1.2.2 ISO/TC211

From Geostandards

Contents 1 General 2 ISO Standards 3 ISO/TC 211 meetings 4 ISO products 5 Stages ISO Standard

General

The International Organisation for Standardisation/Technical committee 211 (ISO/TC 211) is an international, technical committee for geo-information. The work of ISO/TC 211 focuses on the development of a structuralized range of standards (ISO 191xx Standards) for information about phenomena that are directly or indirectly related to the earth. These standards specify the methods, tools and services for geo-information, to be used for data management (including definitions and description), acquiring, processing, analysing, accessing, portrayal and transition in digital/electronic format between various users, systems and locations. Where possible, the work is linked to general ICT standards and gives a framework for the development of sector specific applications for the use of geo-information.

Norway holds the secretariat of ISO/TC 211 apart from many liaisons, 30 countries are participating members, including the Netherlands, 31 members receive proceedings and documentation. See www.isotc211.org under header ‘organization’.

The following portrayal gives an insight into ISO/TC 211: Presentatie ISO/TC 211

ISO is not an acronym: The International Organisation of Standardisation uses the word ISO in the Greek sense meaning ?equal?, as in the words isobar and isoline. What is meant here is adjusting participating parties who use standards for transmission of data or the application of tools.

ISO Standards

All the ISO Standards are listed at http://www.isotc211.org under the header About ISO/TC 211 > Published standards and reports > TC 211. The standards are divided according to topic. The Programme of Work contains the planning for new, or new versions, of the standards.

Below are the standards that apply to data modelling.

Appendix B.1 of the framework of geostandards contains a short description of each ISO/TC 211 Standard.

 

ISO/TC 211 meetings

The TC Technical Committee meets every two years and always on Thursday and Friday. Working sessions are scheduled on the day before the meetings of each Standard or focus group, with topics such as communication or terminology.

In the ISO/TC 211 the Netherlands are represented by NEN. The NEN ‘Normcomité’ 351 240 ‘Geo-information’ follows this work: in this committee, the Dutch viewpoint on models of Standards is specified, (voting). From 2007 onwards, the Netherlands has renewed its active participation in the ISO/TC 211 meetings and their related work; this is mostly represented by Geonovum. Because of the importance of the ISO TC/211 Standards, it is anticipated that more Dutch parties will actively work with them.

At the moment the Dutch are working on ISO 19152 Land Administration Domain Model and outreach work. This training is also offered on ISO in order to meet the request for more course materials within ISO.

ISO products

An ISO committee produces International Standards in the main, but does release other publications too. These are:

International Standerd(IS) - ISO LEFT <number>

This is the most commonly used form of publication. Every three to five years, International Standards have to be revised, to ascertain whether they should be maintained, modified or rejected for the following period.

Technical specification (TS) - ISO/TS LEFT<'number> If an area is not suitable for an official IS, or if it is hard to reach consensus on an official IS, a TS might be published as a temporary solution. A TS has to be revised within three years and to be revised into an official IS, or to be rejected. A TS is adopted with a 2/3 majority vote of the actively participating members of the committee.

ISO/PAS <number> Publicly Available Specification

An ISO/PAS is a temporary specification, published before an official IS can be created. An ISO/PAS is often used when it is desirable for a specification, developed by industry, to be published as an ISO. A PAS is valid for three years and can be extended for another three years. Then it has to be changed into another type of ISO publication or withdrawn. A PAS is simply adopted by a majority of the votes cast by the active members of a committee. To date, ISO/TC 211 has not used this kind of publication.

Technical report (TR) - ISO/TR LEFT <number> A TR might be used to publish general materials. A TR does not have Standardized content, i.e. there are no requirements specified that have to be observed. ISO/TC 211 uses this form to research specific areas and to specify which standards are needed. Ideally, the committee should constantly judge whether or not the technical report is still up-to-date, or whether it should be withdrawn.

Stages ISO Standard

There are various stages in the process before a document becomes an International Standard (IS) or other form of publication:

1. WD Working Draft ? An internal working document of a project or working group;
2. CD Committee Draft ? A document circulating in ISO/TC open to comments;
3. DIS Draft International Standard ? a public document on which all the parties involved can comment. Then the Editing Committees carry on with a formal process;
4. FDIS Final Draft International Standard ? The document is ready for its final vote; this is the last stage of the process towards achieving an International Standard. Technical changes can no longer be implemented.

There are similar stages, somewhat simplified, in use for ISO/TS.

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