The development of standards is a difficult process. Trade associations are the natural leaders of such efforts because they are a central point where companies seek to cooperate for the good of their industry.

The problem with most standards efforts is that those involved underestimate the time and effort required. Setting standards is real work. Frequently, industry representatives assigned to such tasks are already busy with their day jobs and don't have the time to devote. The process pursued for standards setting involves a series of conference calls between committees and subcommittees in which a standard dictionary of data fields is created. Then that standard dictionary is rendered into database schemas and XML schemas and spreadsheets that are designed to become the lingua franca of the industry.

The normal path that a standards setting group follows generally results in the standard taking too long to develop. Then, after it is published the standard does not get the critical mass of participation it needs for adoption. Finally, little thought is given to how the standard will be improved based on the experience of those who do adopt it.

Setting appropriate industry standards is too important to be a sideshow. The promise of the new Internet infrastructure is interoperability across company boundaries at reduced cost. This has massive potential for increasing the ROI within a company and increasing an industry's power in the economy.

Dan's offer for standards development brings his experience in setting standards to bear on the process and results in a streamlined standards process that accelerates development but maintains the input of the industry participants which is vital to adoption. Any or all of the following components can be part of an engagement.

Standards have been set for decades with varying degrees of success. Several umbrella organizations exist for unifying standards across industries. Many standards have been set for common business concepts such as a person, a building, a purchase order, a research document. The standards roadmap describes how a standard will fit into this universe and what existing standards will be relied on or used for inspiration.

Several key questions must be decided at the beginning of the process. If intellectual property is created as part of the standards setting effort, who owns it? How the effort is funded is also a crucial issue for which several models exist?

Schema Design and Technology Consulting

A data dictionary is an important first step toward a comprehensive industry standard. But true interoperability requires more than a common set of data elements. Rendering a data dictionary into a schema or set of schemas must take into account how the data will be used to support industry practice, as well as how the data will be represented in a relational database, in XML, and in a spreadsheet, and a variety of technical issues.

Other related questions include universal identity, web services, transactional protocols, security, public key infrastructure, all of which, if addressed and decided on at the same time a standard is adopted can radically improve the chances for widespread acceptance of a standard.

Pilot Implementation Plan

Creating a pilot plan in which selected industry participants implement pilot systems to test the effectiveness of the standard can speed adoption. Only so much can be determined in the lab in front of a whiteboard. Pilot programs can quickly surface issues that would cost much more to fix later after a standard is in wide use and has been the focus of extensive development by the industry.

The process that Dan recommends is a series of visits to industry participants in the standards efforts in which documents and spreadsheets are examined. The first draft of the data dictionary is created and reviewed by industry experts. The key questions are surfaced during this phase. The second draft and the key questions are then reviewed by a large committee of industry participants who are allowed to comment and vote on the proposed standard and key questions using web site designed for collaboration.

Supporting Documentation and Publications

Once a standard is set, it must be communicated throughout the industry. Dan's background as an author of technical books can be put to use creating readable documentation and reference material that can be published on the Internet or in book form. The existence of documentation is a key element in promotion and adoption of a standard.

Review and Improvement Process

In order to have a future, a standard must have a process for gradual improvement to keep pace with changes in the industry. Suggestions made by industry participants must be logged, organized, tracked and accepted or rejected. Plans for modifications to the standard must be communicated in advance to give the industry time to prepare systems. In crafting such a process, it is wise to learn from other industry groups who have years of experience.