As a software developer on a busy development team, I typically spend my time working with coworkers and customers on the projects that we plan, develop, and deploy products and services for. I have also been able to attend a few conferences, such as Microsoft Build and the Esri Developer Summit. These provide a change of pace for the team and loads of new information.
Wearing a business development “hat,” interacting with GIS professionals at our booth was amazing. It was a constant flow of learning about the wide breadth of skillsets, knowledge, and foci that GIS professionals use and pursue on a daily basis. I spoke to some attendees who work at inside, office roles, and others who work outside doing things like weed control or working with fish hatcheries. They work at non-profits, government, and business organizations. The ages and skill levels ranged from college students to experienced professionals. It was amazing to hear about the different ways they created, interacted with, and analyzed GIS data, and I appreciated the chance to interact with a much wider audience beyond my software development team. One example was learning about noxious weed control, which includes examining the interaction between plant growth, weed treatment target area designations, current and historical fire information, and seasonal and sunlight effects, and using that data to maximize time and fuel efficiency in treatment plans.
A great benefit I gained during these interactions was my own professional growth in understanding the different ways that our company currently supports our customers, outside of the work that I do on the development team. As a developer, my focus is usually mostly on the projects that I am working on, along with some insight as to what other team members are building. At the conference though, I got to see both Mara and Christopher in action. Their experience, knowledge, and full awareness of our company’s GIS support was eye-opening. I now have a new perspective on a number of our company’s skillsets and capabilities that I did not have prior to the conference.
Another part of my personal growth during the conference was being selected to present and demo one of our company’s open-source projects. GeoBlazor wraps the Esri ArcGIS JavaScript SDK, providing tag-based web-map building for any Asp.NET Core web application. GeoBlazor was started two years ago, enabling .NET and Blazor developers access to the world’s most powerful and versatile web mapping SDK without having to write a single line of JavaScript.
This presentation was a great opportunity for me to work with directly with Mara, along with my manager, Tim Purdum, who saw the need for GeoBlazor and has worked extensively on building it, and our graphic designer, Chantelle Campbell, to develop the presentation materials and the demo that would be shown. After developing the presentation, I was able to present internally and get feedback from my team and the company leadership. When doing my daily developer job duties, I am somewhat aware of a number of skillsets that people have. However, moving out of the focal point of customer projects and into other areas, I was able to get a new perspective on my coworkers’ skills, motivations, and knowledge. The entire process was a great opportunity to improve myself professionally and work with my coworkers in new ways. At the conference, as with most live demos, there were some hiccups, but the presentation was a success and an amazing growth opportunity for me.
Learning about and assisting Christopher with his presentation and demo of a 3D-printed, voice-activated, AI-powered street sign was another highlight that opened my eyes to many new ideas and concepts. Overall, the ORURISA GIS in Action conference was an amazing opportunity for personal and professional development. It is not the biggest conference, but it is a great opportunity for networking and one-on-one interactions with other GIS professionals in the Pacific Northwest.
In conclusion, I would highly encourage you to ask your leadership about any upcoming opportunity to attend a conference, assist with a company booth, or help with presenting or demonstrating a product or service. If you have the opportunity, take advantage of it. It is amazing how much you can learn about your company, your leadership, and your team. Also, getting outside of your regular daily work can expose you to a number of new ideas, organizations, and people who work and operate in fields that may be relatively unfamiliar to you. Not only will you be able to grow your own knowledge base about a variety of subject matters, but it can also enable you to improve yourself, both personally and professionally.