ORIGINAL ARTICLE Surveying general prospects and challenges of GIS implementation in developing countries: a SWOT–AHP approach Mohammad Taleai Æ Ali Mansourian Æ Ali Sharifi Received: 21 April 2008 / Accepted: 27 April 2009 / Published online: 20 May 2009 Ó Springer-Verlag 2009 Abstract We propose a combined method based on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to inves- tigate the challenges and prospects of adopting geographic information systems (GIS) in developing countries. In this context, we identify, group, and analyse SWOT indicators in relation to the main GIS components: data, people, and tech- nology. The relative significance of each SWOT indicator and its related SWOT groups in each GIS component is quantified. The method is then applied in a situation assessment of GIS adoption in the governmental organisations and stra- tegic planning. The SWOT–AHP approach proves to be very useful in identifying and quantifying the relative significance of the major factors affecting GIS imple- mentation, and effectively facilitates GIS strategic planning. Keywords GIS  Strategic planning  Implementation  SWOT  AHP JEL Classification C44  E66  O21  O32  O53  Z00 M. Taleai (&)  A. Mansourian Faculty of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, No. 1346, Vali-asr Ave, Mirdamad Cross, P.O. Box: 15875-4416, 19967-15433 Tehran, Iran e-mail: taleai@kntu.ac.ir A. Mansourian e-mail: mansourian@kntu.ac.ir A. Sharifi Department of Urban-Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management, ITC, Enschede, The Netherlands e-mail: alisharifi@itc.nl 123 J Geogr Syst (2009) 11:291–310 DOI 10.1007/s10109-009-0089-5