Chapter 1. Getting Started with ArcGIS

Planning to build a product requires addressing a purpose and a goal. The product needs to either fix a problem or tackle a limitation that current solutions are unable to overcome. It might enter an existing market to compete with other products or it might define its own market if such a market doesn't exist. Once a set of problems to be solved are identified, a technology can then be used to build the product. Any selected technology comes with its' perks and limitations. The author of the product should be aware of them because they will eventually steer and shape his/her solution. This is what Esri tried to achieve with ArcGIS and what we will discover by the end of this book. In this chapter, we discuss the following topics: