Value Assessment in Managing Cartography and Geo-communication: A Standard Design Process for Geospatial Communication

This paper presents the result of a collaboration project carried out by Aalborg University and the Danish Ministry of the Environment, National Survey and Cadastre (KMS). During the last 10 to 20 years there has been a paradigm shift in cartography in general. It has been a shift with quite dramatic changes particularly within the following areas: technology, availability of geo-information, professional skills and mobility of labour, conventions as well as resources. It was recognized at the KMS that the existing professional skills and methods were no longer sufficient for the design and the management in modern cartography and in modern geo-spatial communication projects. It was recognized that there was a lack of adequate theories, models, methods and tech-niques. This forced the cartographers and the project managers to lock several parameters to well known values. One example is that the prevalent processes for design revision, if any, were based on historical conditions. Previously it was common praxis to make changes in each separate step of the whole process without recognizing the overall aspects of the entire process or the entire project. The aim of the project was to create a standard that leads to conscious choices and decisions about both contents and form in modern cartography. The project has developed a comprehensive model allowing simultaneous, systematic and controlled optimization of all recognised parame-ters. This model is called ‘Value Model’, and it is now in general use at the KMS.