The project involved the implementation of the European Union INSPIRE programme, a data specification for a series of fundamental data themes sufficient for each member state to be able to supply data without new capture being required. The specification was to be developed using the Unified Modelling Language (UML) by a team of experts drawn from across Europe.
Andrew Coote was selected to lead the team which was to develop the specification for the address theme. Much of the work involved establishing common terminology and data definitions, as well as training technical experts in UML. After the initial specification was submitted several hundred comments from interested organisations, as well as official bodies in the member states, had to be taken into consideration. Additional effort was required to harmonise specifications between related themes, such as cadastre and transport networks. Furthermore, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) also had an interest in this work, as did ISO who have subsequently taken the INSPIRE work as one of their primary profiles in their draft addressing standard.
