Technical Competency Definitions (Gaudet et al. 2003)
| Technical Competency | Definition |
| Ability to Assess Relationships Among Geospatial Technologies | examining the effects of geospatial technologies on parts of an organization, as well as the effects on the organization’s interactions with customers, suppliers, distributors, and workers |
| Cartography | organizing and communicating geographically related information in either graphic or digital form |
| Computer Programming Skills | being able to understand and use a set vocabulary and grammatical rules for instructing a computer to perform a specific task; knowledge of high-level languages; ability to create or revise a program |
| Environmental Applications | applying GIS technologies for environmental assessment or management purposes |
| Geological Applications | applying GIS technologies for geological purposes |
| Geospatial Data Processing Tools | knowing and being able to apply the skills needed to operate currently used geospatial data processing tools |
| GIS Theory and Applications | understanding the theory behind GIS and being able to identify and implement modern day applications for it |
| Photogrammetry | recording, measuring, and plotting electromagnetic radiation data from aerial photographs and remote sensing systems against land features identified in ground control surveys, generally in order to produce planimetric, topographic, and contour maps |
| Remote Sensing Theory and Applications | understanding the underlying theories related to acquiring an object without contacting it physically such as aerial photography, radar, and satellite imaging |
| Spatial Information Processing | the process of modeling, examining, and interpreting model results necessary for evaluating suitability and capability, for estimating and predicting, and for interpreting and understanding |
| Technical Writing | the ability to “translate” technical information to nonspecialists |
| Technological Literacy | understanding and appropriately applying existing, new, or emerging technologies |
| Topology | understanding how map features represented by points, lines, and areas are related, with specific emphasis on the issues of connectivity and adjacency of features |