc ibed in he
ollowing sec ion.
A. FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The unc ional ea u es we e de ined acco ding o he eigh c i e ia iden i ied by Kong, Zhang, &
S oneb ake (2015) and he desi ed capabili ies o he S udmap 3.0 po al in he con ex o i s
implemen a ion. The desi ed ange o capabili ies was speci ied a he beginning o his s udy: o allow
s uden s o explo e, download, manage and upload da a o egional in e es in a 3D capable and sma
webGIS en i onmen . The e o e, he sys em was analyzed acco ding o i e main aspec s, adap ed om
Kong, Zhang, & S oneb ake (2015) o he web applica ions c ea ed: basemap a ailabili y, applica ion
elemen s, map p oduc s, in o ma ion que y and loca ion sea ch. The i s h ee e e o he mapping
unc ionali y, while he las e e o he da abase side.
Compa ed o he old po al e sion, no only does S udmap 3.0 suppo bo h 2D and 3D applica ions,
bu i also allows a wide ange o ools as seen in Table 8:
Func ional c i e ia
Tools
S udmap 1.4
2D
S udmap 3.0
2D 3D
Basemap a ailabili y
Basemap galle y
x
x
Applica ion elemen s
Scaleba
x
x
x
41
Zoom slide
x
x
x
Pan
x
x
Home
x
x
Full sc een
x
x
x
Laye lis
x
x
x
Legend
x
x
Measu emen
x
x
x
Compass
x
Na iga e
x
Add da a
x*
x
Res o e app s a e
x
G a icule
x
Map p oduc s
Sa e
x
x
x
Sha e
x
x
x
Download
x
x
x
Open in Desk op
x
x
In o ma ion que y
Que y
x
Selec
x
x
x
Edi
x
Loca ion sea ch
Sea ch by loca ion
x
x
x
My loca ion
x
x
Table 8 Func ionali y o S udmap 1.4 and S udmap 3.0
The basemap chosen o he web applica ions a ailable on he po al is ESRI’s G ey Scale Basemap o
mee wi h he gene al s uden ’s expec a ions in e ms o le el o de ail and o ganiza ion. A s uden can,
howe e , swi ch he basemap om he lis o e ed by ESRI using he basemap galle y widge in he web
applica ions o cus omize i using a published WMS se ice o se he base in e ace o new web maps
o scenes.
Fo he applica ion elemen s, he widge s o he buil -in edi ion o A cGIS’s WAB we e added o each
applica ion acco ding o bo h he s uden s’ needs, and he limi a ions gi en by he di e en ypes o
applica ions. The cu en de elope ’s edi ion o he WAB is incompa ible wi h he WFS se ices
p o ided by he hi d-pa y se e s and hence he applica ions we e cons uc ed wi h a less lexible
applica ion builde . The esul was he c ea ion o an applica ion o each ype o da a: 2D and 3D. While
he 2D ype allows he in eg a ion o a wide ange o widge s, he 3D applica ions ha e less unc ions
and lexibili y. All applica ions we e gi en he adi ional unc ionali ies: scaleba , an in e ac i e zoom
slide and pan, home, ull sc een, laye lis and legend. Wha is mo e, he measu emen ool was
con igu ed o bo h 2D and 3D applica ions, o allow he s uden s o in e p e dis ances and a ea sizes
easie . A compass and a na iga ion ool we e added o he 3D applica ions o a be e loca ion
o ien a ion and o a dynamic in e ac ion wi h he 3D en i onmen . Enhanced unc ionali y was gi en
*
WFS, WMTS and .shp no included
42
wi h he add da a widge ha was added on he 2D applica ions. Again, he widge is no a ailable in
he 3D ype o applica ions. The widge b ings alue o he sys em as one o he main cha ac e is ics
in ended o he c ea ion o he po al was o allow s uden s o in e ac wi h he exis ing se ices on he
po al while empo a ily adding hei own da a. This unc ionali y is also gi en by he basic publishing
op ions ha A cGIS Po al has s uden s wi h publishing pe missions can publish se ices on he po al,
can add hem o web map o scenes, which hey can inco po a e in new web applica ions.
As he c ea ion o di e en applica ions was limi ed by he widge s a ailable o each ype, he
in o ma ion que y unc ionali y was only possible o he 2D applica ions. Fo s uden s o unde s and
he in o ma ion be e , he 2D applica ions we e designed wi h such widge s as: a ibu e able, edi ,
selec and que y.
Rega ding he map p oduc s, one can easily sa e, sha e o download he web maps and applica ions
a ailable on he po al, wi h limi a ion based on he de ined use oles hie a chy. Indi idual web laye s
can be locally accessed using he A cGIS desk op applica ion
Loca ion sea ch is essen ial o any webGIS applica ion and hence, has been included in all applica ions
on he po al as well as on he po al’s in e ace. Using he sea ch by loca ion ool, he s uden s can inpu
he name o a place, i s add ess o i s coo dina es o loca e a poin on he map.
B. NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The o e all unc ionali y o he sys em was limi ed by some he non- unc ional equi emen s: sys em
pe o mance and secu i y and cos o equipmen .
The o e all pe o mance o he sys em is dependen on he esou ces a ailable o suppo he ins alled
componen s as well as on he limi a ions o he chosen p oduc s. Such esou ces as i ewall se ings,
ope a ing sys em, ha dwa e (disk space and memo y) and web b owse s should be conside ed o a good
pe o mance o he sys em, especially i he cu en da abase componen is in ended o be expanded.
Among he p oduc limi a ions, wo majo p oblems we e iden i ied. Fi s is he inabili y o he A cGIS
Po al-speci ic web maps o d aw a la ge numbe o ea u es which lead o he decision o excluding he
“Uncu A eas o NRW S udmap 1.4” ea u e se ice om he web maps and scenes. The second is
ep esen ed by he p oduc s o e ed by he hi d-pa y se ice p o ide s. As an example, a simple web
ea u e se ice akes mo e han one minu e o load on an emp y map. This is because he se ices
p o ided by he o icial ins i u ion a e lacking a good pe o mance. Geospa ial web se ices coming
om ex e nal se e s should comply no only wi h he OGC s anda ds, bu also wi h he gene al
in e ope abili y eques .
A closed sou ce and hence, cos ly equipmen (ESRI En e p ise) we e p e e ed o e he open sou ce
op ions on he ma ke . This was done o allow he se ies o bene i s he p oduc s a e coming wi h, abou
he sys em main enance and pe o mance, secu i y and a ailable echnical suppo .
43
To e en ually ensu e he p ope communica ion be ween he scene cache da a s o e and he GIS se e
a comp omise was made esul ing in o a less secu e con igu a ion o he sys em. Compa ed o he
concep ual model p oposed a he beginning o his s udy, he componen s o he implemen ed sys em
communica e using bo h HTTP and HTTPS p o ocols, oge he wi h a secu e socke le el ce i ica e
(SSL) allowance.
SYSTEM USABILITY
To ul ima ely each he end o he cycle o he design me hodology chosen o his esea ch, he
sui abili y o he pla o m o he speci ic academic use was es ed using a mixed usabili y e alua ion o
he po al’s in e ace. The usabili y was coun ed as he implemen ed a chi ec u e esul ed in he c ea ion
o a ool – a web-based GIS pla o m o academic pu poses. The e alua ion ook place in wo s ages: a
cus omized expe inspec ion ollowed by a s anda d use es ing.
5.3.1 Expe e alua ion
The usabili y e alua ion add essed o he expe s was done in he ollowing o de : he de elopmen o
he ques ions, he selec ion o he expe s and he e alua ion o he esul s.
Fi s , he expe s we e gi en impo an de ails abou he p oduc : wha is i des ined o , which a e he
end use s and wha ype o i ems a e hos ed on he po al. Second, hey we e asked o inspec he po al’s
in e ace in o de o answe he de eloped ques ionnai e. The expe s we e hen gi en he ques ionnai e
o assess hei opinion abou he usabili y o he po al.
The se ies o ques ions was de eloped acco ding o he key-aspec s o he implemen ed po al’s in e ace
and o he SUS s anda dized usabili y ques ionnai e (Sau o & Lewis, 2016). The ques ionnai e consis s
o he en s anda d SUS mul iple-choice ques ions wi h he answe choice om “S ongly Disag ee”,
“Disag ee”, Neu al, “Ag ee” and “S ongly Ag ee” and ou cus omized open-ended ques ions ele an
o he in e ace o he po al. Google Fo ms was used o collec and o ganize he ques ionnai e and i s
esul s. All ques ions a e p esen ed in Appendix D.
The expe s we e selec ed acco ding o hei expe ience wi h he ESRI En e p ise-speci ic p oduc s,
hei geog aphic loca ion, he wo king s a us and a ailabili y. Table 9 con ains a sho desc ip ion o
each expe ega ding hei wo king s a us and expe ise c i e ia:
Full
Name
Wo king
s a us
O ganiza ion
Backg ound
Mi zi
A aujo
Vidal
Mas e
s uden in
Geospa ial
Technologies
NOVA IMS,
Lisbon
Po ugal
Geog aphe wi h En i onmen al Managemen
Backg ound; GIS Analys esponsible o Spa ial Analysis
in Public Secu i y; GIS manage wi h expe ience wi h
ESRI sui e o applica ions and open sou ce ools; A cGIS
Se e and Po al Manage ; Cu en ly, inalizing he

44
Mas e s in Geospa ial Technologies wi h ocus on
loca ional p i acy p o ec ion
Tiago H.
Mo ei a
de
Oli ei a
PhD s uden
in
In o ma ion
Managemen
& GIS
NOVA IMS,
Lisbon
Po ugal
Execu i e Coo dina o o R&D na ional and in e na ional
P ojec s a NOVA IMS; Coo dina o o he GIS & Science
mas e cou se; Membe o he UNIGIS In e na ional
Ne wo k; Assis an in eaching he cou ses o Geog aphic
In o ma ion Sys ems and Science; Ac i e pa icipan on
scien i ic e en s, Au ho o 45 esea ch pape s
Table 9 Desc ip ion o each expe chosen o he usabili y e alua ion
Finally, he esul s o he expe ques ionnai e we e analyzed. The i s 10 SUS s anda d ques ions we e
analyzed acco ding o he s anda d scaling me hod o he sys em and esul ed in a inal sco e o 83.75%.
Conside ing accep abili y measu es p oposed by Bango , Ko um, & Mille (2008), he expe s ha e
ound he po al’s in e ace as accep able, in be ween good and excellen .
The las 4 open-ended ques ions e lec ed ou main aspec s o in e es o he in ended unc ionali y o
he po al and a e summa ized in Table 10. The comple e se o esul s is p esen ed in Appendix E.
C i e ia o
in e es
Answe summa y
Bene i s
The in e ace is easy o use and o e s good access o da a and ools o in e es o he
s uden s. Publishe s can c ea e hei own apps, using he published laye s on he po al.
D awbacks
Issues wi h he 3D ende ing we e de ec ed. Once au hen ica ed, ce ain ope a ions
equi e a con i ma ion/ eau hen ica ion. The icon o he sha e da a widge migh be
misin e p e ed as an angle measu emen ool.
Imp o emen s
Imp o e he 3D da a ende ing quali y, he na iga ion and isual capaci ies. Add a ool
o help s uden s unde s and he unc ionali ies and ools on he po al and applica ions.
O e all
usabili y
S uden s shouldn’ ace usabili y p oblems acco ding o he in ended unc ionali y o
he po al. The da a is easily accessible. The po al can also be conside ed o he public
access. Howe e , he hi d-pa y 3D da a ende ing issues should no be neglec ed.
Table 10 Responses o he open-ended ques ions o he expe ques ionnai e
5.3.2 Use es ing
The s anda dized use es ing p eceded he expe usabili y e alua ion and ook place in ou s ages: he
de elopmen o he asks, he de elopmen o he ques ion, he selec ion o he use s and he e alua ion
o he esul s.
Ten s aigh o wa d asks we e designed acco ding o he key unc ionali ies o he po al: abili y o
access public da a and p e ious p ojec s, abili y o compa e own da a wi h published se ices and bo h
2D and 3D unc ionali y. The in en ion was o gi e he pa icipan s a heu is ic app oach o ge
45
acquain ed wi h he in e ace be o e answe ing he ques ionnai e. The es ima ed ime in e al o
comple ion o all asks was 10 o 15 minu es, wi h a desi ed 100% comple ion a e. All asks we e
desc ibed a he beginning o he o m ha was sen o he pa icipan s.
Simila o he expe e alua ion, a s anda d SUS ques ionnai e (Sau o & Lewis, 2016) was p e e ed o
his phase: 10 mul iple choice ques ions and one open-ended ques ion o ask pa icipan s abou he
o e all opinion on he in e ace. The su ey used Google Fo ms o collec he answe s om he
pa icipan s. All ques ions oge he wi h he desc ip ion o he asks a e p esen ed in Appendix F.
Twen y s uden s we e selec ed, wi h ages be ween 23 and 31 yea s, all being in o med abou he
consequences o he e alua ion as olun ee s. The use s we e selec ed acco ding o he aimed audience
o he po al: s uden s ha a e acquain ed wi h 2D and 3D geospa ial da a in a webGIS en i onmen .
No all s uden s ha ha e pa icipa ed in he su ey ha e al eady s udied in WWU. To hese pa icipan s
a b ie explana ion o he da a o in e es o he WWU s uden s was gi en o a oid any ambigui ies
ela ed o he da a e e ed o du ing he comple ion o he asks.
Finally, he esul s o he expe ques ionnai e we e analysed. The i s 10 SUS s anda d ques ions we e
weigh ed acco ding o he s anda d analysis. The esponses o he open-ended ques ion a he end o he
ques ionnai e we e also conside ed. Al hough he s uden s we e only asked o s a e gene al commen s
abou he in e ace o he po al, he endency was o di ide hei answe s in di e en c i e ia, like he
ones used o he expe e alua ion. The e o e, he mos signi ican answe s ha e been g ouped in ou
c i e ia as summa ized in Table 11:
C i e ia o
in e es
Answe summa y
Bene i s
The po al is easy o use and lea n, in ui i e and nea . I is easy o access exis ing da a.
The po al is help ul o he s uden s o WWU and he applicabili y is clea . Bo h 2D and
3D unc ionali y a e co e ed, oge he wi h he di ec da a impo , sea ch da a and
measu emen ea u es. The da a is classi ied in a clea way. Fas esponses a e gi en o
bo h 2D and 3D da a. Pleasan choice o backg ound.
D awbacks
The speed o esponse is depending on he se e s’ capaci ies. The e is a need o mee
GPU c i e ia o un 3D applica ions. The e is no possibili y o swi ch om one
applica ion o ano he . The legend o one laye is missing. The p e iew o some o he
laye s is only displayed in a squa e. The e a e no many widge s on he applica ions.
S uden s o m o he domains migh ind i di icul o use.
Imp o emen s
Add he missing legends o he laye s o a be e in e p e a ion o he maps. Implemen
a solu ion o swi ch om one applica ion o ano he . Imp o e he p e iew o laye s.
O e all
opinion
The po al is app ecia ed by s uden s and applicable o esea ch, well designed and
use ul o s uden s. I o e s a good use expe ience, bu also open o imp o emen s.
Table 11 Responses o he open-ended ques ion o he s uden usabili y es
46
The asks we e gene ally well ecei ed by he s uden s, all s a ing ha hey go used o he in e ace
easily du ing he e alua ion. All esul s o he es a e p esen ed in Appendix G. To measu e he
e iciency o he es , he ime o comple ion o all asks was accoun ed. The ime i ed in he es ima ed
in e al as he a e age didn’ su pass 9 minu es (Figu e 19). Two s uden s ook mo e han he es ima ed
maximum o 15 minu es o comple e he asks. To measu e he e ec i eness, he accu acy o comple ing
he asks was measu ed. Two ou o wen y s uden s couldn’ comple e he las h ee asks (Figu e 20)
as hey we e acing he p oblem o incompa ibili y o he g aphics equi emen s o he 3D applica ions
based in he Scene Viewe (ESRI, 2017c).
Figu e 19 Boxplo o measu e he e ec i eness o he use s udy
Figu e 20 Boxplo o measu e he e iciency o he use s udy
47
The inal SUS sco e o he s uden e alua ion is 83.87%, which, acco ding o he accep abili y a e
p oposed by Bango , Ko um, & Mille (2008) si ua e he inal p oduc among he hi d qua ile ange,
which i s in he accep able ange. Acco ding o he adjec i e a ings, s uden s ound he inal in e ace
o he po al in be ween good and excellen .
As an ul ima e s ep o he e alua ion, he SUS sco es’ s a is ics compu ed o he s uden s we e displayed
in a boxplo and compa ed o he ones compu ed o he expe s. As seen in Figu e 21, bo h means a e
abo e he sco e o 80 on he scale om 1 o 100, s uden s ending o app ecia e he pla o m as close
o he excellen a ing han he pa icipa ing expe s wi h a SUS sco e di e ence o 0.125.
Figu e 21 Boxplo s o he SUS sco es compu ed o he expe and s uden e alua ions
EASE OF IMPLEMENTATION
Rega ding he o e all ease o implemen a ion o he sys em, he p oposed clien -se e a chi ec u e
equi ed a well-documen ed basis wi h an o e all complex se up o he back-end and an o e all
s aigh o wa d con igu a ion o he on -end.
The documen a ion suppo o he ins alla ion and con igu a ion o he sys ems’ componen s has p o en
o be e icien and e ec i e a all main le els: equi emen s, a chi ec u e, echnical and end use .
Howe e , he e we e si ua ions whe e he so wa e documen a ion ega ding he a chi ec u e design and
echnical speci ica ions did no include suppo o some speci ic issue. Changes ha equi e un-
ede a ion o e-indexing o he se ices o he po al lead o se ious echnical issues, ha ha e no
easible solu ion documen ed by his da e.
Ano he impo an issue is aised a ound he A cGIS Da a S o es. Changes ha equi e unins alla ion,
eins alla ion, econ igu a ion and back-up o he Da a S o e can cause ailu e o incomple e es o ing
o he da abases. Inconsis encies in documen a ion can also occu . Fo example, he need o un egis e
he da a s o e be o e unins alla ion is no men ioned in he main documen a ion, while i appea s as a
54
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60
APPENDIX
A. Applica ions in e aces
1. NRW 3Dapp
2. UAS 3Dapp
61
3. NRW 2Dapp
4. UAS 2Dapp
62
B. Func ionali y o he main widge s o he S udmap 3.0 applica ions
1. Basemap galle y
2. Add da a
3. Measu e 2D
63
4. Measu e 3D
5. Selec
6. Que y
70
6. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I hough he e was oo much inconsis ency
in his po al.”
7. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I would imagine ha mos people would lea n
o use his po al e y quickly.”
8. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I ound his po al e y cumbe some/awkwa d
o use.”
9. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I el e y con iden using his po al.”

71
10. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I needed o lea n a lo o hings be o e I could
ge going wi h his po al.”
11. Lis o answe s o he ques ion “Which a e he bene i s o he in e ace o he po al
add essed o he s uden s' needs?”
“The ease o use, since s uden s jus need o access one unique applica ion ha con ains all
he equi ed da a.
Ano he + is he ac ha use s can c ea e hei own apps, based on he published
in o ma ion.”
“Easy access o da a and ools.”
12. Lis o answe s o he ques ion “Which a e he d awbacks o he in e ace o he
po al add essed o he s uden s' needs?”
“The 3D applica ion has some ende ing issues.”
“The need o con i m an au hen ica ion al eady gi en, he sha ing icon can be unde s ood
as a measu emen o angles o azimu hs.”
13. Lis o answe s o he ques ion “Which a e he imp o emen s ha you would sugges
being done o his po al?”
“Some mino na iga ion o isual imp o emen s. I would sugges he implemen a ion o
se e al ool ips o hin s in eg a ed wi hin he applica ion, sho ly explaining how o use
some ea u es/widge s/ unc ionali ies.”
“Rende ing o he 3D da a om o he sou ces.”
14. Lis o answe s o he ques ion “As an o e all expe ience, wha commen s do you
ha e abou he usabili y o he po al?”
“Since his is an applica ion in ended o he use o s uden s (expe s), I hink ha hey
should no ace any usabili y di icul ies.
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I would also conside his applica ion and da a o he use o public in gene al.”
“The po al is easy o use, he applica ions accessible, bu he e was an issue wi h
ende ing he hi d-pa y 3D Da a.”
F. Usabili y e alua ion – use es ing ques ionnai e ex ac ed om Google Fo ms
73
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G. Usabili y e alua ion – use es ing esul s ex ac ed om Google Fo ms
1. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I hink I would like o use his websi e
equen ly.”
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2. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I ound his po al unnecessa ily complex.”
3. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I hough his po al was easy o use.”
4. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I hink ha I would need assis ance o be able
o use his po al.
5. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I ound he a ious unc ions in his po al
we e well in eg a ed.”

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6. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I hough he e was oo much inconsis ency in
his po al.”
7. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I would imagine ha mos people would lea n
o use his po al e y quickly.”
8. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I ound his po al e y cumbe some/awkwa d
o use.”
9. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I el e y con iden using his po al.”
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10. Diag am o answe s o he s a emen “I needed o lea n a lo o hings be o e I could
ge going wi h his po al.”
11. Lis o answe s o he s a emen “Please p o ide any commen s abou he usabili y
o his po al:”
• “Ve y as and simple o use, maybe change he applica ion o da a o o da abase”
• “This po al looks in e es ing o access he da a o he use s, specially i would help he
s uden s o WWU. I hese kinds o po al exis ed be o e, I could ha e bene i ed while I
(sic!) was wo king on some p ojec s while I was s udying in WWU.
This p ojec is e y app ecia i e and can be applied o esea ch pu pose o s uden s and
esea che s. Since he po al wo ks on A cGIS se e , he speed depends on he se e
capaci y. The e o e, (sic!) he capaci y o he se e would de e mine he speed. The
in e ace o he po al looks in e es ing and easy o use e en o he new explo e .
Good Luck. You did a g ea job!”
• “I looks and wo ks g ea ! Really cool.”
• “I hink i is e y use ul geopo al wi h he access o bo h maps and me a da a in o ma ion.
The di e en in e aces wi h 2d and 3d unc ionali ies, impo ea u es e en om cs
(use ul o di ec ield da a impo ), measu emen ea u es a e eally app eciable.”
• “Well designed, con enien o use.”
• “This po al could be eally help ul o he s uden s o explo e he exis ing geospa ial da a
in he common pla o m.”
• “The use in e ace is e y iendly and he po al ools easy o lea n. The laye s a e
displayed e y quickly, ega dless o whe he i is 2D o 3D. I only ha e one sugges ion:
du ing he na iga ion h ough he laye s was missing a legend o he laye s. This will allow
us o gi e a be e in e p e a ion o he maps. Fo example, he ed and g een colo s in he
aspec and slope as e s should ha e a meaning.”
• “I was well designed, (sic!) and e e y hing was nicely in eg a ed.”
• “I 's a g ea one.”
• “Help ul ool o he speci ic a e i 's loca ed.”
• “The po al is simple, as and looks nea .
I could no use he 3D iewe because appa en ly I ha e issues wi h GPU pe o mance.”
• “Nice and in ui i e in e aces!”
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• “The po al is e y s aigh o wa d and use iendly wi h e y clea classi ica ion o he
da a a ailable. I jus ound li le p oblems swi ching om one app o o he one ( om 2D o
home page o en e again 3D).”
• “The po al looks eally nice, i was easy o do all he ask and he web pe o mance was
good. I also ied " ind da a" op ion and was good.”
• “I would be nice i he use could s a i s own app, o explo e i s own da a in combina ion
wi h he a ailable one. As a as I could see only he p ede ined apps a e a ailable. I ound
i a bi wei d ha some laye s I y o p e iew jus show as a squa e, bu I hink ha is mo e
ela ed o he ESRI pla o m.“
• “Nice and luen .”
• “The use expe ience was e y good. All he asks we e e y easy o implemen .”
• “Po al was qui e easy o use om he i s ime. No need o look o a long ime o ind a
p ope bo om o laye , hough he e we e no many o hem. Also, (sic!) he da k in e ace
backg ound was eally pleasan . “
• “Ve y use iendly and clean.”
• “The applicabili y o he po al was p e y s aigh o wa d. The lea ning cu e is no s eep
and will only p o ide mino incon enience o people who a e no e en emo ely associa ed
wi h geospa ial backg ound.”