A Tabletop Exercise (TTX) is an excellent way to go through the motions of an event that is not part of your typical routine or just difficult or expensive to replicate.  I have personally participated in many TTX.  Some very good, some not so much; in my opinion the relative success of a TTX is how absorbed I get in the scenario.  If I can picture myself in the moment, making those decisions, then afterward I feel better prepared for the real thing.  However, in many of the TTX I’ve participated in, I find myself just reading verbatim or regurgitating the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the organization.  This, in turn, leaves me feeling like in the heat of the moment I’ll be in pretty bad shape if I don’t have time to open up the manual, leaving me discouraged or thinking how unrealistic that exercise was.

There are lots of factors to why a TTX is successful or not, or how much the participants will take away from the exercise.  In my experience one common thing that is lacking in the not so successful exercises is a good visual component.  As humans, we can gather and process more information from a picture than the same scene described in text.  During this webinar I will demonstrate some of the things Depiction can do to add a good visual component (and more) to your next Tabletop Exercise.

1. Backup your data in a pre-geocoded format.
2. If you moved elements to their geographically correct location, to save them in case you have to reload the elements at some point.
3. To more easily make mass changes to the elements.
4. To backup a subset of a large shape file.
5. To change a shape file property to EID in order to merge data with it.

I wanted to elaborate a bit more on those reasons.

1. Backup your data in a pre-geocoded format.

When you import a CSV file with addresses.  Depiction goes out to the USC geo-coder and gets the latitude and longitude for each address and places the appropriate icon at that location.  Once you have done this, if you export those elements to a CSV file then they will include the lat/long of each element.  This way if you ever have to reload those elements or want to share them with somebody else, then the file won’t have to be geo-coded the next time. If you have a large CSV file this can save some time. It helps us too because every time you geo-code an address it costs us a few cents.

2. If you moved elements to their geographically correct location, to save them in case you have to reload the elements at some point.

This second item is similar to the first but with a little twist.  When the geo-coder geo-codes an address it will usually get it to the right block but not necessarily on the right lot in the block.  The reason for this is that if you an address of lets say 2025 main st, the geo-coder thinks that the address range for that block is 2000 to 2099. It calculates that 25 is one fourth of 99 and so it places the icon 1/4 of the way down that block.  Where in reality the real address range may be 2000 to 2032 and so the icon really should be at 9/10’s of the way down the block.  So if it is important to you to have the icons in the exact location you will have to go in and move each one.  Now if for some reason you have to reload that original  file then you are going to have to move all of those icons again.  Unless you had first exported it to a CSV file, in which case the program would have saved the new lat/long for each element.  So if you have to move a lot of icons to their geographically correct locations then backing them up to a CSV file is a really good idea.

3. To more easily make mass changes to the elements.

If you are using Depiction as a data base manager and are storing a lot of data along with each element, sometimes it is easier to make changes to the data in a spreadsheet program. So if you export them to a CSV file you can edit them in the spreadsheet program and then reload them.

4. To backup a subset of a large shape file.

A fairly new feature to Depiction in the 1.3 series is the ability to export shape files to a csv file.  So to give a specific example of when you might use this.  I was working with a community that was attempting to do a community wide map your neighborhood exercise.  One person had the entire community and a shape file was loaded that had all of the parcel boundaries for the community.  Using the shape drawing tool, we drew the neighborhood boundaries for all of the neighborhoods.  Then using the select tool we selected all of parcel shapes that were in a particular neighborhood. Then using the export to CSV function we exported the selected shapes to a CSV file.  Then we could start a new Depiction story and import that CSV file and we would have a depiction for just that neighborhood.  That file could then be given to the neighborhood coordinator who could use DepictionPrep to load the file and then make the appropriate changes and maps for their neighborhood.

5. To change a shape file property to EID in order to merge data with it.

This is really a neat feature.  Before we could export shapes to a CSV file this particular task was fairly complicated.

So lets say you have a shape file of zip codes and you also have some tabular data based on zip codes. In this tabular data  file you have the zip code and lets say median income, population, etc.  You want to be able to colorize your zip codes based on this numeric data. But how do you get the tabular data into the zip code shape elements. Here is a step by step process:

1. Import your shape file
2. Delete unwanted shapes (if necessary)
3. Export your shapes to a CSV file
4. Open the CSV file
5. Change the property name of your key field i.e. zip code to EID and save the file
6. In your depiction delete the shapes
7. Re-import your CSV file of shapes
8. Open your spreadsheet of data that you wish to merge.
9. In our example we are saying the key field is Zip Code so in this file change the name of the zip code field to EID.
10. Delete any other properties that aren’t of interest and then save that file
11. In your Depiction chose Add by File and chose your csv file
12. Select import by EID and then select Import – the data in this file will now be merged with the data in the shape file based on zip code
13. Now if you open a shape element you should see the data fields you just imported and you can now colorize the shapes based on those fields.

Here are view other tips when dealing with CSV files.

TIP #1 – When you export elements it is best to export just one kind of element to a CSV file.  If you export multiple element types at once then you will get all of the properties for all of the elements in your resulting file, which is OK. But when you go to re-import that file all of the elements will have all of the properties of all of the elements which is probably not what you wanted.

TIP #2 - When you export to CSV it includes all of the default properties, any properties you have added and a bunch of depiction descriptive fields.  If you want can delete all of the descriptive fields to make the file easier to work with. We are looking to add a feature in a later release that would allow you to not have these fields show up on the export.

TIP #3 - If you are exporting a shape file and the shape is a fairly complex polygon it is possible that the number of points in that polygon will exceed the total amount of characters allowed in a single cell. In this particular situation we don’t have a solution to this and that shape may not be able to be re-imported properly.

I hope you find this information useful and feel free to send me any questions you have on any of it.

Depiction Inc was recently awarded a contract to provide a version of depiction to be used with RealWorld – a 3D simulation tool that was developed for the military by DARPA to provide a rapid mission rehearsal capability. Depiction will be used to assist the user in collecting information in a 2D environment and then exporting that information to the RealWorld 3D product. We are excited about this project and are hoping that it will lead to more custom development projects for us.

You can check out the RealWorld web site if you are interested. http://www.totimm.com/index.php/products/rw-simulation/realworld-21



Besides the new look, additional features have been added; such as:

• More options for discussion, asking questions, and reporting issues.
• Sample Questions – based on those found in the Certified       Depiction User written exam.
• Instructors’ ‘Office’ – having problems, stop in to see if we’re around or schedule a chat.

To register, visit: www.depiction.com/university – volunteer discounts are available.  A purchase of the training course will get you one full year of access to all 8 modules, including any updates.  Or if you already know the material but would like certification for job hunting, etc. check out the Certified Depiction User Exam Module.

Already a Depiction University student:  we’d love to hear your feedback on the new style.  If your access has yet to expire, please take a moment and return to the university and try out an ‘advanced format’ module.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Let’s go through the elements available. Several of these elements make use of elevation data, whether brought in directly from Depiction’s Quickstart sources, or loaded from other sources. The higher resolution the elevation data is, the more precise these simulations will be.

Flood: The ‘classic’ Depiction simulation element, the flood very simply calculates what the water level would look like if it were set to a certain height above the ground level at a particular point. This works basically the same way in both Depiction and DepictionPrep.

Runoff: This does a basic ‘path of least resistance’ simulation of water flowing downhill, and works best in sloped areas–if you’re simulating a flood in an area like this, the runoff tool is likely to provide better results than the flood simulation itself. The full version of Depiction provides several variables that can be tweaked to customize the simulation result. The flood also disables people, buildings and elements that it comes into contact with.

Antenna and Line of Sight: Both of these elements, only included in the full version of Depiction, use a line-of-sight simulation behavior, determining what areas can be seen from a certain point, based on the elevation data present. The elements use the same behavior, but have different default variables–height, field of view, direction, ‘horizontal sampling’ (which determines the precision of the simulation) and maximum distance–set to approximate different things. The antenna element also has additional fields that, while they don’t affect the simulation, are of interest to anyone dealing with antennas, such as frequency, power, etc.

Other simulation elements make use of the road network data obtained from OpenStreetMap.

Route – road network (called simply Route in DepictionPrep): This is a basic, ’shortest distance’ route to which you can add waypoints, which also provides turn-by-turn directions if the street names are listed in OpenStreetMap. Additional route types are available in the new Logistics Add-on. Where the road network simulations really shine, though, is in the way they work if the roads do not.

Road barrier and Water over roadway: These elements both disable any road network they touch, causing routes to recalculate and find the next shortest path between waypoints. You can change both the shape and size of these elements to set any region you want as off-limits. This is an enormously useful tool for determining evacuation routes, or just general routing that avoids a certain area.

Explosion: This element does the same basic thing–set a blast radius, and the explosion disables the road network in the area–but in addition, the explosion also disables various other elements unfortunate to be caught in it.

Fire perimeter: This freeform polygon basically enables you to create your own shape that disables elements within it. In DepictionPrep, it also disables road networks as explosions and road barriers do–in the full version, this ability is easily added from the interactions menu.

Plume: Finally, this element does a very basic simulation of a chemical plume, using variables like amount, wind speed, wind direction and amount of time. This generic plume element isn’t nearly so accurate as something like ALOHA modelling, but for the purpose of quick simulation or scenario building for family preparedness, the plume element is a great option.

For more on simulation elements watch this Depiction 101 video.

Questions about DepictionPrep?

I have Depiction. Can I share my depictions with people who have DepictionPrep, and can they share theirs with me?

Absolutely! Depiction’s DPN files (.dpn) are completely compatible with Depiction, DepictionPrep, and the Free Reader. In fact, if you are using the Reader to share depictions with a group, DepictionPrep would be an inexpensive way to give them the ability to actually work with the files you provide, and not just view them.

What about preparedness groups like CERT and Map Your Neighborhood?

If you’re already involved with disaster preparedness in your community, you’ll get even more utility out of DepictionPrep. Create and distribute preparedness maps at the neighborhood and community level, build disaster scenarios and test your plans against them!

I already own Depiction. Should I get DepictionPrep, too?

Because DepictionPrep has been streamlined and scaled back to just those features essential for preparedness, there’s less of a learning curve than there is with Depiction—which, in turn, has much less of a learning curve than other mapping programs. If you want a simpler version of the software to do a few basic tasks, or to introduce less tech-savvy folks to Depiction, DepictionPrep is what you want.

I was considering getting Depiction. Should I get DepictionPrep instead?

Check out this comparison chart to see if DepictionPrep has all the capabilities you are looking for.

I live outside the USA. Can I use DepictionPrep?

You can—the main capabilities of DepictionPrep, building plans and creating scenarios, are available anywhere in the world, as are the primary basemaps. Though some of the data used by DepictionPrep is US-only data, the bulk of its functionality is the same no matter where you are.

How do I get DepictionPrep?

Visit www.depictionprep.com/purchase and pre-order today! You’ll reserve a copy of the software for just $24.95, plus get access to an advanced beta version. This offer only lasts until we actually release the final version, so act quickly, that’s just around the corner!

Learn more at DepictionPrep.com.

The first one you’ll notice is a new background street map source. This is the MapQuest Open street map, a “re-skinning” of OpenStreetMap created and provided by MapQuest. This is a much cleaner and smoother version of OpenStreetMap, though it does have less detail–both are useful to have on hand, and now, you do!

Another new tiling source, also from MapQuest Open, is the OpenAerialMap imagery. This is largely a combination of the NAIP and Landsat imagery that Depiction users are likely familiar with, now in a single tiling source. One very cool addition, though, is the ‘blue marble’ style tiling you get when you are zoomed out far enough.

Another nice change is the new method for downloading OpenStreetMap road network data–this should both increase the speed of the download and processing, and enable you to bring in road network data for larger areas more consistently.

I’ll wrap up with the improvements made to the settings menu. While there’s no actual change to the functionality, we’ve made things much clearer and easier to use. This is the largest of a number of ease-of-use changes that were originally developed as part of DepictionPrep but that have been brought over into Depiction 1.3.3 as well.

Settings, before

Settings, after

You can see the rest of the new enhancements and fixes at our What’s New page.

However, Revealers give Depiction the same capabilities that traditional mapping programs have with layers, plus a great deal more. A Revealer is a movable, Resizable window that shows you specific elements–any and all elements that you choose. A Revealer could show you Quickstart data, like aerial imagery or a street map, or data you have added yourself, like a scanned paper map, GIS data, or elements you imported from a spreadsheet or added with the mouse. Any combination of elements can be added to a Revealer, then viewed–or hidden–in any way you like.

With the Free Reader you can move, hide, resize, and even change the shape and transparency of any Revealer in a depiction you are viewing. Each of the sample depictions on our downloads page uses Revealers to provide information in different ways.

In both DepictionPrep and the full version of Depiction, you have complete control over creating, removing and editing the content of Revealers. In DepictionPrep, for example, you might plot out your home’s floorplan and the distribution of emergency supplies, putting each floor into a different Revealer, letting you view and work with each floor separately. In Depiction, you might build two different logistics or response plans, putting each one in a different Revealer, to more easily compare and present them.

To learn more about Revealers, watch this Depiction 101: Revealers session, or, if you own a copy of Depiction, take a look at the “Using Revealers” sample depiction.

In this example, NAIP imagery is in one revealer, while building elements are in another.