US Airforce Business Rules Document. Is that all there is?

The US Airforce with the help of a PTC and another consultant have proudly posted a business rules document on the web for review.

So, as a tax paying citizen, I have one comment for the US Airforce. "I hope you did not pay too much money for this document"

I mean, come on guys. Did you need a consultant to state

"S1000D Chapter 3.9.5.2, Paragraph 2
USAF projects must decide on which information sets are used and the definition of their content.

USAF projects must agree with the customer on the project specific information sets."

I am completly suprised by the number of simple references to the specification. You could have gotten that for free in our pocket guide. Is it not obvious that you need to decide on which information sets are going to be used? The standard says so. Plain and simple.

HERE IS A BETTER IDEA, AND IT WILL NOT COST THE AMERICAN TAX PAYER ANYTHING: STANDARDIZE YOUR INFORMATION SETS NOW. STANDARDIZE YOUR CODING PRACTICES. CREATE A REAL BUSINESS RULES DOCUMENT, NOT JUST ANOTHER LAYER OF DOCUMENTATION ABOUT THE STANDARD WHICH RESTATES THE STANDARD.

Gosh, I hope us taxpayers did not pay too much for the creation of that document. I can't wait for round two. Let's hope these consultants can put some meat on the bones.

Also, someone in the S1000D community should file a Freedom of Information Act filing to see how much we paid for this.

When does a standard or specification lose its meaning?

This is a question that I have been thinking about for a long time with S1000D. Look at the most important specficiations or standards we have today; xml, xslt, html.....80211...

Look how many versions these standards have. You see my point? The fact is the velocity of change for S1000D is hurting its viability. The cost to create, maintain and train staff of each new version is becoming a large problem to many in the industry.

The tug of war between industry, Defense Departments and now users has begun. I think it might be time to slow the train down. Everyone cannot catch-up, and it appears that a new version has become expected like the vendage of wines. It's October, there must be a new version.

The great standards don't change so often. If its a windmill that is in constant movement, many may just decide to look for another standard that is not in constant flux.

Let's hope S1000D does not continue to shift and shimmy like the wind.

What version should I use? Our View....

This is one of the most basic questions that many users are struggling with. What is the correct version to use for the new S1000D project. We have seen many project fail based on the wrong decision here. One important point DO NOT SELECT a .0 release of the specification. It has proven to be very unreliable followed by an update such 4.0.1 or 4.1 which comes out nearly one year after the 4.0 release. Our take right now is that 3.x is the most robust and reliable version. If you must use 4.x, then we suggest you look carefully and you justify in your own mind the "Why" of the decision.

The latest in not the best, it is simply that, the latest. In all cases, Inmedius will support the latest version and we will continue to be first to market with our support