What: Online Map Application
Who Developed For and Where: Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), Madison, Wisconsin
When: Spring 2015, with ongoing maintenance.
Why: To highlight areas of Wisconsin with internet access robust enough for telecommuting.
How: Configurable Map Viewer (ArcGIS API for Javascript), ArcGIS for Server, ArcGIS for Desktop, with Notepad and Adobe Creative Suite for editing code and web graphics.
Link: http://www.broadbandmap.wisconsin.gov/telecommuterspeed

The Wisconsin Telecommuter Speed Map is a simple web mapping application designed to show locations across the state of Wisconsin where consumers and businesses can expect to find quality internet access for telecommuting. Telecommuting is where employees perform work online away from the office, which in the case of rural Wisconsinites and vacationers, enables them to spend more time at home or enjoying Wisconsin’s leisurely activities.

While explained in more technical detail on the site (and in the image above), the map data are based on Census Block-level internet access reports, given to the PSC by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). I filtered through the PSC’s statewide coverage information to highlight areas of the state with telecommuter-quality internet access for both landline and wireless ISPs. Upon developing these map layers, I brought them online using ArcGIS for Server.

This project is my first fully-realized application that I built using ArcGIS’s API for Javascript. Javascript is a more flexible, mobile-friendly, and progressive coding language for mapping applications. This importance is further emphasized when you consider its ability to work with HTML5 code. More specifically, I used the open source Configurable Map Viewer coding framework to make the basic web application layout. I applied some code customization and kept the operational tools simple and sweet so that end-users would be directed to focus on coverage data.