[LINK] re: Australian consultation on proposed OOXML standard

[Tom Worthington]

I wrote Fri, 03 Aug 2007 09:01:53 +1000:
>... I had a telephone call from SA on Wednesday 
>to say that there was no committee considering 
>OOXML. Instead SA are hosting a forum on the 
>proposed Draft International Standard ISO/IEC 
>29500, "Information technology - Office Open XML 
>file formats" standard in Sydney on 9 August. ...

SA sent an agenda for the meeting. This was very 
useful in clarifying the process SA is using. I 
couldn't find these details on the SA web site so here are some excerpts:

---
... The European Computer Manufactures' 
Association International (Ecma International) 
adopted and published the Microsoft Open Office 
XML specification as ECMA 376 late in 2006. Ecma 
approached ISO/IEC JTC1, the international 
standards organisation for information 
technology, seeking to use the fast track process 
to elevate its standard to International Standard 
status late in 2006, as per its recognised status 
as a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 
submitter. The JTC1 enquiry process opened on 1 
January 2007, for a 30 day period.

In accordance with the JTC1 Directives (their 
process rules) Member countries were asked to 
list any apparent contradictions with existing 
standards (including ISO/IEC 26300: Information 
technology - Open Document Format for Office 
Applications (OpenDocument)). Some 19 countries 
did this, including Australia. The Standards 
Australia Communications, IT and e-Commerce 
(CITeC) Standards Sector Board (SSB) developed 
and approved Australia’s contribution.

ECMA provided a response to all contradictions 
raised and subsequently JTC1 made the document 
available as ISO/IEC DIS 29500 Information 
technology - Office Open XML file formats 
standard for actual balloting by the ISO/IEC member nations.

PROCESS

As a Participating Member of JTC1, Australia has 
an obligation to vote on this document. The options open are:

     * Approve
     * Approve with comment
     * Abstain
     * Disapprove with comment (disapproval of 
the DIS for technical reasons to be stated, with 
proposals for changes that would make the 
document acceptable (acceptance of these 
proposals shall be referred to the NB concerned 
for confirmation that the vote can be changed to approval).

This contribution will be approved in advance by 
the CITeC Standards Sector Board by consensus.

The final vote will be submitted by Standards Australia by 2 September 2007.

PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING

The purpose of this meeting is to provide a forum 
for discussion by interested parties to advise 
Standards Australia in development of its 
submission for approval by the CITeC Standards Sector Board.

Invitees to this meeting include:

     * Members of Standards Australia’s committees:
           o IT-004 Geographical Information Systems
           o IT-015 Software & Systems Engineering
           o IT-019 Computer Applications – Information & Documentation
           o IT-027 Data Management & Interchange
           o IT-031 Computer Modelling and Simulation
     * Members of the CITeC SSB
     * Interested parties who have submitted 
comments since the beginning of the initial 
comment period in January 2007, by e-mail or letter.

Participants are invited to contribute their 
comments in writing following the forum by 21 
August 2007 to ensure that they are considered in 
development of the submission to the CITeC SSB.

CONSIDERATIONS TO NOTE

Standards Australia is recognised by the 
Government as Australia’s peak standards body. It 
develops Australian Standards® of public benefit 
and national interest and supports excellence in 
design and innovation through the Australian Design Awards.

Standards Australia is Australia’s representative 
on the International Organization for
Standardization [ISO], the International 
Electrotechnical Commission [IEC], and the 
Pacific Area Standards Congress [PASC].

Participation in international committee work is 
dependent on our capacity to consult and respond 
through the Australian committee structure. The 
CITeC Standards Sector Board is responsible for this vote.

This forum is being conducted by Standards 
Australia as a courtesy to stakeholders. It is an 
extraordinary meeting that we are not required to 
hold, but do so to provide an open process. We 
appreciate your attendance and expect that you 
appreciate our effort in making this opportunity available to you.

Standards Australia values its vote as a 
participating member of all international 
committees, and does not exercise it 
injudiciously. We provide considered Australian 
viewpoints that are beneficial to Australian 
stakeholders, including industry, government, 
academia and the general community, through the 
facilitation of trade and the inclusion of clear 
Australian requirements in international standards.

The JTC1 process has established that the 
ECMA-376 document is not contradictory to 
existing standards and ECMA has responded to a 
number of technical considerations raised in the 
initial consultation period. This forum is not to 
debate the merits of the JTC1 decision making 
process or the validity of the ECMA response.

While technical comments are welcomed, it would 
be entirely counter productive to use this forum 
to reiterate technical comments that have already 
been raised and are likely to be debated in every 
JTC1 member body in some form.

We are looking for creative, positive 
contributions that emphasise our commitment to 
representing truly Australian views to the international community.

To ensure the best outcome for the meeting, we 
ask you to note the guidelines and agenda below.

GUIDELINES

• Standards Australia will document the meeting 
and will share with attendees/interested parties 
not able to attend. Discussion will not be 
recorded, in line with our general committee meeting policies.

• When general discussion commences, please limit 
your contribution to no more than five minutes.

• Speakers should be allowed to complete 
presentations, prior to inviting questions or 
comments. Responses, including questions, should 
be raised through meeting chair.

• When individuals do comment, they should state 
their name and organisational affiliation, if any.

• Respect others’ opinions.

AGENDA

10am Opening of the meeting and attendance (please sign attendance list)
10.10am Introduction - Standards Australia
10.30am Invited discussion openers
10.30 -10.40am General overview of the standards process
10.40 – 11.00am Objections to ISO/IEC adoption of DIS 29500
11.00 – 11.20am Case for ISO/IEC adoption of DIS 29500
11.20am 20 minute break
11.40am General Discussion
12.45pm Summary and next steps
1pm Close

Participants are invited to contribute their 
comments in writing following the forum by 21 
August 2007 to ensure that they are considered in 
development of the submission to the CITeC Standards

Sector Board.

CONTACT

Please confirm attendance via e-mail to: michael.langdon (a) standards.org.au
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Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd            ABN: 17 088 714 309
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617                http://www.tomw.net.au/
Visiting Fellow, ANU      Blog: http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/atom.xml