The derivation of zenith and slant GPS delays from GPS observations involves several assumptions about the atmospheric structure. In particular, assumptions about atmospheric homogeneity and receiver multipath when observing satellites are at low elevation angles (close to the horizon) influence the results. The multipath must be carefully modelled as a function of receiver environment while the atmospheric model used for the mapping must be carefully chosen in cases of atmospheric inhomogeneities. Even when estimating only slant delays, mapping functions are still needed in order to separate receiver clock errors from atmospheric delays. Traditionally, mapping functions are empirical functions derived from multi-year averages of radiosonde data. A new approach is to derive the mapping function directly from NWP model output. This could result in a significant improvement of IWV measurements for low elevations. Pre-processing of raw slant delays before assimilation will be investigated, using additional input from NWP analysis. This will help to discriminate site dependent effects (multipath, antenna phase center variations) and receiver clock errors from atmospheric delays. It can also be used to derive intermediate quantities such as ZTD, horizontal gradients, scale height and or timing information, which could be used as an alternative to assimilating slant delays. Currently used software will be modified, if necessary, and additional modules to estimate slant delays and model multipath will be developed. Furthermore, mapping procedures based on forecast model input will be developed and tested by one weather service, KNMI, and a geodetic institute, TUD.