# Presentation: 287397

## The Role of Standards in the National Spatial Data Infrastructure

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**NSDI**

**The Role of Standards**** in the**** National Spatial Data Infrastructure**

**By:  Richard A. Pearsall**
**       ****FGDC**
**       ****rpearsall@usgs.gov**
**       ****Arkansas GIS Users **
**             ****Conference 9/09/1999**

## What Is the National Spatial Data Infrastructure?

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**NSDI**

**What Is the National Spatial Data Infrastructure?**

** ****NSDI is the technologies, policies, standards, and human resources necessary to acquire, process, store, distribute, and improve the utilization of geospatial data.**
** ****Executive Order 12906** - **Coordinating Geographic Data Acquisition and Access: The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) - April 1994**
** ****Managed/Coordinated by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) **
** “****Part of” a Global Spatial Data Infrastructure **

## National Spatial Data Infrastructure

**National Spatial Data Infrastructure**

## Geospatial DataSome Examples

**Field Measurements**

**Maps**

**Remotely-sensed Images**

**Spatially-referenced Data**

## Data

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**NSDI**

**Data**

**The most expensive investment for an organization**
**Created by many different organizations**
**To solve many different problems**
**Using many different methods and technologies**

## But  . . .

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**NSDI**

**But  . . .**

-  **Data are hard to find**
** ****Data are difficult to access**
** ****Data are hard to integrate**
** ****Data are not current**
** ****Data are undocumented**
** ****Data are incomplete**

## What is a Standard?

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**NSDI**

_**What is a Standard?**_

**Standards are**

**documented agreements**

**containing**

**to be used**

**consistently**

**as**

**to**

**ensure that materials, products, processes and services**

** ****are**

**fit for their purpose.**

**(as defined by ISO****)**

**                   ****technical specifications or other precise criteria**

**                          ****rules, guidelines, or definitions of ****characteristics,**

## What is an “Official Standard”?

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**NSDI**

_**What is an “Official Standard”?**_

**DeJure - ****by right or legal establishment**
**DeFacto - ****existing or being such in actual fact though not be legal establishment, official recognition**

## How Long have Standardsbeen around?

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**NSDI**

_**How Long have Standards**__**been around?**_

** ****Known to exist as early as 7000 BC when Cylindrical Stones defined a Unit of Weight in Egypt**

## The Importance of Standards (Some Examples)

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**NSDI**

_**The Importance of Standards **__**(Some Examples)**_

**Commerce/Manufacturing/Industry**
**Units of Weights and Measures (basis for most of what we do today)**
**World War II - created urgency to extend many domestic standards to the international level.  Allied supplies and facilities were severely strained due to the incompatibility of tools, replacements parts, and equipment.  Standards helped to reduced inventories and increase compatibility.**** **

## Traffic Signals -
	Imagine being a color blind person

   Prior to 1927 -  Purple, Orange, Green, Yellow, Blue, and Red were common traffic signal colors; color meanings were not consistent nor was placement (the Green signal was popular in the top location in Irish sections of the US).  

   1927 - A National Code of Colors (AASHO, NBS, NSC).

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**NSDI**

**Traffic Signals -**
**	*****Imagine being a color blind person***
**   ****Prior to 1927 -  Purple, Orange, Green, Yellow, Blue, and Red were common traffic signal colors; color meanings were not consistent nor was placement (the Green signal was popular in the top location in Irish sections of the US).  **
**   ****1927 - A National Code of Colors (AASHO, NBS, NSC).**

_**The Importance of Standards **__**(Some Examples)**_

## <footer>

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## The Importance of Standards (Some Examples)

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**NSDI**

_**The Importance of Standards **__**(Some Examples)**_

**Diasters (fire, flood, ...)**
**Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 - fire engines from different regions responded only to be found useless since they had different hose coupling sizes that did not fit Baltimore hydrants - fire burned over 30 hours, resulted in destruction of 1526 building covering 17 city blocks.**
**Fire 1923 - Fall River, MA saved when over 20 neighboring fire department responded to a town fire since they had standardized on hydrants and hose couplings sizes.**

## So What is Thought To Be TheMost Significant Standard?

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**NSDI**

_**So What is Thought To Be The**__**Most Significant Standard?**_

** ****Standard for Railroad track gauge - adopted by US, UK, Canada, and much of Europe. **
** ****American Civil War**
**	****Australia**

## Types of GIS Standards

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**NSDI**

_**Types of GIS Standards**_

** ****Data Classification**
** ****Data Content**
** ****Data Symbology or Presentation**
** ****Data Transfer**
** ****Data Useability**

## The Need for Standards in Geographic Information

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**NSDI**

_**The Need for Standards in Geographic Information**_

**Reduce the redundancy and duplication of data production**
**To enable organizations to describe, utilize, and share information and data **
**Good Decision making requires we think and work outside “the box”**

## Geography Quiz

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**NSDI**

**Geography Quiz**

**Where are we?**

## Who are the Decision Makers?

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**NSDI**

**Who are the Decision Makers?**

**Wyoming**

**Montana**

**Idaho**

## FIRE !

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**NSDI**

**FIRE !**

## So Who Makes the Decisions?

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**NSDI**

**So Who Makes the Decisions?**

## So Who Makes the Decisions?

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**NSDI**

**So Who Makes the Decisions?**

## Upper Mississippi River Basin

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**Upper Mississippi River Basin**

## Mississippi Flood

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**Preflood**
**Sept. 24, 1992**

**Peakflood**
**Aug. 1, 1993**

**Mississippi Flood**

## So When is the Best Time to Develop a Standard?

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**So When is the Best Time to Develop a Standard?**

- This is not it

## So What do Standards Provide the IT Community?

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**NSDI**

_**So What do Standards Provide the IT Community?**_

**Promotes common understanding through a common set of terminology**
**Promotes/enables Interoperability**
**Promotes Data and Information Sharing**

## So What do Standards Provide to the IT Community?

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**NSDI**

_**So What do Standards Provide to the IT Community?**_

** ****Enables Technology Independent Solutions**
** ****Provides a basis for Conformity Assessment**

## FGDC Standards Activity

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**NSDI**

_**FGDC Standards Activity**_

** ****12 Endorsed Standards**
**	****	**** ****(Metadata, SDTS, Accuracy,**
**	****	**** ****Soils, Vegetation Classification)**
** ****22 Under Development**
**	****	****(Metadata Profiles, “Other” Data**
**	****	****Content, “Other” SDTS Profiles**

## Find out more . . . 

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**NSDI**

**Find out more . . .**

**www.fgdc.gov**

**Federal Geographic Data Committee**
**USGS 590 National Center**
**Reston, Virginia 20192**
**703.648.5514**
**703.648.5575 (fax)**
**gdc@usgs.gov**