Skip to content

Kartoza Handbook

This site comprises the organisational and technical documentation for Kartoza.

This is where we highlight the procedures, principles, and processes related to Development, DevOps, and GIS, in line with the organisations best practices.

This is open content, available on GitHub and freely licensed as public domain content under the terms of CC0 1.0 Universal.

This content is delivered without any warranty, express or implied. Use at own risk.

Purpose

The purpose and function of this collection of documents is to perform the following:

  • Improve consistency in processes and products
  • Improve efficiency and innovation
  • Increase transparency and accountability
  • Improve value for clients
  • Provide a space for the dissemination and proliferation of ideas
  • Promote a culture of openness and collaboration
  • Provide a single source of truth for resources
  • Promote personal growth and development
  • Add value to the community

Scope

Kartoza is a company that specializes in Open Source Geospatial solutions. As a result, topics covered by this documentation will be limited to categories relevant to the operations of Kartoza. These categories are outlined as follows:

  • Company: General practices and procedures for Kartoza staff
  • GIS: Resources for Geographic Information Systems and data
  • Development: Software development processes, tools, and conventions
  • DevOps: Developer operations and system administration
  • Resources: Cheatsheets, links, media, and other resources

This repository is limited to these categories, with some slight overlap in domain verticals.

In the majority of instances, where overlaps with adjacent fields of interest, such as Data Science, "Big Data", or to some extent even earth observation and remote sensing, these elements should be primarily remanded to external references in the resources section.

Whilst some resources (such as tutorials on Semi-Automated Classification with QGIS) may be considered valuable additions, the priority of this content is to remain a concise collection of resources directly related to the operations and key competencies of Kartoza staff.

Limitations

This collection of documents does not constitute a replacement for Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and company policy. In some cases, our SOPs may point to sections of this handbook, but the SOP itself is canonical as to where the procude content lies. Due to the rate at which modern technology develops, opinions change, project needs or priorities are adjusted, and the operational requirements of the organisation evolve, this collection is somewhat ephemeral and should be considered a dynamic "living document" which is subject to constant change and iteration.

Processes and documentation from this collection are developed in conjunction with the broader community, independant contractors, temporary staff, juniors, and interns. As such they are not guaranteed to reflect the views of Kartoza, and are not intended to be a substitute for official policy.

As resources and processes mature, they may be incorporated into official SOPs as required.