Development Strategy

Achievement of Interoperability

Requirements Definition: Interoperability requirements will guide DGIWG standardization activities. DGIWG will guide member nations in their pursuit to be knowledgeable of interoperability requirements for geospatial support of their C4I operational community. These requirements will be gathered and analyzed to determine the current levels and future desired levels of geospatial interoperability. The migration path to these new levels will be summarized in Specific Interoperability Objectives. DGIWG will develop an architecture to provide a holistic framework for operational requirements, interoperability objectives, and standards development, test, demonstration and transition.

Outreach Program: As part of an Outreach Program, DGIWG will develop a few tangible and practical information products by making use of national initiatives that are already in place. These products will be directed at end users to increase their awareness of DGIWG standards, and develop on-line tools that enable end users to generate these information products. The developers of standards, documentation and products will be assigned the responsibility for their maintenance. DGIWG will provide a web-based environment to enable its members and external cooperators to exchange information on geospatial standards and their operational use. DGIWG will develop appropriate documentation to guide the adoption and use of its standards.

Demonstration: DGIWG will actively participate in available operational demonstration environments suitable for all members and use these environments as a major mechanism of standards out-reach to the operational community.

Operational Transition: DGIWG will track the progress of standards adoption and use in the operational community.

Collaboration

Links with External Organizations: DGIWG will collaborate with standards bodies such as ISO, IHO and OGC on standards development.

Links with NATO: DGIWG will collaborate with NATO SHAPE and NSA including IGeoWP, Ad Hoc Hydro RWG and Geo RWG

Links with Industry: DGIWG will liaise with the geospatial and defence systems vendor communities to promote implementation of DGIWG standards and to maintain awareness of vendor developments.

Standards Development

Use of International Standards: DGIWG will adopt or profile ISO base standards to the largest degree practical. International standards originating from other geospatial communities will be considered as well, such as those originating from OGC, when no practical ISO standards exist. These standards will be made more concrete, locked down as a version in time, and made openly available as a DGIWG-branded standard. This process is similar to a nation adopting an ISO standard and making it a national standard.

Information Management: DGIWG will focus on the development of geospatial standards in information management in areas such as metadata, elevation, encoding, feature and attribute registries and feature catalogues, general feature model, imagery and gridded data, portrayal, quality, reference systems, and spatial-temporal design.

Services: DGIWG will focus on the development of geospatial standards for services and interfaces by developing a) a services architecture, b) a few core operational services for wide use by member nations, and c) standard procedures for geospatial information required for coalition operations.

Co-Production: DGIWG will not undertake co-production, but it will undertake activities in specification development that will support co-production.

Testing: DGIWG will adopt a prototype test strategy for open use by all members.

DGIWG Management

Organization: DGIWG is a two-tiered organizational structure bringing together people who are responsible for policy and resource management with those who lead, manage, and work the technical program.

Use of Resources: DGIWG will identify specific activities to member nations as opportunities for participation. Where possible, these activities will tie closely into national initiatives.