Choose the output your task needs.
You might need an answer today, a comparison for a client report or a tool your colleagues can use every month. Start with what happens after the analysis: who uses the result, what they need to do and how often the work repeats.
Explore how an AI-assisted GIS workflow can produce these outputs without asking you to write code. The assistant helps with questions, analysis and app creation; Studio gives you the controls to use an app directly.
Practice the decision
Which output fits the work?
Choose a fictional task to compare when an answer, a report or an app would be useful.
Find out when a site was last observed.
You need the date of the latest usable image and the area it covers. An answer linked to the observation gives you what you need for this task.
Prepare a site comparison for a client.
You need a map, a summary table and an explanation of the comparison. Save them with their dates and sources so the recipient can review the findings.
Give the team a tool for each review round.
Your team reviews the same sites regularly. An app can bring together site filters, results, notes and an export so colleagues can complete the routine through direct controls.
Fictional examples for learning. No live analysis is running.
Choose where your task should finish.
Follow the same site data into three useful outcomes. A reusable app adds controls around recurring work; an answer or report can complete the task on its own.
Your project data
Sites · observations
field records · saved results
“When was this site last observed?”
Find the relevant recordThe selected record shows a May observation. Open its source and coverage information.
- Observation date
- Source record
- Usable coverage
An answer can resolve the question without starting a new analysis or creating an app.
Your project data
Sites · observations
field records · saved results
“Compare these sites for the client review.”
Prepare and review the analysis- Comparison map
- Site result table
- Method and limitations
A report or dataset keeps the completed findings together for a recipient. Include the dates and sources they need.
Your project data
Sites · observations
field records · saved results
“Give our coordinator a monthly site review tool.”
Build around accepted results- Site and date filters
- Review notes
- Visit-list export
A saved app can show existing results without starting a new analysis. App hosting and refreshes still use resources; new analysis has its own inputs and cost.
Prepared teaching illustration. Landscapes, dates, and results are fictional; no live imagery search, analysis, or app generation is running.
Describe your app in ordinary language.
Start with the person and their task. For example: “Build a tool for our site coordinator to compare this month’s observations, filter sites needing review and download a visit list.” Add the details that make the app fit your work.
- Who uses it? Name the role and the knowledge they already bring. Decide who can view, edit and export, and check that source-data licenses allow the intended sharing.
- What data do they work with? Identify the fields, sites, routes or samples, along with the observations and records you have.
- What should they do? Select a date, filter a site list, inspect a comparison, add a note or export a result.
- What do they need to see? Choose the maps, charts and tables that help them complete the task. Include units, dates and data gaps.
- What should they leave with? Define the report, visit list, reviewed sites or next action.
Customise with a specific request:
“Add a filter for our north-region sites and show the last field visit beside each result.”
A useful request explains the change and why it helps. Review the updated app against the same task before making it part of the routine.
Decide how the next review will work.
A recurring app needs a clear way to use new information. Decide which observations and field records should appear, how the team will review them and when another analysis is necessary.
Make new analysis an explicit choice. Opening the app can show saved results. Running another analysis can require new data, processing time and cost, so the person requesting it should know what will happen.
Keep dates and previous results available for comparisons between monitoring rounds. If coverage is incomplete, show which sites need another observation so they remain part of the work list.
Describe these update rules in the app brief along with the screens. Include who can request new paid work, its spending limit and what the app should show when an update cannot complete. That helps the tool stay useful after the first demonstration.
Try the real task with a colleague.
Ask someone who did not create the app to complete a review. Can they find the right site, understand the result, use the controls and produce the output they need?
- They can compare sites using a map and an understandable list or table.
- The controls have clear labels and work with a keyboard.
- They can identify the observation date and recognise missing or outdated data.
- The export includes the dates, explanation and limitations needed by its recipient.
- They can complete the routine directly without prompting the assistant for each step.
Use their feedback to request specific improvements: a clearer label, another filter or a more useful report layout. Start with one routine your team can complete, then expand it as the work requires.
Explore the App Builder workflow, try the sample Studio app or tell us about the tool you want to create.