GeoBC: Information Services

Data Management Planning and Architecture

1.1 Scope of Data Management

Data Policy
  • Establishes the principles and guiding framework for data management.
  • Should generally cover data acquisition, care, use and exchange and disposition

Data Custodianship
  • Designation and accountability for management and care of data holdings.
  • Legal rights over data, including intellectual property rights and copyright.

Data Documentation and Metadata Compilation
  • Data Model development
  • Catalogue of discovery-level metadata for each dataset
  • Detailed reference-level metadata to assist users of data

Data Quality, Standardization and Harmonization
  • Maximize the potential and use of data by:
    • using standard data definitions and formats,
    • defining quality standards and processes, and
    • ensuring data quality and fitness for use.

Data Lifecycle Control
  • Ensure that data are managed through their entire lifecycle
  • Key steps include:
    • business justification;
    • data specification and modeling (repository management),
    • processing, storage (database management),
    • warehousing,
    • maintenance and security;
    • data audit;
    • archiving and final destruction

Data Security, Access and Dissemination
  • Granting access and ensuring protection of rights
  • Protection of data holdings from inadvertent loss or inappropriate access and use

Data Audit
  • Assess the extent to which data management procedures are followed
Top

1.2 Data Lifecycle

Lifecycle Model


Figure 1 illustrates the data lifecycle. It represents the activities that are undertaken to manage a data collection throughout its lifecycle. In fact, it comprises two cycles:

  1. The Standards Cycle, which represents activities relating to governance of the business relevance and architecture of the data. (Though not shown in the diagram, the Standards Cycle occurs within the context of a “Form” framework that’s defined by broader CIO and data administration policies and standards.)
  2. The Content Cycle, which represents activities relating to the management of the actual data, as it passes from acquisition to consumption by users. This cycle occurs within the context of the Standards Cycle.

    Figure 1. The Data Lifecycle

 

Lifecycle

Section 1.3 Architecture

The GeoBC Information Services Architecture strategy is committed to providing flexibility, agility and choice in geographically enabling the BC public sector. An ambitious vision of service improvements, expansion and creation of new service channels will benefit existing clients and allow geography to play a greater role in decision making throughout the province.
A key component of this strategy is to create a flexible, service oriented architecture that can adapt to the accelerating pace of change that is being experienced in the field of geo-spatial enablement while exceeding client expectations in the delivery of specific geographic business needs.

Architecture Vision and Client Alignment

Key facets of the architecture vision will be supported by Application Frameworks, Web Applications, Desktop Visualization and Analysis tools, Web Services, Data Connection Services and Data Management Services (including warehouse services). Each will support a set of client focused services to meet the needs of a variety of users across the province, including:

  • Visualizers;
  • Line of Business Users;
  • Application Developers;
  • Mash-up Developers;
  • Analysts.


These components will be flexible and broad based, to support different Ministries needs while maintaining standardized implementation approaches that are common, sharable, re-usable and transparent to the consumer.


Custodianship and Governance

It is neither possible nor desirable for a single group to manage all land and resource information. However, it is possible, and highly desirable, to have the various data authorities acting in a coordinated and fully aware manner. This coordinated information management model is based on the existence of Data Custodians - senior managers responsible for collecting and maintaining land and resource information in an appropriate manner and, where possible, making this data readily and publicly available.

Data Custodian Guidelines (529k pdf) - Custodianship is at the heart of information management because it establishes accountability for information, and identifies authoritative sources that give users a measure of consistency and certainty. In addition, custodianship is a means of:

  • providing a trustee and standards bearer for information;
  • eliminating unnecessary duplication in the collection and maintenance of information;
  • managing information on behalf of the entire enterprise;
  • providing a sound land and resource information infrastructure;
  • assisting the production and management of land and resource information products;
  • facilitating the collection of information.


Collectively, custodians manage information as trustees in a partnership with national, provincial, regional and local providers and users to enable the integration of land and resource information for the benefit of the entire community.