I’m opening beta testing for Groundtruth Schema Bridge

I’m opening beta testing for the first public Groundtruth 911 release.

Groundtruth Schema Bridge is a free public-beta ArcGIS Pro toolbox for moving GIS data between supported NENA schema versions.

What Schema Bridge does

The current release candidate supports two conversion paths:

NENA-STA-006.1.1-2020 > NENA-STA-006.2a-2023
NENA-STA-006.2a-2023 > NENA-STA-006.3-2026 flat-file Esri File Geodatabase model

Schema Bridge runs in ArcGIS Pro and creates a new output geodatabase. It does not change the source data.

It also allows users to map their own local layer and field names to the NENA schema. That matters because real data rarely arrives with perfectly standardized names, even when the information itself is there.

After each run, Schema Bridge creates a log and a detailed manifest. These show what was moved, what was changed mechanically, and what still needs human review.

What it does not do

Schema Bridge does not validate the contents of the data. It does not repair every data-quality problem, certify NENA conformance, or replace professional review.

Those are different jobs.

Groundtruth Validation Workbench is the separate local NG9-1-1 GIS validation tool, built around traceable findings, human review, and recorded decisions.

Why I need testers

Schema conversion can look clean when it is tested against one carefully prepared dataset. The real test is what happens when it meets the way people actually maintain their data.

Local naming conventions vary. Fields get added. Workflows change over time. Two jurisdictions can follow the same standard and still organize their working data differently.

That is why I want people outside my own testing environment to use Schema Bridge.

The testing package includes fictional sample data, so no organizational data is required. Testers can walk through the full process without sharing or using anything sensitive.

If you are authorized and comfortable doing so, you are also welcome to test with a copy of your own data. That is completely optional. The data stays on your machine, and Schema Bridge leaves the source unchanged.

The more schemas and datasets we test, the better I can make Schema Bridge for the community.

What I want to learn

I want to know where the instructions are unclear, where the workflow slows you down, and where the output does not match what you expected.

I also want to know what worked. If something saved time or made a schema change easier to understand, that is useful feedback too.

You do not need to prepare a formal report. I am looking for honest notes from people who understand this work.

How to participate

If you maintain NG9-1-1 GIS data and would like to participate, email me at hi@kaitlinquinn.com with “NENA Beta” in the subject line. You can also message me on LinkedIn.

You do not need perfect data. You need ArcGIS Pro, enough time to run through the workflow, and a willingness to tell me where it gets weird.