Get Your GIS House in Order: Two Essential Workflows for Program Health and ArcGIS Enterprise Upgrade Success
- Cassidy Killian
- Oct 31
- 4 min read
For modern organizations, a Geographic Information System (GIS) is a critical infrastructure component. But like any complex system, an enterprise GIS needs regular assessment and preparation to thrive. The key to long-term success isn't just installing the latest software; it's about establishing clear, proactive workflows to keep the system in order and aligned with organizational goals.
We’re covering two essential processes that ensure your GIS program remains robust: the high-level GAPS Analysis (Geospatial Assessment and Progress Score) and the targeted technical discipline of Content Auditing in preparation for an ArcGIS Enterprise upgrade.
The Organizational Health Check: GAPS Analysis
The GAPS Analysis is a comprehensive, organizational-level assessment designed to give you a clear, quantitative snapshot of your entire GIS program. Think of it as a health checkup for your geospatial capabilities.
What is GAPS?
GAPS offers an objective method for benchmarking your program, identifying weaknesses, and developing a strategic roadmap for future growth. It results in a score (0 to 100) and priority-based recommendations, helping you turn vague goals into actionable steps. It should be treated as a recurring assessment, not a one-time event.
The 8 Pillars of a Healthy GIS Program
The assessment focuses on eight key areas that define the maturity of a GIS program. A truly healthy system must perform well across all these pillars, not just the technical ones:
Strategic and Operational Planning: Do you have an executive-level GIS Champion? Is your GIS work tied to broader organizational goals?
Staffing and Resources: Are staffing levels appropriate for program goals, and are personnel receiving adequate training?
User Engagement and Mobility: Are you maximizing adoption across departments? Are you using mobile solutions to replace inefficient, manual field workflows?
Interoperability and Automation: How integrated is your GIS with other business systems? Are you leveraging automation and incorporating live data feeds (e.g., Automatic Vehicle Location or AVL)?
Collaboration and Sharing: Do you have clear processes for sharing data internally, with partners, and with the public?
Standards and Processes: Do you have documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)? Are your data schemas and coordinate systems formally defined and enforced?
Data Quality and Integrity: Is the data accurate, complete, and trusted by your users? Are you adhering to strong data governance practices?
Data Coverage: What is the completeness of your foundational data layers (e.g., street centerlines, address points)?
The GAPS report becomes a living document. By prioritizing the highest-impact areas, you focus resources where they'll have the biggest long-term benefit, whether that's formalized standards or investment in mobile workflows.
Technical Housekeeping: Preparing for an ArcGIS Enterprise Upgrade
If GAPS is the organizational assessment, the technical Content Audit is the detailed pre-flight checklist for an ArcGIS Enterprise upgrade. Planning for an upgrade is complex; it’s far more than just getting updated licenses and installing the software. GIS administrators need to be aware of two major hurdles in the upgrade process: the ArcGIS Enterprise product life cycle and what changes to content have occurred from the starting version to the target version.
Know Your Timeline: The Product Life Cycle
Before initiating an install, Administrators must understand the ArcGIS Enterprise Product Life Cycle. Upgrading ensures you stay on a supported version, giving you access to technical support and the latest security patches. Choosing a long-term support version (odd numbers, like 11.5) provides a longer, more stable runway to complete content migration than a short-term support version.
Product Retirement Roadblocks
The biggest challenge in upgrading is migrating content built on retired or deprecated technologies. Ignoring these will result in broken services and applications after the upgrade. Two major recent and upcoming examples are critical to audit:
ArcMap Run-times:Â Version 10.9.1 marked the end of support for ArcMap run-times. If you are upgrading past this version, every map service, feature service, and workflow dependent on ArcMap must be migrated to ArcGIS Pro.
Web App Builder (WAB):Â With the next major version release (12.0), the very popular Web App Builder will be retired. Any applications built with Web App Builder must be proactively converted to modern alternatives like Experience Builder or Instant Apps before moving to the 12.x versions.
The Content Audit: Finding the Problem Content
To prepare for an upgrade, administrators must audit the Portal content to identify all affected items. While manual filtering or built-in reports are possible, the most efficient method is using a custom deprecated app script. This script runs against your portal and produces a comprehensive report listing every single piece of content that relies on a retiring product line. This is your definitive list of applications and services that need to be rebuilt before the upgrade begins.
The Takeaway
Whether organizations are seeking strategic alignment with a GAPS Analysis or navigating a major technical transition with an ArcGIS Enterprise upgrade, the message is the same: proactive planning and maintenance save exponential time, cost, and risk down the road.
By committing to these two workflows, organizations not only keep their GIS house in order but also actively transform it into a more efficient, strategic, and resilient system ready for future growth.