[wsia-comment] Summary of WSIA Requirements Process 3-17-02

Hi Everyone,

A couple of working sessions ago I asked for a summary to then of the 
candidate use cases that were under consideration in the WSIA, but these 
changed and then the changed use cases were examined further, and the 
process is on going. Part of the reason for that request was that in the 
HumanMarkup TC we are also in the process of writing a formal Requirements 
Document, and I wanted to show the HumanML TC how the WSIA was going about 
the same kind of work, albeit with different kinds of specs/schemata to 
produce.

I also wanted to set the stage for determining where in the WSIA process 
(not the Requirements Process, but the actual Web Services for Interactive 
Applications Specification) of a standardized set of requests for services 
and responses /delivery of services, HumanMarkup Profiles would be 
requested so that the HumanMarkup TC can prepare its Requirements and then 
its Specification to comply and interoperate as seamlessly as possible.

So, having had the time to work up a summary/history, I am attaching it 
here in two version, Word and ASCII. For HumanMarkup, I will also be 
writing up a comparison between our process, which includes the seven 
months preceding our entrance into OASIS, and the work we have undertaken 
since last October's initial meeting leading to writing our Requirements 
Document by March 31, 2002, and WSIA which held its first meetings in 
January and is scheduled to write and approve its Requirements Document by 
the end of its second series of face to face meetings in mid April.

One thing that both TCs should take into account is that there will be a 
variety of sources of individual profile information for End-Users, from 
basic, legal certification and authentication to greater depth of 
preferential and on-line behavioral information. And there will be issues 
of legal rights for authorized agents. A standard definition that 
distinguishes between an actual human individual and software agents of all 
varieties will need to be found and agreed upon. Of course that applies 
beyond these two TCs, but while we are in the process of determining 
requirements, that one concern is common.