Who

There are a variety of skills needed to make this project a success. Among
them are:

* Authors, historians and preservationists, who will create and develop the
content.

* Designers and site architects, who will design the overall system.

* Developers (such as web masters) and moderators who will implement
the design (coming from the designers and architects) to contain the
content developed by the authors.

How

Jay McCauley offered a home for our web site at Silicon Graphics where he
works as a software engineer; SGI supports the outside voluteer efforts of
their employees. Please see the report on recent progress elsewhere in the
newsletter.

The system should be designed and implemented using open standards.
This will enable the system to be easily migrated to various hardware and
software platforms with less time and money than would otherwise be
required. An important aspect of this is that we identify and use existing
standards, such as image and video formats (JPEG, MPEG, Photo-CD, etc.),
text formats (SGML, HTML, RTF, etc.), audio (au, etc.), Standard Query
Language (SQL), and so on. By building on top of these and other
standards, we save time and money and are able to spend the time and
money that we do receive focusing on the primary issue - how can we
store, preserve and reuse information on technical skills?

Before the system can be designed, we should identify the potential
"customers" or users of this system might be. Once we know this, we then
need to understand their needs, requirements, limitations, etc. One way to
accomplish these goals would be to hold workshops to discover the needs
of users and authors, and to encourage international consensus about
standards. In any case, we will want to establish and maintain connections
with other programs and organizations around the world.

[Secretary's note: We must have a clear understanding of the financial
aspects of this system. Will we give access to anyone and everyone to the
content which is stored within it? Will we give a copy of this system
(minus content) to anyone who wants a copy? and so on. There are many
reasons to go for a version which is freely available to anyone, using some
careful licensing terms and conditions to preserve quality, etc.]

All computer projects are subject to "scope creep", the gradual increase in
the functions required of a system. By being clear and vigilant about the
features for a version 1 versus future versions, we can avoid many
problems which plague many computer systems.

As mentioned above, this project as currently envisioned will require fund
raising (from foundations and companies) as well as corporate support
(such as equipment and software).

Defining (what)

This project is about developing a digital archive and forum for defining
skills preservation standards, not just a web site. The web site will be an
especially open avenue for general access to the content.

Samuel Knight Chapter SIA Newsletter

May 9, 1997

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