Know the EarthShow the Way NGAs Standards Program

Know the Earth…Show the Way NGA’s Standards Program National Center for Geospatial Intelligence Standards (NCGIS) Karl Koklauner Deputy Director, NCGIS Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Overview • • • NCGIS – Who We Are NCGIS – How We Work GEOINT Working Group Standards Selection Criteria Interoperability Activities – Examples Take Aways 2 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY National Center for Geospatial Intelligence Standards (NCGIS) • 1 October 2003 - NCGIS becomes operational: – Focus is on NGA’s discipline area: GEOINT – NCGIS is the leader for GEOINT standards • Goals: – – – Advance GEOINT interoperability Advocate GEOINT standards relevant to future NSG (National System for Geospatial Intelligence) environments Foster key relationships and innovative partnerships to coordinate, adopt, and sustain GEOINT standards “We have done only the easy things when it comes to interoperability. Now it is time to move on to tougher things like joint doctrine (i. e. , interoperability). ” General Shalikashvilli Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 3 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY NCGIS Strategy • Leverage ongoing standardization efforts in the GEOINT industry and related industries • Establish broad-based “focus groups” to serve as a forum for coordinating standards activities • Establish a “registry” of NCGIS-adopted standards to be included in future acquisitions and established in the DISR (Do. D Information Technology (IT) Standards and Profiles Registry) • Ensure that standardization efforts are closely aligned with implementation requirements and schedules • Develop a GEOINT standards process that implements this strategy 4 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY NGA Objectives for the NCGIS • Meet the customers’ current and emerging requirements for standards that enable interoperability – Ensure availability and usability of key data and sources including civil, airborne, commercial, satellite, open source and Advanced Geospatial Intelligence – Enable archive, discovery, retrieval and exploitation of GEOINT – Lead harmonization of GEOINT metadata standards across standardization activities • Support and accelerate NGA transformation 5 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY GEOINT Working Group (GWG) • Establishment – Support Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA’s) Information Technology (IT) Standards Committee (ITSC) to develop, maintain, specify new/existing GEOINT standards – Review/confirm GEOINT standards for the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) – Serve as the NGA/NSG focal point for all standards; focused on GEOINT - acting as a consumer for all standards (GEOINT and IT) GWG - Dual role supporting ITSC and focal point for NSG/NGA Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 6 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY GEOINT Working Group (GWG) • The GWG promotes: – Key relationships and innovative partnerships to coordinate, adopt, and sustain GEOINT standards – Openness and participation of all relevant and affected interested parties – Balance of interest among NSG Stakeholders – Due process for ensuring that input issues, concerns and ideas are identified and addressed – An appeals process to resolve disagreements or differences of opinion – Consensus, through general agreement, but not necessarily unanimity 7 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Key NCGIS Relationships NGA Components Federal Civil Agencies Do. D Community Co-Production Partners Intelligence Community External Standards Forums Commercial Sector 8 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Standards Selection Criteria • Mandated • Meets agency mission, goals and requirements • Standards are effective, affordable and implementable • Not duplicative of other standards and are technically mature • Commercially supported in the marketplace • Advances interoperability • Facilitates data discovery, retrieval and reuse • Clear risks exist if not pursued • Streamlines the acquisition process • Reduces lifecycle costs 9 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Interoperability Examples • Collaborated with the Open GIS Consortium (OGC) – Matured and tested an interoperability capability for geographic symbolization • Applied the NSG Geospatial Symbols for Digital Displays (Geo. Sym) standard and the emerging Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Emergency Mapping Symbology (EMS) in support of the FGDC Homeland Security Working Group – Provided requirements and support for a core set of OGC specifications including: • • Web Feature Server (WFS) Web Mapping Server (WMS) Style Layer Description (SLD) Web Coverage Server (WCS) Web Registry Server (WRS) Web Map Context Documents (WMC) Symbol Management Service (SMS) Geography Markup Language (GML) 10 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY GEOINT 2004 Interoperability Demonstration Participants… Major Contributors… 11 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Why Does Standardization Matter for GEOINT Systems? 2000 2005 Support to Analyst Case by Case Servicesbased Information Distribution Files, CDs & Hardcopy More Webbased Production Paradigm Product-Centric Data. Centric Tradecraft Imagery & Mapping Integrated GEOINT System Complexity Complex Elegant Simplicity Months Days to Hours Time to Integrate 12 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Take Aways • NGA has responsibility for establishing GEOINT standards for the Do. D and the Intelligence Community • Community GEOINT Working Group is the venue to provide broad-based community consensus forum for GEOINT standards • Standards ensure availability and usability of key data and sources 13 Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 Know the Earth…Show the Way

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE STANDARDS …the foundation for interoperability Standards: enabling the sharing of GEOINT across the National System for Geospatial Intelligence Approved for Public Release PA Case 04265 14 Know the Earth…Show the Way