Does certification help GDI to reach the data nirvana?

Does certification help GDI to reach
the data nirvana?
GSDI 11 World conference
Spatial Data Infrastructure Convergence:
Building SDI Bridges to address Global Challenges
By:
Suzie Larrivée
Dr Marc Gervais
Dr Yvan Bédard
Geomatics Department
Laval University
Quebec, Canada
Rotterdam, Netherlands
15-19 June 2009

Presentation outline
• Introduction
– Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Spatial data
• Certification concepts
– Definition
– Related concepts
• Accreditation
• Audit
• Data quality assessment
• Conclusion

Context
Spatial data’s needs hierarchy (adapted from Maslow’s pyramid, 1943)
??
SELF-
ACTUALI-
ZATION
real-time location-aware
personalized self-adjusted ..
Nirvana
2005’s …
ESTEEM NEEDS
certification, qualification,
recognition by users …
1980’s …
end of
1990’s …
beginning of
1990’s …
SOCIAL NEEDS
data integration, interoperability, standard,
data infrastructure, data warehouse, data mashup, …
SAFETY
metadata, integrity constraint, data security and privacy, …
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
raw data, database, spreadsheet, report, paper map, digital map, …

Data certification concepts
(based on ANSI/ASQC A3 [1987] and ISO 9001)
• Certification: The procedure and action by a duly
authorized body of determining, verifying, and
attesting in writing to the qualifications of
management system, personnel, processes,
procedures, or items in accordance with applicable
requirements and/or pertinent standard(s).

Certification concepts
Related concepts
• Certification: The procedure and action by a duly
authorized body of determining, verifying, and attesting in
writing to the qualifications of management system,
personnel, processes, procedures, or items in accordance
with applicable requirements and/or pertinent standard(s).
– Autorized body = certification body = accredited body
Accreditation: “Certification by a duly recognized body
[accreditation body], of the facilities, capability, objectivity,
competence and integrity of an agency [certification
body], service, or operational group or individual to
provide the specific service(s) or operations(s) needed
[for certification].”
(ANSI/ASQC A3-1987)

Certification concepts
Related concepts
• Certification: The procedure and action by a duly
authorized body of determining, verifying, and attesting in
writing to the qualifications of management system,
personnel, processes, procedures, or items in accordance
with applicable requirements and/or pertinent standard(s).
determining, ... => Audit
– Quality audit: “A systematic and
independent examination
Internal
Quality
• to determine whether quality activities and related
results comply with planned arrangements
• and whether these arrangements are implemented
effectively and are suitable to achieve objectives.”
(based on ISO 10011)

Certification concepts
Related concepts
• Data Quality Assessment: The process to
determine if geospatial data are suitable for:
– a specific use
– a given area
– a given epoch
– a given user
ExternalQ
uality
• Without prior certification, the quality assessment
by the professional is
– longer
– more difficult
– more risky

Certification, quality assessment, audit,
accreditation vs Maslow’s pyramid
• Geospatial data reach their max self-esteem when they
are:
– RECOGNIZED DE FACTO as reliable by a
community of users, or
– QUALIFIED by a professional for a given usage in a
given area, for a given epoch in a DATA QUALITY
ASSESSMENT report, or
– CERTIFIED as being produced by a certified system
• AUDITED by an organization officially accredited
– by an accreditation body

Conclusion
• Certification and data quality assessment are needed
to reach the spatial data nirvana
• GDI have a role to play to reach this nirvana and could
– develop certification packages
– provide Good Practice guide and Quality Handbook
to support certification and better protect users
• In GEOIDE Project #PIV-23, we work presently with
International Civil Aviation Organization (192 countries
for aeronautical charts) to create a Good Practice guide
which will be used to design a Quality Handbook for
geospatial data

Acknowledgements
• GEOIDE Project #PIV-23
International Civil
Aviation
Organization
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada (NSERC)