Conclusion and key takeaways

This test study is not intended to recommend a specific layer visibility range or map extent. Rather, it shows that configuring appropriate visibility ranges is a straightforward, low-cost way to significantly improve performance and user experience.

Though this test study used electric utility workflows, the need for proper map configuration applies across industries and workflows. Properly configured maps are essential to delivering a positive user experience, impacting workflow and user efficiency and increasing the overall return on investment of your ArcGIS system.

Therefore, every organization should regularly review their map configurations (especially if users are reporting poor performance) to confirm that they are configured optimally to support the users’ needs while balancing use of resources.

Key takeaways

  • Improving sub optimally configured maps is a low-cost and straightforward way to improve a system’s performance and end user experience.
  • Improper map extent and layer visibility ranges on even just one or two layers can significantly impact system performance and user experience.
  • Poorly configured maps resulted in two to four times the resource utilization as compared to system with well-configured maps.
  • Bad map extent and layer visibility range configuration resulted in significantly slower (from 3 to 14 times longer) execution times across workflows on key workflow steps.
  • It is critical to regularly monitor and assess map and layer configurations to optimize resource utilization with the users’ needs.
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