comments on the proposed charter for the OASIS Adoption TC

Please accept this comment on the proposed charter for the
OASIS Adoption TC.

 

I am concerned that the creation of the new OASIS DITA Adoption
TC separate from the existing OASIS DITA TC may lead to confusion if the work
of the two TCs are not coordinated. At a minimum I would like to see the normative
sections of the charter for the existing DITA TC amended to include and the
charter for the new DITA Adoption TC to include from the start wording that
acknowledges the need for coordination and commits both TCs to participating in
such coordination activities.

 

Other updates to both TCs’ charters may be desirable
to make it clearer what the scope of both TCs is and where they do or do not
overlap.

 

While one approach to coordination between the two DITA TCs
is to rely on the goodwill of what we expect to be overlapping membership between
the TCs, it has also been suggested that, and I support, doing something more
formal using OASIS Member Sections or possibly a revived version of the OASIS
Joint Committee. Either approach would provide for coordination and, if
necessary, the identification and resolution of any conflicts or disputes that
may arise between the two TCs.

 

I think it is appropriate to leave the interpretation of the
rules and procedures that govern TCs up to the OASIS staff. I feel that disputes
involving DITA specific issues should be resolved by the members of the TCs. The
OASIS staff should not be placed in or assume the role of resolving DITA
specific issues. The creation of a DITA Member Section or possibly a DITA Joint
Committee would provide a framework and a forum for coordination and dispute
resolution by OASIS members.

 

Specific wording changes are suggested below.

 

   -Jeff Ogden

PTC

 

Suggested changes in blue italic or red strikethrough [with comments within blue italic square
brackets]:

 

(1)(a) The name of the TC, such name
not to have been previously used for an OASIS TC and not to include any
trademarks or service marks not owned by OASIS. 

 

OASIS DITA Adoption Technical
Committee

 

(1)(b) A statement of purpose,
including a definition of the problem to be solved.

 

The OASIS DITA Adoption Technical
Committee members will collaborate to provide expertise and resources to
educate the marketplace on the value of the DITA OASIS standard. By raising
awareness of the benefits offered by DITA, the DITA Adoption Technical
Committee increases
expects
the demand for, and availability of, DITA conforming products and services to increase,
resulting in a greater choice of tools and platforms and expanding the DITA an expanded community of
DITA
users, suppliers, and consultants.

 

Since DITA adoption is stronger in the US than in the rest of the world, especially the European Union, the Technical Committee will actively solicit participation from non-US
members and help to facilitate providing information promoting DITA adoption
globally.

 

By advancing the adoption of DITA
through OASIS, the DITA
Adoption Technical Committee members will:

 
Collaborate within the security
     of the OASIS open process

 
Maximize message credibility by
     working on behalf of a vendor-neutral standards consortium

 
Build on existing market awareness
     of OASIS as the source of DITA

 
Leverage the combined resources
     of all participants

 
Reinforce DITA as the result of
     an open, transparent process guided by multiple vendors, communities, and
     individuals

 
Openly share content and
     coordinate program execution with other entities that share a common or
     similar statement of purpose on a worldwide scope

 
Actively solicit participation from non-US members and
     help to facilitate the provision of information promoting DITA adoption
     globally

 
Cooperate and coordinate its activities with the
     existing OASIS DITA Technical Committee

 
Join an OASIS DITA Member Section or Joint Committee,
     if such a Member Section or Committee is established in the future

 

(1)(c) The scope of the work of the
TC, which must be germane to the mission of OASIS, and which includes a
definition of what is and what is not the work of the TC, and how it can be
determined when the work of the TC has been completed.

 

OASIS DITA Adoption Technical
Committee activities may extend to any of the following activities:  

 
Oversee the DITA XML.org Focus
     Area

 
Review and ensure accuracy of
     DITA references in commonly used resources such as Wikipedia 

 
Host educational,
     vendor-neutral webinars  

 
Organize vendor-neutral
     workshops and tracks at OASIS events and other conferences  

 
Produce OASIS-branded primers,
     white papers, position papers, slide presentations, datasheets, and other
     collateral  

 
Develop best practice
     guidelines  

 
Establish liaisons with other
     organizations who may assist in building awareness of DITA, and promoting
     DITA in a variety of user communities

 
Assist in coordinating
     promotional efforts of members, leveraging activities wherever
     beneficial  

 
Assist in coordinating press
     and analyst relations such as briefings, releases, and announcements 
     

 
Encourage and coordinate
     volunteer efforts to translate the DITA specification and other committee
     documents into other languages  

 
Interface with other TCs to define how DITA can be best
     integrated with other standards to address specific scenarios  

     [this is covered elsewhere (7th
     bullet item above) and this wording seems to overlap with the some of the
     goals of the existing DITA TC]

 
Stage interoperability and/or
     proof-of-concept demonstrations at industry conferences  

 
Gathering information from end users on a wide variety
     of DITA related issues including ease of use issues, use cases, strengths,
     weaknesses, and areas for improvement

 
Other projects aimed at
     increasing adoption as identified by Committee members

 

The OASIS DITA Adoption Technical Committee will refer
suggestions and requests for changes to and clarification of the DITA
Specification to the existing DITA Technical Committee.

 

The OASIS DITA Adoption Technical Committee is seen as an
on-going activity with no specific end date for its activities established in
advance.

 

(1)(d) A list of deliverables, with
projected completion dates.

 

 
First best practice issued within
     6 months of formation.

 
First webinar produced jointly
     with the SVG Technical Committee and the DITA Translation Subcommittee and
     sponsored by OASIS.

 

(1)(e) Specification of the IPR Mode
under which the TC will operate.

 

Royalty-Free on limited terms

 

(1)(f) The anticipated audience or
users of the work.

 

Anyone involved in the
implementation of the OASIS DITA standard in their own organizations, including
information-development managers, content creators and distributors,
consultants supporting implementations, and vendors providing tools to support
content development and distribution.

 

(1)(g) The language in which the TC
shall conduct business.

 

English

 

(2) Non-normative information
regarding the startup of the TC, which includes:

 

(2)(a) Identification of similar or
applicable work that is being done in other OASIS TCs or by other
organizations, why there is a need for another effort in this area and how this
proposed TC will be different, and what level of liaison will be pursued with
these other organizations.

 

The DITA Adoption Technical
Committee is closely allied with the DITA Technical Committee. The DITA TC is
responsible for the development, maintenance, and enhancement of the DITA
specification
and the language reference. As such, the DITA TC
concentrates on clearly defining and developing the technical content of the
specification. It also supports the work of several subcommittees that are
creating specifications
for industry-specific DITA specializations of the DITA specification.

 

The DITA Adoption TC concentrates on
the promotion of the DITA standard to the global user community, helping to
encourage DITA adoption in new industries, new areas of content creation, and
new organizations. To this end, the DITA Adoption TC's focus is on building
public awareness of the standard, educating potential users in the standard, and
ensuring that miscommunications that may exist are quickly corrected.

 

The DITA Adoption TC intends to
appoint an individual who is an active, voting member of both TCs to serve as a
liaison to the DITA TC, to actively communicate the work of the Adoption TC,
and to request the assistance of the DITA TC on technical issues concerning the
specification. Through the liaison, the DITA Adoption TC may bring issues to
the DITA TC concerning user needs in improving the specification. The DITA TC may will be encouraged to bring
issues to the DITA Adoption TC concerning the use cases or user scenarios
around proposed changes and enhancements to the specification, as well as
suggestions for other adoption-related work.

 

(2)(b) The date, time, and location
of the first meeting, whether it will be held in person or by telephone, and
who will sponsor this first meeting. 

 

28 July 2008 11:00 am ET

The TC will use a free conference
service provided by ComTech Services for its teleconferences.

 

(2)(c) The projected on-going
meeting schedule for the year following the formation of the TC, or until the
projected date of the final deliverable, whichever comes first, and who will be
expected to sponsor these meetings.

 

The DITA Adoption TC plans to will hold
regular meetings
at least monthly meetings unless increased work requires
more frequent meetings. Much of the Adoption TC work is expected to
occurs through
small working groups, such as the
a working group responsible for updating and monitoring the dita.xml.org
website as an ongoing activity.

 

(2)(d) The names, electronic mail
addresses, and membership affiliations of at least Minimum Membership who
support this proposal and are committed to the Charter and projected meeting
schedule.

 

JoAnn Hackos,
Comtech             


Gershon Joseph,
Associate          

Troy Klukewich,
Oracle            


Kay Whatley,
Individual           


Kristen Eberlein,
Individual       

Tony Self,
Associate              


Bob Doyle,
Associate              


Bryan Schnabel,
Individual        


Michael Priestley,
IBM            


Debra Bissantz, LSI
Logic         


Frank Miller,
Comtech             


Julio Vasquez,
SDI                


Rene Gedaly,
Individual           


David J B Hollis, A&O
Consultancy  

 

(2)(e) The name of the Convener who
must be an Eligible Person.

 

JoAnn Hackos   

 

(2)(f) The name of the Member
Section with which the TC intends to affiliate, if any.

 

None

None initially.  The DITA Adoption TC will join the DITA
Member Section if this or a similar member section is created within OASIS in
the future.

 

 

(2)(g) Optionally, a list of
contributions of existing technical work that the proposers anticipate will be
made to this TC.

 

None  [Will any of the existing Best Practice
documents be taken over by the new TC?]

 

(2)(h) Optionally, a draft
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document regarding the planned scope of the
TC, for posting on the TC's website.

 

To be provided at a later date.

 

(2)(i) Optionally, a proposed
working title and acronym for the specification(s) to be developed by the TC.

 

To be provided at a later date.

The DITA Adoption Technical Committee is not expected to
develop formal OASIS specifications.