Federal GIS users want a better GPS fit

Interoperability, data standards and policies for sharing geospatial information are among the top concerns of federal geographic information system users, according to a survey by ESRI.Federal officials, who responded to a pre-conference GIS survey before ESRI’s federal user meeting this month in Washington, said they need better integration of Global Positioning System measurements with their existing ESRI ArcGIS software.The Redlands, Calif., company noted that Trimble Navigation Ltd. of Sunnyvale, Calif., has created an ArcGIS add-on called GPS Analyst.ESRI said the add-on “will function like a docking station. Data sets can be checked out of the ArcGIS geodatabase, taken into the field, edited, used as a basis for new GPS measurement collection and then redocked into ArcGIS.”Other surveyed users ex- pressed concern about complying with OMB Circular A-16 metadata requirements for geospatial assets. Compliance with Circular A-16 requires that agencies stay current with the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s standards