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Method

Deciding with reliable geographic data.

Where to build, what to protect, which network to renew, which site to keep, which deliverable to accept. Most territorial and network decisions have a geography. They commit budgets and liability. They increasingly have to be explained to elected officials, residents, a regulator or a court.

Author : Youcef ADDA (GEODECI) ·

The problem is rarely a lack of data. The data is not reliable, not traceable, or not tied to the decision it should inform.

The method is the same in every sector: start from the decision, write its criteria, make the supporting data reliable, keep the trail, and leave the choice to a person.

Why this is pressing

Dated obligations

  • PCRS and DT-DICT

    Since 1 Jan 2026, where a local authority has produced a PCRS, network operators must use it in their replies to DT-DICT requests. Order of 15 February 2012, article 25, amended by the order of 26 October 2018.

  • ZAN

    Halve the consumption of natural, agricultural and forest land over 2021-2031 compared with 2011-2021, then reach net-zero land take in 2050. Law no. 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021, articles 191 and 194, adjusted by law no. 2023-630 of 20 July 2023.

  • Renewable acceleration zones

    Municipalities define renewable acceleration zones. Law no. 2023-175 of 10 March 2023 (APER), article 15, article L141-5-3 of the Energy Code.

  • Decisions are challenged more often

    Consultation, appeals, review: a decision has to be explainable criterion by criterion.

  • More data, not more reliable data

    Open data, surveys, contractor deliverables: volume grows. Consistency does not follow on its own.

  • AI speeds production up

    That makes it more necessary to know who decides, on which data, and with which trail.

Five decisions, one pattern

In each case: a decision, criteria that are often implicit, data that is often scattered, and a human choice.

  1. Authorities, planning

    Where to build, what to protect (ZAN).

    If it goes wrong : Appeals, land wasted.

  2. Networks: water, energy, telecom

    What to renew or survey first, which deliverable to accept.

    If it goes wrong : Breaks, damage, penalties, rework.

  3. Energy, renewables

    Which site to develop, which to drop early.

    If it goes wrong : Studies lost, projects stuck.

  4. Land

    Which plot to acquire first.

    If it goes wrong : Public money poorly spent.

  5. Contractors, engineering firms

    Which drawing to deliver, at what quality.

    If it goes wrong : Unbillable hours, rejections.

Four ways a geographic decision fails

  1. 01

    Implicit criteria

    The rule lives in one person’s head.

  2. 02

    Non-conformant data

    Incomplete fields, invalid geometries, duplicates, several versions.

  3. 03

    No trail

    Nobody can say who changed what, or recover the state the decision was made on.

  4. 04

    Dependency

    The decision depends on a closed tool or on a vendor, and cannot be rerun.

Decision, criteria, reliable data, trail, choice

GEODECI method in four steps: written criterion, control of geometry attributes and topology, an enforceable anomaly report, human judgement where it matters.
Criterion, check, trail, judgement.
  1. 01

    Name the decision

    One sentence, one owner, one deadline.

  2. 02

    Write the criteria

    Explicit, debatable, validated by the business.

  3. 03

    Make the data reliable

    Automatic conformity and geometry checks, on every delivery.

  4. 04

    Keep the trail

    A journal of changes, versions, sources and dates. Every result can be rerun.

  5. 05

    Leave the choice to a person

    The tool ranks and documents. The person decides and signs.

Open formats and tools (QGIS, PostGIS). Data stays with the client. Any use of AI is declared and reviewed.

What changes, sector by sector

  • Local authorities. A maintenance or planning programme you can present to elected officials, criterion by criterion.
  • Energy and networks. A ranked renewal or survey programme. Deliverables accepted on criteria you can stand behind.
  • Planning and environment. A site analysis that can be rerun on each new area, and a transparent land-priority grid.
  • Engineering firms. Repeatable production chains, at a constant quality.

Network study

Public proof

Three free and open-source QGIS plugins, on the official repository. Transformer 3.0.0 declares QGIS 3.28 to 4.99 (the README targets 3.44 or higher). RecoverLand 7.1.3 declares QGIS 3.40 to 4.99. Log Cleaner 2.2.2 declares QGIS 3.28 to 4.99. 6,244 downloads in total as of 23 Oct 2026 (plugins.qgis.org).

Plugins

Ten questions

Answer yes or no. The count stays in the browser. Nothing is sent.

  1. 01Are the decision and the person who owns it written down?
  2. 02Are the criteria written and validated by the business?
  3. 03Are the source data identified and dated?
  4. 04Is data conformity checked automatically on every delivery?
  5. 05Are geometries checked (validity, duplicates, holes)?
  6. 06Can you say who changed what, and when?
  7. 07Can you return to the state the decision was made on?
  8. 08Can someone else rerun the result?
  9. 09Are the tools and formats open?
  10. 10Is any use of AI declared, and reviewed by a person?

0 yes, 0 of 10 answered.

90 days

  1. 01

    Days 1 to 30

    Choose one priority decision, write its criteria, inventory the data.

  2. 02

    Days 31 to 60

    Automate the conformity checks. Put the trail in place.

  3. 03

    Days 61 to 90

    Produce the first documented choice. Measure time saved and gaps avoided. Decide whether to extend the method to other decisions.

Sources

GEODECI (GeoData & Decision Intelligence) helps organisations that decide with maps justify their choices: planning, environment and renewables, energy, networks, local authorities, construction, land. France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg.

Youcef ADDA (GEODECI)

Decision Diagnostic

A short fixed scope. We name what costs money or blocks the work, and the first action to take.

Request a diagnosticEmail contact@geodeci.xyz