Module 0-2: Text 2

e-TERM reference*

TKB2

Version no.*

1

Version date*

2001-09-20

Contributor*

Barata, Kimberly J

Author/s*

Libicki, Martin C

Title*

Information Technology Standards: Quest for the Common Byte

Print availability

Digital Press; Boston; 1995; ISBN 1-55558-131-5 (hardcover)

Electronic availability

This text is an extended version of a report included in the published proceedings of the conference on "Standards Development and Information Structure," sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Technology Policy Working Group, Information Infrastructure Task Force, which was held 15 to 16 June 1994 at Rockville, Maryland. It has also appeared as a publication of Harvard's Program on Information Resources Policy.

Report: Standards: the Rough Road to the Common Byte by Martin Libicki, National Defence University, ACIS Paper 1, May 1995. http://www.ndu.edu/inss/actpubs/
act001/a1.html

Copyright

©1995 by Butterworth-Heinemann (a member of the Reed Elsevier group)

Introduction

This text examines information technology standards and discusses what they are, what they do and how they originate. The book describes the standards that succeed and suggests directions public policy may take.

Chapter One introduces the general problem of information technology standards, including their functions, purposes, and the problems they solve and create. What makes a good standard and what makes a successful one are also discussed. The following chapters 2-10 look more in-depth at broader areas such as foundations for open systems, defence-promoted standards and high-bandwidth public communications. Each of these three broad areas features a different level of involvement of the government, in this case the US federal government.

Three chapters comprise Part V which together provide the conclusion. Chapter 11 examines five specialised areas: encryption, electronic computer aided design (CAD), machine tool controllers, maps and Japan's TRON project. Chapter 12 considers the evolving role of standards in an environment of growing integration of computer users and uses. Finally, Chapter 13 offers conclusions and generalisations.

Much of the text is very detailed in its examination of individual standards. However, the book is very readable as the detail is set in the context of 'industry gossip'; in other words the book also describes the controversy surrounding the development and acceptance of standards. These details explain when different user needs can or cannot be satisfied by the same standard and how standards must adapt to the consequences of advancing technology. Standards achieve their status only through market validation.

Although the book takes a US perspective, the standards development process and standards examined are relevant to the rest of the world.

Appendices offer very useful background information, including a 'tutorial' on computers and communications, pictorial chronologies of key standards, and abbreviations and acronyms.

Martin C Libicki is a Senior Fellow, Institute for National Strategic Studies, where he specializes in the application of information technology to national security and other world scale applications.

Relevance

Concepts*

Architectures
CAD
Data exchange
EDI
Emerging technologies
Hardware
HTML
Information technology
Internet
Interoperability
Intranet
ISDN
Networks
OSI
Portability
Security
SGML
Software
Software industry
Standards
SQL
System design

Cases

Module no.*

0-2

Role

-

Contribution to learning objectives*

Study of this text will contribute to the following learning objectives:

Preliminary reading

-

Reading help

Chapter 1 'What Standards Do' provides a good overview of what standards are and why they are necessary. Pay particular attention to pages 3-10 and 18-22. An earlier version of this chapter is available online at: http://www.ndu.edu/inss/
actpubs/act001/a001ch01.html.

Chapter 12, section 12.4, on global integration (pages 341-342) and Chapter 13, section 13.3, on standards as public policy (pages 358-340) are also useful with regard to applying standards practically. Standards play a key role in the management of electronic records. As you are reading Chapter 1, ask yourself:

• Why are information technology standards important for keeping electronic records?

• What, if any, information technology standards does your organisation adhere to?

• Who in your organisation is responsible for determining which standards are used?

• In what circumstances it is likely that records professionals will encounter IT systems standards

Discussion

Compatibility is one of the future challenges of current technical developments. Basic elements for exchange and preservation and system independence need to be defined. Standards and specifications are the key to interconnectability and interoperability.

Express your opinion on the advantages of using information technology standards for keeping electronic records over time. What are the constraints? Who should collaborate to determine the appropriate information technology standards for recordkeeping in your organisation?

Assignment

Consult your information technology department to help you develop a table of standards for hardware, software, and storage media used by your department. Can you identify the relevant international standard for those used? Write a justification for why a particular standard is or ought to be used.

Further reading

There is a wealth of material available on the development and use of IT standards. For the purposes of this programme, the following are of particular use.

Cargill, Carl F. Information Technology Standardisation: Theory, Process, and Organisations. (Bedford, Massachusetts: Digital Press, 1989). This text describes in clear language the process for developing standards and offers practical opinions about the process and its shortcomings. The book is a factual and interesting introduction to the standards development process and the main players.

Standard for the Management of Electronic Records PROS 99/007 (2000) http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/vers/standards/standards.htm

Wettengel, Michael, and Engel, Andreas. 'Disposition and archiving of electronic records: Concepts for the Information Network Berlin/Bonn.' DLM Forum 1999. http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/dlm/
program/abst_mwae_en.html

Journal of the American Society for Information Science - Special Edition: Perspectives On Information Technology Standards. 43:8 (September 1992).
Provides a variety of perspectives on the development and use of standards. Articles from David Bearman and Richard J Cox offer the perspective of records professionals as a user community.

Barata, Kimberly. "The Impact of Information Technology Standards on Recordkeeping Systems Development: Implications for Records Professionals." Computer Standards and Interfaces 19:1 (January 1998): 51-64.