Building on the progress of 2020, 2021 saw meaningful advances in the database initiative focusing on enhancing Umvoto’s dataflows (from field-to-client) and database management practices to increase efficiency in accessing and managing our clients ever growing data needs. This year’s priority has been the collation of various datasets, collected since 2018 to present, into unique relational databases and developing an integrated data management pipeline from the field to the final report.
Achieving this has required a combination of skills: the ability to run the fundamental Extraction, Transformation and Loading system (ETL), and the know-how to present it in a compelling way. Through the Umvoto database management system, the team is moving towards integrated relational databases, leveraging Hydro GeoAnalyst, Python and R scripting tools to marry various data sources, such as water quality, meteorological and hydrogeological datasets. Combining these datasets into a unified system facilitates an integrated view to develop informed insights using all contextual information. These skills and tools are used to produce customised scientific visualisations to suite various compliance parameters for effective reporting and to deliver proficient insights in a streamlined manner. Reporting outputs and decision making becomes more efficient, with queries and automations that can be exported as “out-of-the-box” visualisations assisting in conveying complex information to internal and external stakeholders.
These well curated data-stores and visualisation outputs are of great importance for data science and analytically intensive projects. The right combination of data outputs helps reveal trends and patterns that are often otherwise difficult to identify, with the added potential to introduce process efficiencies and bring our attention to new opportunities. In conjunction with a clean database, it is vital that this data is communicated to our various stakeholders in a way that assists their understanding, allowing for data-driven decision making. The Data Team at Umvoto continues to acquire skillsets and tools to ensure project data integrity and provide our clients with a comprehensive set of data visualisation outputs to effectively meet project requirements.
