The National Land Survey of Finland has previously modernized its topographic data management system by developing a QGIS based solution. The next step is to produce cartographic products using QGIS as well. For this purpose, an efficient and flexible method for defining product versions has been developed in collaboration with Gispo, using YAML configuration files and a new plugin.

The map products of the National Land Survey of Finland include the topographic map, background map, and plain map. Each map product is produced at multiple scales, ranging from 1:10 000 to 1:8 million. The topographic map also has separate versions for print and web use.

The YAML files define the data sources used by each product version, the layer order, and one or more cartographic styles for each layer. Using a newly developed QGIS plugin, a QGIS project is automatically generated from the YAML configuration, allowing cartographic styles to be easily edited through the graphical user interface.

Finally, all style changes are exported to version control through a controlled workflow. When the cartographer submits style changes, a CI/CD pipeline automatically builds the QGIS projects for the map products using the newest changes. At a later stage, the maps will be published as web services using QGIS Server.

This presentation demonstrates how QGIS can be extended into a full featured platform for national map production. By showcasing a configuration driven workflow and a custom QGIS plugin, the talk offers practical ideas for improving maintainability, reproducibility, and collaboration in map production. The concepts presented are applicable well beyond national mapping agencies and will be valuable to anyone facing complex cartographic workflows.