Becoming a QGIS Practitioner: Practical QGIS

Practical QGIS for People Who Work with Location Information

I am Kanahiro Iguchi, a GIS engineer in Hokkaido. I have published a book with Shuwa System titled “Practical QGIS for People Who Work with Location Information” (位置情報を扱う人のための実践QGIS).

It is my third book, following the Ichi-En book (位置エン本) and the Ichi-Bero book (位置ベロ本) in the “Training Course” series. This book is part of the “Practical” series.

Background to writing the book

The Ichi-En and Ichi-Bero books are guides to WebGIS for engineers. They cover a very niche field, but the former in particular seems to have been fairly well received. Meanwhile, it was QGIS that first drew me to location technology, and I had hoped for a chance to write about it. After repeated discussions with the publisher, I was given the opportunity to write a book on QGIS, and it has now been published.

The difference between the first two books and Practical QGIS is that books on QGIS already exist. There were essentially no technical books on WebGIS, at least in Japanese, so I did not have to worry about how to set them apart. Many books on QGIS already exist, however, so I planned this book's structure around one question: how to make it unique.

The book's concept

Looking at the existing QGIS books, I found that they fall into two broad types: (1) books that explain how to use QGIS comprehensively, and (2) books built around a specific topic. I wanted this book to stand apart from both, so Practical QGIS is organized around the following themes.

1. QGIS has removed the barriers to using GIS2. GIS is not easy, but it is not as hard as one might fear3. Conveying what is good about using GIS

I did not intend to write something like an operation manual for QGIS. Such books already exist, and above all, GIS itself is not easy, so I do not think reading a manual alone is enough to learn to use it.

Strictly speaking, anyone who rereads a manual many times and memorizes it can learn to use QGIS. But GIS is useful even without memorizing its enormous number of features, so I think “learning by doing” is faster. That is why Practical QGIS does include operating instructions, but only for the important features.

Rather than teaching operations, I strongly want this book to convey “what is good about using GIS.” The first half explains how to operate QGIS, and the second half, the practice section, works through various topics in a hands-on format. Rather than digging deeply into a single topic, the book covers a broad range of topics that come up often in everyday GIS use:

• Creating hazard maps
• Turning paper maps into GIS data
• Using the registry office maps of the Ministry of Justice
• Using satellite data
• Analyzing vector data
• Learning terrain analysis methods
• Working with point cloud data

Reading this book will not make anyone a QGIS “master.” To repeat, QGIS is inherently “not easy,” so understanding comes from working with it hands-on. But without knowing what it is useful for, no one will feel motivated to learn. Once people see that GIS is useful and makes daily work more efficient, they will work hard to learn it, even though it is “not easy.”

You may have the impression that “GIS is difficult.” In fact, GIS has many unique concepts, and it is true that it is not easy for beginners. But take the spreadsheet example from earlier: spreadsheets are certainly not easy software either. Cells, relative references, formatting, pivot tables, functions, and so on: spreadsheets have many unique concepts. From this, I would say that spreadsheets are as difficult as GIS, and that GIS is as easy as spreadsheets. Since so many users work with spreadsheets, which are as difficult as GIS, I think the difficulty of software is not the problem. What stands in the way of using GIS is that people do not understand “what is good about using GIS and how it is convenient.” I believe that once people know how GIS can be used and see that it is convenient, many more people will work hard to use it.

Quoted from page 4 of the foreword to Practical QGIS for People Who Work with Location Information

Intended readers

The Ichi-En and Ichi-Bero books were technical books for engineers, but this book is for learning QGIS, so anyone involved with maps or GIS can be a reader. Especially:

• Anyone who manages maps on paper
• Anyone who wants to adopt GIS in their organization

I think the book will be particularly useful for people like these.

Recommended way to read the book

As mentioned above, this book is meant to show how convenient GIS is. Rather than working along with it hands-on, I recommend first flipping through the whole book to get an overview. Then install QGIS and try displaying some real data. You will probably find parts you can operate without a “manual.” Of course, there are parts you cannot, and when that happens, read the operating instructions in this book.

Once QGIS is ready, pick a topic from the practice section that is relevant to you and try it hands-on. You will likely find yourself thinking, “What would this look like with my own data?” or “The book does not say so, but QGIS seems able to do this too.” Give it a try. Learn the “basics” in the book, then “put them into practice” with your own use cases.

After reading this book

FOSS4G

OSGeo Japan Chapter

There are communities around open-source mapping software such as QGIS. Events are held in various places, so try joining one. You will likely learn something new, such as the latest news and use cases.

The Ichi-En and Ichi-Bero books

If you are interested in developing web applications for maps, these are the only Japanese-language books on the subject as of June 2025.

• “Location Information Engineer Training Course, Taught Clearly by Professionals in the Field” (Shuwa System) (現場のプロがわかりやすく教える 位置情報エンジニア養成講座)
  • A book that focuses mainly on the “web frontend.” It is recommended for anyone just getting started with web maps.
• “Location Information Developer Training Course, Taught Clearly by Professionals in the Field” (Shuwa System) (現場のプロがわかりやすく教える 位置情報デベロッパー養成講座)
  • A sequel to the Ichi-En book that focuses on the “web backend.” The difficulty is somewhat higher, so it suits readers who want to step up from the Ichi-En book.

QGIS training

In addition to introductory courses, MIERUNE Inc.'s “QGIS training” offers an intermediate course at a somewhat higher level, so it is a good next step after this book. Customized training that fits an organization's needs is also available, which makes it an even better fit for organizations promoting QGIS adoption.

Conclusion

I would be delighted if this book adds even one more QGIS user in Japan. Finally, here is another quotation from the foreword:

I am convinced that it is general-purpose software that can be used conveniently for any purpose. It is by no means something used only for a few specialized tasks or only by a few experts.

Quoted from page 3 of the foreword to Practical QGIS for People Who Work with Location Information

GIS is not a tool only for making “maps.” It is more versatile than you might expect and can be used for many purposes. GIS, which until now was expensive and used only by a small number of experts, has been “democratized” by QGIS. This is an age in which GIS is within everyone's reach. Now is the time to bring GIS into everyday life and start putting location data to use.