Results from a normative dependency analysis of geographic information standards

Standardization in the field of geographic information started in the 1990s when geographic information systems (GIS) matured and the advent of the Internet accelerated the exchange of information. Recent developments, such as location-based services and the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) on handheld devices, have further increased the demand for standardization in the field. ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics develops the ISO 19100 series of geographic information standards and collaborates with other standards organizations, for example, by developing abstract standards for which the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) develops implementation specifications. To date, forty nine ISO 19100 standards have been published. Many of these were recently approved for revision. One of the challenges of standard maintenance is to determine whether a change in a revised standard affects other standards, and how. Object dependency analysis is commonly used in object-oriented software maintenance. Geographic information standards, however, are not composed purely of objects. Instead, dependencies in all the normative elements of the standard have to be analyzed and understood. This paper presents the novel approach of a normative dependency analysis for standard maintenance in which interdependencies between the normative elements of standards are analyzed. In the paper a normative dependency between two standards is defined for the first time, a notation for normative dependencies is introduced, a normative dependency data model is presented and results from a normative dependency analysis of the ISO 19100 geographic information standards are discussed. The paper concludes with results, applicable to any suite of standards, and a discussion of further work.

Research Highlights
► Analyze normative element interdependencies in ISO geographic information standards.
► A normative dependency relationship between standards is defined for the first time.
► A notation for normative dependencies is introduced.
► Results provide guidance for the revision and maintenance of standards.
► Universal recommendations on normative dependencies for maintenance of standards.